Clark, Kerry on Top in Study of Candidates' Web Sites

For Immediate Release

San Francisco, CA, January 26, 2004 – Despite the attention Howard Dean’s Presidential campaign has drawn for its use of the Web, Dean is no longer setting the standard for campaign sites, according to a new report published Monday.

Dean’s site placed third among the nine Democratic presidential campaign sites in Adaptive Path’s user-experience analysis. Only two sites — Wesley Clark’s and John Kerry’s — earned “Outstanding” overall ratings in the report.

“Howard Dean may have been the first candidate to capitalize on the power of the Internet, but his competitors are showing themselves to be quick learners,” says Adaptive Path partner Jesse James Garrett, author of the report.

The report examines design strategies that make campaign sites work effectively for voters. It outlines dozens of best practices that Kerry, Clark, and others have put to work, such as highlighting key issues on the homepage, centralizing endorsements, streamlining contribution forms, and calling voters to action.

“Sites reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the organizations that create them, and this analysis revealed which campaigns have an overarching Web strategy and which are just imitating the competition,” Garrett says.

The report analyzes each site, outlines notable elements of the user experience, and provides six pages of best practice recommendations. It’s part of Adaptive Path’s new report series on clear solutions to common Web site problems. The report is available as a free download at http://www.adaptivepath.com/publications/reports/campaign/. Members of the press can request copies of the report by contacting Bryan Mason at bryan [at] adaptivepath [dot] com.

About Adaptive Path

Headquartered in San Francisco, Adaptive Path is a user experience consulting, research and training firm that has provided custom services to a range of clients, including Fortune 50 corporations, pure-Web startups, and established not-for-profit organizations.

Contact

Bryan R. Mason
bryan@adaptivepath.com
Adaptive Path
363 Brannan St.
San Francisco, CA 94107
Phone: 1-415-495-8270