Saudi Arabia axes more than 200 official websites in reform move

Cairo:  Dozens of Saudi government portals were cancelled last year as part of efforts to streamline services to the public and boost digital transformation in the country, according to an official report.

In its 2024 annual report, the kingdom's Digital Government Authority disclosed the cancellation of 236 digital government platforms as part of a comprehensive programme designed to unify the user experience and achieve high digital efficiency. 

The curtailment comes within a process to reduce the number of government platforms from hundreds of scattered portals to just 581, thus simplifying digital procedures and improving the quality of services.

The programme is a major initiative adopted by the Authority to upgrade government platforms and feature the implementation of a unified design system,  dubbed the "Platform Code", which relies on a unified digital design library.

The steps are geared towards evolving an integrated digital environment in line with the kingdom's digital transformation agenda by providing user-friendly government services and reducing digital fragmentation resulting from multiple platforms and different designs.

 According to the report, the implementation of the "Platform Code" has contributed to enhancing the user experience, saving time and effort, and enabling government institutions to operate in a flexible and organized environment based on unified national standards.

 The programme is one of the central initiatives adopted by the Authority to enhance the governance of government platforms.