Build an Academic Website That Actually Looks Good
Six archetypes built specifically for academic sites — CVs, single-page homepages, research labs, project showcases. Built from Claude in one chat.
Sitelas Team
Academic websites have a reputation for looking terrible. Your research deserves better — and Sitelas has six archetypes built specifically for the job.
Why the site matters
Your website is often the first thing people see when they Google your name — prospective students, collaborators, hiring committees, journalists. A Jekyll-bundle-version-error homepage from 2014 isn't doing you favors.
The six academic archetypes
| Template | Best for |
|---|---|
| tenure | Multi-page academic CV (HugoBlox-style) — publications, teaching, grants |
| scholar | Single-page academic homepage |
| folio | Minimal academic portfolio (al-folio aesthetic) |
| lectora | Sidebar navigation (academicpages-style) |
| thesis | Single-page research project showcase |
| lattice | Dense scholarly research lab |
Build it from Claude.ai
With the Sitelas connector installed, one prompt:
"Build me an academic site — name X, position Y, research areas A, B, C. Use the lectora archetype."
Claude clones the archetype, fills in copy from the brief, and returns a preview URL. Day-one publications, teaching, and CV pages — editable in chat.
What to include
- Bio — name, position, affiliation, research focus.
- Publications — with links to PDFs, arXiv, DOI.
- Contact — email, office, office hours.
- CV — both a downloadable PDF and an online version.
- Teaching — courses and materials, if relevant.
Migrating from academicpages, al-folio, or HugoBlox
Clone the live site directly:
"Clone https://your-current-site.github.io and adapt it to the lectora archetype."
Claude calls capture_url to read the existing layout, then composes a Sitelas equivalent. No more fighting Bundler, Ruby versions, or GitHub Actions.
Free or Pro
Free covers everything you need for an academic homepage — full editor, $5 of AI credits for the editor path, unlimited form submissions, the Claude.ai connector at zero Sitelas AI cost. Upgrade to Pro ($9/mo per site) only when you want a custom domain like firstname-lastname.com and the full analytics dashboard.
Sitelas Team
The Sitelas team writes about building and operating websites through chat — the Claude.ai connector, the in-editor AI chat, form integrations, and everything that ships in the box.
