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.

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 other 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:

To request a microsite 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.