Rating the Political - Presidential Websites

Because my senses (eyes and ears) have taken a pounding from all of the hoopla surrounding the Democratic and Republic nominations, I thought I would take a minute and rate the politicians for their websites and their ability to connect with the "internet user."

Mitt Romney

Overall Grade: 6/10

Design Grade: 6/10, seems bulky and takes up a lot of resolution space, creating less for the visitor to view.

Coolest Feature: "Issues" section provides video AND information on Romney's views. This is great tool to capture people's attention with video and then let them continue on with reading about the views and points of the Governor.

Confusing/Frustrating Aspect: "Five Brothers" blog. While I think it is important and interesting to hear from Mitt Romney's sons and family, the option for additional bloggers should be available. If you look at Hillary's site, anyone and everyone have the ability to blog.

Mike Huckabee

Overall Grade: 8/10
Design Grade: 8.5/10. Clean and graphical. I like the fact that his photo isn't the main focal piece of the site.

Coolest Feature: "Huckabee Store" Utilizing Café Press, Huckabee's team is offering a way to buy Huckabee gear including "Chuck Norris Approved" Tshirts and "I (heart) Huckabee" swag.
The site also offers Website Widgets to add to your site. Talk about a "viral" campaign.

Confusing/Frustrating Aspect: "Photo Gallery" could have been more developed than a simple flash module. The site offers widgets, custom tshirts and fantastic design. You would think they would put an emphasis on a enhance photo gallery.

John McCain

Overall Grade: 6.5/10
Design Grade: 5/10, It's dark and loud at the same time. However, it is clear where to start and begin.

Coolest Feature: "Undecided" section of the site. The rest of the candidates do not offer a section where people can learn "˜Why' they would pick the candidate. McCain's section provides video, issue information and bio.

Confusing/Frustrating Aspect: Nothing really stood out, positively or negatively. The McCain team covered all features needed but didn't really offer that provided a "wow" factor.

Democrats

Barack Obama

Overall Grade: 8/10
Design Grade: 8/10, Background image adds a great element of design. However, it lends itself to a corporate appeal instead of grassroots/political.

Coolest Feature: The overall architecture and design of the site is definitely geared towards the Web 2.0 movement towards savvy internet users and the younger generation.

Confusing/Frustrating Aspect: Unclear on the direction of some of the buttons on the site. They rely on the younger, more savvy generation to "explore" instead of understanding immediately the direction of certain sections.

Hillary Clinton

Overall Grade: 7/10
Design Grade: 7.5/10, simple, refined and to the point. The design helps direct people immediately to where they want.

Coolest Feature: "Team Hillary Action Center" in this location of the site you can view local events in your area, start an event, join a group, start a blog and/or contribute.

Confusing/Frustrating Aspect: Poor information architecture. You must do a significant amount of data mining to find a specific issues. The absence of quick links, distinct channels and points of entry force the visitor to view more than one might expect.