A minisite or sitelet is a small site, usually a single web page, which provides a lot of different functions. Some of these sites are simple “opt-in” signups for newsletters or ezines. They feature just a little bit of information about the newsletter and may have a domain name that matches closely in name to the newsletter. Since they take up little space, they’re often very inexpensive to purchase.
Another common type of minisite is one devoted to selling a single product. Perhaps you have one great invention that you want to sell online. Essentially the minisite then functions as a sales letter to potential customers. It can feature a few graphics, testimonials, explanation of the product, and ordering information. Alternately this type of minisite might add an additional webpage to cover the order form, but if you want to keep it really simple, you can accept orders by telephone or email only.
Minisites can also serve as affiliate pages. A single page with a catchy, commonly searchable domain name redirects people to a much larger website, or at least to a section of it. When you have a website that features many products, you may want to create a few minisites to create attention and interest in single products.
You can also use a minisite as a quick google ad moneymaker. If you can write one or two articles on a front page that have high money generating ads, and you choose a domain name for the site that is likely to achieve a high ranking in search engines, you might have an excellent means of generating income with pay per click advertisements. Moreover, once the site is up, you usually don’t have to do any type of continued writing. The site is meant to be small, contained and very specific.
There are a number of website companies that offer software on how to create minisites. In general though, the most important part of making sitelets accessible is using keyword repetition and choosing a domain name that is likely to show up in the first page or two of search engines. Graphics shouldn’t overwhelm the site, though a few graphics can help make a page attractive, because you want the site to load quickly and be near instantly accessible.
Cost for hosting these sites is generally pretty inexpensive. It may be as cheap as $30 US Dollars (USD) per year to host several at the same time. Some people claim these are instant moneymakers, but that really depends upon your use of the minisite and its purpose. Some sitelets do generate income in pay per click ads, or quickly sell products. Others aren’t as successful or take time for interest to develop.