A PhD student website gives supervisors, collaborators, conference contacts and future employers one reliable place to understand your work. It does not need to be elaborate. A clear one-page site with your research interests, publications, current projects and contact details is more useful than an ambitious site you never finish.
One of the first things my student mentor said in our introductory meeting was, “You should make a website.” That advice made sense to me because I had found my own supervisor through his website. Reading about his work helped me decide that he could be a good fit before I contacted him.
I eventually coded my academic website myself and got the first version online in an afternoon. You do not have to code yours. The right method is the one you can publish, maintain and update without turning it into another unfinished PhD side project.
Why an academic website is useful
An academic website gives you more control than a social profile. You decide which work appears first, how you explain your research and where visitors go next. It can help when someone:
- searches your name after a conference, seminar or application;
- wants to understand your research without reading a full paper;
- is considering you for a collaboration, interview or speaking invitation;
- wants your latest CV, publications, code or teaching materials; or
- needs a professional way to contact you after you change institutions.
A website will not create opportunities by itself, and it is not equally important in every discipline. But it makes it easier for an interested person to verify who you are and see the thread connecting your work.
What to include on a PhD website
1. A short research introduction
Start with your name, institution, programme or role and two or three sentences about the questions you study. Write for an educated reader outside your exact niche. Avoid opening with a wall of specialist terminology.
2. Current projects and research interests
Describe what you are working on now and the broader themes you want to explore. This section can be useful when contacting a potential collaborator or when someone discovers you while looking for expertise. If you are still applying, our guides to finding a PhD supervisor and writing a research proposal can help you clarify that story first.
3. Publications and research outputs
List publications with links to the paper, DOI, preprint or repository record. Depending on your field, you may also include datasets, software, posters, talks, exhibitions, policy briefs or public scholarship. Separate published work from manuscripts in preparation so the status is clear.
4. A concise CV
You can present key experience directly on the page and offer an accessible PDF for the full version. Add the month and year to the file name or page so visitors can tell whether it is current. Remove your home address, personal phone number and other information you would not want indexed publicly.
5. Contact details and stable profiles
Use an institutional email if it will remain active, or a professional address you control. Link to relevant profiles such as ORCID, Google Scholar, GitHub or a disciplinary repository. You do not need to display every social account you have.
Choose the simplest way to build it
There are three sensible routes. Choose based on maintenance, not on which option sounds most impressive.
Use your university profile when it is good enough
An institutional profile may already rank for your name and carry the university’s credibility. Its weakness is that you may have limited control and could lose access after leaving. Keep your important text and files backed up elsewhere.
Use a no-code builder for speed
A simple builder such as Google Sites is enough for a basic academic presence. Start with one page rather than designing a complex menu. Check how the mobile version looks and make sure the service lets you export or copy your content if you later move.
Use GitHub Pages if you want a technical portfolio
GitHub Pages hosts static sites from a GitHub repository and supports custom domains. It is a good fit if learning Git, showing code or controlling the design is part of the point. You can start with a supported theme rather than coding everything from scratch.
I chose the coding route because I wanted the site itself to demonstrate my skills, and because designing it sounded fun. I mocked up the layout first, then built and published the first version. That was worthwhile for me; it is not an extra test every PhD student must pass.
A one-afternoon publishing plan
- Collect the essentials: a 100-word bio, research summary, current CV, publication links and contact details.
- Choose one platform: your university profile, a no-code builder or GitHub Pages.
- Publish one clear page: introduction, research, outputs, CV and contact details.
- Test it: check every link, read it on a phone and ask whether a stranger can understand what you study.
- Set a maintenance reminder: update it after a new paper, role, award or major project—not every week.
Common academic website mistakes
- Waiting for perfect branding. Clear and current beats elaborate and unpublished.
- Writing only for specialists. Give visitors a plain-language route into your work.
- Uploading an inaccessible CV. Use selectable text, descriptive link labels and logical headings.
- Publishing sensitive details. Do not expose your home address, personal schedule or private research data.
- Letting it decay. A prominent “current project” from four years ago can be worse than a shorter evergreen page.
Your first version only needs to answer four questions: who are you, what do you work on, what have you produced and how can the right person contact you? Publish that version first. You can add teaching materials, a blog or a more distinctive design later.