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At USA.gov and USAGov en Español, we’re always striving to make our content more useful to the public. Meta descriptions are one way we help people quickly find the government information they’re looking for.

It’s been a year since we launched reimagined versions of USA.gov and USAGov en Español based on human-centered design (HCD) principles. Last year, we shared posts highlighting how we used those principles to shift our approaches to content development, user experience, and analytics.

At the Public Experience (PX) Contact Center, we recognize the important role of quality in shaping customer interactions. When people call and chat with us, they expect clear, reliable information about government benefits and services. Learn how we work with our contractor to deliver exceptional service to the people who get in touch with the USAGov program and pick up some tips for your program’s contact center.

Each month USAGov’s content designers spend many hours ensuring that the content on USA.gov and USAGov en Español is up-to-date, accurate, and meeting user needs. We do holistic reviews of each topic section based on a rolling calendar with the goal of updating all content at least every 6 months. 

Search.gov connects the public with easy access to the government information and services they need, creating a unified search experience across over one-third of federal domains. Our program’s core mission and goals are the same every year, but how did the way people interact with government search change in 2023? 

Every year, during the first week of March, government agencies join forces to share consumer safety and scam prevention tips during National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW). 

This year, USAGov will lead conversations on X (formerly Twitter) to connect people to actionable tips and resources from across the government. If you’re part of a government agency, we invite you to take part in this year’s English and Spanish language chats on Thursday, March 7, 2024, at 1 PM and 3 PM ET, respectively.

Last fall, vote.gov and the USAGov program partnered on our first “social media takeover” for a day-long campaign encouraging people to register to vote. As key players connecting people to official government information and services, we rooted this effort in our mutual messaging and goals to help guide the public.

Empathy was one of the guiding principles we used when we created the new version of USAGov’s benefit finder. We believe that in addition to being a critical component of human-centered design, empathy is essential for our product. People who are applying for federal benefits may be going through a difficult life situation. If we can’t empathize and fail to offer a product that understands and meets people where they are, we might lose the opportunity to provide the practical support they need. 

Making sure USA.gov and USAGov en Español remain accessible to people with disabilities is essential. So accessibility testing is a regular part of our development process.

Most people have probably used search filters on e-commerce sites to select different options to narrow down search results. Now Search.gov is offering the same flexibility to federal websites, giving their users control over the amount of detail they get in their search results.