We have built campaign websites for congressional, statewide, and state legislative races, and reviewed a lot more. The difference between a site that works and a site that just exists comes down to nine things, and almost none of them are about looking pretty.
1. A one-sentence why, above the fold
A visitor should know who you are, what you are running for, and why, within five seconds and without scrolling. If your headline could belong to any candidate in the country, it is not a headline; it is wallpaper.
2. A donation link that goes straight to your platform
Donations belong on your compliance-ready platform, whether that is Anedot, WinRed, or another processor, with the site linking cleanly into it. A campaign website should never handle the money itself. Every page needs a path to donate in one click, because donors do not hunt.
3. Sub-second speed on a phone
Most voters will open your site from a social link on a phone, give it about three seconds, and leave if it is still loading. Page builders and plugin-stuffed WordPress themes routinely fail this test. Modern frameworks pass it by default. Speed is not a luxury; it is whether your message gets read.
4. SEO structure baked in, not bolted on
When someone Googles your name, your site should be the first result, above the news articles and the opposition. That takes semantic structure, proper metadata, structured data, and a sitemap, all of which have to be built in from the first line of code. Voters Google before they vote. Show up.
5. Email capture from day one
Your email list is the one audience the platforms cannot take away from you and the cheapest fundraising channel you will ever own. A good site collects supporter emails on every page, not just a buried contact form.
6. 10DLC compliance for campaign texting
If your campaign plans to text voters, and it should, carriers will verify your campaign partly by reviewing your website. They look for a real privacy policy and clear opt-in disclosures. Sites missing those elements stall the texting platform registration at the worst possible time. This is one of the most overlooked requirements in campaign web design, and it is why our builds are 10DLC compliant out of the box.
7. Design that flatters the photos you actually have
Most local campaigns do not have professional photography, and that is fine. A good designer makes imperfect photos work with smart cropping and treatment, or goes design-forward, letting bold color and typography carry the page instead of a hero photo that highlights a flaw. What a good site never does is stretch a low-resolution headshot across the screen and hope.
8. A clear next step on every page
Donate, volunteer, sign up. Every page should end somewhere. Voters who reach the bottom of your issues page and find nothing to click are enthusiasm you generated and then wasted.
9. Ownership, in your name, full stop
The quiet scandal of campaign web design is vendors who keep the hosting, the domain, or both, and hold the site hostage when the relationship ends. Your domain and hosting should be in accounts you own, with the vendor building and deploying into them. Ask any prospective vendor directly: "If we part ways the day after launch, do I still control my site?" If the answer takes more than one word, walk.
The short version
- Five-second clarity on who, what office, and why
- One-click path to your donation platform from every page
- Loads in under a second on a phone
- Ranks first for your own name
- Captures emails everywhere
- Passes 10DLC review so you can text voters
- Design that works with real-world photos
- A next step on every page
- Hosting and domain in your name
That is the standard we build to, in about three weeks, at a flat rate. See how the process works or get a quote when you are ready.