Kicking back in Hawaii…

Flat Stanley Enjoying Shaved Ice

Flat Stanley Having his Morning Starbucks

Flat Stanley taking in the beautiful landscape…

Flat Stanley at Diamond Head

Flat Stanley Hanging on the Beach taking in the Sun

Flat Stanley Taking in The Blue Ocean of Hawaii

Flat Stanley Taking in Hawaii from Above

Flat Stanley trying some of the local water activities…

Flat Stanley Tries More Water Toys

Flat Stanley Ready for the Surf

Flat Stanley on a Boat

Flat Stanley Watching Out For Others

The Locals Loved Him…

Even Animals Love Flat Stanley

Flat Stanley Getting a Little Love from Obama

The Girls Can't Resist Flat Stanley

Flat Stanley is sad to leave all the fun, but don’t worry Flat Stanley we’ll take you back soon!

Leaving Hawaii is Hard!

I’ll be judging the sites based on four criteria:

1. First Impression – (Max 20pts)
2. Donation Accessibility (Max 20pts)
3. Content (Is it worth reading?) (Max 30pts)
4. Site Design (Max 30pts)

Total Score Possible: 100pts

1. First Impression (20pts)

Mitt Romney’s Campaign Site

Mitt Romney's Slider Is the Main Focus of the First Page

Mitt Romney’s main site offers a lot to take in at first glance.  There is a slider at the top with four pictures/messages about the campaign.  I think the slider moves a little fast.  When I enter a page it takes a few seconds for my eyes to figure out what I need to look at and what I want to look at.  Sliders are great in that you can rotate a lot of information in one spot, but I think they are often overused and can get in the way of the site’s message.  Once I’m able to focus on the rest of the site, the slider isn’t as distracting, but the site manager might want to think about slowing that thing down.  The site is clean with a dark blue header, off white background and lovely red highlights (it passes the patriotic test)!!  Highlights include an easy to find DONATE button in the upper right corner, social media links at the top right, and an option to get email updates.  Below the slider are a video, blog entry, news info and then at the bottom more opportunities to “connect with Mitt” and links to the rest of the site.  Overall, I think the first page is okay above the fold (the part that you see on your screen when it loads) but a bit busy below.

First Impression Score for Romney’s Site: 15pts

Rick Santorum’s Campaign Site

Santorum's State Specific Web Page

Rick Santorum’s site sports a dark blue background, with text over light blue/gray. It also has reddish highlights with a splash of light red/pink and it also passes the “patriotic test”.    Today there is a “Pick Rick” banner at the top with the Missouri Caucus information next to it -very timely!  There is a video underneath with a message for Missouri (I think the designers should have picked a better pause picture of Santorum – he looks a bit constipated to me).  Missouri’s silhouette is next to the video with a link to find a caucus site.  Below is a rotating slider with messages supporting the candidate.  They don’t slide at a dizzying pace, but may be a little fast to try and take in so much text.  There is also a red DONATE button at the top right and above that an option to pay via Paypal or call the 1-888 number.  Social media icons are also available at the top.   Issues important to Missouri are presented below the video and a “Continue to RickSantorum.com” link is available under the DONATE button which takes you to his main site… complete with a fast slider (just like Romney’s but with more slides) and headlines to blog/news pieces below.

Overall the state specific intro page (which does not fall into the splash page category) is a nice touch.  It shows he’s connected with the voters there and offers useful information such as caucus sites and Missouri-specific issues.   If you aren’t voting in the Missouri election, there’s a quick and visible link at the top that takes you to the main site with the donate button visible in both locations.

First Impression Score for Santorum’s Site: 18pts

2.  Donation Accessibility (20pts)

Both sites offer a donation button in the same place – upper right corner of the site, and both are bright red.  I’m going to give the Santorum site the better grade though, since it goes above and beyond, offering a direct link to Paypal and a donation hotline right above the donate button.  This is really a smart idea because there may be people who would like to donate to the campaign but still don’t trust giving money online.

Donation Accessibility Score for Romney’s Site: 18pts

Donation Accessibility Score for Santorum’s Site: 20pts

3. Content (30pts)

Romney’s main site seems a bit busy and it is hard to focus on, but his drop down links at the top take you to a great deal of information spanning a myriad of topics from Iran to Education to Trade.  He covers a wide array of topics.  He also has information for every state including voting dates,  and state specific news and information.  Of course there is also biographical information, a store and a volunteer link.  Overall, Romney’s site provides a ton of information which is easily accessible from the top drop menu.

Romney's Website on Education

Content Score for Romney’s Site: 26pts

Rick Santorum’s site is easier to navigate and that may be because he doesn’t offer as much content.  Santorum’s site offers an ISSUES link which drops down to one option: Truth About Rick.  Here you’ll find all of Rick Santorum’s Op-Ed pieces which are all strung together and aren’t categorized.  There’s biographical information a call to volunteer and a store too.  The STATES link only drops to the three states with primary/caucuses on the horizon.  Other states aren’t listed at this time.

Santorum's Main Page

Overall, Santurum’s site is lacking when it comes to issues.  If I wanted to know where he stands on Iran, I’d probably be better off Googling it and finding information elsewhere.  Romney, however, has a direct link right off the top drop down menu.

Content Score for Santorum’s Site: 18pts

4. Site Design (30pts)

Romney’s first page is a bit cluttered but the design itself is clean and crisp and the colors are easy on the eyes.  The site’s top links are easy to see and the drop down menus are easy to navigate and are structured so that you can access most major issues from the top.  The DONATE button is easy to see and social media links are visible at the top and bottom of the pages.  The footer offers the links again and a search bar.  The site is usable and easy to navigate.  Other than the fast slider on the main page, the site works.

Site Design Score for Romney’s Site: 25pts

Santorum’s site isn’t quite as cluttered as Romney’s on first glance, but it doesn’t feel quite as polished either.  The dark blue background works and makes the DONATE button really stand out.  The social media links and donation options at the top are a nice touch.  The slider bar on the main site is too fast with too many slides.  The slider should offer no more than four options.  There are currently eight, and that’s just too many to wrap your head around.  The top links are a bit small but are readable and the drop down menu could use some better formatting.  There are no links or social media icons in the footer.  The state specific lead-in page was a nice touch though…well designed and very usable.

Site Design Score for Santorum’s Site: 20pts

Overall Scores

Romney’s Final Website Score: 84

Santorum’s Final Website Score: 76

The winner in this Website Smackdown is Romney’s Site with a total of 84 points.  Clearly both sites could use some work, but Romney’s is the more complete and professional of the two.

According to ABC News, Rick Santorum broke a record on Twitter by being the most talked about candidate on Super Tuesday…ever!  There were over 40,000 tweets about the candidate within a 24 hour period.

GOP Twitter Followers – The Numbers

Lucky for Santorum that people are talking about him on Twitter because they sure aren’t following him.  To date, he only has 158,582 followers.  Though this is much better than his 28,000+ Twitter followers since we checked back in September,  he’s still far from his competition. Mitt Romney currently has 368,102 and Newt Gingrich still leads the pack with 1,446,272.

GOP Facebook Likes

Facebook followers seem to be a little better for the candidates.  Romney leads with over 1.5 million likes, followed by Gingrich with 293k and Santorum with about 172k.

Perhaps it’s the fact that the GOP appeals to a more mature group of people who aren’t actively using social media, or maybe it’s that the party hasn’t embraced one candidate yet, but regardless of  the reason they are all far behind Obama.  Obama has almost 13 million Twitter followers and over 25 million Facebook likes.

Social Media Fundraising Lessons

Though social media can’t win an election, it can rally people together in a very efficient and cost effective way, and it can also raise the money needed to run an aggressive campaign.   Let’s take the 2008 election as an example.  In February 2008 alone, Barack Obama  raised 55 million dollars.  Of that, 45 million was raised online.

Now, let’s take a look at the 2012 dollar amounts.  According to the New York Times, Barack Obama has raised over 151 million dollars with 53% of that coming from donations less than $200.  Compare that to Romney’s 63 million dollars in donations with only 12% coming from the less than $200 category.  Obama’s “small dollar” donations not only make up more than half of his donations, but they exceed the overall total raised by any other candidate in the race.

If Romney plans to win the primary and compete in the run for President of the United States, he’s going to need money.  If he plans to raise enough to compete, he may want to think about taking a minute away from his high dollar donors and try wooing his working class online followers who could make all of the difference and be the true game changer.

A splash page (sometimes referred to as a splash screen) is an introductory page to a web site which usually contains animation, video, music and/or graphics that are supposed to make you fall in love with the site.  Really?

In the past two weeks, I’ve come across three sites that were still using “old” splash pages (something that should have been done away with 10 years ago)…and one newly designed site with video that didn’t load correctly – ugh.

I feel the only time you might consider using a splash page is when you have different versions of the site – say a Spanish or English version or a multi-country option.  For example the Fed-Ex site offers a map of the world and a chance to choose your country.

Ikea also offers a country selection option.

The difference between the above examples and my problem with most “splash pages” is  that FedEx and Ikea actually provide interaction and purpose with their pages.  FedEx and Ikea are not trying to impress their visitors with cutesy music and animation – they are trying to get their users to the right place on their site.  That’s a reasonable use!  When I go to Ikea’s site, I’d be lost if I ended up on the Turkish version.

Websites should be designed for the user and not the designer.  This doesn’t mean that you can’t provide fun, clever and creative content, you just have to make sure you don’t annoy your user in the process.  When I go to a site, it’s usually for a purpose.  For example, I was trying to get to a local restaurant’s menu, so I Googled it and found the site, but when I clicked on the link late at night after everyone was asleep, LOUD music started playing and a photo slide show intro came up – ugh!  All I wanted was to look at what the restaurant had to eat and see what time it opened on Sunday!  If you have to place the words “Skip Intro” on your splash page, YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE IT THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!  In spite of the bad intro page, this is a great restaurant (Mi Tierra) and if you are ever in San Antonio you should try it.

Remember, in today’s busy world, people are in a hurry and they want to get their information quickly and without a lot of hassle.  Most splash pages keep users from getting to what they came to your site for – hours of operation, directions, reservations, recipes, advice, etc.  Don’t stand in their way.

And if you think you have a “splash page” that is so fun and amazing and that your users have to see it, create a link to it off of your main site and give your users the option to view it after they’ve gotten what they came to your site for in the first place.

When I first started my business, a friend and former colleague turned me on to this wonderfully inspirational site called csszengarden.com.  I still go there for inspiration.  I loved the idea that one web page could look so many different ways just by changing the CSS.  If you are looking for some inspirational designs and want to see a variety of styles, then you will enjoy CSS Zen Garden.

2. unmatchedstyle

When I started thinking about my favorite sites, I went to unmatchedstyle.com to look at all of them!  This is a great site to see some of the latest and greatest in web design.  The submitted designs come from all over the world and cover a wide range of businesses from personal to big-time!  I consider most of these designs (and designers) to be “cutting-edge” and hope that you will enjoy this site as well.  While you are there, you can also vote for your favorites!

3. CSS Winner

CSSWinner.com rounds out my top 3 favorite sites for inspiration.  This is much like unmatchedstyle, in that they feature submitted designs that show a range of different sites covering a wide range of topics/products.  This site picks a daily and monthly winner, so you can see what voters like in design concepts.  This site showcases so much talent, I could spend all day looking at these amazing designs.

If you are a designer or developer looking for more inspiration, take a look at these three sites and get inspired!  Do you have a favorite site that you use for inspiration?  Let me know, I’d love to hear.

I started with the wallpaper background.  I found real wallpaper with this design and thought, “This is it!!”  So, I took that idea, changed a few things and had my 50s inspiration!

More 50s Inspiration - My Dad's 1956 Ford Fairline Crown Victoria

I also decided I wanted to showcase a few of my designs on the front page, and I thought an old-time TV with rabbit ears was the way to go.  I added in a turquoise couch (inspired by my former kitchen), and lovingly placed “cartoony” versions of my cat and dog on it.  I added myself watching my designs (as this is what I do everyday – I just sit back and look at all of my designs and pat myself on the back).  I pulled from my previous colors (from the Notepad theme) and I had a theme that was fun, yet sophisticated (well, at least I think so).  I also added a few turquoise accents on all of the pages too.  The calendar image for the dates on the blogs came from my memory of the hanging calendar we had in out kitchen when I was growing up.

The vinyl record social media icons were the last piece to pull everything together and give it that true retro feel.  As I started designing a record, I thought, “I bet these are out there somewhere!”  Sure enough, I found these great icons available from someone I wanted to give credit to, but unfortunately it took me so long to get the site up, that person’s site is gone.  So vinyl-record-social-media-icon-guy … I salute you…wherever you are!

Hopefully, I’ll be adding more 50s-60s inspiration elements in the future.  Thanks for stopping by the site.

Looking for a fun party at this year’s BlogWorld & New Media Expo in Los Angeles? Looking to have a drink, learn from a live blogger panel discussion and network in a relaxed, fun environment?

You’re invited to BlogUP, the blogger party that is guaranteed to be a good time!

The BlogUP is a unique networking event that enables like-minded bloggers to meet face-to-face. The party is a relaxed way to network and make connections for future collaborations that will help each other grow in the blogosphere.

Unlike other blogging meets, all guests must currently maintain a blog and there is to be absolutely no solicitations. This is simply an event for bloggers to network and discuss collaboration.

REGISTER HERE

This year’s BlogUp party:

• “Content Monetization and Blogs—a Viable Combination?” panel discussion featuring leading blogger speakers
• Launch of LA Blog Club
• “What Is Personal Branding?” by Jim Kukral and Murray Newlands Book Release and Signing
• Complementary Drinks and Appetizers

When:

Thursday November 3rd 8:00 p.m. til 10:00 p.m.

Where:

ICON LA Ultra Lounge
1248 Figueroa Street,
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 867-6000

Register:

Admission: Any BlogWorld pass gets you in to the party! Use code MURRAY20 to get 20% off a ticket to BLOGWORLD

ALSO to find out about ongoing Blog Club events here LA Blog Club

Sponsor:

INTENTclick contains content rich sites in specific performance driven categories, and is able to deliver to these sites the highest monetization levels available in the market.

About Murray Newlands

My name is Murray Newlands and I’m a successful marketing blogger, founder of London, San Francisco and Los Angeles Blog Clubs and author of many blogging eBooks interested in bringing like-minded bloggers together for an evening of fun.

This year’s party is going to be a blast and I’d love to meet you, so please come!

REGISTER HERE

Last year Elisabeth Hasslebeck noticed that American Idol contestants with the most followers on Twitter were less likely to be voted off and more likely to make it to the top.  I thought I would use that same logic to rate the current Republican candidates.  It seemed appropriate as this year’s lineup is almost as entertaining as the contestants in a karaoke singing contest.

But seriously, we know that in 2008, President Obama was able to gain momentum by using social media for his campaign and fund raising.  As of September 26, 2011 Obama has well over 10 million followers on Twitter.  He has a grand following and his social media efforts have paid off.  So how do his Republican counterparts measure up?

After Herman Cain won the Florida GOP Straw Poll with 37% of the vote and with eight candidates officially in the race and more sure to come, there is no telling what could happen between now and next year.   So if we had a Twitter election today, here’s how it would play out.

In eighth place is Rick Santorum with 28,109 followers with Jon Huntsman just a bit above with 36,474.  In sixth place is Ron Paul with 69,159 followers and Herman Cain in fifth place with 80,167 followers.  The top four candidates are as follows:

4^th place – Rick Perry  (91,798)

3^rd place – Michele Bachmann  (98,197)

2^nd place – Mitt Romney (106,862)

1^st place – Newt Gingrich (1,331,471)

Surprised?  I was.  Of course these numbers will change hour by hour, day by day and week by week, but Gingrich has a remarkable lead over Romney, Bachmann and Perry.  Of course, Saturday Night Live recently poked fun at Gingrich implying that he didn’t really even want to run.  So, is this just a Twitter fluke or does Gingrich have a chance to come through and make it to the top?  How does Gingrich compare to other candidates likely to make a run for it?  Well, he’s currently well ahead of Sarah Palin (667,351) and Chris Christie of New Jersey (62,900).

So while Mitt Romney thanks his followers for getting him well over 100k and Perry cuddles his pooch in his Twitter profile picture, Newt Gingrich is ten times ahead of his competition in our little Twitter poll.

If Twitter is a good predictor of who will become President in 2012, perhaps Lady Gaga (over 13 million followers) should throw her hat into the ring.  President Gaga has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

Note: Rick Perry Photo courtesy of Ed Schipul and Mitt Romney photo courtesy of C. Berlet @ publiceye.org via Wikimedia Commons.

Not Just for Development
Page speed has been talked about for years, but it has normally been a web building issue, not an SEO issue. However, with faster internet and the importance of speed becoming more and more important, there is no excuse for having a page that loads slowly. If your website cannot load faster than an otherwise equivalent site, then you have potentially lost a reader. Moving on to the next information source is a simple click away.

The things that keep most websites from loading quickly are the common eye-candy elements. This includes improperly-scaled images, videos, JavaScript, and other elements that can slow load speeds. That is not to say that a few eye-candy pieces are not important, but they should not be the main focus of a search-conscious website.

How It Plays into Rank
Search engines consider countless elements before deciding which website should go on top. Google has announced that one of these elements is page speed. Not coincidentally, speeding up a website’s load time by eliminating excess code has collateral SEO effects. High speed internet SEO can be your way of bumping up the SERPs with only a few changes to your website. Removing unnecessary elements that do not add much value to your page will keep your website from loading slowly. Site builders often leave a website’s code riddled with excess text that can otherwise be taken out.

First Mover Advantage
Speed isn’t just important for ensuring that readers stay on your website. For time-sensitive websites, speed can be the number one factor in determining success. Those sites focused around news and recent events thrive on getting information to the public first, and speed is everything for them. More and more users have access to high speed internet, and they immediately turn to the web when they want to learn more about recent occurrences. Whether a site loads quickly determines if people can read the information they seek and if they will stay long enough to read the content.

Quick action also determines how quickly the page circulates through social networks. With a speedy website and fast internet, you can be the first to report on a story. This not only gives you the upper hand in rankings, but first movers tend to get the most social network love. For a news site, this is exceedingly important, especially since they live off this hype.

Announcing New Products
High speed internet has made communicating globally absolutely seamless. Over a billion users take advantage of this on social media networks. This creates a great platform for website and business owners to promote newly-released products. Gaining exposure through these mediums drives traffic to your site and gives you the appearance of authority among websites in the same niche.

A quick internet connection and a website optimized for speed do not just help you and your readers, but it helps your website survive the deadly search engine game. You can’t afford to let any chance or opportunity slip away, especially if you are in a competitive niche where any advantage can help you win.

Blake Sanders is a tech writer at broadband comparison site Broadband Expert. Blake specializes in providing industry news and information on high speed internet providers, cell phones, and wireless internet.

Note: Photo courtesy of davenportdesign via FlickR Creative Commons.