The presidential candidates use the information superhighway to drive their message home to voters.


Although the presidential candidate's websites, www.algore.com and www.georgebush.com, appear in the guise of campaign sites, their agendas are similar to your e-commerce philosophy. Build an audience and generate revenue. And like your e-business, they don't have time to waste. They need to get voters (read: customers) NOW! There's no time to delay. They open and close for business on November 7.

For a campaign site to be successful, it must accomplish three things:
  1. Answer voters' top concerns
  2. Build community
  3. Get money


How do the campaign sites pull it off? Let's start from the left with AlGore.com.

Al Gore's Campaign Site -- www.algore.com

  1. Answer voters' top concerns [CLICK]: For every issue there's an issue page. Read about Al Gore's accomplishments, his agenda, and speeches on each issue. The format stays consistent, issue to issue.

  2. Build community [CLICK]: Gore's site also uses each issue page to connect to specific outreach groups. It's easy to spread the word on algore.com. Forward any page you find interesting, join GoreNet, participate in the Instant messaging network, or my favorite, the easy-to-build Al Gore support page customized around the issues that concern you.

  3. Get money [CLUNK]: The contribution section is simple and straightforward, but the online store is hurting. In fact, there are three of them. Why? I don't know. Three clicks deep, the result is a horrible product display.


George W. Bush's Campaign Site -- www.georgebush.com

The number one problem with W's site is navigation. There is little to no structure, no standardization, and no depth to the site. Almost all the data is one click deep. Poor navigation results in failure to accomplish the following:

  1. Answer voters' top concerns [CLUNK]: Click on any issue and all you get is an information dump. There are few -- if any -- links to additional information or continued voter outreach.

  2. Build community [CLUNK]: If you want to be part of the Bush community, the site offers only two suggestions: either send a letter to your editor, or distribute Bush literature.

  3. Get money [CLUNK]: Oddly enough, Bush thanks you BEFORE you actually make the contribution. As for his online store, good luck getting a good look at anything. The products are viewable only in a quarter of the page.