Purpose This study aims to investigate the quality level of the leading three Public Administration Institutes’ (PAIs) websites in the Arab world. Design/methodology/approach A convenient sample of 203 Jordanian Government employees answered the questionnaire that assessed five quality dimensions (content, navigation, interface design, accessibility and educational purpose) for each website. Findings The website of PAI of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recorded a high level in all quality dimensions, whereas the website of PAI of Jordan recorded moderate quality in all dimensions except for accessibility; the website of PAI of Egypt recorded a high level in all quality dimensions except for the educational purpose. Based on the qualitative analysis, participants agreed that the PAI website has the best quality, accessibility, navigation and design compared with the Egyptian and the Jordanian PAIs websites. Practical implications Designers of PAI websites should consider end users’ needs and regularly assess the website’s usability. PAIs developers should also establish more interactive portals to provide transparent and effective electronic services to users. The findings are significant in helping policymakers better understand the importance of distance training and learning using websites and platforms. Social implications Developing a high-quality website enhances the relationship between the government and its employees, consequently establishing the credibility and trust of citizens in public services. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that measures the quality of PAI websites in the Arab world. The findings provide more cross-culture evidence for the e-government and digital literature in helping policymakers develop more technology interactive platforms.