Denver vs. St. Paul: Online Showdown

During this election cycle, we've talked a lot about the collective advantage the Left, and by virtue of that, the Democrats have online -- both media-wise and in terms of basic design aesthetic (check out Patrick Ruffini's gallery of campaign website screenshots). But, yesterday, when I was checking the dates of the Democratic convention, I was half-shocked by the DNC's website for the event:

A ton of white space, uneven columns, a somewhat generic looking banner, and no central, unifying feature on the page. It's not memorably bad, of course, it just looks unfinished. Meanwhile the Republicans have produced this:

A streamlined site busting with information, with a clean aesthetic, and incorporating flash into a central unifying element on the page that's very focused on providing the online user with an interactive experience -- there's even a countdown in the upper-right-hand corner, as well as a Spanish equivalent site. If invigorating the party faithful is one of the main intents of the convention, providing that group of people some sense of connection to the event would presumably be important. This site does that.

To go a bit further, let's compare two relatively important sections of the site: the About page for the host city and the FAQ page.

 The "Visiting Denver" page is a bare bones set of links:

If you find the term "Access Guide" somewhat vague, it's a very basic list of resources for handicapped people. Conversely, here's the "About Minneapolis-St. Paul" page:

Colorful, inviting, and featuring a GOP-produced Venue Guide, Hotel Guide, and Fact Sheet. No offense meant, but really, Denver should not be more difficult to present as a fun destination than Minnesota. In terms of the Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0, though, check out the respective Frequently Asked Questions pages. The Dems:

Simple, inoffensive, and straight to the point, which normally I'd prefer if not for the cooler way the GOP did it:

They found a way to incorporate video, the Google Map interface with answers to questions that have been sent in, and a graphically interesting way to organize the FAQ. (Also, check out the footer: "More Information," the kicky Convention elephant logo, and "Network Links" -- hitting all the social bookmarking, networking, and streaming video possible in one swoop on every page.)

Finally, the GOP has an up and running blog for the event, something completely lacking on the Denver page -- it's like they threw it on the server a few months ago and haven't touched it since. It's stuff like this that's putting the GOP in the right direction:

Something of a rare win for the home team.

Katherine Miller blogs daily at Right-Wing Vitriol from Vanderbilt University.