What's new

Find out what's happening with the service manual.

Latest updates

April 2024

Updates to the service manual in April 2024
Section Update
Accessibility guidance

Added new accessibility requirements: WCAG 2.2

Added sections on making sure your service meets WCAG 2.2 for: Product and delivery and Design, Development and Testing
Design system

Added list of changes to meet new accessibility requirements to design system

Updated components and styles for WCAG 2.2:

  • Back link: guidance on positioning and keeping data the user has entered
  • Breadcrumbs: guidance on positioning
  • Buttons: guidance on minimum target size
  • Error message: guidance on not clearing data the user has entered
  • Footer: guidance on placing help links
  • Header: guidance on placing help links and not hiding content that has a focus applied
  • Select: guidance on avoiding click and drag
  • Summary list: guidance on action link target size and keeping data the user has entered
  • Tag: guidance on avoiding click and drag
  • Focus state: guidance on not hiding content that has a focus applied
  • Icons: guidance on minimum target size
Other

Updated site map

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Latest blog posts

Posts by the service manual team and community.

Screenshot of content page template from the NHS design system. It includes navigation and search in the header and a breadcrumbs component.

Why should we build services using a design system?

Published on: 8 June 2022

GOV.UK

Conor Rohan, Assurance Lead, Department of Health and Social Care, explains why we use the NHS.UK and GOV.UK design systems and which one to use.

Close-up of thumb and forefinger of someone viewing an NHS page on mobile. In shades of dark blue and black.

A short(ish) history of the NHS design system, Part 1: 2016 – a website, a brand, and a handful of services

Published on: 1 February 2022

Medium

Dean Vipond, previously Lead Designer at NHS Digital, tells the history of the NHS digital design system, in 6 parts.

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Latest show and tell

NHS digital service manual show and tell

Recorded on: 13 February 2020

We live-streamed the show and tell but the original video quality was not very good. This video has the presentation slides with the live audio.

The team talks about the redesign of the service manual, how to write good questions for forms, inclusive language, the beta service standard for health and the NHS Digital accessibility lab in Leeds. The NHS Leadership Academy also share a Wordpress theme based on the NHS.UK frontend library.

See all show and tells