share this project
Before we get into Political Website Design, a little background…
In mid-February this year (2021) I got a call from the office of Pauline Tully, TD for Cavan/Monaghan, and a prominent member of the opposition front bench, with responsibility for disability and carers. I had written extensively about politics, political website design and other related topics over the past year, so I was very pleased that the hours of research had paid off. Political Website Design, or any website in the public space, is not a complicated design or development process, these websites only really perform a single function… to provide information to the public. What they’re about is user experience and ease of navigation.
Pauline Tully TD is the Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Disability and Carers and TD for Cavan-Monaghan. Pauline is Leas-Cathaoirleach of the Oireachtas Disability Matters Committee. Elected to Cavan County Council in 1999 for the Ballyjamesduff Electoral Area, Pauline retained the seat until 2012 when she resigned to meet the then care needs of her children. Pauline is passionate about her community and is a strong voice in the Dáil for the people of Cavan, Monaghan and North Meath.
“Myself and my team worked with Adam at FutureProof Digital to create a new website to allow us to better communicate with constituents. To let people know the work that I am involved in and get feedback on issues in the constituency. We were able to collaborate with Adam throughout the process who was always easy to contact and professional in his approach. Needless to say, we are delighted with the results.”
The bread and butter, the life-blood of Political Website Design, is the news and updates section. And I can’t take all the credit here; Pauline Tully’s assistant has been writing posts for some time, on a different platform. Every time Pauline speaks in the Dail he types it up and publishes it, this process will continue, almost unchanged, on this website. The difference… the posts will look better, optimized for search terms, and automatically sent to the email list.
If you are a TD, or you run a website for a TD, this process is made even easier for you by oireachtas.ie, the oireachtas website. When a TD or Senator speaks in the house, what they say is recorded on the website. This content can be easily accessed, and filter by the name of TD. It's then a simple copy-and-paste task, add an intro, and an image or two, and it's ready to publish.
Every year Sinn Fein run a national draw to raise funds. Pauline Tully wants to advertise this on the website homepage… but not all year round, just for the time that the draw is running. This section can be turned on when the draw starts, and then off again when it’s over. The link leads directly to party website. The image chosen features prominent party figures, this builds trust, a key component of all websites, but especially Political Website Design.
There are a number of ways that campaign websites can fun raise and encourage donations. In addition to the feature outlined above, the website can be configured to accept donations directly, through PayPal for example, in much the same way that a charity accepts donations. Below we look at the email newsletter, and campaign fundraising could be included in these emails, at specific times.
The best political campaigns have always used email. To promote the News & Updates section of the website we include email marketing integration as part of every Political Website Design contract. Every time a new political blog post is published an email is automatically sent to your subscriber list. This email keeps your followers up to date with the work you're doing and the issues that matter to you... and them.
It's important to build your email subscriber list because during an election campaign the volume of emails can be increased; to raise funds, or attendance at events. Almost every page on the site has a sign up form. and it's at the end of every post. The beauty of this system, using Mailchimp software, is that it's automated; all you do is publish the post and the email is sent.
This screenshot of the footer contains so much of what is important about Political Website Design. 2 box images; on the left a link to the main party website membership form, on the right, a political party headline that again links the party website, this time the homepage. Below this on the left we have all the relevant contact information, and the right the sign up form for updates that we looked at above, also some social icons.
This content is designed to encourage engagement; either sign-up, contact or view more content. As outlined above it's important that the core function of the website, representing the people and being available to them, is as easy to find as possible. Linking to the main party website is also important, it build trust and authority, with your website visitors, but also the search engines.
If you’re a small business owner, then you know that having a website is essential in today’s world. Not only does it give your customers another way to find out about your business, but it also allows you to reach a larger audience than you would be able to if you were only relying on word-of-mouth advertising. However, just because everyone has a website these days doesn’t mean that yours will be successful. It takes careful planning and execution to create a small business website that will help grow your company.
At FutureProof Digital, we understand the importance of small business websites. That’s why we specialize in creating websites that are not only visually appealing and user-friendly, but also optimized for search engines so that you can get the most out of your investment. We believe that a great website doesn’t have to be expensive, and we’re proud to offer some of the best prices in the industry. If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, contact us today to learn more about our small business website design services. We’ll work with you to create a website that is perfect for your company and will help you reach your goals.
In 2022 customers expect your business to have an online store. They love your business, and they want to order your products online and have them delivered to the door. E-Commerce website design requires expertise and experience. Yes, platforms like Shopify tell you that it’s easy, but they use templates and themes; your websites will look just like all the others. A FutureProof Digital online shop is bespoke, no templates or themes, designed for your business from the ground up.
With WooCommerce powering your ecommerce shop, you can be sure that it will be a success. WooCommerce is one of the most popular ecommerce plugins available for WordPress, with over 40 million downloads. WooCommerce can handle any kind of ecommerce shop, from a small online store to a huge online marketplace. And it’s not just popular with business owners users – it’s number one with developers. With over 16,000 extensions available, WooCommerce has everything you need to make your ecommerce shop a success. So if you want to make sure that your business is ready for the future, talk to us about our E-Commerce Web Design services – we can help you get online and start selling today.
If you’re looking for E-Commerce web design that grow your business, then contact FutureProof Digital! We have years of experience in designing successful E-Commerce websites using WordPress and WooCommerce.
For a number of years now (and this is only set to continue) two words have come to the forefront of website design; speed and responsiveness. The time it takes for your website to load, especially on mobile because Google measures this first, is vitally important. The search engines measure this time and it influences your website’s rankings. Keeping your customers waiting is bad for business, and not just in your store.
Creating a website that responds to the device it’s being viewed on used to be an optional extra, something that was nice to have but not essential. However, with more and more people using their phones and tablets to access the internet, having a responsive website has become a must. Responsive websites automatically adjust their layout and design depending on the size of the screen they are being displayed on, making them perfect for all devices.
If you want your business to stay ahead of the curve, then you need to make sure your website is responsive. At FutureProof Digital we can help you create a website that looks great no matter what device it’s being viewed on.
As of this year WordPress powers 43.3% of all websites on the internet, and 300 of the top 1000 sites. But that’s not why we use it, we use it because of you. WordPress web design is faster and better than any other platform; Wix, SquareSpace or Shopify are not in the same bracket. Faster means efficiency and value for money. Every client asks, “can I easily update the website myself ?” and the answer, most of the time is YES !! Some websites require a little training but in most cases a WordPress website is as easy to run as a Facebook page.
We are based in Roscommon, so naturally much of our work is here, and we are really proud of that. We like to meet clients in person or visit their business. This personal contact gives your site the design edge it needs. We get a real feel for the needs of the business before we begin.
We also complete contracts at a national and international level. We work with charities, The Irish heart Foundation for example, leading politicians and parties, as well global tour providers. We have fun with every one of our clients, on every website, large or small.
FutureProof Digital takes care of every aspect of the web design process; starting with your domain name. We set everything up, including your SSL security cert. This is included as part of every contract for the first year at no extra cost.
The same goes for web hosting. We set everything up for you, and provide a free year of hosting with every website. At the end of year 1 we transfer your site to your dedicated hosting plan free of charge, just a few clicks.
Below are some exerts from a recent post, the link to that post, Political Website Design, is below that. I think much of it is relevant to this Political Website Design, as so few of our public representatives have their own website…
“How many of our elected representatives have a website? TDs, MEPs etc… 90% ?… 80% ? Would you be surprised if I told you that less than half of our TDs have their own website? And that this number for local Council members is far lower.”
“If you are a politician, or you hope to be in the future, I suppose the first, and obvious question is… “Why do I need a website?” It’s a fair question, and there are a number of reasons why. The first, is control of the search results. When your name is Googled (and if you are successful it will be, a lot) you want to be in control of the content that people see. A website is an important part of this.
The second is content. You need a place to publish articles, and other written content such as press releases, so that voters can read about who you are and what you believe in. Social media plays a role in this, but your website leads the way.”
Click here to read more about Political Website Design.
Thank you for reading about this web design project…
If you run a business and you need a website (pro tip = you do) or your current website doesn’t look the way you want it to, function the way it should or perform how you need it to, get in touch. I don’t charge a penny for consultation, so finding out about what your business needs and what can be achieved for your budget is completely free. Use this form… we can meet in person, have a phone or Skype call or use email, it’s up to you…
Hi, I’m Adam, thank you for being here at FutureProof Digital. We publish regular content including blog posts, guides, reviews and updates on our latest projects. To stay up to date with everything we publish, sign-up for the newsletter.
At FutureProof Digital we specialise is small business and start-up websites. Get in touch for a free, no obligation quote. Click here to view previous projects…
Automated page speed optimizations for fast site performance