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Questions & Answers
If you've been burned by a "website deal" before, we understand the caution completely. Here is exactly how Scholar Legacy works: what you get, what it costs, and what happens if it isn't right. If your question isn't here, email a real person at contact@scholarlegacy.com.
Is this a real service, or one of those "we'll build your site" scams?
It's a real, done-for-you service run by real people. We build the site for you from your CV and a few links, show you a working draft before you owe the balance, and hand you files you fully own. You're never locked into a platform, a subscription you can't cancel, or a login you have to babysit. If anything here feels off, email us and a person will answer.
Isn't my faculty page (or ResearchGate / Academia.edu) enough?
Those pages are real, but none of them is yours. Your faculty page belongs to the university. It's formatted like a directory entry, and it disappears when you move or retire. ResearchGate and Academia.edu are platforms that rank for your name to sell their memberships. And the PDF CV linked from any of them must be downloaded to be read, so search engines barely see it.
A Scholar Profile is the one page you own outright: your whole body of work at your own address, marked up in the structured data search engines read, linked to your ORCID and Google Scholar so the record agrees everywhere, and portable for life. Read why we built this →
What exactly do I get?
A complete, polished academic website (a "Scholar Profile") with only the pages your work calls for: a home page, an about/biography page, and (as they apply) books, research & publications, media & speaking, a CV page, and a contact form. It's written and designed for you, in your school's colors or a palette you choose, at your own web address.
What do you need from me?
Very little: a few links (your university bio, Google Scholar/ORCID, any personal site) and your CV. That's it. Unfinished is fine; you don't organize, polish, or format anything. The intake takes about ten minutes, and you can email us anything you couldn't paste in a link.
What format should my CV be in, and what if it's out of date?
PDF or Word (.doc or .docx). If yours is out of date, send it anyway. Unfinished is completely fine, and it is the normal case. We work from what you have, fill in what we can from your public record, and flag anything we could not confirm so you can correct it when you review the draft. Your photo can be any common image format.
Who actually writes the words on my site?
We do. You send the raw material, your CV, your links, anything you have already written, and we write the site from it: your biography, the framing around your research, the descriptions of your books and talks. Nothing goes live that you have not read. You get a private draft to review page by page, two rounds of revisions are included, and you can change any sentence you like. If you would rather supply your own wording for a section, send it and we will use it as written.
Will my site be accessible to readers with disabilities?
We build on standards-based HTML: headings in a real order, descriptive link text, alternative text on images, a declared page language, and a layout that works with keyboard navigation and screen readers. We aim for comfortable contrast in every palette we offer. What we will not do is claim a formal compliance level we have not audited, so we do not certify sites against a specific standard. If your institution requires one, tell us before we build and we will give you an honest answer about what we can meet.
Can I see an example first?
Yes. There's a full live example site linked from our home page, and a gallery showing the same design in dozens of school colors and font pairings. What you see is what the finished quality looks like.
What does it cost?
Founding Scholar: $495 (50% off the standard rate) for the first cohort, in exchange for a short testimonial and permission to feature your finished site as an example. Legacy Scholar: $995 for those who'd rather keep everything private: no testimonial, no feature. Once the founding spots are filled, Legacy pricing applies to everyone.
How does payment work?
Half to begin, half when it's done. You leave a deposit of $247.50 (Founding) or $497.50 (Legacy), and your build starts. The balance is due only after your site is finished and you've reviewed it, before we hand it off. Payment runs on Stripe's secure checkout; we never see or store your card.
Are there hidden or recurring fees?
No surprises. The build is a one-time price. Hosting is free for the first year, then optional. A free web address (yourname.scholarlegacy.com) is included; a custom domain (like yourname.com) is an optional one-time upgrade we'll quote you before charging. Ongoing content updates are optional and clearly priced, never mandatory.
What if I'm not happy with it?
You see a real draft before the balance is ever due, and two rounds of revisions are included to get it right. If it isn't working, tell us. We'd rather fix it than have you unhappy. Because you pay the balance only at the end, you're never out the full amount for something you haven't approved.
Do I actually own my site, or am I renting it?
You own it. At handoff you get the actual files: portable, standard web files you can host anywhere. There's no proprietary platform holding your site hostage and no subscription required to keep it online.
Is Scholar Legacy connected to my university?
No. Scholar Legacy is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any university or college. When we use a school's colors, they're approximate and for your personal site only; see our disclaimer. Your site is your own personal presence, not an official institutional page.
What happens if I move to another university?
Your site goes with you. The address is yours, the files are yours, and nothing about it runs on your university's systems. That is also why we ask for a personal email at intake rather than a university one: university inboxes often filter outside mail, and a personal address stays with you when the institution changes. Two practical notes. If your site carries your old school's colors you will probably want them swapped, and changes after your two included revision rounds are optional and priced separately. If you were part of a department cohort, you simply come off that department's hub page and the site stays yours.
What happens to my information?
We use the material and links you share only to build your site. Everything on your finished site is content you chose to make public, and the site is yours to edit or take down. We don't sell your data or use it for anything but your Scholar Profile.
Can my department do this for the whole faculty at once?
Yes. Every scholar on the roster gets their own Scholar Profile, and the department gets a hub page listing the faculty with each card linking out to its scholar. It comes in three shapes: a full department cohort, a hiring package you can name in an offer letter, and a retirement or memorial legacy. Cohort pricing depends on the size of the roster, so we quote it rather than publish it. Email us with your department and roughly how many scholars are on it and we will reply with pricing and a live sample. The full picture is on our departments page.
If the department pays, who owns the site?
The scholar does, outright. This is the part that makes a cohort different from a directory or a platform: the address and the files belong to the scholar, portable for life. If they leave, the site goes with them and they simply come off the department hub. The hub links out to its members, it never holds their work. A department sponsoring visibility does not become another landlord.
What will my web address be?
A free address is included: yourname.scholarlegacy.com. If you'd prefer your own custom domain (yourname.com, .phd, and so on), we'll find an available one and register it for you as a one-time upgrade, quoted before you pay.
How long does it take?
After your deposit clears and you send your links and CV, we build your first draft and email you a private link to review it, page by page. We refine it with you (two rounds included), then it goes live. We'll give you a realistic timeline once we've seen your materials, and we won't promise a date we can't keep.
What if I need changes later?
Your site includes a simple "request changes" page that works forever. Send us your notes any time. Two revision rounds are included at the start; after that, individual updates or an optional maintenance plan are available if you'd like us to keep handling changes for you. It's entirely up to you.
How do I start?
Choose a plan and leave your deposit on the order page. The moment it clears, we email you a short intake form and get to work. Prefer to ask a question first? Email contact@scholarlegacy.com, and a real person will reply.
Email a real person. We'd rather answer than have you wonder.
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