The five best government websites

By Gabe Starosta

Like the government itself, websites run by Washington get mixed reviews.

As we noted previously, some of the federal government's web sites are downright awful. But great government sites do exist and, at their best, perform a vital task: make important information easily available to citizens.

After talking with web designers and other independent professionals in the D.C. area, we compiled a list of some of the best-designed government websites.

The White House website http://www.whitehouse.gov/ does not appear on this list because it's a little too obvious, but it deserves some recognition. because we expected that most of our readers would already be aware of it, but it deserves recognition.

"Whether you agree with Obama or not, I’m very thankful for a president who has raised the bar and brought high-quality design taste into his campaign and presidency," said Gena Romano, who works at Top Shelf Design, a D.C. area web design firm.

1. FEMA's Disaster Assistance website http://www.disasterassistance.gov/daip_en.portal

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, has taken a lot of criticism over the years for its work in the real world, but it appears to have excelled in cyberspace.

The site, which is operated and maintained by a combination of 17 different federal agencies, looks good with a simple but attractive layout and engaging colors.

More importantly, designers said, it allows users—primarily disaster victims or those preparing for an event like a hurricane—to complete timely tasks like apply for assistance and check the status of any claims.

"The Disasterassistance.gov website site is quite strong in terms of usability," said Rebecca Rubin of Blue Water Media, a D.C.-area web design firm. "The primary toolbar across the top of the page is organized into clear sections that help users locate desired information easily and efficiently."

Rubin also praised the site's use of "breadcrumbs," online design tools which allow users to easily retrace their steps.

Romano agreed—she wrote in an email that while the design is not the most interesting, the site is very easy to navigate, "which is what you're looking for if you've experienced a disaster."

This site shares one quality with most others on this list: It is available in more than one language, in this case Spanish.

2. The Election Assistance Commission http://www.eac.gov/

This site is particularly valuable during election time—the Election Assistance Commission provides just about everything you could ever want to know about managing elections, designing ballots, paying for elections and registering voters.

It also clearly recognizes its mission to voters: After the midterms passed, the page featured a bright red headline that read "Election Day is Over. What's Next?" which allowed users to learn more about recounts and other post-election activities.

"This is a beautiful site," Romano said. "It makes me want to read the information! It has huge graphics at the top the hide the plethora of information below, and eases me into all of the content."

The site has two other features which earned praise.

The first is that it can be viewed in six languages other than English (five Asian languages and Spanish), and the second is this map, which helps visitors contact their local electoral commission.

3. The Tennessee Valley Authority http://www.tva.gov/

The Tennessee Valley Authority's website jumps out at users right away for the high-quality images that scroll through and capture a visitor’s attention, and Rubin praised the site for its "I Want to Know About" panel, which provides links to the nine most common issues the TVA wants people to know.

This website doesn't do a lot of things, but designers said that keeping the page focused was a great quality. Pretty pictures didn’t hurt, either.

"Nice big pictures, quick links, concise menu, good use of color and no clutter all make this a successful website," Romano said. "The interior pages are well organized and individually designed to meet the needs of the content. And as a visual person, I appreciate all the pictures, graphs and customized type they have integrated."

4. Recovery.gov http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/default.aspx
It's no surprise that recovery.gov appears on this list. The idea of tracking stimulus money is very ambitious, and this website does so extremely well.

On the site's main page, visitors can type in their zip code and immediately find out how much money has been allocated to that area and what it has been spent on.

And that's just one function—users can report abuse, read the audit reports each state in the country has undergone, and find out how to apply for a grant or loan, among dozens of other options.

"The dynamic showcase of featured news stories, interactive recovery statistics map, and numerous active social media feeds encourage user interaction with the site, which is key in light of the importance of the Recovery Act in the current political climate," Rubin said.

Romano confirmed that visitors could spend an eternity on this site if they wanted to, such is the quantity of information available.

But the part of the site she most appreciated was the "Report Fraud, Waste & Abuste" button that is framed in bright red and remains at the top of the page no matter where you navigate to on the site.

"Best of all is the obvious button at the top to 'report fraud, waste & abuse,'" she wrote. "It's the first thing you see, conveys a true sense of accountability, and is tasteful — how refreshing!"

5. The CIA Factbook https://www.cia.gov/library/publication ... -factbook/

Designers said that the CIA's online template is limiting and cluttered, and that is especially unfortunate when it comes to the CIA World Factbook—“a news and history junky’s dream come true,â€