A Resource for Creating a Website to Promote Your Scientific Work

TL;DR

This paper provides an overview and survey of options for early career scientists to create and maintain professional websites, including advice on content and web presence, based on responses from 54 scientists.

Contribution

It offers a comprehensive overview of website creation options and presents survey data on scientists' experiences and advice, aiding early career researchers.

Findings

Survey responses from 54 scientists on website creation choices.

Common services and tools used by scientists for website development.

Advice and best practices for creating effective scientific websites.

Abstract

Creating a website to promote one's scientific work has become commonplace in many scientific disciplines. A plethora of options exist for framework to generate your website content, hosting it, and registering a domain name. The goal of this document is to provide early career scientists (1) an overview of the current options for creating a website to promote their professional persona, and (2) general advice concerning website written content and one's web presence. To get a sense of how other scientists created their websites, I created a survey asking colleagues about the services they used to create their websites and advice they have for someone creating a website. I received 54 responses from 53 astronomers and one computer scientist of which 23 were in an academic position beyond postdoc (faculty, scientist, etc.), 1 was an individual research fellow, 4 were in their third postdoc, 4 were in their second postdoc, 16 were in their first postdoc, and 6 were graduate students. I report the results of this survey here.