Author’s Note: Standard Web Standards will be starting a “blog mini-series” on the notable websites of Philippine candidates (For everyone’s information, Filipinos will be voting for national and local officials this coming May).
Manny Villar ascended into the Philippine Senate with the slogan “Sipag at Tiyaga” (“Hard work and Perseverance”), but it seems he is merely describing what we need to appreciate his website. Here’s why:
- Message, message, message – Most sources say this is his campaign website. It doesn’t say he’s running for anything. The site should try to be more convincing, given the campaign atmosphere.
- Confusing links – The homepage is peppered with questionable links. It doesn’t help that his descriptions on the section names look like links.
- Pop-ups! -His TV advertisment is placed in a pop-up window. People using blockers (like Firefox or Opera) will not get to see it, unfortunately.
- Fresh Design – The design direction for the site is modern and contemporary. (The only thing going so far)
- Navigation – Pretty straightforward, but the Photos navigation needs some serious AJAX fix.
- Whatever happened to accessibility? – His homepage does not provide an alternative version to those who do not want use Flash.
- Content is King – The site is able give a great deal of information about Manny Villar, but does little to sway the potential voter.
As somebody running for a Philippine Senate seat, simply putting the TV ad in a pop-up will not cut it. The diagnosis here is that the site needs to be more aggressive towards the goal– getting himself elected.
