Which is Better: Microsite or Landing Page?

We're often asked by our clients - what's the difference between a landing page and a microsite? Which one is best for me and my business? What's involved in setting them up? Well, we've put together a short guide below which should help clarify the difference and put you in the know.

Landing Pages

A landing page is designed to welcome visitors from a specific campaign - be it a social network post, email campaign, or a link scanned via QR code on marketing collateral.

They filter out the rest of the website in order to highlight and amplify the message of a campaign and get visitors to take specific action - download something, sign up for a free trial or make a purchase.

Landing pages have a number of plus points:

You won't require a domain name
They're quick to implement
It's a lower level of investment
They make it easy to test effectiveness with few page elements
Maintains brand and design continuity with the main website
Focused message and content that is designed around a call to action

However, they also have cons:

Focusing content provides low opportunity for engagement
Continuity with site design, content and tone can be restrictive

Microsites

Microsites are not condensed versions of websites. They are small sites, with just a few pages, but built around a focused message. The microsite can be dedicated to a specific campaign.

Unlike a landing page, microsites are less about driving immediate action, but are a much better way to explore a product or subject in depth without having to navigate through the rest of a website.

The pros of a microsite:

Creativity and flexibility in design and content - can be reskinned for different campaigns
The opportunity to personalise to visitors e.g. "Hello Storm"
They offer many opportunities to engage with visitors
Great way to pilot design and content ideas before implementing them sitewide
You can analyse traffic statistics

Microsite cons: