By: Laura Aronoff, ORT Times Writer
Given that many of us are still working from home when possible, this may be a good time to design or update your lab website. A lab website is a great way to add a personal touch to your lab and share information that is not normally found on a supervisor’s institutional profile.
Lab websites provide a platform to promote your lab’s research activities, culture and people—information that is useful to prospective trainees and employees; potential collaborations; and members of the general public, such as donors. Creating a website can seem like a daunting task, however, it can also be a fun and creative activity. I recently created a website with one of my colleagues for our lab and here are a few things I learned along the way.
Getting started: The first thing to do is decide which platform to use for your website. There are many website builders to choose from, as well as numerous reviews online comparing each. I tried out three popular platforms: Wordpress, Wix and Squarespace. Wordpress is one of the most widely used platforms and is very versatile and customizable, however new learners face a steep learning curve. Wix and Squarespace are more user-friendly platforms, and each offers a number of customizable templates, although I found Wix had a more intuitive drag-and-drop system for editing. You can set up a free account on any of these sites and see which one works well for you. Alternatively, you can hire a developer, like UHN’s Techna Institute, to help design, develop and host your website.
Design: Once you decide on a platform and template, you can start customizing. Decide on a common theme (i.e., colour, fonts) that will carry across all pages to create a consistent and cohesive website which will look more professional. Use images, fonts and shapes to help break up the pages into readily digestible and recognizable sections to make it easier to navigate. As you create your brand, be sure it aligns with the research institute’s brand. Information and guidance can be found in the UHN brand book on the corporate intranet.
Content: Visitors to your website will be from varied backgrounds, so when creating the content, think about the intended audience and what kinds of information they would want to see. It is important to keep the content interesting while avoiding technical jargon and excessive details. Provide short, concise summaries of projects with schematics and images to communicate your research effectively, with hyperlinks to published papers for those wanting to learn more. Add optional pages featuring a list of lab members and events. This will help add some personality to your site and will also provide individuals that visitors can contact.
Launch: When you are happy with the website, purchase a domain name and publish your website.
Promote: Finally, add the URL of your website to email signatures and promote on social media. Contact relevant affiliates (i.e., UHN Research, universities) so that your supervisor’s institutional and research profiles can be updated.