Have you been wanting an academic website for a while? Here’s what I don’t want for you:
- Not starting on your website project because it feels too big.
- Starting but not finishing because your website isn’t perfect.
- Staring at a blank screen because you’re not sure what to share on your website.
They’re normal feelings academics have shared with me. I created website resources for you on The Social Academic to help you think through and consider your options for your academic website. To help you get your ideas out of your head and onto the screen. View website resources.
People’s favorite resource are winners of the Best Personal Academic Websites Contest (now open for entries through October 31, 2026). This is our 4th annual contest co-hosted by Jennifer van Alstyne, Dr. Brittany Trinh, and Dr. Ian Li. Learn about the contest.
To support you to enter the contest, I invited last year’s winners to The Social Academic podcast for conversations about their website. We go behind the scenes to talk about their academic website journey from the platforms they chose, how they organized their research and teaching, and their best advice for you if you’re thinking about a personal academic website too.
Each interview is available for you to read, listen to, or watch. I hope one of these conversations is helpful for you and your website! View the playlist on YouTube.
P.S. Please enter the Best Personal Academic Websites Contest, the form is quick to fill out for you.
Dr. Patrick Manser
Best Academic Portfolio Website 2025
“I highly recommend everyone to do it, even as an academic. We always feel like we don’t have time. My answer to that is always having no time is never an argument. Time is always a priority choice. If you set the priority, you will make time. That’s the same with meeting friends, that’s the same with taking new projects. It’s always the same. It’s always about priority. I would say that we owe it to the public that funds our research that we make this a priority.” —Dr. Patrick Manser
Hira Javed
Most Aesthetic Website 2025
“I think the advice would be to, don’t even start with your laptop or opening up a website builder. I think start with pen and paper, do some exercise to reflect on your journey, what are the skills and experiences that you’ve collected or the competencies you want to highlight and then how do you want to position yourself, and then go have fun, learn a new tool and mess around with it and see what you can create.” —Hira Javed
Dr. Ana Rebeka Kamšek
Accessible SciComm Award 2025
“I did my website in different stages. There were so many iterations of it. When I started, I focused on the content first and how it looked second. I really appreciated the versional control function that GitHub offers because I made a lot of small changes to get the site to write this today.” —Dr. Ana Rebeka Kamšek
Dr. Akshata Naik
Owlstown Website 2025
“We do have a page from our university, but it’s kind of locked-in in terms of design and what goes on up there. I am a very creative person; I try to put in my creativity as much as possible in whatever I design, and that was the inspiration for me to start my own website.” —Dr. Akshata Naik
Dr. Cecilia Baldoni
Best Interactive Website 2025
“For students, what I say: if you think deep enough, you will find so many things that you can add that are unique to you.” —Dr. Cecilia Baldoni
Cecilia shared these questions for students to consider when creating their scientist website:
- What is your contribution that it’s not only a publication?
- Did you present something even with your friends or in your lab and your lab meeting? What was it about?
- What’s your thesis on?
- What is your interest?
- What’s your point of view of things?
- What’s your week like?
- What is like in your lab? How does that work?
Dr. Erika Iveth Cedillo-González
Best Storytelling 2025
“I choose my favorite colors, pink as you can see, and something that can be a good combination with that color. And I decide to tell people my story because I consider that I don’t have a traditional academic path. I have been in two different universities because of life, and I have been in many situations that are not the traditional path that one imagines for academics. My mission with that website was that people can see that there are different kind of scientists with different stories, but that we can all be successful in research.” —Dr. Erika Iveth Cedillo-González
Dr. Allie Sinclair
Best Research Lab or Group Website 2025
“It’s tricky because the website is supposed to serve multiple audiences who might want to engage with it in different ways…the strategy that I took to try to make it more inviting when you first arrive. To have colorful aesthetics and illustrations that help people understand the core concepts or the application domains that we explore, as well as plain language information that can help people quickly understand what it is, what we do and why it matters. But then I also want to provide more information for the people who do want to engage deeper, like prospective students who might want to join the lab or colleagues who want to engage with my research on a critical or scientific level. Starting with the high level concepts, I then kind of drill down where people can go and seek out information that’s relevant to them.” —Dr. Allie Sinclair
Enter the Contest
The Best Personal Academic Websites Contest is open for entries through October 31, 2026. Thank you!
Past Award Winners
Get inspired with these award winning personal academic websites. Please share with a friend.
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