About Election Season
How candidates present themselves and use technology as part of their political campaigns fascinates me. In 2015, I began screencapturing candidate websites and social media profiles. More recently, this site now includes resources and tutorials on how to build and maintain a political campaign site, in part based on my experiences helping others.
When using this site's resources, keep in mind that:
- Your milage may vary, as the needs, goals, and budget of each campaign is unique
- While there is platform specific content (example: WordPress), there is relevant content for sites built on other platforms (examples: Wix and Squarespace) as well as campaign-centric platforms (example: NationBuilder)
- This site does not offer detailed information or advice about local, state, or federal laws that may impact your campaign. At times, there may be hints, such as to include appropriate “paid for language” on one’s site.
- Do your own due diligence. Items listed on the site — especially links to other service providers or services — do not equal endorsements.
Methodology
The methodology for capturing candidate sites has changed over time. During the 2016 Presidential Election cycle, several plugins were used to capture screenshots:
- Grab-Them-All
- Nimbus
- Awesome Screenshot
More recently, additional proprietary tools have been developed using open source projects.
Google Chrome is typically used, often with regular clearing of cache. When possible, incognito mode is used. However, some tools do not work in incognito mode.
Some Facebook pages — like pages show advertising details — are only available after being logged into the site.
Additional tools include Photoshop, Canva, and Filmora Wondershare.
Technology Powering This Site
Original versions of this site relied on WordPress. In 2019, the site was moved to Webflow.