Build a microsite

Summary

Capture a project, campaign, or knowledge base in one place.

How this helps

We process data into information, and merge information into knowledge. We then send the knowledge in an email where it gets lost forever. Microsites are small, targeted web sites that capture all the knowledge about something important, and make it really easy for people to find back.

It also makes it very easy to abandon and forget a bunch of knowledge that becomes outdated and no longer useful. Selective forgetting is as important as remembering, and the FFII has suffered from pack-rat syndrome, collecting tens of thousands of pages that finally don't see that useful.

Explanation

Naming

Microsites need short obvious names. There was a fashion in the FFII to name things using an invented language (I'm not joking). Apparently, imposing English was unnatural and unfair. The counter argument (which won) was that imposing Lojban was cruel punishment.

Since the main unit of navigation on the Internet is the domain name, microsites have their own domain name, either a sub-domain of ffii.org (like epla.ffii.org), or a seperate domain (like www.noooxml.org).

Microsites are owned by FFII workgroups. This means, if you start a microsite by yourself, you may find you have an uphill struggle to get support. It's wiser to start a microsite by discussing in the responsible workgroup first. You may need to start a new workgroup.

Technology

I prefer Wikidot because it's fast and flexible. You may choose anything you like and can make cheaply. Microsites don't care, because they are made, used, and then generally discarded. The very few microsites that are long-lived can usually be migrated to better technology if and when it arrives.

Look and feel

There is no standard FFII look and feel, we enjoy diversity more than boring, grey, uncreative homogeneity. But if you make an FFII microsite, ask the FFII board for an "OK" to use the FFII name, and make sure you put the FFII logo clearly at the top. If you really want to be consistent, use the same theme as the various example sites listed below.

Navigation

All microsites need a clear and complete navigation from the main page. It's unacceptable to expect people to remember URLs. This should be the golden rule of every website - every single page must be reachable from the main page through a small number of hops.

There are many reasons for this:

  • Easier for your users, who only need to remember the main domain name.
  • Forces you to structure your work, which is good.
  • Ensures that you stop maintaining the microsite as soon as it's mature.
  • Creates a single navigation metaphor for all FFII sites.

Templates

Here are some existing sites made with Wikidot that you can use as templates for your new microsites:

  • epla.ffii.com - a simple information site.
  • www.ethipat.org - a campaign site based on a petition.
  • www.noooxml.org - a campaign site combining petition, news, and forum.
  • www.eupaco.org - a conference (event) site with registration, news, and articles.
  • www.digitalmajority.org - a news/comment site.
  • forum.ffii.org - a knowledge base site.

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Author

  • Pieter Hintjens <gro.iiff|hreteip#gro.iiff|hreteip>