More than ever, MPs and other elected representatives can greatly benefit from maintaining an active online presence. In whatever form, be it a personal website, blog or YouTube channel, an online presence for an MP can be a great way of engaging constituents and voters, and explaining the work that he/she is doing to improve their lives (most of the time!).

Increasingly, MPs without decent web presences, in most-developed countries at least, are looking like they don’t understand the 21st century communications environment that we live in. A few years ago, the web could have been passed off as a fad but with higher than ever internet penetration rates around the world and signs of political apathy in richer countries, it’s a better time than any for MPs and other representatives to get online and to do it well.

Here are a few tips for MPs (or their staff/researchers) on how to get the most out of their website/blog/YouTube channel (etc.):

People don’t just vote at election time!
You need to show your constituents and electorate that you’re serving them year-round, not just around election time. Try to regularly update your website with news about things you have done to serve them. Include pictures, videos or audio and you won’t seem so distant.

Allow constituents to use your website as a sounding off board
You ran for election to serve your constituents, so don’t just listen to them when you’re at home in your area. Set up a section of your website which allows local constituents to let their elected representative know about issues that concern them. And don’t just stop there. Answer their concerns, and tell them what you have done/will do to solve the issue.

Publicise national campaigns on your local website
National campaigns from any party affect people on a local level, including your constituents. If your party is running a national campaign about an issue (for example, the ban on smoking, a recent example from the UK), publicise it on your website in a high-profile spot.

Keep design simple and accessible
You want as many people as possible to use your website without having any accessibility issues. To this end, don’t be tempted to use flash animation, lots of javascript or anything else which may hinder the user’s experience. Keep design fresh and simple, not cluttered and fancy.

Tune your website for search engine visibility
If someone types in the name of the area your represent into a search engine, your website should ideally come very close to the top. When selecting a domain name, try to include the name of your constituency, and/or any major towns in that area in the domain name. For example, if your constituency was called ‘Salford’, and your name was Hazel Blears, hazelblearsforsalford.co.uk would really help your search engine visibility for people looking for local information.