Grading the Websites: US Senate Candidates

By: James Martin
Published On: 4/4/2008 1:09:40 PM

A website has become a crucial link between candidates and voters, so I thought I would compare the websites of various candidates and political groups within Virginia Politics. I started with the US Senate candidates, grading them on: A) Ease of Use, B) Attractiveness, C) Functionality, and D) how often they updated their website with Fresh Content. My grading system is obviously subjective, so I look forward to hearing feedback from everyone in the comments section!

Jim Gilmore for US Senate- C+ (LINK)

Ease of Use- D (There are words everywhere... you just don't know where to start!)

Attractiveness-
F (It just doesn't look like a site for someone who is seriously running for the United State Senate Senate... I've seen websites for folks running for Student Government President that looked better!)

Functionality-
A (The website allows you to do everything you need to do- Volunteer, Contribute, Email a Friend, and Become a Convention Delegate.)

Fresh Content-
A (While the sheer amount of unorganized content is a negative... you can't say that the Gilmore campaign isn't updating their website!)

Bob Marshall for US Senate- A- (LINK)

Ease of Use- B (A little cluttered, but it's certainly easy enough figuring out how to navigate the website.)

Attractiveness- A+ (If I didn't already know better, one would swear that Bob Marshall was a serious candidate... His website is actually one of the best political websites I've seen in a while.)

Functionality- A (You can do everything you should be able to do online!)

Fresh Content- A (Plenty of new and updated content.)

Mark Warner for US Senate- A/A- (LINK)

Ease of Use- A+ (Simple and Clean)

Attractiveness- A (Very Nice and Professional Website)

Functionality- B+ (Warner is the king of high-tech... so hopefully his campaign rolls out some really nifty and high-tech features, not just the standard "Volunteer" and "Contribute"!)

Fresh Content- A (Not nearly as much fresh content as the other two... but he doesn't need as much since the election hasn't heated up quite yet)


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