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GOV.UK
Gov.uk logo.svg
Type of site
Government information
Available in English and Welsh
Owner HM Government
Created by Government Digital Service
Commercial No
Registration No
Launched 1 February 2012; 13 years ago (2012-02-01)
Current status Online
Content license
Crown copyright
Open Government Licence

GOV.UK is a special website for the United Kingdom government. It was made by the Government Digital Service. This website helps people find information and services from the government all in one place.

GOV.UK started as a test version on January 31, 2012. It officially took over from other government websites like Directgov and Business Link on October 17, 2012. As of January 2023, GOV.UK is one of the most used government websites in the world!

The plan was for GOV.UK to replace hundreds of separate government websites by 2014. By May 2013, all 24 main government departments had their websites pointing to GOV.UK. Today, it hosts pages for many government groups, including departments, agencies, and other public bodies.

How GOV.UK Started

The first main government departments and other groups moved their information to GOV.UK on November 15, 2012. By May 1, 2013, all 24 main government departments, and even UK embassies around the world, had moved their websites to GOV.UK.

GOV.UK has won awards for its design. In 2013, it won "Design of the Year" at the Design Museum awards. The team behind it, the Government Digital Service, also won a "Black Pencil" award. In 2019, they won another award for their "Step-by-Step" design.

In 2018, the Government Digital Service created the GOV.UK Design System. This system helps all government departments use the same look and feel for their pages on GOV.UK. This makes the website easier to use for everyone.

On February 19, 2024, GOV.UK updated its logo. The new logo shows the Tudor crown, which is used by King Charles III.

The Alphagov Project

Before GOV.UK, there was a project called Alphagov. This was an experimental website built by the Government Digital Service. It launched on May 11, 2011.

Alphagov was a test to see if one single website could work for all British Government online services. It was open for people to give their ideas for two months.

This project started because of a report that suggested a big change was needed for government websites. Alphagov aimed to show how people could easily use online tools to interact with the government.

Besides making things easier for citizens, Alphagov also found that having one website could save a lot of money. It showed that the government could save about £64 million each year on its website costs. The ideas from Alphagov helped create the GOV.UK website we use today.

See also

  • Data.gov.uk
  • Directgov
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