Microsite vs subsite vs landing page
NN/g defines a subsite as a group of pages inside a larger site with a common style and shared navigation. NN/g recommends putting new information on subsites within the main site instead of independent microsites.
NN/g gives two reasons:
Main-site search often ignores microsites.
A 2003 NN/g note says microsites tend to be too independent and fragment a company web presence.
This NN/g research is dated; treat it as a usability argument.
Florida International University (FIU) says microsites are much wider in scope than landing pages and have their own navigation. Landing pages, in FIU's guidance, are single-goal pages that remove navigation to drive one action, such as applying or submitting a form.
Westmorland and Furness Council offers subsites, differently branded sections of the main site, as a cost-effective option when there is evidence that content needs to look different. For CMS options that let marketers build campaign pages on the main site, see the best headless CMS for marketing.
When policies allow a microsite
NN/g names a product launch as a typical occasion for a dedicated microsite, and warns it can undermine the online strategy a year later. FIU's example of microsite content is an upcoming conference page with many links and instructions.
UK council policies, each binding only its own council:
Cumberland Council makes its corporate CMS the default; a microsite needs a lifespan and a review every 6 months.
Cumberland also asks for a defined audience and need, a promotion and SEO plan, resources for at least a year, targets and an exit strategy. A microsite outside the CMS needs evidence of specialist functionality the CMS cannot provide.
Westmorland and Furness Council calls microsites usually unsuitable: they rank slowly, can duplicate main-site information and confuse users about the authoritative source, and are costly to maintain.
Westmorland and Furness exceptions: a site that cannot be associated with the council, a unique audience, a service the main site cannot deliver or beyond the council area, or a joint project.
Cambridgeshire County Council accepts that a separate website can sometimes be better for a particular service, campaign or subject.
NN/g observes that abandoned microsites from old marketing campaigns are common on the web. Folding a microsite back into the main site falls under Google's site-move guidance, which covers merging multiple domains or hostnames.
Microsites in a Pagepro consolidation
When Pagepro consolidates many sites onto one codebase, it scopes the owned core sites first. Sponsored or client-facing microsites are named early as a separate carve-out.
For delivery, see headless CMS development for marketing teams.
Sources
- Microsites - Cambridgeshire County CouncilCambridgeshire County Council · cambridgeshire.gov.uk
- The Rise of the SubsiteNielsen Norman Group · nngroup.com
- Top 10 Information Architecture (IA) MistakesNielsen Norman Group · nngroup.com
- Domains and using microsites - Westmorland and Furness CouncilWestmorland and Furness Council · westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk
- Site Moves and MigrationsGoogle · developers.google.com
- What is a microsite? - FIU Digital CommunicationsFlorida International University (public university) Digital Communications · core.fiu.edu
- Cumberland Council's microsite policyCumberland Council · cumberland.gov.uk