Republican websites are atrocious. Obviously, this is a blanket statement that isn’t true 100% of the time, but I am shocked at how subpar the current state of Republican online presence is at the state and local level. I have recently been doing research that has brought me to a variety of Republican websites in several battleground states. To navigate each site required significant effort, but this really shouldn’t be the case.
With this in mind, here are the 10 things that I believe every campaign website must have. I would have considered them too basic to mention until I did my most recent research. I have seen violations of every item below on either a campaign or party website. Don’t let this be you:
1: Have a website
What I mean by this is, have a real website. Blog’s don’t cut it. While technically a website, a basic blog is not flexible enough to provide the information required for having the online presence you need. You should have a blog with your website, not a blog as your website.
2: Simple web address
The more simple, the more memorable. On top of this, many people use a site’s url to judge authenticity. I believe a site is more professional if its address is brief, and basically tells me the purpose of the page. It is amazon.com after all, not getgooddealsonline.com.
3: Your name, front and center
Whether you’re a business, charity, campaign, political party, or a 16-year-old with time on your hands, the internet requires identification. Your name should be the most obvious but natural item on the page. If you’re a campaign, that means the candidate’s name. If a party, then say, “Adams County Republican Party.” I have literally had to hunt for a candidate’s full name once on their site.
4: What seat you’re running for
Almost as obvious as the name of the candidate should be the exact position you are hoping to hold. If you achieve both this and the previous point, you will have fulfilled your campaign’s basic goal. You’ve communicated the right name for the right office to the voter. This, like your name, needs to be front and center.
5: The election date
You should always include the full, exact date of the upcoming election. Never assume people will know about the election, or the exact date.
6: Candidate bio
This could be better described as your credentials. Your bio is where you put all your personal bragging rights as a candidate. Why you are qualified for the position and what you have done. This isn’t referring to the important page on your website that talks about you as a person – your beliefs, positions, and goals. (Although that’s a different page you should have consequently.) People want a short explanation of who you are, without details.
7: Links
There are many reasons for this, including SEO (search engine optimization), and a few other things, but you should always provide links to your social media pages from your main website. (Oh, yes, social media pages? Have them.) Also consider linking to the voter registration and elections office. Think of your website as your base. You have a blog, and email lists, and social media, but they should all bring you back to this one spot. You should also be able to get anywhere in your internet universe from your base.
8: Address of your headquarters
You should make the physical address of your campaign headquarters available. People want to come by and bother you — or help you!
9: Contact information
This should be an absolute no brainer but this is the most common mistake I have seen. Make yourself more than available. You should have every conceivable mode of contact covered, available and in plain sight. I even recommend putting the most common forms on multiple pages – if not on every page. There is no excuse for voters having to scrounge for ways to contact the campaign. If it takes too long, they may give up entirely.
10: Ways to volunteer
This is actually a very common mistake. Every campaign website I have seen gives way for people to sign up and volunteer. The problem is, they never say how. People don’t know what needs to be done on a campaign. Take some time and space on your page to describe the various things that need doing. People want to know what they are walking into.