Build an Academic Website That Actually Looks Good

Academic websites have a reputation for looking terrible. Your research deserves better — and Sitelas has 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, unlimited form submissions, the Claude.ai connector at zero Sitelas AI cost. The editor's built-in AI chat runs on credits — $10 a month comes with Pro, or top up on any plan. Upgrade to Pro ($9/mo per site) only when you want a custom domain like firstname-lastname.com and the full analytics dashboard.