We celebrate Flag Day on this 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
The version of the American Flag shown on the right above, followed by the phrase "An official website of the United States government," appears just above the websites of U.S. government agencies. These websites include the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Social Security Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service.
This small icon displays nine white squares on the blue field where the 50 white stars have appeared since Hawaii became a state in 1960. It also displays 11 red and white stripes instead of the usual 13.
Does this signify a change in the official American flag?
In fact, there has been no official change to the American Flag. This icon merely represents digital design constraints. It is part of the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS), created in 2015 by the U.S. General Services Administration as a toolkit of principles, guidance, and code that makes it easier to build accessible, mobile-friendly government websites.
The American Flag was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. "Flag Day" was proclaimed to be June 14 by Congress in a joint resolution approved August 3, 1949 (63 Stat. 492). "National Flag Week" was designated for the week in which June 14 occurs by a joint resolution of Congress on June 9, 1966 (80 Stat. 194).
We wish you, and our country, well on this Flag Day 2026.