GOV.UK
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 4 government websites
People recommend it for fast, clear, consistent pages that make government tasks easy to find and complete, with one recurring caveat that it can treat users like children.
People recommend it for fast, clear, consistent pages that make government tasks easy to find and complete, with one recurring caveat that it can treat users like children.
33 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 29
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 88%
Recommended in 11 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 29 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 7.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 11 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Better than most government websites
“the whole gov.uk setup is a breath of fresh air compared to most countries online government services”
Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “You Want to Visit the UK? You Better Have a Google Play or App Store Account” “gov.uk is by far the easiest way to interact with the government that I've experienced”
Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “You Want to Visit the UK? You Better Have a Google Play or App Store Account” “High-quality government websites exist, most notably the British gov.uk system.”
Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “Illinois Just Told Every Operating System to Start Reporting Your Kid's Age” - Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “That's Not How Email Works, HSBC”
- Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “Ask HN: How to Find a Job in the UK”
Clear, simple, consistent design
“gov.uk’s design is excellent, probably the best government interface in the world”
Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “You Want to Visit the UK? You Better Have a Google Play or App Store Account” “Pages are snappy, terse, consistent, clear and unsurprising.”
Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “You Want to Visit the UK? You Better Have a Google Play or App Store Account” “Very simple and basic, modern (maybe) but very accessible.”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Goes-19 weather satellite enters Safe Hold mode” - Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “Building an HTML-first site doubled our users overnight”
- Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “America.gov”
Successful, proven project that works
“These parts, the non-AI management ones, are proven to work in all sorts of places. Gov.uk is another example.”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “They Said It Would Cost $54M. We Said "No Thanks."” “For once all the money dumped into studies and what not produced an outcome.”
Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “Building an HTML-first site doubled our users overnight” “The GOV.UK project is a rare success story for IT in the UK government.”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Trillions spent and big software projects are still failing” - Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “America.gov”
Fast and easy to use
“when you switch to gov.uk after using literally any other modern website, it's always surprising how fast it is”
Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “You Want to Visit the UK? You Better Have a Google Play or App Store Account” “I've never once not been able to find what I needed or have a flow not work”
Comment from 1 Apr 2026 in “We intercepted the White House app's traffic. 77% of requests go to 3rd parties” “I find that it is surprisingly quick to find stuff on GOV.UK.”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “America.gov”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Treats users like children
“It's a bug when you're neither 5 nor 89 or have used it 10 times before...”
Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “You Want to Visit the UK? You Better Have a Google Play or App Store Account” “gov.uk has a tendancy to treat everyone like a 5 year old”
Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “You Want to Visit the UK? You Better Have a Google Play or App Store Account”
Other government websites people recommend
The three most recommended other government websites, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GOV.UKThis page | 29 | 4 | 88% | 11 | — | Approved |
| America.gov | 19 | 26 | 42% | 1 | — | — |
| realfood.gov | 6 | 7 | 46% | 2 | — | — |
| USA.gov | 5 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
35 of the 38 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Searching and indexing works on it beautifully, as do the many functions you can carry out from the web itself”
“GOV.uk by all accounts is an incredible success”
“Isn’t that one of the biggest reasons why an average user gives up and closes the tab?”
“they are exceedingly clear and easy to navigate”
“I find that it is surprisingly quick to find stuff on GOV.UK.”
“most of gov.uk to be very usable and helpful”
“One more reason to like gov.uk.”
“High-quality government websites exist, most notably the British gov.uk system.”
“Name one public sector state or local website that isn't utter garbage and a nightmare to use.”
“Very simple and basic, modern (maybe) but very accessible.”
“especially when it comes to mass gang based violation of thousands of young girls from broken homes”
“The gov.uk site is a beacon of light on the web.”
“Its minimal and just about right for its purpose.”
“For once all the money dumped into studies and what not produced an outcome.”
“Right now, it is impossible to log in, and you can report it via email, webchat and phone. They are not interested.”
“These parts, the non-AI management ones, are proven to work in all sorts of places. Gov.uk is another example.”
“they are exactly the sort of committed and competent public servants we need more of”
“I've never once not been able to find what I needed or have a flow not work”
“See gov.uk for a good example”
“The UK government website is surprisingly excellent for this stuff”
“when you switch to gov.uk after using literally any other modern website, it's always surprising how fast it is”
“the whole gov.uk setup is a breath of fresh air compared to most countries online government services”
“Interacting with other governments feels like a minefield designed to catch you out, in comparison.”
“gov.uk’s design is excellent, probably the best government interface in the world”
“I'm allowed to be frustrated and to criticise it - I'm a tax-paying British citizen.”
“gov.uk is by far the easiest way to interact with the government that I've experienced”
“Pages are snappy, terse, consistent, clear and unsurprising.”
“It's a bug when you're neither 5 nor 89 or have used it 10 times before...”
“Which is not a bug, but a feature of the gov.uk website, and it's the best and the most important one.”
“gov.uk has a tendancy to treat everyone like a 5 year old”
“Gov.uk services are generally pretty high quality, at least from the citizen’s POV.”
“a paragon of virtue in web design”
“widely regarded as one of the best government websites in the world”
“The gov.uk design principles are amazing and they respond to feedback.”
“The GOV.UK project is a rare success story for IT in the UK government.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.