Only half of dot-gov sites are active, GSA reports

Nearly one-fifth of federal Web domains are inactive and one-fourth redirect to other dot-gov sites, according to an inventory conducted between August and October.

Active government domains employ 150 different content management systems, a hodgepodge of design templates that vary wildly from one division to the next, and a host of different performance metrics, according to a report compiled by the General Services Administration and the Office of Management and Budget. The report was put together as part of GSA's dot-gov reform initiative, which aims to drastically reduce the number of federal websites and to impose a more standardized look and feel on those that remain. The initiative is linked with another plan to improve the government's online customer service. The report lists 1,489 total government Web domains and about 11,000 websites.