On campaign websites the one thing that dominates everything is "Keep it Simple." Some qualify this with "stupid" on the end implying that you want even the dumbest local yokel to be in a position to understand and remember your message and keep coming back to the site.
It seems like a no-brainer. Statements like "Hope for America," "Save our Schools," "Fund our Family Farmers," "Family, Faith, and Future," "America deserves better," "Time for change," I really could go on forever .... Each of these off set with well done graphics and a collection of pleasing colors can really get people motivated, engaged, energized, and invested.
It seems so easy to develop the best way to create crafty communications via the web and our party is packed with creative geeks who can design and deploy the perfect site - but how is it that so many of them get things so wrong?
Take a walk with me through the best and worst websites as well as the coolest ideas ever and post your own favorites here!!
The greatest sites are the ones who use the internet to do as much as they possibly can. Some candidates allow log-ins to supporters who want to download walk lists and some have downloadable stuff like campaign literature, window signs, talking points, proposed letters to the editor, blogs, voter to voter letter writing lists, and more.. Websites like
Act Blue allow the every day Joe/JoAnn like you and me to fundraise for our favorites.
And some campaigns just use the website as a tool to communicate their message and collect contributions.
Lets look at a few of my favorites (both candidates and websites)
Bonnie Sharp http://www.bonniesharp.com
Sharp's website is about as normal as you get - with two exceptions. Look over at the Endorsements page. Sharp is a statewide candidate but is from Kansas City. A lot of times candidates who are from one particular area have a hard time showing that they can represent the whole state - so Sharp shows she has connections from across the state by giving a link to each of her endorsements which correspond to a point on a map hosted by Google. With a good html coder you can take supporters NOT JUST endorsers and show that you have momentum all over the place. It is simple - but its different and I don't think I've ever seen it before.
The second - a toooo often forgotten element. Many campaign websites forget to link you to registration to vote. They are too concerned about saying the right thing, looking pretty, having the most flattering pictures, ladeedah... Sharp has in huge letters right at the top "VOTE AT HOME" - not only can you make sure people are registered but it actually is important to make sure they vote too. Sharp shows how important voting is and describes it to people in a way that lets them know she is concerned about making their lives convenient by allowing them to take part in the process by doing it from the sofa.
SO MANY CANDIDATES forget the most important part. The voter. While every website is to sell a candidate on the net - it is also about the voter. Representatives represent the people and what better way to represent the interests of the people by using every opportunity to show it isn't about YOU but what you can do for them. Most candidates turn this into "issues" or "issue statements" or "on the issues" - I often wonder how it might be more effective to say something like "For You" - "Candidate's To-Do List" and list things like "Make Affordable Health Care Laws" or "Vote to Fund our Public Schools" stuff like that rather than the same old every day stuff about ME ME ME ME ME vote for me vote for me. Instead - a Vote for Debra is a Vote for YOU. Speaking of Debra....
Sen. Debra Bowen http://www.debrabowen.com
Bowen allows you to download her campaign material, sign up for newsletters, contribute, and directs you to a third party site called Party 2 Win that claims it connects you to the grassroots. At Party 2 Win you can let even the technologically defunct host a house party, download the manual and materials, catalogue who to invite, and track your guests.
She also has a pleasing to the eye news section that isn't bunched up with links. (I actually reference Debra throughout - so keep reading!)
Ned Lamont (CT-Sen) http://nedlamont.com
Oh Ned... how we adore you. And more so how I appreciate your simple NON-WHITE design. It's clean!! Note how clean it is. Crisp, simple. And it's not white. I cannot stand tons of white space. Ned used a deep cocoa color to make his primary frames pop - then he centered the frame to allow for equal spacing on both sides. It has a calming effect on me as it doesn't institute my anal-retentive side that wonders why there is a ton of white space on the right but not on the left...
He has links at the top that correspond to the tabs with pictures along the right side. My eye goes directly to his name at the top, then to his picture, then to his message "Stand up for Connecticut" a nice short simple phrase that shows he is strong, he has principals, and he will defend the people. He manages to have pictures without it being obvious he has pictures as they are simple. Also the color scheme makes me very appreciative - it isn't too bright and frightening. It is red white and blue but doesn't hit you over the head with it.
Ned understands that if you want to be a netroots candidate you by golly better have a site that is interactive, constantly being updated, and has tons of information for every different kind of person and you want people to keep coming back. Ned had a statement up not long after they won the primary thanking voters and talking about their success. Why? Because they were on top of things and it didn't take a week to draft a statement, write a post, and then pass it off to the web geek. And MORE his message is up front showing right off the bat that he is there for Connecticut - not just for himself and his own career.
The part I love most is his "Online Resource Center" which is here This isn't just campaign material, a bio, and a few pictures - heck no - its all of his commercials even the attack ads, its videos, newspaper articles, radio spots, and more! Holy Cow!! Someone can watch hours of Ned and learn his campaign message right here on the computer. Ned... we love you. But too- we love your web geek.
You want to talk about color - lets talk about Patricia Madrid (NM-01) http://www.madridforcongress.com
Definitely no white space here - but a lot of darkness... dark grey background, she has dark hair and is in a dark jacket, the text is on black background... dark dark dark.
Go over to her state site
NM Attorney General's office - http://www.ago.state.nm.us/ - lite, pretty, simple, and a good picture of her - really really good state website.
Back to the campaign though - I love the yellow and red - New Mexico's colors - but the red in the "Contribute" doesn't match the red in "Madrid" - and it wouldn't matter unless they were right next to each other. The mast with the mountains is beautiful, colorful, and shows New Mexico implying she is for New Mexico - then it fades into trees and landscape that the site sits on top of. Beautiful... Coolest thing is that she has the M that shows up in the address bar of your browser. So if you bookmark her the M is there - and if you have several tabs open in Firefox the M is there - definitely not something you see often and very clever.
But here is another common mistake. Folks want to try and cram in as much as they can on that first page. There is a lot to say and a lot to catch your eye. My eye had no idea where to go - I was inundated with the amount of stuff crammed together. This is so easy to fix though (and nit picky I know and sure as hell doesn't detract from my love for Patricia Madrid) just put some more space between things. Its so easy - just an extra space between the sentence "3 things you can do" and then another space or two after the three things they list.
Then explore it a little - the media center - like Ned's is filled with tons of stuff - she is all over the place. She talks to people, she helps people, she fights crime, she is in the news - the way it is different is that hers is just a list - Ned has little icons for each piece and they are evenly spaced. I also like the way Bowen uses her section as an evenly spaced grouping with divider lines - and Sharp goes so far as to put excerpts from each article and links you to the original article. It isn't as pleasing as Bowen's but I like that it has the excerpt.
Nancy Boyda (KS-02) http://www.nancyforcongress.com
Nancy just recently revamped her website - much to my glee. Her site you will see has very American, red/white/blue flags so she beats you over the head with her patriotism - where it becomes ok is with her Kansas elements that are mixed in there - the sunflowers in front of the flag - the state seal behind her - very very nice. The eye naturally flows from the sunflowers and flag to her then to her message then to her logo.
While most candidates want you to see their name and logo first hoping you'll remember it that way - Nancy's designer understands that if you are going to her website might have already made up your mind about who you are going to vote for. And if you haven't you're there to make your decision based on the "We've got Issues" section.
When you hover over each of the links on the left they turn blue. I know that it is silly but I like that. It ads color to the site that is not there to overburden the site when you initially look at it. The right panel is grey - which I like because, again it gets away from being too overburdened with white space.
Another thing I'm crazy about is the tech side of things. Let's imagine something for a moment - say you're an activist. Say you find a candidate you're crazy about and you want to share with others. So - you want to link them to the "issues" site or the "volunteer" site or the "contribute" site. Nancy has made that easy. With www.nancyforcongress.com/volunteer - guess what you get when you click on this... You get to a volunteer page. When you want to go to issues its www.nancyforcongress.com/issues - it ain't rocket science.
On Debra's - (who you know I adore) - you can still get to "news" by typing www.debrabowen.com/news but what appears in the address bar is the coding - totally easy to fix and only troublesome to someone who just wants to copy and past the address and send it to someone.
Where Nancy gets into trouble is with the same thing I listed above as being a pet peeve. It's all Nancy all the time. Now there is a relationship you have to build in these sites - a relationship between the voter, the candidate, and the campaign promise. She is all over that site - Nany this and Nancy this - contribute to her, volunteer for her, schedule her, Nancy's issues, Nancy's speeches, Nancy's endorsements, About Nancy, Email Nancy. I've heard of name ID but holy cow! It's like the Nancy Fan Club site!
When you're going to be a representative to the people I think it should be about what you are going to do for us. I think it should be about your campaign - which believe it or not is not just about you. Best way to begin that dialogue is with phrases like "For you, I'll do ..." "Together, we can ...." "To-Do For You" "Join Us"
Look down at Nancy's news clips.
What is neat about these is that you can click on the headline and it opens up the whole article - click it again and it collapses it. Space saver - interactive... Very smart and not something you see a lot.
Look at the headlines though. Again - very candidate specific. "Ryun won't debate Boyda on TV" - how about "What Ryun Doesn't Want You to See" and "Only 1 Candidate Shows for Health Forum" maybe "Your Health Important?" then the article about how Nancy was the only one to show up at the forum implying that your health is important to you - well your health is important enough to Nancy for her to show up...
So - you see - on one hand you have these really great ideas that people have - innovative sites and beautiful and pleasing layouts. And the other - sadly common mistakes that make the site not as pleasing or as friendly to your target audience. So here are my rules:
For Goodness Sakes, Keep it Simple
You don't want it to end up looking as busy as this
Bring in the Color Without Brining in the Noise
Turn this into this
Update Update Update Update!
What is the point of having a website if you never use it? - So there is an off chance you get 5 hits a day? Just so you can run credit card contributions? Then don't bother with a design.
If You're NetRoots - Act Like It!
Nothing says bad when you have fans of yours make a better website than your own campaign website that is more interactive, updated frequently, has all your radio/tv interviews linked, and is just plain fun to play on ....or worse - you have a My Space site that even looks a little better than your campaign site....
Ex.
Russ Feingold http://www.russfeingold.org/
Russ's My Space - http://www.myspace.com/...
(Sorry Russ, I love ya but.. you need more color!)
Say it right, say it short
There is no reason to have a headline with 10 words in it that don't make sense
Ex. - Bill Opposed a Bill that Would Possibly Prevent Opposing Bills
I'm sorry - what?
Well, you see this bill that Bill voted on might do this thing that could lead to this other thing that could end up screwing these people so these people should know about it because it is WRONG!
Yeah... no. Keep it simple, keep it short, say it right or not at all.
Bill Voted Against Kittens
George Kills Puppies
PLEASE I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE to post some more sites on here. I don't know about you but I LOVE looking at different websites like these. Sure, I'm a total political nerd, but I'm secure with that. This can be a fun weekend activity for all ;)