Frequently Asked Questions

This is historical material, "frozen in time." The web site is no longer updated and links to external web sites and some internal pages will not work.

What is Welcome to the White House?

Welcome to the White House is a key access point to government information that is available on the Internet. Using a service on the Internet called the World Wide Web (WWW), people all over the world can locate documents that not only contain text but also include graphics, photos, sound, and video.

Welcome to the White House was developed to improve the way the Federal government uses the Internet to communicate and interact with the American people. This site provides access to all the government information and services that are available on the Internet. This site enriches the government information available to citizens, businesses, schools, libraries, and other institutions, and demonstrates real progress in improving the National Information Infrastructure by showing that the government is using information technology to make itself more accessible and responsive to the public. Welcome to the White House helps promote interaction with citizens by offering government agencies a method to present their missions and programs.

What can you do with it?

Welcome to the White House has four principal functions. First, our service allows users to link to all online resources made available by U.S. government agencies. A subject index to government information and a free-text searching engine provide efficient access to White House documents on a Publications server. All Cabinet-level agencies are providing public information this way, as well as most of the independent agencies and commissions.

Our service provides an enhanced interface for sending electronic mail to the President, Vice President, the First Lady, and Mrs. Gore, which improves the handling and analysis of e-mail and the ability to gather information from incoming messages.

Welcome to the White House provides indexing of all White House publications so that finding and retrieving documents is made easier.

Finally, our service lets people view White House photographs and listen to the President's Saturday radio addresses and other audio segments. For example, we offer people an historical tour of the White House, the art collection, and past residents. To serve our growing youth population and their teachers, the White House for Kids lets them see the President's house from their perspective.

How does it work?

Using a web browser, people with a computer and an Internet connection are able to access the World Wide Web. Simply by "clicking" on a linked word or image, a user can retrieve and display new files and information effortlessly, without learning commands. For some tips for making the most of this web site, refer to our Tips for Users page.

Who is working on this?

The project team includes the Office of the Vice President, the Office of Communications, the Office of Administration, the Office of Correspondence and Presidential Messages, and other agencies of the Executive Office of the President. Please send mail to Feedback with any additional questions.

To comment on this service,
send feedback to the Web Development Team.