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Components

List

Use: Best practice
A list organizes information into discrete sequential sections.

Examples

Default

Simple unordered and ordered lists

  • Unordered list item
  • Unordered list item
  • Unordered list item
  1. Ordered list item
  2. Ordered list item
  3. Ordered list item
Definition list title one
Definition list item
Definition list item
Definition list title two
Definition list item
Definition list item

More complex unordered and ordered lists

  1. July 10, 2023 letter

    Board Of Appeals Decision Letter

  2. July 7, 2023 letter

    Board Of Appeals Decision Letter

Usage

Refer to the U.S. Web Design System for usage guidance

Additional guidance for VA

How this component works

  • Use square list-item-type for unordered lists. The square list item type is preferred.
  • Two or more items. Lists with 2 or more items are acceptable.

Choosing between variations

  • Use unordered lists when the order of the items is not relevant. List items in unordered lists can be in any order and are indicated with a black square.
  • Use ordered lists for sequential information. Ordered lists are automatically enumerated by the browser.
  • Use description lists for groups of related terms and descriptions. List items parts in definition lists will be connected programmatically.

Instances of this component in production

Unordered lists from VA.gov.
An example of unordered lists, with nested list items, from a vision care health benefits page.
List in an accordion.
An example of an unordered list in an Accordion component.
List in a Summary box.
An example of an unordered list in a Summary box component.
List with two connected items.
An example of an unordered list where items are concatenated using and.
List of appointments in VA.gov.
An example of an inline list of appointments where each list item is a row containing appointment details.
List of claim letters in VA.gov.
An example of a list of Claim letters from VA.gov.
List of documents filed in VA.gov.
An example of a list of documents filed with the VA.

Content considerations

  • Introduce the list. Introduce the list with a full sentence.
  • Capitalize the first word. Use sentence case and begin lists with a capital letter.
  • No single item lists. Don’t use an ordered or unordered (bulleted) list for only one item.
  • Item content must be succinct. Keep each item succinct for scannability (for example, 1 or 2 sentences each).
  • Connect items appropriately. When using “and” or “or” at the end of each bullet point, use a comma and bold the “and”/”or” at the end of each bullet point.
  • No more than 7 items without a break. If your list has more than 7 items, use subheads to break out the list into smaller bullet lists.
  • Use parallel construction within a list. Each list item should be consistent. For example, starting with a verb or noun phrase.

Refer to the Content style guide for additional guidance for unordered lists

Accessibility considerations

  • Unique headings and link text. For complex list items that are comprised of more than one line of content (e.g. header, description, link, etc.) ensure that any headings and link text within the list are unique.
  • Under review: Unordered list items will read out as “black square”. We’re reviewing whether this potentially unexpected behavior is problematic for users of screen readers and may adjust the list item style type appropriately in future.

Component checklist

Maturity

Guidance
Examples, usage, code usage, content considerations, and accessibility considerations are all complete.
Research
VFS team conducted research on this component which is linked from this page.
Stability
Component has been in production for more than 3 months with no significant issues found.
Adoption
Multiple teams have adopted this component.

Accessibility

Accessible use of color
Color is not used as the only visual means of conveying information (WCAG 2.2 1.4.1).
Accessible contrast
Text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for small text and at least 3:1 for large text (WCAG 2.2 1.4.3). Visual information required to identify components and states (except inactive components) has a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 (WCAG 2.2 1.4.11).
Keyboard interactions
Follows WCAG 2.2 standards for keyboard accessibility guidelines and includes a description of the keyboard interactions. All interactive elements can be selected and activated using the keyboard.
Content zoom tested
Component has been tested with the display set to 400% at 1280px viewport width to ensure that the component does not have overlapping text or elements and all interactive elements still operate.
Tested in screen readers
Tested with screen readers to ensure there are no issues with reading order, spelling, dynamic content, and interactive elements.

Code assets

Variations
Storybook includes all variations (style, size, orientation, optional iconography, selection, error state, etc.)
Responsive
Component depicted in all responsive breakpoints.
Interactive states
Includes all interactive states that are applicable (hover, active, focus, keyboard focus, disabled).
Tokens
All design attributes (color, typography, layout, etc.) are available as tokens.
Internationalization
Describes i18n attributes.

Visual assets

Variations
Sketch library includes all variations (style, size, orientation, optional iconography, selection, error state, etc.)
Responsive
Component designed to work in all responsive breakpoints.
Interactive states
Includes all interactive states that are applicable (hover, active, focus, keyboard focus, disabled).
Tokens
All design attributes (color, typography, layout, etc.) are available as tokens.
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Last updated: Feb 12, 2024