Michigan State University has hundreds, if not thousands, of websites. It is common for a website user to need to traverse several websites during a browsing session to find all the information they need. Website managers must rely on extensive linking between websites to ensure users get to where they need to be — or risk losing their audience.
It is also a common occurrence to think “we need a website!” when embarking on a new project or initiative. In some cases, this may be true. In other cases, there may be alternative strategies to consider that could offer a better user experience and a more efficient website administration experience.
Unified Versus Separate Website Strategy
In a unified website strategy, one overarching website contains all the website content for the affiliated units. Content is structured using pages and subsite sections, and users can navigate using the website navigation tools. Subsite sections may, or may not, appear in the navigation bar on the homepage.
Vanity URLs can be used to promote and link to subsite sections within the website.
Example of Unified Website Strategy
In a separate website strategy, separate websites are created for individual subunits or initiatives. These may then be linked to and promoted from other websites, but they retain their own navigation, and the websites are physically separate website instances in the content management system.
Examples of Separate Website Strategy
Selecting a Strategy
There are pros and cons for each website structure strategy. Explore the tabs below to view information comparing a unified website versus separate website strategy and why content authors might choose one over another. These examples are written for the case of evaluating strategy for a unified college website versus separate academic department websites, but the same principles may apply to other types of websites (e.g., laboratory, grant or office websites).
Separate Websites:
Pros:
- Allow for a unique and tailored design, user experience and branding for each department. These can cater to specific audiences and offer a more individualized experience.
Cons:
- May confuse users if the branding is too distinct or is not aligned with the parent organization. If branding diverges too much from the main university identity, it may confuse users.
- Multiple domains can dilute university-wide brand recognition.
Unified Website with Subsite Sections:
Pros:
- Maintains a consistent brand and experience across all departments.
- Strengthens university brand unity and recognition of the college affiliation for departments, labs and programs.
- College departments may showcase their unique identity, personality, courses, faculty and achievements through content. They may also have additional pages and content to differ one department from another in a subsite section strategy, giving very similar results to that of a separate website.
- Departments may still maintain a vanity URL for promotion. The vanity URL would redirect to the subsite section.
Cons:
- Limited flexibility in tailoring user experience for individual departments. May make the site feel too uniform for specialized departments.
Summary of Recommendations
Separate websites can help emphasize the distinctiveness of individual units. However, for a cohesive digital experience that ties the entire academic community together, unified websites with subsite sections may be preferable.
At MSU, University Communications and Marketing is aiming for a balanced approach. Therefore, a hybrid model is recommended. Degree-granting colleges live as separate sites from the main university domain, with a cohesive design informed by the college experience model home structure. This offers both unity and flexibility in branding and user experience, while also supporting shallow information architecture and navigation within a unified model built on the enterprise content management system.
From this basis, units are empowered to make decisions to determine the best model for their affiliated departments: a unified website with subsite sections, separate websites for each subunit, or a generally unified website with some distinct individual departments having their own website (i.e., one-offs) when required to meet vastly different audience, branding or unit objectives.
Based on user experience research efforts and work with the college committee that led to the model home effort, the default mindset should be to aim for a unified, branded experience with streamlined website maintenance and built-in efficiencies made possible with a unified website and subsite sections strategy.
Strategy Selection Guide
Answer these brief questions to guide staff thinking on which website strategy is right for a unit.
Additional Information
Content Planning
Use the content inventory, audit and priority guide to plan effective content for a website.
User-Centered Design Conventions
Review best practices for crafting website user experiences.
Documentation updated: Nov. 1, 2024
Depending on the department’s content needs, one-off SEO strategies and tactics could still be deployed on a subsite section. However, for a more distinct department with a high volume of unique content needs and with its own dedicated capacity to help sustain content and SEO within a website, units can consider the separate domain site strategy for its ability to support dedicated SEO efforts.
See the Digital Strategy and Digital Marketing tab for additional information.