Whether you’re running for local, state-level, or federal office, creating a political campaign website is an important step toward getting elected. In this guide, we’ll explore the benefits of creating a campaign website, the process of building your site, and quick tips for making your website user-friendly, accessible, and effective.
Read on to learn how to create a political campaign website that amplifies your message and wins votes.
Why Build a Political Campaign Website?
Not all political candidates have campaign websites. In fact, many local leaders run for office with just a campaign Facebook page or only a minimal online presence. However, these candidates are missing out on the visibility and transparency that a campaign website provides.
Why bother creating a political campaign website? Here are some of the core benefits:
- Easy Visibility: In most cases, campaign websites rank well for the candidate’s name in search engine results. That makes it easy for voters who are Googling your name to find your website and learn about you.
- Clear Messaging: Your website is the home base for your campaign messaging. It’s the perfect place to spell out your stances on local issues, tell your story in a short biography section, or list your endorsements from organizations and community members. You can direct voters to your website from mailers, text messages, and other forms of outreach.
- Online Fundraising: Most website builders let you add a donation form or a link to your online fundraising platform. This way, supporters can donate to your campaign at any time.
- Volunteer Recruitment: Adding a volunteer form to your website lets supporters get involved without having to reach out by phone or email.
- Yard Sign Distribution: You can include an online form for supporters to request yard signs. This multiplies your campaign’s visibility, as signs pop up in more and more yards.
- Texting Compliance: If you want to legally send text messages to voters, you’ll need a campaign website as part of 10DLC compliance. Without one, major carriers may block your texting outreach altogether.
The bottom line?
A website lets you communicate your campaign goals to voters. It tells them why they should vote for you instead of for your opponents.
A professional-looking website can also be the central hub of your broader digital marketing efforts.
How to Create a Political Campaign Website
New to website design? Here’s how to start building your website:
Step #1: Choose a Website Builder
There are a variety of hosting services and website builders you can choose from to create a website. Some of the factors in your decision might include cost, ease of use, and the level of tech savviness required.
Whichever platform you choose, make sure your website includes a privacy policy, an SMS disclaimer, and an opt-in form for campaign updates. All three are required if you plan to text voters legally.
Let our team handle texting compliance for you. Learn how you can send fully compliant text messages with GoodParty.org.
Step #2: Pick Your Domain Name
Once you’ve decided which platform to build your campaign website, it’s time to choose a domain name. This is the human-readable part of your website’s URL or web address. You can either purchase a custom domain name or use a free hosting service.
Here are a few options for your website’s domain name:
- Your Name: Keep it simple with a domain name like janesmith.com.
- Your Name and Office: Many candidates choose a domain name that includes both their name and the office they’re running for, like janesmithforcouncil.com or jane4parkscommissioner.org.
- Your Name and Location: You can also incorporate your name and location, like janesmithforgreenfield.com or janeforgreenfield.com.
- Your Campaign Slogan: Have a campaign slogan? You could include that in your domain name, like janeforthepeople.com or smithforchange.org.
In the end, your website’s domain name is up to you. What matters is that your domain name is short, unique, and memorable.
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Step #3: Select a Theme and Start Designing
Depending on which campaign website builder you chose in Step #1, you’ll have different options for themes and design.
Whatever your options, you’ll want to keep a few basic design principles in mind:
- Consistent Branding: Include your campaign logo and make sure your site’s visual branding is consistent with other campaign materials, like your yard signs or campaign literature.
- Hierarchy of Importance: Spotlight the most important information for voters to know (like your name and the office you’re running for) where they’re most likely to see it.
- Simplicity: When in doubt, opt for a simpler, cleaner design. Voters might feel overwhelmed if your website looks cluttered or is difficult to navigate.
Step #4: Fill In Your Website’s Content
Some candidates win elections with simple, one-page websites. Others use multi-page sites, with personal blogs, lengthy posts about their stances on local issues, or full resumes of their past accomplishments.
Which is better? The answer depends partly on the level of office you’re running for.
For local offices like school board or township trustee, a simple, one-page website might do the job wonderfully. For more competitive races, you may want more space for additional content.
Here are four key sections to include:
- Hero Section: This is the part of your website’s homepage that visitors first see when they land on your site. Your hero section should include your name, a tagline, and a powerful call to action (CTA).
- Your Bio: This section lets voters know who you are and why you’re running for office. You can include information about your education, career, family, and community involvement.
- Top Issues: Choose 3-4 top issues to highlight. Explain your stances so voters know the impact you plan to make once in office.
- Contact Form: Including a contact form lets voters reach out to you with questions and feedback. You can also include contact information, like your campaign email address, as an additional way for voters to reach out.
Step #5: Share Your Website with Your Community
Even the best-designed campaign website won’t win votes if nobody sees it.
Add your website’s link to your campaign social media accounts. If you have a campaign Facebook page, you can add the link to your page’s “Intro” section. If you have an Instagram account, you can add a link in your bio.
Next, add your website address to other campaign materials and communications. That can look like:
- Printing your domain name on yard signs
- Adding a QR code to palm cards, door hangers, and other canvassing materials
- Adding a link to your campaign website to your email signature
- Including a link to your website in text messages to voters
- Featuring your website address on flyers and business cards
For example, when Doug Clove ran for city council in Portland, Oregon, he directed voters to his campaign website from a text message:
“The texting drove a ton of traffic to my website. After the first text, I saw a huge jump. I had a thousand visits, and it's just coincidence, but I ended up with 1,009 votes on the first round of ranked choice voting.”
Sending voters to your website gives them an easy way to learn more about your candidacy, empowering them to make an informed decision to vote for you.
Quick Tips for Optimizing Your Campaign Website
Want to optimize your campaign website? Here’s a crash course on making your website more accessible and user-friendly:
- Mobile Friendliness: Chances are that most people will visit your website on their mobile devices, so it’s essential that your website’s design is responsive. This means it will adapt to different devices and screen sizes.
- Secure Server: Make sure your domain is hosted on a secure server. You can check this by seeing that your URL starts with https://, not http://.
- Calls to Action: Include clear calls to action (CTAs), so visitors know what steps to take after scrolling through your site’s content. Place the most important CTA in the hero section. You might ask visitors to donate, volunteer, or join your email list — whatever will have the biggest impact for your campaign.
- Photo Quality: Feature high-quality, professional-looking photos to make the best impression.
- Social Media Integration: Some website builders let you integrate your social feed with your website, so visitors can see your most recent posts without leaving the page.
Examples of Campaign Websites in Action
Here are three examples of how real, local candidates leveraged the power of campaign websites to earn more votes:
Example #1: Correcting Misinformation in Real Time
Tom Lambert ran for city council in Dunwoody, Georgia, and won his election. Lambert used his campaign website as a place to address false claims spread by his opponent:
The key factor in winning was getting the message out on what I'd achieved. I ran on experience, leadership, and improving results, being able to point to specific accomplishments in office.
Because there was so much negativity from my opponent, I created a fact-check page on my website. Any time I heard something, I'd list the claim and provide the facts with links to backup documents on the city website. Not negative toward her, just saying: here's the claim, here are the facts. That was really effective.
Example #2: Including QR Codes on Yard Signs
Faisal Chaudhry ran for school board in Bernards Township, New Jersey. After placing a QR code on his yard signs, Chaudhry noticed people stopping in the street to scan and visit his campaign website:
“On my yard sign, I put a QR code for my campaign webpage. My kids have told me, and I've seen that people, while walking or jogging, have been scanning that QR code. People have pulled over in their cars and have been scanning that QR code. I can notice the uptick on the website that I monitor the website with.”
Example #3: Reinforcing Your Core Message
Shannon Hardy ran for town council in Knightdale, North Carolina. As an independent candidate, Hardy used her website’s content to explain her unique point of view to voters:
“The people that did vote for me, I felt like they read my website. I felt like they knew who I was or knew somebody who knew me. They weren't just voting for me because I was a member of a party, because I was an independent. I felt really happy about that, that the relationships I had built had stood up for my character and integrity.”
Start Building Your Campaign’s Online Presence
Creating a website is one of the easiest ways to increase your campaign’s online visibility. Even if your election is still months away, this step is critical for making your campaign findable online and letting voters know you’re officially in the running.
A well-crafted website lets voters find out who you are, what you stand for, and why they should consider voting for you.
Ready to start building? GoodParty.org empowers independent and nonpartisan candidates with the tools they need to run, win, and serve.
Don’t stop at setting up your website. Take the next step toward winning your election, with easy-to-use voter data and fully compliant text messaging.
