Creating a personal academic website might sound like a big task.
Especially if you don’t have any experience with web design or development. But it’s actually simpler than you think.
This guide will take you step-by-step through the process without needing to do any design or technical work yourself.
Think of it as a quick guided tour that helps you gets your academic work online in a professional way.
7 Steps to Creating and Publishing Your Academic Website
1. Write and Prepare Your Website Content
Before you jump into building your website, it’s important to have your content ready.
Your website will showcase who you are as an academic, so having clear, organized materials makes everything smoother.
Here’s a straightforward way to prepare:
- Biography: Write a short paragraph about yourself, your academic background, and your current position. Keep it friendly and focused.
- Curriculum Vitae (CV): Prepare a full list of your education, positions, awards, publications, and service. You can create this as a Word or PDF file.
- Research Interests: Summarize your main research areas or projects in a few sentences.
- Publications: List your key publications. Include titles, journals, and links if possible.
- Teaching: Include courses you teach or have taught, maybe with short descriptions.
- Additional Info: You can add sections like talks, awards, professional memberships, or outreach activities if you like.
Tip: Save the content in document with clear labels for the specific sections and pages. This will make it easier when you add the content to your website later.
Want extra help writing your academic website content?
Check out our free one-page academic website content writing course — designed specifically to help you craft clear, effective text for your bio, CV, research summary, and more. It’s a quick, step-by-step guide for academics to get your words ready for your new website!
2. Choose a Website Platform
Once your content is ready, it’s time to decide where your website will live. Since you won’t be doing any coding or designing, you want a platform that’s easy to use and offers ready-made templates. Here are some great options to consider:
- Google Sites:** Completely free and simple to use. Great for straightforward academic sites without a steep learning curve.
- Owlstown: Designed specifically for academics, with easy setup and clean templates tailored for researchers.
- GitHub Pages: Free hosting with academic-focused templates. It’s reliable and customizable but might take a little bit of learning if you’re new to it.
- Wix: A drag-and-drop website builder that’s beginner-friendly. Some advanced features require a paid plan, but the free version is quite capable.
- WordPress.com: One of the most popular platforms, with lots of templates and both free and paid plans. It balances ease of use with flexibility.
Think about what fits your needs best—whether that’s simplicity, cost, or features—and pick the platform that feels right for you.
3. Pick a Pre-Designed Academic Template
With your platform selected, your next move is picking a template. Templates are pre-built layouts that organize your content in a clean, professional way.
Look for templates that:
- Include typical academic sections (About, CV, Research, Publications, Teaching)
- Offer easy navigation menus for visitors
- Have a clean and professional design — nothing flashy or distracting
- Are responsive, meaning they look good on phones and tablets too
Most platforms let you preview templates before you pick one.
You can browse a curated collection of academic website templates here to find one that matches how you want your information presented.
4. Plug Your Content into the Template
Now that you have your content ready and a template chosen, it’s time to start adding your information to the website. Most platforms make this as easy as copying and pasting text into fields or page sections.
Here’s what to do:
- Open your website editor or dashboard where you can manage pages.
- For each main section—Biography, CV, Research, Publications, Teaching—find the corresponding page or content block in your template.
- Copy your prepared text and paste it into those sections. Don’t worry about fancy formatting; simple, clear text works best.
- If your CV or publications are long, consider uploading a PDF as well so visitors can download the full version easily.
- Add images or media only if you have them ready and relevant (like a professional photo or a project screenshot). Otherwise, it’s perfectly fine to keep things simple.
5. Add Links to External Academic Profiles
Your website isn’t just a standalone hub — it’s also a gateway to your broader academic presence. Adding links to external profiles helps visitors explore your work more deeply.
Common profiles to link to are:
- Google Scholar — your citations and papers
- ORCID — a persistent researcher ID with your publication record
- ResearchGate or Academia.edu — platforms where you might share papers
- LinkedIn — for professional networking
- Institutional page — your university or department profile
Place these links somewhere visible, like in your homepage footer, About page, or contact section.
Most templates have dedicated spots for social or profile links.
6. Preview and Test the Site
Before you hit “publish,” it’s crucial to take a close look at your site and make sure everything works as expected.
Check the following:
- Navigation: Can you move smoothly between pages? Are the menus clear?
- Content: Is all your text there and readable? Any typos or formatting glitches?
- Links: Do all external and internal links open correctly?
- Mobile View: How does your site look on a smartphone or tablet? Most platforms have a preview mode for this.
- Downloads: If you have PDFs or files to download, test that they open properly.
This step ensures your site is polished and professional before sharing it with the world.
7. Publish and Share
You’re almost there! Once you’re happy with the look and content of your site, it’s time to make it live.
- Hit the “Publish” or “Launch” button on your platform’s dashboard.
- Take note of your website address (URL).
- Share your new website link widely: add it to your email signature, your academic CV, your social media profiles, and anywhere else people look for you professionally.
- Consider bookmarking it for easy access and plan occasional updates to keep it current.
Congratulations — you now have a personal academic website showcasing your work, accessible to colleagues, students, and the wider academic community.
