The website for Scott Peters's congressional campaign continues a rich history of political website design by New Media Campaigns. The site was designed and developed using HiFi Content Management System, allowing rapid development and launch while accommodating several custom features. A primary goal of any political campaign website is to quickly make a connection between the visitor and the candidate, and then develop a relationship through information, calls to action, and social media.
The homepage for Scott Peters features rotating photos of Mr. Peters with links to other parts of the site, and a large yellow sign-up panel on the bottom of the page, making it easier for visitors to engage and join the campaign. NMC setup the volunteer and donation forms across the site by leveraging NGP's API, allowing users to take action within the main site design while all of the data seamlessly dumps into the NGP database, streamlining the collection and organization of important data. HiFi allows the integration of the forms through the API NGP API while maintaining the overall design themes of the site, ensuring a consistent user experience.
Also highlighted in yellow is a large "Contribute" button making it easy to donate to the campaign. Tying the visitor to place is a background graphic of San Diego--part of the Congressional district in which Mr. Peters is running.
Digging a little deeper into the site, Peters has a blog that highlights his involvement in community and provides more in depth information about the candidate, his platform, and his opinions. The blog previously existed on its own domain and was powered by WordPress. We integrated the blog into the new design, leaving it powered by WordPress, and house it on a subdomain to both provide consistency across content and also give the campaign's domain a boost in search rankings. Recognizing that no one lives in a bubble, the site features news stories relevant to Mr. Peters' congressional district, tying in real world events to the site and providing talking points for Mr. Peters.
Social Media is front and center in new media and an important channel through which to spread information and buzz. Recognizing the importance of maintaining a presence in multiple social media streams, we have integrated buttons for Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube at the bottom of the page so that visitors can connect with Mr. Peters in multiple ways. Additionally, sidebar sections feature Mr. Peters' recent tweets, status updates, blog posts, and a "Stay Informed" call to action that allows visitors to enter their email address and be added to the site newsletter.
HiFi integrates all of these features into an attractive, professional design. The web presence is maintained and augmented by HiFi's search optimization and fast load times. Content Management is straightforward, allowing the site managers to add content and updates as necessary. HiFi's ease of customization ensures that video, photos, forms, and any other content that the candidate might need, can be easily integrated into the site.