This thing is obviously fully vibe coded... Click the "what's coming next" and under the healthcare section the marketing screenshot contains broken images... Like no one ever looked at this before deploying it?
The ACA website is one of the nicest government websites I ever had to use. I assumed the commenter was referencing something like a local Secretary of State website used to update their vehicle registration, which probably goes to the lowest bidder and costs maybe $100k to $1m over its 25+ year lifetime.
We’ll probably never know the true “cost” of America.gov because even if Google is doing it “for free” then they’re not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, there’s a regulatory angle that they’re trying to play or a market they’re trying to corner.
That’s not what I said but okay. In Illinois, for example, vehicle registration is handled by ILSOS, not the DMV. Vehicle registration is just one of the many things that ILSOS handles. The entirety of the digital modernization budget for 2026 for ILSOS is (based on cursory searches) $35M. Illinois is one of the larger of the jurisdictions. And one of the higher quality web experiences, probably, as I’ve never had an issue.
Non-interactive websites (that don’t even accept payments) are undoubtedly run on a shoestring budget unless there is a specific case of grifting or corruption. In which case we’re not talking about websites anymore but American grifting culture.
Right, and a modernization can run for as long as 10 years, meaning your budget over the modernization is actually closer to 350 million. The DMV likely just contracts the services to ILSOS and gets billed a ginormous amount in contracting fees.
So you initially say 100k-1 million and then pull a 35 million dollar budget out…seems a little disconnected.
Why look at things with your own two eyes when you can have an LLM drive playwright and headless chromium to QC your website aesthetics? I'm sure nothing will be missed. Don't worry!
There's one that says, “I just got married. How do I change my last name?” Photo of woman in the back of a car wearing a wedding dress, makes sense.
But -- “Help me find a job” shows a Black man alone on an escalator.
Then, “How do I invest in my child's future?” shows a kid face‑planted on a frozen lake.
“How do I replace my social security card?” has an old man on the beach hunting for metal.
“I'm a veteran. How do we get care?” shows a guy just randomly standing in the back of his pickup truck.
One thing I will say positive about this website is it doesn't look like it was made by a large bureaucracy over many years. It looks like it was made by maybe three people over a week.
cjonas · · focus · HN ↗
slipperybeluga · · focus · HN ↗
datsci_est_2015 · · focus · HN ↗
cavemandaveman · · focus · HN ↗
datsci_est_2015 · · focus · HN ↗
We’ll probably never know the true “cost” of America.gov because even if Google is doing it “for free” then they’re not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, there’s a regulatory angle that they’re trying to play or a market they’re trying to corner.
mym1990 · · focus · HN ↗
datsci_est_2015 · · focus · HN ↗
Non-interactive websites (that don’t even accept payments) are undoubtedly run on a shoestring budget unless there is a specific case of grifting or corruption. In which case we’re not talking about websites anymore but American grifting culture.
mym1990 · · focus · HN ↗
So you initially say 100k-1 million and then pull a 35 million dollar budget out…seems a little disconnected.
lazide · · focus · HN ↗
m463 · · focus · HN ↗
walrus01 · · focus · HN ↗
japhib · · focus · HN ↗
joshuaS98 · · focus · HN ↗
sejje · · focus · HN ↗
That figures, government moves slow.
[deleted] · · focus · HN ↗
[deleted]
thefourthchime · · focus · HN ↗
There's one that says, “I just got married. How do I change my last name?” Photo of woman in the back of a car wearing a wedding dress, makes sense.
But -- “Help me find a job” shows a Black man alone on an escalator.
Then, “How do I invest in my child's future?” shows a kid face‑planted on a frozen lake.
“How do I replace my social security card?” has an old man on the beach hunting for metal.
“I'm a veteran. How do we get care?” shows a guy just randomly standing in the back of his pickup truck.
One thing I will say positive about this website is it doesn't look like it was made by a large bureaucracy over many years. It looks like it was made by maybe three people over a week.