# Academic & Research

> Research portals and registry platforms for academic institutions, including the web portal for the UK's largest adult twin registry.

Source: https://lastdoorsolutions.com/industries/academic-research

## We Built the Web Portal for the UK's Largest Adult Twin Registry

A platform for the Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology at King's College London. The registry has supported hundreds of research studies. The portal manages twin registration, research papers, and public information.

This project taught us how academic institutions work: long research timelines, content managed by many researchers, grant-based deadlines, and the need to make complex scientific information easy to understand.

## Why Academic Web Development Is Different

- **Content can cover many years:** A research website outlives several redesigns. Research papers from 15 years ago must still be easy to find, access, and cite. The website must keep old content working without broken links or lost files.
- **The audience is different:** Researchers need publications, datasets, and tools for working together. Media need press releases and expert information. The public needs simple explanations of complex research. One website must meet all these needs.
- **Registry platforms need special systems:** Participant registries manage sign-ups, consent, communication, and links to research databases. The data is sensitive, and every step must follow consent and data protection rules.
- **Grant-funded projects have fixed timelines:** Development must fit the grant period and budget.

## What We Build

### Research Registry Platforms
Web portals for participant registries with enrollment workflows, participant communication, and public-facing research summaries.

### Research Publication Portals
Websites designed around large volumes of academic output. Publication archives with search, filtering by topic and investigator, citation-ready formatting, and long-term URL stability. Content architecture that keeps 20 years of publications organized and findable.

### Citizen Science Project Websites
Public-facing websites for research projects that depend on public participation. We built the website for the British Gut Project, a UK citizen science project on gut microbiome research. It had to explain the science to non-specialists without losing accuracy.

### Department and Program Portals
Academic department websites with team directories, publication management, event calendars, and research program descriptions. Designed for content governance across multiple investigators and research groups.

## Our Experience

- **Long-term content architecture** supporting decades of research publications
- **Content governance** shared by researchers, communications teams, and institutional leadership

## Compliance and Regulatory

| Requirement | How We Handle It |
|-------------|-----------------|
| **Data protection** | The platform includes clear consent steps. |
| **Accessibility** | We follow WCAG 2.1 AA on public content and provide research papers in accessible formats. |
| **Citation stability** | Publications have permanent URLs. We prevent broken links and manage redirects when content is moved. |
| **Research ethics** | Participant content is checked for clarity and accuracy. Sign-up steps include informed consent. |
| **Institutional branding** | Websites follow university brand guidelines and design standards. |

## Tech Stack

| Layer | Technology |
|-------|-----------|
| **CMS** | WordPress (custom content types for publications, researchers, programs) |
| **Frontend** | PHP, responsive design, accessible components |
| **Registry** | Custom enrollment workflows, participant management |
| **Search** | Filtered search across publications, investigators, and research topics |
| **Hosting** | Institutional or managed hosting per client requirements |