On the Floor

I spent a lot of time looking at the websites of candidates during Hamilton's recent municipal election. I also carefully examined the campaign website of Mayor Fred Eisenberger, found it wanting, and sent along a lot of feedback, most of which his team ignored. (He lost: probably not because his website was terrible, but it sure didn't help.)

I've also worked on online politically-oriented campaigns that gave me some valuable hands-on experience in the sphere. And of course, there are certain principles that apply to almost any website, not just political websites. Here's what you absolutely must have on your website if you're running for office.

Basic Requirements

If you're somewhat web-savvy, many of these may seem blindingly obvious to you. I was astonished, however, by the number of candidates whose sites failed to meet some or all of these requirements.

1. You must have one: a website, that is. It's 2010. If you're running for office without a website, you may as well appear at public functions carrying a club and wearing a bearskin hide you tanned yourself.
2. It must look good and function well. You ought to have it professionally designed but you can make do with an attractive template and the assistance of a knowledgeable volunteer if you must. An ugly, hard-to-navigate, flaky website does not inspire confidence in your ability to govern. Ensure it has clear presentation of information, clear navigational structure, is suitable for display on mobile devices with decent browsers, and is search engine accessible.
3. A prominent campaign slogan. It also helps if it's good. Every challenger says something trite about "change", and most incumbents say something trite about "leadership" or "experience" or "results". Perhaps it's time for something different?
4. A positioning statement. Clearly and concisely communicate what you're about and why people should vote for you. Try to grab their attention in the process so they keep reading. If you're an incumbent, a short list of your most compelling achievements is helpful.
5. Strong calls to action for the things you want potential supporters to take right when they visit the site: donate to you, volunteer for you, request a lawn sign, or send your site to their friends and family (via email, social networks, etc.)
6. Recent news/blog. You must be able to respond quickly to events as they happen, counter your opponents, capitalize on good press, and so on. That means you need a recent news/blog section, and it must be something you and your volunteers can easily update yourself at any moment via a content management system (CMS).
7. Mailing list signup. Your site needs an easy way for people to sign up for email updates and you need an easy way to send them. A good mailing list is immensely powerful, particularly in a campaign situation. There will be moments when you badly want to communicate with the public, but the media aren't cooperating. Use this instead.
8. Social networking tie-ins, particularly with Facebook. Facebook drives more traffic than Twitter and it's also easier to maintain, because your supporters will write wall posts and talk to each other, keeping up the appearance of activity. This helps avoid a danger with social media: the unused profile. The only thing worse than having no social media presence is having one that is unused and unmaintained. Put the time into it: social media can feel like a waste of time but in political campaigns they can create a powerful advantage.
9. Your platform. Some voters will want to learn exactly where you stand on the issues (if only all voters had this desire!) Give them something meaty to digest in the form of a comprehensive platform.
10. An easy way to contact you. Don't assume that everyone who can help you will fit into one of the categories that you've created calls to action for. Some people may want to provide special assistance, communicate helpful criticisms, call you a fascist, etc. The best method: display an email address.

More Advanced Features

If you're running a grassroots campaign for a low-profile office (school trustee, councillor for a small city, etc.), then the list of basic requirements may be enough for you. But that list was just the bare minimum. Here's what you should have, in addition to what you must have.

1. Professionally designed and developed. Get a qualified team of professionals to design and develop a custom website that is perfectly suited to your campaign message and branding.
2. Professionally shot and edited video on the site (at least one clip). It should make you look trustworthy, responsible, and sane, even if you are none of those things. The video should play on mobile devices. There is nothing wrong with using YouTube to host it and you may get some additional traffic that way.
3. Nicely designed interactive elements to add some life to your site, such as an image gallery, polls, etc. Consider having comments on your news and blog post items, but only if you can tolerate public criticism, because censoring comments is a recipe for disaster (unless they are defamatory, constitute hate speech, etc.)
4. Events and event calendar. On a basic website you can use the blog/news section to advertise events, but at this level, you should be more focused. Let people register for events on your site, or use a third-party service like Constant Contact to handle it.

Taking It To The Next Level With Custom Development

The items listed here are just the standard bits that any decent political website ought to have, but to really take advantage of the opportunities the Internet can provide, you should consider taking things to the next level.

1. Automated telephone calls and text messaging with a web service like Twilio. Robocalls need not be the sole domain of candidates with big campaign chests.
2. Online tools that assist with campaign operations and volunteer coordination. In a hectic campaign environment, operations can quickly degenerate into an unmanageable flurry of emails. You can organize your team more effectively with the right technology.
3. Tap into public support for the issues you stand for and build your mailing list by asking site visitors to sign a pledge on your site or contribute their ideas for the city or region you are campaigning in.
4. These ideas still just scratch the surface of what you can accomplish with a great website. A strong, creative website will pay off with more votes, more donations, and more volunteers.

Good luck!