Political Parties Use of Javascript for Website Navigation

JavaScript is an incredible scripting language which is widely used to perform tasks not possible with HTML alone. It can be used to add additional functionality to websites; particularly when used in conjunction with XML to create interactive web applications (e.g. AJAX). One of the most recent (and powerful) examples of AJAX is Google Maps and Flickr - both which tap into the Asynchronous JavaScript and XML to improve the overall interactiveness of the user experience. For more information on AJAX, make sure to read Jesse James Garrett’s article, Ajax: A New Approach to Web Applications

The Down-side of Using Javascript

There are however, some disadvantages to using JavaScript to control certain elements of a website, particularly those elements that are essential to the core operation of the website (e.g. website navigation, contact forms, e-commerce etc.) These disadvantages stem from the fact that Javascript is a client-side scripting language that runs directly in the browser. This reality means if the browser is mis-configured or the user intentionally turns off javascripting (possible for security reasons), the intended effect on the website is rendered useless.

A Quick History of Javascript

While javascript has been around since the early days of the Internet, its use and the complexity of its implementation has increased considerably over time. This increase can generally be attributed to the insatiable demand for great interaction and website functionality from the many internet users and companies who use the Internet. Along with the increased use of Javascript among Internet users and the private sector, political parties have also increased its use on their party and campaign websites. Unfortunately, political party websites are not immune to the many problems associated with Javascript.

The Analysis

Below is a quick assessment of the use of JavaScript in terms of navigation for national party websites of the major political parties in Canada.

The Results

Looking at the results above, you can see the websites of the New Democratic Party and Green Party were the only sites that did not implement any javascript into the navigational elements, and thus avoided the complications that often rise with its use. In the case of the Bloc Québécois, Conservative and Liberals party websites, the website navigation was only partially affected, however, significant postions of the website were unaccessable.

The Consequences of Javascript Use

Considering available browser statistics list anywhere from between 5 percent to 10 percent of Internet users have Javascript turned off in their browser, a considerable portion of visitors to the Conservative, Liberal, and Bloc Québécois websites would be unable to use those party websites in an effective manner. It is also important to consider that many of the Internet search engines spiders, which are used to collect important information about the website, are unable to read javascript - which means a party website that uses Javascript in their navigation is not going to get the proper exposed in terms of search engine results.

Conclusions

No website - whether political or commerical - should use Javascript in navigational elements. Javascript has its place on the Internet, but it should only be used when the pros and cons have been carefully weighed. Political parties should remember that a website is more than just a communication outlet. In many cases, the party website is the only real interaction a party may have with a potential supporter. To provide a website that is not functional to 5 to 10 percent of users is a major oversight.

Conservative.ca Campaign Weblog Review

The Conservatives first experimented with a campaign weblog during the 2004 federal election. A quick glance back at the 2004 weblog shows that it was considerably under-utilized - with only one short posting per day of the campaign and content that was bland and uninformative. This time around however, the Conservatives seem to have learned a few lessons and have expanded the weblog role in their communication strategy. Looking at the weblog you can see that while there is still only one posting per day of the campaign, they have improved the overall quality of the actual postings. The content of the postings relate to those policies and issues that have arisen through the campaign. The author of the weblog is anonymous and the copy is often accompanied with photos from the campaign trail.

There are however a number of problems plaguing the weblog. The first problem is the lack of linkage between the numerous topics discussed on the weblog and the various other sections of the campaign websites. The author of the blog often discusses specific policies or issues, and yet s/he never bothers to provide the weblog reader with a link to more information.

The second major problem with the weblog is the fact that there isn’t an archive for the daily postings. If the visitor is interested in reading what was posted for a certain day of the campaign the readers is forced to manually scroll through a weeks worth of postings to find the correct date. In an eight week campaign this means scrolling through a considerable amount of postings. A lack of archives is also a problem if the reader is looking for information on a particular subject - without knowing what day an issue or policy was mentioned, most readers would not bother scrolling through all these postings.

The third problem is the author of the weblog is anonymous. Who exactly is the person behind the weblog? Without knowing who the person writing the postings is, the reader will undoubtedly feel disconnected from the author of the weblog.

Here is what I would recommend:

1. Design a weblog that conforms to the standard weblog format. Similar to the Liberal blog, the Conservatives seem to have chosen to ignore the many different weblog software packages that are available, and have built a weblog that is difficult to use. The fact that this weblog has no archives, permalinks, trackbacks, comments, blogroll, etc, means that it fails to provide the format and features visitors have come to expect from weblogs.
2. Link the discussions in the weblog to internal and external sources. There are already numerous policies and issues that have been discussed (GST tax reform, Child Care, etc) directly on the weblog, here is a perfect opportunity to link to positive media reports, weblogs and supporting policy documents. By not providing links to external documents, readers are unfortunately not given all the information they might be seeking. Trapping users on a website by not providing external links out of the fear they will never return is a poor policy and assumes users are easily manipulated and cannot be trusted. Also, by not linking to internal policy documents, readers cannot follow up for more information on the issues discussed. If you’re going to discuss a policy like child-care, provide a link to section of the site that states this policy clearly.
3. Invest more time and resources into the weblog. One posting a day, no matter how long that post may be, just isn’t enough considering the potential importance of the weblog. Successful weblogs often have a loyal readership that return more than once a day to check to see if anything new has been posted. Repeat users are often drawn to weblogs because their authors are not hindered by a complex publication cycle found in the conventional media outlets. This means the Conservative party could have a captive audience repeatedly returning to their website to check out the latest developments in the campaign.

The Conservatives have effectively missed the boat with their blog. They seem to understand the importance of having one, but underestimate the true power and potential of the weblog on their communication strategy.