Bold text

Use bolded text to call attention to words or phrases that will help the Veteran understand the content on the page.

Note: Don’t use italics. It doesn’t show up well on a screen, and sometimes it can be harder to read than normal text.

Use bold text only in these cases

• The explicit set-up line that comes before bullet points that states something like this: “Both of these must be true.” See this page
• The “and” or “or” that comes at the end of each line in a bulleted list
• The first part of a sentence, for scanability, when there’s a need to clearly set apart, for instance Veterans who fall into different eligibility categories. See this page
• Numerals, for scanability, that we know the Veteran is on the page to look for—like a dollar figure. See this page
• The different types of accounts through which you can sign in to VA.gov: My HealtheVet, DS Logon, and ID.me. See this page
• When there’s a “Note:” or “Example:” See this page
• The design element or text link we want the user to click on when we’re walking them through online instructions. See this page
• If you are presenting a series of label and value pairs, such as the contact information (address, phone number, etc.) for a location. The label is always bold, not the value, and the label and value are separated by a line break as opposed to a colon. See this page (click on Caregiver support)

Don’t use bold in these cases

• Any part of a text link, since the blue and underlining sets apart that text enough
• Words used to emphasize a point being made in the text, like “only if”