Domains and using microsites

Most of the content we need to publish can go on the main site. Occasionally there might be a need to develop a microsite.

Using westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk

The primary source of information about our council. If we provide a service, then everything users need to know about it should be here.

Subsites

A subsite is essentially a section of the Westmorland and Furness website, that can be branded and designed differently.

Subsites offer a cost effective way of presenting your service where there is an evidenced customer need for your content to look different from the standard W&F web design pattern.

They are suitable for services that are delivered by us, within our council boundary and that would not qualify as a microsite.

Advantages of subsites

they can be less costly and quicker to produce than microsites
customers will be familiar with how to use and navigate them
customers will be assured that they are in the right place, accessing an official council service
the content is easier for search engines and customers to find
there is no need to purchase set up a different web address
they are easier and less costly to maintain and monitor
there is no need to train members of your team to manage the site, it can be managed like any other page by working with the web team, by making web content requests

Examples of subsites

Request a subsite

To request a subsite use our web content request form.

Your request will be reviewed by the web team. We will get in touch to let you know the next steps.

Microsites

Microsites are usually not suitable because:

people expect to find information from us on the main site
there is already a large audience using the main site
they can duplicate information already existing on the main site, making it difficult for customers to understand where to get authoritative, sound information
they are difficult and costly to maintain, it takes time and resource to keep the information fresh and up to date
they take time to rise up the rankings of search engines making them harder to find (Westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk ranks very highly for topics related to our services)
you'll need publicity to promote your microsite
they can be costly, they take time and resource to develop. Consider your budget and capacity first
They don't fit with the Council's priorities and capacity

You might consider a microsite when:

the site can't be associated directly with our council
the audience is unique and won't use westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk
you need to offer a service which can't be done on the main site
if your service is delivered beyond the footprint of our council, for example across Cumbria
the site is representing a collaborative project delivered with another organisation

Examples of Westmorland and Furness authorised microsites include:

We can develop microsites for you, but you will need to ensure you have people in place and long-term capacity to ensure that the site:

is kept correct up to date
meets our 'Design and content guidelines'
meets the accessibility requirements for .gov.uk web sites

Cost

There are costs involved in developing a microsite. Please make sure you have budget available to progress the project.

Costs are variable and depend on the size and complexity of your site.

The main costs involves are:

purchasing a URL (web address)
engaging an experienced web designer or design agency to design your site
engaging our developer to build the site

For a site using our basic microsite template, the cost will be minimal. The only cost involved will be purchasing the URL. An example of a basic microsite is, Barrow Dock Museum.

A more complex site requiring input from a designer and developer will be more costly. An example of a more complex microsite is, Travel Actively.

Request a microsite

To request a microsite make a web content request.