Why Squarespace is the best website builder for political campaigns
(And I swear we don’t get paid to say this.)
True story: A couple of years ago, I was working for a congressional candidate in the early stages of the campaign, and we had no money. Due to said brokeness, we turned to Squarespace to make our campaign website. It looked so impressive that our opponent reported it to the FEC, alleging that we had used a professional designer (and failed to report it as a campaign expense). This pretty much fully sold me on using Squarespace for my future campaign needs.
Here’s why we use Squarespace and why we think you should too:
User-friendly interface
A website is pointless if you don’t know how to use it. Squarespace is renowned for its user-friendly interface, making it accessible to individuals with varying technical expertise. This one was really important to us. Why? Because we’ve been in your shoes. We’ve been hired by campaigns to do fundraising, or fieldwork, or to manage, and then get stuck updating the website. **Record scratch** You want me to do what?
A super-loaded but super-confusing website built on Wordpress (no beef, Wordpress!), or on a custom-made website builder just doesn’t reflect the needs of a modern day campaign. We ain’t got time for that. A campaign needs a website that is easy for anyone to use, and with no technical skills or hours and hours of training required.
We love Squarespace because its drag-and-drop builder is (honestly!) really easy to use.
Flexible subscription plans, and cancel whenever you want
Campaigns are not the same as normal businesses. Whether they win or lose, they're essentially start-ups with a definite end date on Election Day. Yet, most website designers will still charge thousands of dollars for a website that you'll likely only be using for a short period. Squarespace offers flexible subscription plans, and you can cancel whenever you want.
Super affordable
Again, most website designers will charge you thousands of dollars for a website that you just need for usually no more than a year. This is a huge waste of your precious call time dollars. Squarespace makes it really easy to build a website all by yourself, and for only the cost of a monthly hosting subscription. Short on time? Our DIY templates make it even quicker to get your website up and running -- all you need to do is add your content and connect your domain.
Embed pretty much anything
It’s really easy to integrate all the most important campaign tools, like NGP VAN, Mobilize, and ActBlue. (And we have tons of how-to videos). No need for an expensive website with all the bells and whistles.
Make your site multilingual
Seriously. You can add +110 different languages to your site, making your campaign super inclusive and accessible.
Make your campaign look like it has more money than it does
Did you see my story above?? Someone reported our campaign to the FEC because our Squarespace website looked so good! Squarespace websites are modern-looking, mobile-responsive, and honestly pretty snazzy.
Your website should make your campaign look super professional. It should make you look like a viable candidate, like you have a huge team behind you, and yes, it should make it look like you paid thousands of dollars to a website designer.
👉 We have a whole bunch of ready-made website templates that you can check out here!
