Getting started with design.va.gov
Here are some relevant guides to get started for:
About Formation
Throughout this site, you will see references to Formation. Formation is VA.gov’s front-end framework.
U.S. Web Design System already included
Formation is built on top of a fork of U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) v1.6.10. In other words, there is no need to include the USWDS into your Formation project because Formation already includes the USWDS.
We have added components, design patterns, and other features unique to the needs of the VA.gov platform, all tested with Veterans to meet our usability and accessibility guidelines.
We’re not currently updating to USWDS v2 because:
- Many of the naming conventions have changed between the 2 versions.
- The design of some of the base components has changed based on specific needs for VA.gov.
- Formation includes its own set of utility classes and design tokens.
If USWDS introduces a new component that would be useful on VA.gov, implement it individually in a way that works with VA.gov’s design system and naming convention.
Browser support
Formation supports older and newer browsers through progressive enhancement. We follow the 2% rule: we support any browser above 2% usage as observed by analytics.usa.gov.