{"id":1055,"date":"2023-04-24T09:00:58","date_gmt":"2023-04-24T09:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mitcommlab.mit.edu\/aeroastro\/?p=1055"},"modified":"2026-07-31T15:49:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T15:49:34","slug":"create-content-for-your-personal-website-using-good-communication-techniques","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mitcommlab.mit.edu\/aeroastro\/2023\/04\/24\/create-content-for-your-personal-website-using-good-communication-techniques\/","title":{"rendered":"Create content for your personal website using good communication techniques"},"content":{"rendered":"

Building a personal website for the first time or feeling stuck on how to fill in content? This post shares ways to use the MIT Commkit archives to build your website!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Template

Source: Slightly modified from https:\/\/github.com\/alshedivat\/al-folio<\/p><\/div>\n

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Personal websites can serve as engaging resumes, helpful research documentation, personal blogs, and many other possible functions. A website might combine all these elements or focus heavily on one objective. For example, if you are looking for an internship your website might have a heavy focus on CV-type material. Or, if you are a graduate student or postdoc applying to faculty positions your website might emphasis your academic achievements, publications, and personal research philosophy and story.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been thinking a lot about these different uses of a personal website as I\u2019ve been working to create my own while also mentoring a first year UROP as she creates hers. She and I have very different goals and potential audiences for our websites, however, in my opinion, whatever the communication <\/span>goal <\/span><\/i>of your website, the techniques for creating an effective website are shared amongst all types. Further, I think that good techniques for website design and content creation are shared with those of good presentations, reports, and especially figure design.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This blog was born from my crisis of having created perhaps 3 or 4 websites over the years, each time never getting much further than designing a home page before feeling stuck and eventually abandoning the project.<\/i><\/b> In this blog I\u2019ll explore the ways we can draw on the Comm Lab resources to come up with and create effective content for our personal websites.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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This blog is broken into a couple sections that explore technique for different website elements.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Home page<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Draw on good <\/span>abstract<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>figure<\/span><\/i> design<\/span><\/h3>\n

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\"An

Use abstract and graphical abstract design skills when crafting your home page. Source: Graphical abstract from Wiki commons<\/p><\/div>\n

Your audience first lands on your website\u2019s home page and decides how (and if) to engage with your site from there. In designing a home page, we can ask: what is the first thing that people \u201csee\u201d in <\/span>other<\/span><\/i> pieces of communication and how do they draw the reader in? In a research paper, I always look at the abstract and figures first (see <\/span>this interesting article<\/span><\/a> in Science that interviews many academics to see what they look at first in papers \u2013 a common answer is introduction, conclusion, and figures).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When scanning through the depths of Google Scholar, reading an abstract is nice because they are written to be succinct and punchy; abstracts boil down a research work to its core story. <\/b>See <\/span>David Larson\u2018s CommKit<\/span><\/a> on abstract writing. This makes me consider including a sort of \u201cwebsite abstract\u201d on my home page. This abstract might present who I am, my research area and projects, the goal of my website, what it contains. It could contain more or less than this depending on the website type and content. <\/span>The main goal of a \u201cwebsite abstract\u201d is to capture the story your website tells about you, your work, and your goals.<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Next, use images and figures on a home page. In a paper or on a poster, figures help you, very quickly, recognize if a paper is applicable to you, the type of results presented in the work (modeling vs. experiment vs. theoretical), and so much more.\u00a0 Since your website might capture a plethora of projects and even disciplines, <\/span>create a <\/b>graphical abstract<\/i><\/b><\/a> for your home page that captures the breadth of your research projects\/work <\/b>(see <\/span>Charlie Hirst\u2019s CommKit<\/span><\/a> on abstracts for discussion of a graphical abstract). The same principles that apply to good figure design apply to a graphical abstract. Depending on the quantity and diversity of content in your site you might include multiple graphical abstracts with corresponding captions and links to specific sections of your website.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Showcasing projects<\/b><\/h2>\n

Draw on good <\/span>poster <\/span><\/i>design<\/span><\/h3>\n

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\"A

Use research poster design skills when crafting project pages. Source: Poster presentation photo from Wiki commons<\/p><\/div>\n

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Start with Victor Prost\u2019s <\/b>poster design<\/i><\/b><\/a> CommKit for showcasing a research project on your website<\/b>.<\/i><\/b> A research poster is significantly less written material than a paper and combines brief, effective text with eye-catching figures to draw conference participates in and communicate the project\u2019s motivation and what you achieved. Project pages can function in the exact same fashion. Rather than including just text or just images, combine them effectively to show the story. This is especially important if you imagine your website audience is a recruiter or potential employer with limited time.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Research\/Professional goals<\/b><\/h2>\n

Draw on good <\/span>cover letter<\/span><\/i> writing<\/span><\/h3>\n

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\"The

Use cover letter writing techniques when crafting your research, career, or personal website statement. Source: Cover letter outline from Julia Rubin\u2019s CommKit article<\/p><\/div>\n

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Finally, perhaps you\u2019d like your site to include a tab about your research philosophy, professional goals, or something similar: look to techniques for good cover letter writing. Cover letters explore both what you\u2019ve done and, significantly, <\/span>where you\u2019d like to go<\/span><\/i>. While much of your website will emphasize what you have done so far, <\/span>this page is where someone will find what you\u2019d like to go next and where you see your niche\/specific contribution to the field or industry<\/b>. If you\u2019re pursuing academic positions, I suggest <\/span>Julia Rubin\u2018s CommKit article<\/span><\/a> on cover letters for faculty applications. Alternatively, perhaps <\/span>Yamini Krishnan\u2018s Commkit article<\/span><\/a> on cover letters for internships and jobs is more applicable. Usually, cover letters are written to specific companies or reviewers. However, in the case of a website you\u2019ll want to generalize your philosophy\/goal statement to fit any audience.<\/span><\/p>\n

I hope these curated resources and examples can help whether you\u2019ve just starting your website or if (like me) you\u2019ve felt stuck on how to proceed after getting all the basics down.<\/span><\/p>\n

For some inspiration check out these entries from the MechE Undergraduate Design Portfolio Contest<\/a> from BU.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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