This is part two in our series focused on how federal agencies can meet the high expectations – and aggressive timeline – of America by Design. Our first post made the case for modular web design. Here, we cover critical first steps for agency leaders and web teams.
For anyone not yet aware of America by Design, it’s a federal initiative to dramatically improve the citizen experience of government – particularly the websites where people access services, participate in regulatory processes, and otherwise engage with federal agencies. Driven by Executive Order, the initiative sets a deadline of July 2026 for agencies to enhance the usability and aesthetics of their sites.
Spire has led multiple federal website overhauls. And in our experience, taking a modern, modular approach to site design holds the key to meeting this new mandate.
(If modular web design is a new concept for you, here’s a high-level overview of what it entails and how it benefits federal agencies by lowering design costs, accelerating launch, and streamlining future maintenance and enhancements.)
Modularity in mindset, technology, and governance
More than anything else, modular web design is a mindset. To reap its benefits, agency leaders and web teams must broadly embrace and foster a culture of user-centrism, collaboration, and iterative design and development cycles.
At the same time, agencies must also consider the readiness of their technology stack and website governance. As agencies begin planning redesign efforts, this is perhaps the best place to begin.
Here are four practical steps for agencies at the beginning of their modular web design journey.
1. Audit and inventory your site’s design system(s).
Conduct a methodical review of your site’s theme, including templates, layouts, and design patterns. Do they align with USWDS standards? And, conversely, does USWDS offer components that meet all your site’s needs?
It’s worth noting that the America by Design initiative calls for an update to the now decade-old federal web design system. While USWDS remains a solid foundation for accessibility, performance, and visual consistency, its design vocabulary feels dated compared to contemporary frameworks, including:
- Tailwind CSS – A utility first CSS framework that enables rapid composition of consistent, responsive designs.
- Bootstrap 5 – A component-based front-end framework with responsive grid and UI components.
- Material Design 3 (Google) – A design language and code system with extensive motion, elevation, and accessibility patterns.
USWDS provides static components but omits many modern interaction features such as smooth transitions, entrance animations, and other motion patterns that enhance user engagement and comprehension. It also lacks native support for reusable “pattern” structures, groups of components that form higher-order layouts or design templates. By contrast, frameworks like Tailwind CSS make it easier to compose and customize patterns through utility classes and flexible configuration.
An audit of your existing design system will help identify where your agency’s needs extend beyond the USWDS baseline, and where custom components may be required to close those gaps.
2. Define gaps in your technology stack.
Legacy front- and back-end technologies may not support the independent design, development, and scaling of components. So before launching a redesign effort, it’s important to conduct an end-to-end audit of your infrastructure, including databases, code pipeline, monitoring tools, content management system (CMS), etc.
Key questions include:
- Does your front-end architecture support component-based development?
- Are your build, deployment, and version control processes modernized for modular development (Git-based workflows, CI/CD pipelines, automated testing)?
- Is your hosting environment capable of supporting modern frameworks, versioned deployments, and component level updates?
- How frequently does your content change and who owns that responsibility?
Answers to these questions will help determine whether and to what extent your agency needs to invest in new platforms and tools to support a modular approach to web design.
3. Choose a platform that supports modular web design.
Unfortunately, many current federal websites reside on legacy infrastructure or platforms that make it challenging (and expensive) to perform even simple design enhancements – let alone upgrade to a truly modern UI/UX.
If your agency’s platform architecture isn’t engineered to support modular web design, scope in an upgrade to something with modern capabilities, such as WordPress or Drupal. (Here’s an overview of their strengths and weaknesses for federal websites.)
4. Invest in governance.
Modular web design requires strong governance. This means defining roles, responsibilities, and processes for creating, updating, and deploying individual components to ensure they work together cohesively and efficiently. Without governance, agencies risk devolving into siloed efforts that undermine the benefits of a modular approach.
Modern websites demand a modern approach
Despite its name, America by Design goes deeper than website cosmetics. Meeting the new mandate will require federal agencies to embrace a modern approach and commit to reimagining how digital experiences can serve the modern citizen.
The good news is that by adopting a modular mindset, agencies can improve efficiencies across design and development teams, lowering the cost of immediate-term web projects and simplifying future enhancements.
Ready to get started? Spire’s award-winning designers and developers have the past performance your agency is looking for.
Send us your America by Design RFI today.
