Sep 23, 2024
7
min Read

13 Best Microsite Examples for Marketing & Brand Growth

Andrew Mewborn
Sep 23, 2024

We all love consuming short form contents. TikTok and YouTube Shorts are great examples. Who hasn’t spent hours scrolling on these apps? (I know I have!)

For businesses, a quick and simple sales pitch is super important. Many successful companies use microsites as part of their marketing.

In this post, we’ll share some great microsite examples that actually worked!

What is a Microsite and How Does it Work?

A microsite is a small website separate from a company’s main site. It focuses on one thing, like a product, event, or campaign. Unlike a full website, it has fewer pages and is made for a specific audience or goal.

How Does a Microsite Work?

  • Own Domain or Subdomain – It can have a unique web address (e.g., productcampaign.com) or be part of the main site (e.g., campaign.company.com).
  • Focused Content – Instead of covering everything about a company, it highlights one topic, like a product launch or marketing campaign.
  • Custom Design & Branding – It may look different from the main site to match the campaign’s theme.
  • SEO & Marketing – It targets specific keywords and audiences without affecting the main website.
  • Temporary or Permanent – Some microsites are short-term, while others stay live for a long time.

13 Best Microsite Examples for Marketing & Business Success

1. Best Microsite Example for Online Course

A landing page for GTM Elite Circle promoting proven GTM systems with bold text, testimonials, and enrollment buttons.
GTM Elite Circle Landing Page

The GTM Elite Circle is a great microsite for online courses. It focuses on teaching proven GTM systems.

The site’s main goal is to turn visitors into course participants. It offers a 30-day roadmap to help build a go-to-market engine. The site includes testimonials, course details, and a clear button to join the waitlist.

2. Best Microsite Example for Engagement

Intel Gaming Access webpage with a futuristic sports car, Intel Core branding, and text promoting high-performance gaming experiences.
Intel Gaming Access homepage

The Intel Gaming Access microsite shows Intel’s support for gamers. It features different games with bold images and a large video on the homepage.

The site includes game tips, product guides, and community events. It keeps gamers engaged by providing useful info and a place to connect.

3. Best Microsite Example for Interactive Learning

NASA at Home webpage with e-books, kids’ activities, virtual tours, podcasts, videos, and science programs for space learning.
NASA at Home

The NASA at Home microsite is perfect for space lovers. It offers virtual tours, DIY projects, podcasts, and videos.

The site makes learning about NASA easy and fun. People of all ages can explore space from home. 

4. Best Microsite Example for Brand Mission

Kacey Musgraves sings into a studio microphone for Chipotle’s short film, promoting sustainable farming with a reimagined Coldplay song.
Kacey Musgraves performs for Chipotle’s short film

The Behind the Film microsite shows how Chipotle created the short film A Future Begins. The film highlights sustainable farming and the need to support young farmers.

The site uses videos, background stories, and testimonials to share this message. It’s a great example of storytelling through a website.

5. Best Microsite Example for Cause-Driven Advocacies

Patagonia’s Blue Heart documentary promotes the fight to protect Europe’s last wild rivers, featuring a dam surrounded by green mountains.
Patagonia’s Blue Heart film

Patagonia created the Blue Heart microsite with Farm League. It spreads awareness about the damage caused by hydroelectric dams in the Balkans.

Unlike most microsites, it doesn’t push visitors to the main Patagonia site. Instead, it focuses on storytelling. It uses a short film, articles, and an interactive map to share its message.

Patagonia’s goal is to support the cause, not sell products. This makes Blue Heart a great example of a purpose-driven microsite.

6. Best Microsite Example for Business Promotion

HubSpot Website Grader page with input fields for website and email, offering free performance analysis and improvement tips powered by Google Lighthouse.
HubSpot's Website Grader

HubSpot’s Website Grader is a free tool that checks how well your website performs. Just enter your website link and email address. The tool will then analyze your site using Google Lighthouse.

It gives a grade based on four things: speed, SEO, mobile-friendliness, and security. Each gets its own score. The tool also gives tips on how to improve your website.

7. Best Microsite Example for Showcasing Business Solutions

Adobe’s digital banner promoting customer experience transformation, featuring a woman using a smartphone with abstract design elements in the background.
Adobe CXM

The Adobe CXM microsite is designed for businesses. It explains how Adobe’s CXM (Customer Experience Management) tools help brands.

The site has an interactive design with one clear action button. It includes data and expert quotes to build trust.

The content is short and easy to read. This keeps visitors interested and less likely to leave.

This microsite helps Adobe share information about CXM in a more engaging way than their main website.

8. Best Microsite Example for App Promotion

Blinker advertisement with a blue sky, bold white text saying "Dude, I love financing cars," and a red sports car.
I Love Financing Cars by Blinker

The I Love Financing Cars microsite promotes Blinker, a mobile app for car financing. The app lets users apply for loans, sign documents, and make payments—all from their phone.

The site is simple and easy to use. It focuses on one product with clear messages and helpful images.

Navigation is straightforward, and the text is easy to understand. It makes car financing feel less overwhelming.

9. Best Microsite Example for Social Awareness Campaigns

Advocacy image with bold text stating "Water is a Human Right," highlighting 703 million people lacking clean water, featuring activists.
Water is a Human Right Campaign

The Water is a Human Right microsite spreads awareness about the global clean water crisis. It shares important facts about water access, sanitation, and hygiene.

The site supports projects worldwide through the organization Viva con Agua. It uses powerful images and statistics to make an impact.

10. Best Microsite Example for Industry Research

Travers Smith and Debtwire report titled "Calling the Shots," discussing European private equity funding trends in 2015, set against a London skyline.
Calling the Shots

The Calling the Shots microsite is based on a survey by Debtwire for Travers Smith, a UK law firm. It looks at investments made by 150 private equity firms over one year.

The homepage highlights key findings with simple diagrams. This makes the research easy to understand. The site explains how private equity funding is changing in Europe using clear numbers and facts.

Other pages provide more details with text, charts, and images. While it’s mainly for finance professionals, anyone can learn from its simple and clear presentation.

The site also helps Travers Smith show their expertise. Social share buttons appear throughout, and the final page includes a contact form for those wanting more details. This makes it easy for visitors to connect.

11. Best Microsite Example for Marketing Campaign

Spotify for Artists page promoting Canvas, a looping visual feature for tracks, with a phone displaying album visuals and playback controls.
Spotify Canvas

The Spotify Canvas microsite introduces a feature for artists and their teams. Canvas lets artists add looping visuals to their songs, making album artwork more engaging.

The homepage has a bold headline explaining why Canvas is useful. It also features five different examples of album art using the feature.

One of the best parts of the site is its interactive scrolling. When you move your mouse over each example, you can see Canvas in action. You can drag left and right to explore different styles, like 3D, 2D graphics, and video.

12. Best Microsite Example for Brand Connection

IKEA Life at Home webpage promoting an artist-in-residence project featuring 25 real homes, captured by photographer Annie Leibovitz.
Life at Home by IKEA

The Life at Home microsite by IKEA shares research on how home life affects mental health. It looks at how people’s lives changed in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The site explains how a cozy home and strong relationships can boost happiness. It includes a map, videos, and questions to get readers thinking.

IKEA connects the idea of a happy home to its brand. This helps visitors see how their products can improve everyday life.

13. Best Microsite Example for Interactive Music Education

Chrome Music Lab homepage displaying colorful interactive music experiments, including piano roll animations, a drum-playing monkey, spectrograms, and note visualizations.
Chrome Music Lab

The Chrome Music Lab is a fun website with music experiments for all ages. It makes learning about music simple and interactive.

The site has a clean design and works on different devices. Each experiment teaches music in a fun way. You can create beats, explore sound waves, and more.

What makes it unique is how it uses web tools to make learning hands-on. It could be even better if users could save their work or share their creations.

Conclusion

And there you have it—microsites might be small, but they pack a punch. Whether you’re launching a new product, spreading the word about a cause, or creating an engaging user experience, these little sites can make a big impact.

So, next time you’re planning a campaign, don’t count them out. Sometimes, it’s the small things that make the biggest difference.

Use Distribute to make your first ever microsite. Try it for free!

Try Distribute for Free!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What’s the difference between microsites vs websites?

A microsite is a small site focused on a specific campaign or product. A website is a company’s main online hub with broad content.

Microsites are temporary, usually just a few pages, and target niche audiences. Websites are long-term, larger, and cover multiple topics.

Microsites work well for focused marketing. Websites are better for ongoing business presence.

2. What’s the difference between microsites vs landing pages?

A microsite is a small, standalone website with multiple pages. It focuses on a campaign, product, or event and allows visitors to explore and engage with content.

A landing page is a single page with one goal, like capturing leads or driving sign-ups. It’s often part of a larger website and is used in ads or email campaigns to boost conversions.

If you need an interactive experience, go with a microsite. If you want a simple, focused action, a landing page is the better choice.

3. How do I create a microsite?

  1. Set a goal, like a product launch, event, or campaign.
  2. Pick a domain, either a standalone one or a subdomain.
  3. Plan the content with key pages.
  4. Design and build the microsite.
  5. Add important elements like CTAs, lead forms, and tracking tools.
  6. Test everything, fix errors, and optimize speed before launching.
  7. Promote with SEO and social media.

Read more on our guide on how to create a successful microsite.

4. When should you use a microsite?

You should consider using a microsite for product launches, marketing campaigns, and events by keeping content clear and engaging. They are also effective for lead generation, making it easier to collect emails and sign-ups.

5. How many pages are in a microsite?

A microsite usually has between 1 to 10 pages. It is smaller than a full website and serves a specific purpose. The number of pages depends on the campaign or need.

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