2008 U.S. Presidential Election: Candidates’ Sites Compared

Feb 12, 2008 by Matt | Posted in Design 3 Comments

I figured it was about time someone compared all the candidates’ websites.

This post is more of a gallery, as I’m not reviewing the designs in depth. I am, though, including a few bullet points below each design’s screenshot.

My favorite designs are probably (in order) BarackObama.com, JohnMccain.com, and Dennis4President.com.

BarackObama.com

  • Overall amazing design
  • Nice horizontal navigation
  • I like the way the Blog, News, and Events are all featured on the main page under their separate headers
  • Social Networking/Bookmarking sites (Facebook, YouTube, Digg, etc) are utilized heavilly, and profile links are featured in the sidebar.

Dennis4President.com

  • An interesting design, though some parts look a little odd
  • YouTube group link is featured prominently at the top
  • Easy to navigate

HillaryClinton.com

  • The top image is a little on the large side, clocking in at 847×345 pixels. At 1024×768 resolution, barely anything else is visible
  • Elements below the fold are a little crowded
  • Navigation is pretty good

MikeHuckabee.com

  • Works at 800×600 resolution, a now fairly uncommon design trait
  • Fairly concise design, displaying important information without throwing less important things in your face

RonPaul2008.com

  • The best-looking drop-down menus so far, though the red on the horizontal navbar doesn’t look quite right.
  • Interesting “iPhone Network” mini-site at ronpaul2008.com/iphone/

JohnMccain.com

  • Nice, dark, design. Looks good overall
  • Laid-out well, though a little heavy on the boxes
  • http://www.netwriting.co.uk Tejvan Pettinger

    Interesting post. What I would really like to see is a presidential candidate to have a go at having a real blog, that would be interesting. (would be nice to have links to the site on this page.best, Tejvannetwriting.co.uk

  • http://troyjmorris.blogspot.com TroyJMorris

    I would like to have scene some more analysis.  Not only design wise, but intent wise.For instance:Huckabee’s site is in at 800×600 compatibility, probably because he’s aiming for older voters who have their displays at 800×600.Clinton’s site is heavy on donations, as is Ron Pauls showing what the candidates feel are important, while Kuccinich’s banner is the Constitution.Color use is key.  Obama’s is blue, the color of the democrats, while I’m unsure of why McCain is still using black as that was 7 years ago… perhaps “classic?”

  • http://www.webmaster-source.com Matt

    Interesting points, TroyJMorris. For brevity, I didn’t mention why 800×600 is important, but you’ve hit the nail on the head there. I’m not sure what the deal with McCain’s color scheme is either. Maybe he’s trying to seem more businesslike, or just different from everyone else (everyone uses red or blue after all).