Entries for the 4th Best Personal Academic Websites Contest open on June 11, 2026 and close on October 11, 2026.
CONTEST LINKS
Thank you for helping us share this contest!
AWARD WINNERS
Do you have a personal academic website? Enter to win an award
I’m so glad you’re here. Whether you’ve been looking forward to this or you’re hearing about it for the first time, we are so excited to open the Best Personal Academic Website Contest 2026.
Hi, I’m Jennifer van Alstyne. When we first launched this contest in 2022, we had no idea how many people around the world it would inspire to create their own website. Or to update their existing website. This is a celebration of their hard work and the intention that academics have put into sharing what they care about online.
There are many ways to create websites. Some are easier, like making a website with Owlstown, and some websites are intricate and expansive portfolios. We celebrate it all, and everything in between. If you don’t have a website already, we’ve got resources to help you.
This contest is for academics. Whether you’re a…
- Faculty
- Professors
- Researchers
- Scientists
- Postdocs
- Grad students
- Independent researchers
- Research labs
- Research groups
We’d love to see your website entry. Here’s the form for you!
This contest has multiple awards, so we can highlight the various types of creativity and intention that academics have put into their online space. Academics have shown up in really engaging ways. We would love to hear about your website and how you’ve made it feel aligned for you and what you do.
I’m Jennifer van Alstyne of The Academic Designer LLC. My friends Brittany Trinh of the Beyond Your Science Podcast, and Ian Li of Owlstown, and I are teaming up again to this professional development contest and awards for you. We can’t wait to receive your entry. The form is quick to fill out.
This contest is open for entries.
Why you should enter
We want to recognize the hard work you’ve put into your personal academic or scientist website.
There will be awards in multiple categories, such as
- Overall Best Personal Academic Website
- Owlstown Website
- Best Educational Resource Website
- Best Academic Portfolio Website
- Best Research Lab or Group Website
- Best Storytelling
- Best Interactive Website
- Best Academic Entrepreneur / Business Website
- Best Use of Art / Visuals
- Most Aesthetic Website
Here’s what you get if you win an award 🏆
- A line on your CV
- A digital badge for your LinkedIn profile and website
- Be featured as a top academic website in the winner’s announcement and on social media
- Bragging rights
Subscribe to The Social Academic Blog so get the winner’s announcement right to your inbox later this year.
Website Resources
It’s never too early or too late to make your academic website a reality
Need a website? We have resources below to help you.
Meet Last Year’s Winners
INTERVIEW SERIES ON THE SOCIAL ACADEMIC PODCAST
ON YOUTUBE and SPOTIFY
AWARD WINNERS
Academic Websites Livestream
EVENT REPLAY 2025
Set up your website
EVENT REPLAY 2023
Resources to help you create your academic website
Articles, guides, and videos for your faculty website project. This resource list is from Jennifer van Alstyne, Brittany Trinh, and Ian Li to help you make your website. Our goal is to help as many people as possible. Please share with your friends 💌
Check out Brittany’s appearance on The Social Academic where we chat about research lab websites.
RESOURCES ON THE SOCIAL ACADEMIC BY CATEGORY
Please help share the contest
LINKS
Contest announcement link https://theacademicdesigner.com/2026/best-personal-academic-websites-contest-2026/
Entry Form link
https://forms.gle/soGjsLyetSEZMeVq8
SOCIAL MEDIA GRAPHICS
Contest Hosts | Bios
The Best Personal Academic Websites Contest is a collaborative, non-commercial initiative co-hosted by Jennifer, Brittany, and Ian to support the academic community. No compensation or gifts were exchanged for this partnership.
Jennifer van Alstyne helps professors feel confident when showing up online. The Academic Designer LLC is a minority woman-owned business helping academics share their research, teaching, and leadership on websites and social media since 2018. The Social Academic blog, podcast, and YouTube channel helps professors manage their online presence to build a strong digital footprint. Visit her personal website.
“This contest inspired so many people last year to make their own websites. I’m delighted we get to bring it back again this year. It’s never too early or too late to make your personal academic website.”
Brittany Trinh is a Vietnamese-American website designer and chemist. She helps enterprising scientists, science communicators, and academic entrepreneurs create a website that integrates your creativity and expertise. She hosts the Beyond Your Science Podcast. Brittany is a PhD candidate in Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Visit Brittany’s website.
“I hope that this contest will motivate more graduate students to get their websites done ASAP. I’m excited to see more academics share their finished websites on Twitter!”
Ian Li is the creator of Owlstown, a free website builder for academics. Owlstown websites are easy to make and maintain, so you can focus on your research. With templates for various research artifacts, Owlstown allows you to present your research in various ways to inspire and inform others.
“I am excited that the contest will encourage people to share their research by creating an academic website. I hope that the experience of creating an academic website will help people to think about how to present their research. I also hope that people may gain inspiration from each other’s websites.”
Question about the Contest?
Hi, I’m Jennifer van Alstyne. I’m happy to answer your question about the Best Personal Academic Websites Contest. Please reach out
Jennifer@TheAcademicDesigner.com
