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A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
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Ensure you meet Section 508 requirements before you publish images and graphics online.
You must add alternative text to every image you publish online. Alternative text, also called alt text or an alt tag, is a short written description of an image, which makes sense of that image when it can’t be viewed for some reason. Screen readers — or other assistive tech — provide information about the image’s purpose to the reader.
A best practice for writing effective alt text is to close your eyes and describe the image. Don’t just repeat the file name or describe it with proper nouns like, “King Henry” or “Central Park.”
Describing someone’s physical traits in a way that provides an equivalent experience to blind or partially sighted users can be challenging.
You can ask the persons appearing in the photos to describe themselves in 120 characters or fewer. This method can help reduce any bias that you may unintentionally insert. If you do not have a description from the subjects, follow this pattern: [Name, if a portrait] or [How many] [person, animal, object] [facial expression] and wearing [type of clothing] [where they appear to be or what they are doing].
Here are some examples:
Ensure that color is not the only means of showing information in your images, since some users may not be able to perceive colors. For example, if a bar chart legend shows that one category is red and another is green, color blind users might not be able to see the difference. You can use labels, patterns, or other visual cues to make your image clear without relying on color alone.
Also, if your image contains text, make sure that the contrast between the background color and the foreground text color is a minimum of 4.5:1. Users with low vision have a hard time reading white text on a pale background, for instance. There is a multitude of contrast-checking tools available, such as the WCAG Color Contrast Checker, or the WebAIM Contrast Checker, that can help you check that your images meet this accessibility standard.
You must get a release form to use the following images:
Images you can use without getting a release form include:
Avoid using decorative images. Decorative images don’t add information to the content of a page and they may interfere with a user’s ability to complete a task.
Images may be decorative when they are:
Examples of decorative images are:
Use text instead of using images of text. Build actual HTML data tables instead of using images of data tables.
Only use professional-looking images that support your content, add value, and convey meaning.
In general, right justify images with text, especially at the top of a webpage. This layout makes text easier for users to read.
There are instances where it’s OK to left justify images. If your image is on the left and you have corresponding text on the right, consider using a grid to keep the text from wrapping around the image.
See an example page featuring a series of left-justified images in a grid.
In a Microsoft Word or Google document, set your images to be inline with the text, or else the reading order is lost.
See an example page that contains a right-justified image.
The GSA star mark is our only official identifier and should follow brand specifications anywhere it is printed or used.
Use U.S. Web Design System components to ensure visual consistency. Each USWDS component has a dedicated page with examples of the component’s appearance, source code and guidance for usability, including when and how to use it. Ask for help from the Digital Communications PMO if you have issues trying to implement these components on GSA.gov or our intranet site.
An accordion is a list of headings that hide or reveal additional content when selected.
We do not recommend using accordions, but there are cases where they may be appropriate.
Benefits include:
Drawbacks include:
What to use instead:
See also FAQs.
The USWDS offers button styling for use in our digital content.
Only use button styling on behaviors like register, submit, or contact.
Do not use a button style to link from one page to another, as in a “learn more” or “read more” link at the bottom of a card component. In that case, just use normal text link styling set by the content management system.
Some examples of pages on this site that use correct button styling are a feedback page, our contact page, and the right column of our blog.
See also Button text and form labels.
Put simply, a grid system uses a series of invisible rows and columns to give you options to lay out your web content.
The USWDS grid system has rows that flex with the height of the content you put in them, and each row has an organized grid structure of twelve equal columns per row. You may group all of the rows into a container, if needed. Lots of options exist for tailoring the column widths, spacing, and placements as part of the system.
You can intersperse grids with other typical page content — headers, paragraphs, tables, and so on. You can use them to place things side by side, for example, a map image next to its legend, or two even columns of short unordered list items. You can style them with borders or background colors, where it fits with the site style.
Use a grid when it would benefit the page layout and its usability.
If the user is going to filter or sort data or complete if-then statements, use an HTML table to display it — not grid columns.
When you use informational videos properly, they help people understand your message. Web pages displaying videos should:
Additionally, ensure that all media content conforms with Section 508 requirements for creating accessible synchronized media content, including the following:
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No results could be found for the location you've entered.
Rates for Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories and possessions are set by the Department of Defense.
Rates for foreign countries are set by the Department of State.
Rates are available between 10/1/2022 and 09/30/2025.
The End Date of your trip can not occur before the Start Date.
Traveler reimbursement is based on the location of the work activities and not the accommodations, unless lodging is not available at the work activity, then the agency may authorize the rate where lodging is obtained.
Unless otherwise specified, the per diem locality is defined as "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city, including independent entities located within those boundaries."
Per diem localities with county definitions shall include"all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city as well as the boundaries of the listed counties, including independent entities located within the boundaries of the key city and the listed counties (unless otherwise listed separately)."
When a military installation or Government - related facility(whether or not specifically named) is located partially within more than one city or county boundary, the applicable per diem rate for the entire installation or facility is the higher of the rates which apply to the cities and / or counties, even though part(s) of such activities may be located outside the defined per diem locality.
U.S. General Services Administration