In the world of public service, our deepest commitment is to the people we serve. Every day, we strive to make essential services and information readily available. But as our communities increasingly turn to digital channels, are we always meeting them where they are, with the clarity and ease they deserve?
Like many of us in the local and state government, we’ve asked ourselves this question. We looked at our digital front door and saw an opportunity to transform the online experience for our residents. This project became our North Star: a guiding principle to completely overhaul our resident-facing platforms, putting their needs, trust, and accessibility at the forefront.
The Need for a Shift
To truly deliver on that guiding principle, we knew a foundational shift was essential. It meant stepping back and defining what a genuinely resident-first digital experience looks like in practice. For us, this meant ensuring our online services are:
- Intuitive: Making it straightforward for everyone to find what they need and complete tasks.
- Clear: Presenting information in plain and easy-to-understand language.
- Accessible: Building our platforms inclusively, so they are usable by all residents, including those with disabilities – ensuring no one is left behind.
- Trustworthy: Creating a secure and reliable environment where people feel confident engaging with their government online.
The Tools Guiding Our Journey: USWDS & Thymeleaf
Embracing the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS): This open-source toolkit was developed by and for the government and offers incredible advantages:
- Familiarity: Leveraging a design system that citizens may already recognize from federal sites helps build immediate credibility.
- Accessibility: USWDS is grounded in research and best practices for accessibility, helping us ensure our services are truly for everyone.
- Efficiency & Best Practice: USWDS provides well-tested components and guidelines, allowing our teams to focus on specific resident needs rather than baseline design elements.
Building with Thymeleaf: On the technical side, we opted for Thymeleaf, a modern frontend framework. This choice means we can:
- Develop with Agility: Thymeleaf offers a shallower learning curve and good community support, enabling our development team to build and iterate more effectively.
- Deliver Robust Features: It allows us to take advantage of more out-of-the-box capabilities, translating into a richer, more stable experience for our residents, delivered sooner.
See for Yourself
We’ve made intentional updates across both the resident and admin experiences, all rooted in accessibility, clarity, and ease of use. Below, you’ll find quick walkthroughs that highlight what’s changed and why.
Resident Experience: Before & After the Homepage Redesign
This walkthrough compares the old Civiform homepage with the updated North Star UI. You’ll see a cleaner layout, easier navigation, and a more visible eligibility calculator. The redesign uses U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) components and follows accessibility (WCAG 2.2), equity-centered, and trauma-informed design principles to create a calmer, more intuitive experience.
Resident Experience: A Simplified “My Applications” Section
In this walkthrough, you’ll see how the new “My Applications” section helps residents stay oriented. Application statuses are now easier to track, with in-progress and submitted applications surfaced directly on the homepage — no digging required.
Admin Tools: A Closer Look at Program Overview Pages
This demo introduces the redesigned program overview page. It’s structured to give residents the essential information they need before applying — including eligibility details and required documentation — while offering admins a streamlined way to enter and format that content using markdown.
Sharing Our Map: An Invitation to Connect
We’re incredibly excited about this journey, and we know many of you are navigating similar paths, facing the same challenges, and striving for the same goals. We believe in the power of shared learning within the public sector.
If your agency is considering a similar digital transformation, exploring USWDS, or simply curious about how a resident-first approach can shape your online presence, we’d be delighted to connect.
Interested in learning more about our approach or the practicalities of implementing USWDS and modern frameworks in a civic tech environment? We’d love to schedule a conversation.
