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Campaign website

Build a CAMPAIGN WEBSITE

Building a campaign website is a crucial aspect of any political campaign. In today’s digital age, voters expect to find information online about the candidates running for office. A well-designed and informative website can help a candidate reach a wider audience, showcase their platform, and persuade voters to support their candidacy. In this article, we will discuss the key steps involved in building a campaign website.

STEP 1: DEFINE YOUR OBJECTIVES AND AUDIENCE

Before building a website, it’s important to define your campaign objectives and your target audience. Who are you trying to reach, and what message do you want to convey? Are you targeting young voters, working-class families, or a particular demographic group? Understanding your objectives and audience will help you create a website that resonates with your target voters.

STEP 2: CHOOSE A DOMAIN NAME AND HOSTING PROVIDER

A domain name is the web address that users will type in to access your website. It should be short, memorable, and easy to spell. Choose a domain name that reflects your campaign’s brand and message. Once you have a domain name, you will need to select a hosting provider to host your website. A hosting provider is a company that provides space on a server to store your website files.

STEP 2A: WHERE TO HOST

When it comes to hosting your campaign website, it’s important to choose a reliable and secure hosting provider that can handle the traffic and demands of your website. Here are some of the best hosting providers for campaign websites:

  • Bluehost: Bluehost is a popular hosting provider that offers affordable and reliable hosting plans, including specialized plans for WordPress websites. They offer 24/7 customer support and a range of features such as automatic backups and SSL certificates.

Blue host has slower servicers, your site will take longer to load.  However Bluehost is the cheapest guy in town who will give you good tech support and have reasonable plans.  IF you are on a budget Blue Host is going to get you moving.  They have a very easy interface to work with which means someone with reasonable  working knowledge of managed hosting should be able to get you up and running fast, create email addresses for everyone on your team.

  • DreamHost: DreamHost is a reliable and affordable hosting provider that offers a range of hosting plans, including specialized plans for WordPress websites. They offer 24/7 customer support and a range of features such as free SSL certificates and automatic backups.

Dream host is similar to Bluehost inexpensive and same speed for sites to load, they however limit the number of emails you can have on a basic plan and they do nickel and dime you on services like SSL Certificates. 

  • SiteGround: SiteGround is a hosting provider that is known for its fast and secure hosting services. They offer specialized plans for WordPress websites and other CMS platforms, as well as 24/7 customer support and a range of security features.

If you have a need for speed for your website to load fast and be very zippy you should go with a hosting provider and want to spend a little more for hosting, you will love Site Ground.  Unlike Bluehost and Dream Host; you get much more speed the ability to create stage sites and subdomains.  The interface is really well designed and intuitive.

I recently switched the Club’s website from Blue Host to Site Ground and we’ve been with Site Ground for over a year and have zero issues. 

STEP 3: DESIGN THE WEBSITE

The design of your website should be clean, modern, and easy to navigate. Use colors and fonts that match your campaign’s branding and choose images that reinforce your message. Your website should include an “about” page that introduces you and your platform, a “news” section that highlights your latest campaign activities, and a “donate” page that makes it easy for supporters to contribute to your campaign.

STEP 4: DEVELOP CONTENT

Your website should include informative content that tells voters about your platform and positions on key issues. Write concise and persuasive copy that speaks to your target audience. Use testimonials and endorsements from respected individuals and organizations to build credibility.

STEP 4A: PICK THE CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

There are many content management systems (CMS) available that can be used to build a campaign website. Each CMS has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the best choice depends on your specific needs and preferences. Some popular CMS options for building campaign websites include:

  • WordPress: WordPress is a popular CMS that is easy to use and offers a wide range of features and customization options. It has a large community of developers and users, which means there are many plugins and themes available to extend its functionality.
  • Drupal: Drupal is a more advanced CMS that offers greater flexibility and customization options than WordPress. It is particularly well-suited for websites with complex content structures and workflows.
  • Joomla: Joomla is a user-friendly CMS that is particularly well-suited for building community-driven websites. It offers many extensions and templates to customize the look and functionality of your website.

AVOID WIX AND WEEBLY

WIX

While better than Weebly, Wix is one of the worst content management systems. Business owners have to develop two separate websites to make it accessible via desktop and mobile – instead of using a responsive CMS like WordPress, Shopify, or Squarespace. When developing separate desktop and mobile websites, you have the ability for customization but it’s easy to become inconsistent in design and content from one screen size to the other. Wix-hosted websites are typically more reliant on images than websites using other content management systems, which can also make them slower to load. When your prospective clients or customers have to wait longer to get to your website, there’s a higher chance of them leaving before seeing any of your content. The benefits of Wix are its’ easy-to-use SEO optimization and that the CMS is intuitive for someone with little design background to put together a website using drag-and-drop technology.

WEEBLY

Like Wix and Squarespace, Weebly uses content blocks to make creating pages relatively simple. However, Weebly’s content management system is clunky and difficult to optimize for SEO. It also structures all pages and URLs with .html added to the end, which makes it difficult to advertise on popular paid media platforms like Google and Facebook. When you spend the time and effort to build a website, you want to make sure you choose the best platform for future building and branding, not only what’s easiest in the moment.

Ultimately, the best CMS for your campaign website depends on your specific needs and preferences. Consider factors such as ease of use, customization options, and support when choosing a CMS for your campaign website.  However, Weebly and WIX won’t be able to keep up with the demands of a fast pace campaign.  Think of Weebly and WIX as the Yugos or Chev Vegs of CMSs.

STEP 5: OPTIMIZE FOR SEARCH ENGINES

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your website’s visibility on search engine results pages. This involves optimizing your website’s content and structure to make it more attractive to search engines like Google. Use keywords related to your campaign and optimize your meta descriptions and page titles.

HTTPS

It is important to have a website that uses HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) rather than HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) for several reasons:

Security: HTTPS is a more secure protocol than HTTP because it encrypts the data that is transmitted between the user’s browser and the web server. This means that sensitive information such as login credentials, credit card numbers, and personal information are protected from hackers and other malicious actors.

Trust: HTTPS websites are verified and authenticated by a third-party certificate authority, which helps to establish trust between the website and its users. When users see the padlock icon and “https” in the address bar, they can be confident that their information is being transmitted securely and that the website is legitimate.

SEO: Google and other search engines prioritize HTTPS websites in their search results, which can improve the visibility and ranking of your website. This means that having an HTTPS website can help to drive more traffic to your site and improve your online presence.

Compliance: In some industries, such as finance and healthcare, HTTPS is required by law or regulation in order to comply with data security and privacy standards.

In summary, having an HTTPS website is important for security, trust, SEO, and compliance. If your website handles sensitive information or you want to establish trust with your users, it is essential to use HTTPS.

Most hosting providers will give you a

STEP 6: LAUNCH AND PROMOTE THE WEBSITE

Once your website is complete, it’s time to launch it and start promoting it. Share the website link on social media, in campaign literature, and at events. Use online advertising to target voters in your target demographic. Consider launching a blog to regularly publish updates and engage with your audience.

In conclusion, building a campaign website is an important part of any political campaign. It can help a candidate reach a wider audience, showcase their platform, and persuade voters to support their candidacy. By following these key steps, you can create a website that resonates with your target audience and helps you win the election.