DigiComm offers microsites as a lower-cost alternative to websites for content that is deeper than a landing page but doesn't quite meet the muster for something as large as a full website.
Every content manager has been there: An upcoming conference needs to be highlighted for peers around the world to come to FIU. But wait, this conference page has plenty of links and instructions, even a gallery for any photos taken before, during and after the conference!
How do you fit all that into your existing website? The answer is: you don't have to. Instead, you can work with DigiComm to create a microsite!
For the purpose of this post, we will be distinguishing between "full" websites and microsites. Microsites are technically websites too, but we never use the terms interchangeably here at FIU DigiComm when discussing projects.
What is a microsite?
Microsites are like sub-websites. They are more complex than landing pages or typical website sections, but simpler than full websites. They will sometimes even have distinct URLs, to further highlight their unique position in their parent unit.
Keep in mind you can use unique URLs to redirect to parent sites. For example, FIU Greek Life, the microsite in this post's banner, can be reached just as easily through greeks.fiu.edu.
Microsites vs. Landing Pages
Microsites and landing pages are both more focused than larger websites. They carve out a specific part of a parent website to highlight in its own space. They are different, however, in how focused they can be, with microsites being the more complex of the two.
Landing pages are one-shot pages completely focused on a specific goal. They keep things simple, removing navigation and other site elements to drive users toward an action like applying for a program or submitting a form. Stempel College's MPH in Global Health landing page wants you to do one thing: apply now!
Microsites are more focused than websites, but much wider in scope than landing pages. They have their own navigations and function just like regular websites, only under the domain of larger parent websites.
While SIPA's MA in Global Affairs microsite has some similarities to the MPH in Global Health landing page (and even shares the Apply button), it is offering much more information than its landing page counterpart, complete with a navigation to deep dive its sub-pages.
Microsites vs. Websites
Websites are the broadest umbrella available for hosting content. Microsites are a specific part of parent websites, separated and given their own space while still falling under that umbrella.
A good example of that relationship is the main website for the FIU College of Engineering & Computing and one of its microsite partners, the Annual Impact Report. The report has its own digital space, but it's still part of the CEC.
When is a microsite my best option?
Microsites are great tools when you need to provide a home for content that is related to your full website, but is complicated or distinct enough to benefit from its own space. Think of your website as a pie, with a microsite being a slice of that pie moved onto its own plate.
That "slice" of content may include subject matter like:
- Large events
- Niche content
- Large sub-units with an identity of their own
- Temporary content like new products or publications
Notice the pattern: all these examples are complex or timely while remaining attached to their parent academic units.
Why should I use a microsite?
Microsites offer unique benefits over just dropping content directly into your website. Most of these advantages boil down to taking a unique piece of your unit, giving it its own space and using the microsite format properly.
Take advantage of a parent website's SEO
Encouraging strong SEO for a new site is difficult, requiring a careful approach to content writing and design to guarantee a high search ranking.
Microsites make that higher search ranking easier to achieve by taking advantage of an existing parent website's SEO. Major unit websites are well-established by the time you need to make a microsite under their umbrella, so use their resources! That way, when a user searches something like "admissions conference," they may run into the Office of Admissions' 2023 International ACAC microsite.
The benefit goes both ways, too! A microsite does just as much to encourage traffic toward its parent site thanks to their shared relationship, something impossible to do with a completely separate website.
Simplify navigation of large sub-units
FIU's College of Engineering & Computing opted for a microsite to give their Annual Impact Report more space to spread out its hefty content. Thanks to our microsite's capacity for having its own navigation, the Impact Report is easy to browse while maintaining a close connection to its parent site at CEC.
The Impact Report microsite is also a testament to the microsite format's flexibility, as the Impact Report is built on the Core Template, while the CEC website is built on WordPress. In other words, requesting a microsite might be a good option in more situations than you think!
Highlight niche content
Not all microsites exist just to take advantage of a new navigation. Some exist to highlight unique parts of larger websites that don't exactly fit the design or feel of their parent.
The FIU Medicine Magazine by the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine is a good example of content niche enough to benefit from the microsite treatment. The microsite does not have a navigation, but it does serve as a hub for many unique sub-pages, easily accessible from the microsite and its grid of thumbnail links.
Anyone interested in reading the Medicine Magazine would only have to visit its microsite to have direct access to all its articles, instead of navigating the FIU Medicine's main website to hunt down the appropriate page.
Promote temporary or periodic events
Events are a part of every department across campus. Those events often require a lot of detail–RSVP links, speakers, programs, descriptions, etc. Adding details like that to your main website means you are adding large sections with short-term expiration dates.
FIU Nursing just finished celebrating the 50th anniversary of their program, using our microsite format to create a significant, but temporary space where they added event details that would have otherwise clogged up the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences main site. When FIU Nursing decides to retire their microsite, it will not cause any issues for the main website!
Make it easier to delegate editing access
There is such a thing as too many editors. With larger websites, you may end up having to grant users access when they are really only responsible for specific portions of the entire website.
So, why not separate some of those portions into microsites? By doing so, you are distinguishing the specific responsibilities of the microsite's editors, while at the same time making it clear those editors are attached to your larger academic unit.
List of microsite examples
For reference, the microsites mentioned in this post are:
- Global Health Conference of the Americas
- FIU Medicine Magazine
- Master of Arts in Global Affairs
- CEC Annual Report
- Academic Planning and Accountability
Ready to get started?
If you're interested in creating a microsite to enhance the digital landscape of your unit, consider Starting a Project with Digital Communications.