Web design for research and science

Guide: research & science

Web design for research and science: complex content made understandable, accessible and easy to maintain.

The essentials at a glance, in 7 chapters. Jump straight to the topic that's on your mind right now.

What a research website has to deliver

Hardly any website has as many different visitors as that of a research institute. Fellow experts look for publications and contacts. Funders and politics want to understand what impact your work has. Companies look for expertise for collaborations, journalists for a press contact, applicants for a feel for the work environment.

A good research website serves everyone without overwhelming anyone with everything. Three principles make that work:

• Structure by questions, not by org chart: Visitors think in topics and concerns, not in departments.
• Core message before technical depth: Every page starts with what anyone can understand and then leads into the details.
• Maintenance in everyday work: The most beautiful site becomes outdated if the editorial team can't update it quickly.

Making complex research understandable

What's obvious to experts is often not understood by outsiders. That's not a problem of the audience but a task for copy and design.

Building content in layers

A short sentence on why the topic matters. A paragraph on how you work on it. Then methods, results and publications for everyone who wants to dig deeper. That way every target group finds its level.

Language that opens doors

Technical terms aren't forbidden, they just need an explanation the first time they appear. Short sentences, active phrasing and concrete everyday examples make even difficult topics accessible. A glossary or short info boxes help without slowing down the reading flow for experts.

Images, graphics and motion

A process, a material or a workflow can often be explained better with a graphic than with three paragraphs. Animations help when they show something step by step instead of just decorating. You can see how we use motion under Motion Design.

Calm, clear design

For the Leibniz Institute for Composite Materials, the design relies on clear layouts, generous white space and a reduced design language. That leaves room for content, and complex topics feel organized instead of overwhelming.

Accessibility: obligation and mark of quality

Public bodies in Germany are required to ensure digital accessibility, at federal level through the BITV 2.0 and in the federal states through their own regulations. This includes an accessibility statement on the website. Whether and how this applies to your institution depends on ownership and funding. It's best to clarify that with your administration or legal department.

Regardless of the obligation, accessibility makes a website better for everyone. We plan these points from the start:

• Sufficient contrast and easily readable font sizes
• Full keyboard navigation with a visible focus
• A logical heading structure and semantic HTML
• Alt texts for images and graphics
• Understandable forms with clear error messages

A frequently forgotten point is PDFs. Reports and publications should also be accessible, or the core content should also be available as a web page. You can read more about the legal basis in our post on the BFSG.

Funders, partners and the public

Many funding programs require funded projects to appear online with a funding notice and the funder's logo. If that's built into the CMS from the start, it happens correctly on every project page automatically instead of being cobbled together for each new project.

At the same time, the website is your most important tool for knowledge transfer. VALO28 connects research, knowledge transfer and social impact. The brand's guiding idea is the path from knowledge to impact. That's exactly the stance the website has to convey: not just showing what you research, but what comes out of it.

• Project pages with goal, duration, partners and results
• A press section with a contact person and image material
• Events and news that show things are moving
• Clear paths for cooperation inquiries from industry

Spin-offs: from institute to company

Spin-offs face a different task. They have to convince investors, customers and partners who aren't experts, while keeping their scientific credibility. A distinctive brand that combines credibility and innovative ambition helps here. For Qarevo, a digital health platform, we created an identity that brings together medical credibility with the ambition of a modern healthtech platform. The typeface was chosen to stay easily readable even in complex interfaces and at small sizes.

Multilingual content and maintenance by the editorial team

Research is international. An English version is therefore usually part of it, and a complete one rather than a half-translated copy. Each language gets its own URLs, its own SEO settings and a clear switcher.

At least as important is the question of who maintains the site after launch. In many institutions, that's a small communications team that looks after the website alongside press work and events. That's why we build the CMS to fit your content:

• Collections for news, projects, publications, team and jobs
• Templates in which the layout stays stable even with long titles or many partner logos
• Personal training at launch

If you want to hand off ongoing maintenance and updates, you'll find that in our maintenance service.

How we work with many stakeholders

Management, communications, departments and project partners: website projects in research have many voices. To keep things from dragging, we work with fixed milestones following our process.

1. Initial consultation and onboarding: Goals, target groups, content and requirements such as accessibility and languages.
2. Structure: We sort projects, topics and target groups and develop the navigation.
3. Moodboards and first design sections: Visible early so everyone gives targeted feedback instead of rediscussing everything at the end. If you're not convinced after that, you get your deposit back.
4. Design and build in Webflow: Fast, responsive and with a CMS for your editorial team.
5. Launch and training: With redirects so old links keep working.

How much time do I have to invest myself?

We keep your effort as low as possible. You're involved at the decisive points: briefing, approvals and final feedback. We take care of the rest.

Are there ongoing costs after launch?

Yes, for hosting and platform licenses, for example the Webflow site plan. If you want to hand off maintenance, updates and further development, there are our growth packages for maintenance, SEO, GEO and conversion.

Checklist before the project

These questions help with preparation. Whatever is still open, we'll clarify together during onboarding.

• Which target groups are most important, and what should they do on the website?
• What content exists today, and which of it is outdated?
• Which requirements apply: accessibility, funding notices, the corporate design of your parent organization?
• In which languages should the website appear?
• Who maintains the site after launch, and how much time is available for it?
• Who decides and gives approval?

How a relaunch works step by step, you can read in our guide Planning a website relaunch.