My Thoughts on NorthernVirginiaGOP.com

All things considered, there is not much that the Northern Virginia GOP website does well. The site is boring, hard to navigate and out of date. Additionally, there is a lack of synergy between the ground operations of the Virginia GOP and the web presence that this organizations has. Overall, the site lacks a professional feel and is not as effective as it could be.

To start, the layout of the site is confusing and it is very busy. The navigation does not work well and once you click on links, not all of them will link you back to the main site. The fonts and the text locations look sloppy and do not have a logical flow. The graphics are also dated look substandard. Stylistically, this is a very poor site.

The site also lacks effective ways to solicit volunteers and contributions. There is no place on the site to sign up to volunteer however; there is a link to receive the Northern GOP newsletter. As far as contributing goes, the link to contribute does not stand out and you have to scroll down the page to actually find it. The actual graphic encouraging visitors to donate does not stand out and is only distinguishable because it has flashing credit cards rather than an appeal to donate.

Content is probably the worst problem that this site has. The site has links to look at polls that do not exist. It is also has links to photo galleries that are 4 years old. Additionally, the site does not list what constitutes that Northern Virginia GOP and it only lists the Chairman of the organization rather than listing as many contacts as possible to show that they are a vibrant organization. There is no unifying themes or messages that the site is trying to convey to the visitor other than that this site is a disorganized hodge-podge of information that is hard to understand or connect to other information on the site. The organization has a great deal of cool information to get out. For instance, members of the organization have their own TV and radio shows. This site needs to be a cross platform for these other ventures so that all of these mediums are successful in getting the word out about the organization and its goals.

Overall, this site is disappointing and clearly not a priority for the organization. There is not an effective fundraising presence and it appears that the organization is just looking to have a website in name rather than something that will be effective for its cause. With some attention and some new information, this site could be an effective tool for strengthening the republican community in the Northern Virginia area.