The White House has kicked off a campaign to make federal websites easier for the public to use.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week launching the “America by Design” initiative, which established the National Design Studio and created the role of chief design officer to facilitate design improvements in digital and physical federal spaces.
Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb, will serve as the new chief design officer and is charged with giving federal websites an “Apple Store-like” experience, according to multiple sources.
The White House said the new initiative would prioritize improvements to “websites and digital services that aren’t meeting the public’s needs and expectations.”
Federal agency heads will consult with Gebbia to begin making changes at their respective agencies with a goal of producing initial results by July 4, 2026, according to White House officials.
This includes improving websites and physical interfaces, updating the United States Web Design System (USWDS), and ensuring government-wide compliance with the 21st Century IDEA Act.
Gebbia is expected to recruit top private-sector designers to help execute the plan.
The White House said only 6% of 26,000 federal websites were rated “good” for mobile performance and 45% were not mobile friendly. Less than 20% of federal websites use code from the USWDS, which helps government agencies build accessible, mobile-friendly websites.
The new National Design Studio is expected to reduce duplicative design costs, leverage standardized design, and dramatically improve the quality of public interactions with government services, according to White House officials.
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