TOP 10 LIST
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Number 10
Ron Paul– American medical doctor, author and Republican U.S. Congressman of the House of Representatives.
Website: http://www.ronpaul2012.com/ – #3 Google Search Result in the U.S.
The Pros
Great color scheme – By using Red, white and blue colors on his website, Mr. Paul’s team did a great job.
Perfect logo and slogan – The eagle logo and “Restore America Now” slogan looks high quality at the website.
Event calendar is implemented – You can see upcoming events easily from the home-page
The Cons
We actually felt bad about rating this website as one of the worst but broken menu links (none of the menu links are working), and by using nearly the same clone of Barack Obama’s website, has left us no choice. Therefore, despite its great homepage design we choose Mr. Paul’s website as #10 and we refuse to review his Facebook and Twitter pages until he makes sure that his website actually works. (updated: The website works now, yet it is still the copy of Barack Obama’s website. As a result our politician order in top 10 list does not change)
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Number 9
Fred S. Karger – American political consultant, gay rights activist and watchdog and former actor.
Website: http://fredkarger.com/ – #2 Google Search Result in the U.S.
The Pros
Organized events calendar – You can see upcoming events easily from the home-page
Twitter and Flickr implemented – Implementing Twitter and Flickr feeds at the home page allows users to see feeds without leaving the website.
Easy contribution panel – Contribution sections allows you to contribute via your Paypal account.
“Five for Fred” slogan is really catching – This slogan should be used more, especially in the home page, because it is really effective.
The Cons
Poor menu designs
Search the site pannel is at the bottom
Header design can be better
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/FredKarger
Updated Facebook page with numerous of pictures and posts, but it would be a good idea to state that he is running for the presidency. It might help Mr. Karger to increase his followers on Facebook.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/fredkarger
Great Twitter handling: His followers will definitely increase soon if he keeps his Tweet frequency at this level. However, the quality of the logo on his twitter page is really poor and the color choice of the right panel of his twitter page makes it difficult to read the section.
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Number 8
Mitt Romney – American businessman and politician.
Website: http://www.mittromney.com/– #1 Google Search Result in the U.S.
The Pros
Great menu design – Menu items include visuals which makes it easier to use the website.
Issues tab clearly explains Mr. Romney’s goals, if he gets elected as a president. Especially his foreign policy strategy is a must read.
Organized blog section: Blog section is updated on daily basis.
Organized video section: 31 professional videos about Mr. Romney’s discussions and his life.
The Cons
“Store” and “Donate” does not accept Paypal: Paypal is the most common paying method of the internet shopping. Therefore, it needs to be implemented on the store section of Mr. Romney’s website.
Twitter and Facebook feeds are not implemented; moreover they are at the footer of the website.
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/mittromney
Excellent profile picture selection for the Facebook page. More than a million followers. If you look at the posts on his Facebook page carefully, you will see that the Mr. Romney is using an application which is specifically designed for him to post status updates. That is why, you can see “via Romney for President” inscription under his posts.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/mittromney
Average Twitter handling: Nicely designed Twitter page yet tweet frequency is not enough. More than 80K followers.
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Number 7
Thaddeus McCotter – The U.S. Representative to Michigan’s 11th congressional district
Website: http://mccotter2012.com/ #4 Google Search Result in the U.S.
The Pros
Youtube slide show – There is a Youtube slide show implemented at the homepage.
Spanish language option – This option allows Mr. McCotter to reach out Spanish speaking constituents.
Twitter,Facebook and Youtube feeds are implemented – Implementing Twitter, Facebook and Youtube feeds at the home page allows users to see feeds without leaving the website.
Excellent header design: Even though the slogan is not the best, the header design looks very professional.
Menu design: Menu items are placed on guitar strings which subliminally connects viewers’ minds to his music passion.
The Cons
WordPress Admin Panel – You would expect to see a secret admin panel from a website like this instead of an uncustomized admin login screen. It is far from customary to be welcomed with a “WordPress” logo simply by typing “http://mccotter2012.com/wp-admin”
Event calendar is missing: There should be some information regarding Mr. McCotter’s schedule.
“Store” and “Contribute” does not accept Paypal: Paypal is the most common paying method of the internet shopping. Therefore, it needs to be implemented on Mr. McCotter’s website.
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/McCotter2012
More than 14K followers. You cannot view his Facebook page intro while you are viewing Facebook over a secure connection.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/mccotter2012hq
Great Twitter handling: Successful interaction with his Twitter followers by use of hashtags and hyperlinks. More than 733 followers.
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Number 6
Rick Perry – 47th and current Governor of Texas
Website: http://www.rickperry.org/ #1 Google Search Result in the U.S.
The Pros
Excellent header design: Header is combined with the slideshow section which looks like a unique design.
Clear and simple design – Four basic menus and one donation menu present a very clear image.
Excellent logo and great picture selection – You can view high quality pictures of Mr. Perry at the bottom of his website.
The Cons
“Donate” section does not accept Paypal: Paypal is the most common paying method of the internet shopping. Therefore, it needs to be implemented on Mr. Perry’s website. Moreover, donate section is extremely complicated.
Twitter and Facebook feeds are not implemented, moreover they are at the footer of the website.
Event calendar is missing: There should be some information regarding Mr. Perry’s schedule.
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/GovernorPerry
More than 140K followers. There should be some statement on the info section that Mr. Perry is running for the presidency.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/GovernorPerry
Great Twitter design: It is a very good idea to give your Facebook and Website address on your Twitter page background. Though he uploads his pictures via Twitter, Tweet frequency is not enough for a successful interaction. More than 75K followers.
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Number 5
Barack Obama – 44th and current President of the United States.
Website: http://www.barackobama.com – #1 Google Search Result in the U.S.
The Pros
Customized logos for each menu – Each menu has a special logo, which increases the visual performance and appeal of the website.
Simple design – The site has a very simple design that allows you to access basic things.
Users can register with their Facebook account – You can register to the website as a user and sign up with your Facebook account, which is much easier than filling out registration forms.
Donation ad – Donation section allows users to buy memorabilia, such as t-shirts and mugs.
The Cons
Addresses youth population – The website targets only users in the younger demographics who know the meaning of Facebook and Twitter logos. During an election campaign, the older population has a significant impact on the results.
Twitter and Facebook feeds are not implemented
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/barackobama
More than 22 M followers. It is very unlikely for a politician to describe all the areas available in the Facebook info section, due to time and privacy constraints, yet Mr. Obama completed all of them, including his Favorite Books, Relationship Status, and Favorite Movies. This is proof of Mr. President’s modesty, which was probably the most important factor during his presidential campaign.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/BarackObama
Successful interaction with his Twitter followers by using hyperlinks, but more hashtags would attract more people to follow those tweets. More than 9M followers.
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Number 4
Rick Santorum– Lawyer and a former United States Senator from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Website: http://www.ricksantorum.com – #4 Google Search Result in the U.S.
The Pros
Unique design with menus on the side – While most of the candidates are using similar WordPress designs, Mr. Santorum took the risk and did something different.
Twitter feeds are implemented – Implementing Twitter feeds at the home page allows users to see feeds without leaving the website.
RICK TV – A section where Mr. Santorum keeps his videos. Especially the opening video (Game On) is well prepared.
Great logo design – His logo is combined with a letter in Mr. Santorum’s name.
The Cons
Too many colors: Red, white, grey and blue color schemes makes the website look unorganized.
“Donate” section does not accept Paypal: Paypal is the most common paying method of the internet shopping. Therefore, it needs to be implemented on Mr. Perry’s website. Moreover, donate section is extremely complicated.
Event calendar is missing: There should be some information regarding Mr. Perry’s schedule.
Facebook feeds are not implemented.
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/RickSantorum
More than 26K followers. Constantly updated Facebook page.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/ricksantorum
Great Twitter design and handling: It is a very good idea to give your Facebook, Website Youtube and Flickr addresses on your Twitter page background. He actually involve in discussions with his followers and his tweet frequency is high enough. More than 20K followers.
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Number 3
Michele Bachmann – Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Minnesota’s 6th congressional district.
Website: http://www.michelebachmann.com/ – #2 Google Search Result in the U.S.
The Pros
Excellent header design – Header that includes Ms. Bachmann’s picture and her logo, looks very professional.
Easy donate section – You can donate any amount you want just by typing to the small form at homepage.
Users can register with their Facebook account – You can register to the website as a user and sign up with your Facebook account, which is much easier than filling out registration forms.
Great online store – Online store has many high quality products. Our favorite is “Bachmann for President Long Sleeved White T-Shirt”
Customized WordPress admin screen: Even though Ms. Bachmann’s website admin screen is accessible by typing http://www.michelebachmann.com/wp-admin , at least she customized the panel, so it does not welcome users with a “Wordpress” logo.
Facebook feeds are implemented
The Cons
Event calendar is missing: There should be some information regarding Mr. Perry’s schedule.
Twitter feeds are not implemented.
Menu fonts: Menu fonts are too plain.
Logo quality: You can see the broken pixels in her logo which does not look very professional.
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/teambachmann
More than 462K followers. Constantly updated Facebook page with HTML menus and lots of pictures.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/teambachmann
Great Twitter design and average handling: Customization of the Twitter page background is great, yet tweet frequency is not enough. Using hashtags, mentions and retweets is a plus. More than 28K followers.
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Number 2
Gary Johnson – American businessman and former Governor of New Mexico.
Website: http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/ – #1 Google Search Result in the U.S.
The Pros
Unique and excellent design – Different and high quality WordPress design with custom menus and widgets.
Google+ – Eventhough Google+ is not officially active yet, Mr. Johnson created a profile on this new social network and already added more than 2000 people in his circles.
Donation Bar – Donate bar is a great idea and it allows users to decide their donation amount visually and even though donation section does not use Paypal, donating is much easier than websites of the other candidates.
Text Message service – It allows users to get campaign updates via text messages.
Simple events calendar – If a politician wants to interact with his/her constituents properly than the event calendar is a must.
The Cons
Black and white opening picture: We do not think that it is a good idea to use your picture in Black-white.*** (updated)
Too many items on the top section: It would be a good idea to move some of the items that are placed on the top, to the footer area.
WordPress Admin Panel – You would expect to see a secret admin panel from a website like this instead of an uncustomized admin login screen. It is far from customary to be welcomed with a “WordPress” logo simply by typing “http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/wp-admin”
Twitter and Facebook feeds are not implemented.
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/govgaryjohnson
More than 132K followers. Constantly updated Facebook page with HTML menus.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/GovGaryJohnson
Great Twitter design and average handling: Customization of the Twitter page background is excellent. Tweet frequency is not enough therefore Twitter followers are not high enough. More than 10K followers.
***Few days after we published our analysis Mr. Johnson changed his picture in his frontpage. The new picture is not Black&White, therefore please keep in mind that Mr. Johnson has one less con in his website.
August 29, 2011
September 6, 2011
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Number 1
Jon Huntsman – American politician and diplomat who served as the 16th Governor of Utah.
Website: http://www.jon2012.com – #1 Google Search Result in the U.S.
The Pros
State of the art website design – Actually we need another category for Mr. Huntsman’s website because it will not be fair to compare his website to other candidates’ wordpress templates.
Unique biography section – In order to understand this section you need to view it, because it looks nothing like the usual biographies. By using a very professional coding it shows Mr. Huntman’s life as a slide show with pictures and explanations.
HTV – The video section has its own flash player and the videos are ordered by categories.
Easy volunteer section – You can volunteer Mr. Huntman’s campaigns just by filling a short form and also you can choose your campaign team while volunteering.
State of the art logo design – In order to design a successful logo, you do not need to use so many elements or colors, in fact you do not even need to use your brand’s name. (For example: Apple, Mercedes, new Starbucks logo) When we analyse Mr. Huntman’s website logo, we found out that even though it looks very simple, it is probably the best design we have ever seen. It has a subliminal effect on people, which makes them to relax and stay on the page for a longer period.
Twitter and Facebook feeds are implemented – Implementing Twitter and Facebook feeds at the home page allows users to see feeds without leaving the website.
Using Vimeo instead of Youtube – Jon Huntsman is the only candidate who uses a much more sophisticated system than Youtube. His Vimeo channel has more than 60 videos including his interviews.
The Cons
We tried yet, we were unable to find a single con at Mr. Huntsman’s website.
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/jonhuntsmanjr
More than 13K followers. Constantly updated Facebook page with lots of pictures.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/JonHuntsman
State of the art Twitter design and average handling: Customization of the Twitter page background is probably the best we have ever seen, yet tweet frequency is not enough. More than 26K followers.
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