How to use grant funds for website development

Research funders, like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), have strict rules about how PIs can spend grant funds. Under federal regulations, a cost is allowable if it is (1) necessary and reasonable, (2) allocable to the project, and (3) consistently applied. Some researchers are familiar with hiring a designer or creative team to make grant-funded figures, but that’s not the only product you can create. A website that directly supports the aims of a funded grant can pass all the federal spending tests, but the connection has to be clear and well-documented. 

Common reasons to use grant funds for website development include:

• Dissemination and resource-sharing: NIH and NSF recognize that sharing research findings is part of fulfilling grant aims. A project website that shares results, data, resources, or tools for a defined audience is a dissemination tool, and dissemination costs are allowable. The key is that the site needs to serve the grant's aims, not the institution or PI more generally.
• Education and training resources: Training-focused awards often have public outreach or curriculum components that translate directly into web-based resources. If your grant supports developing educational materials for a target population, a website is a natural place to host and deliver the products you create.
• Community engagement and clinical research: Studies involving participant recruitment, community advisory boards, or patient engagement frequently need web infrastructure. This includes recruitment landing pages, study information sites, and even participant portals. The costs for building these websites belong in project budgets.

Building an effective budget justification

The easiest path to fund site development is to include a website in the budget when you write the application, but you need to be specific. "My lab needs a better website" won't get through most internal grant offices or program officers. Instead, you need a clear narrative connecting the web costs directly to your aims or goals. Ideally, consider how your plans will also help advance the funding body’s strategic priorities. 

When budgeting for website work in a grant application, your team should:

1. Name the audience. Who is the website for? For instance, are you targeting patients, teachers, trainees, or other researchers? Be specific. A website for the “general public” is too vague for reviewers to evaluate. 
2. Connect to your stated aims. Which aim(s) or deliverable(s) does the website support? How is the website necessary to achieve the aims, and how will the site deliver that?  Remember that there are many public data repositories, so creating a new website just to host one dataset might be frowned upon. Instead, it can be helpful to connect the website to spreading specific methods or meeting recruitment goals.
3. Show that the cost is reasonable. Get quotes or use multiple comparable vendor costs and mention the range in your justification. Reviewers and grants management staff will ask whether the amount is reasonable relative to the scope.
4. Clarify and include ongoing costs. Hosting, maintenance, and content updates may also be allowable if they are tied to the project period — mention them separately and justify each cost. These inclusions also help demonstrate that you carefully considered the website build, rather than adding it as an afterthought.

Adding support for a new or revamped website after a grant is awarded is possible, but harder. Rebudgeting to cover new costs likely requires sponsor approval, and grants management staff have discretion to push back on costs. If you're mid-award and want to pursue a new website, contact your internal post-award team for initial guidance. 

How this could look in practice

A few common scenarios where this works cleanly:

• An R01-funded neuroscience lab builds a public-facing project site to share lay summaries, data visualizations, and findings with a patient advocacy community named in the dissemination plan.
• An R25 education grant funds the development of an interactive training resource and the hosting website, both targeted at the trainees who are explicitly mentioned in the application.
• An NSF Mathematical Sciences Infrastructure Program grant team creates a website that showcases their new education model and allows teachers to replicate and implement the model. 
• A DP1-funded researcher showcases a new research area, including novel methods, tools, and databases, as detailed in the proposal to increase engagement in a new subfield.
• A P-series center grant funds a resource-sharing website as part of its core services and outreach aims.

In each case, the website is performing work that the grant absolutely requires to be successful. 

The bottom line: yes, using grant funds for a website is possible

Federal grant funds can pay for website development when the site is closely tied to grant aims, properly budgeted, and clearly justified. The mistake most researchers make is either not asking for web support at all, or asking it too late.

If you're planning an application or have an active award with dissemination, education, or outreach aims, it's worth having a conversation with your sponsored programs office and a web development team that understands how to scope web work that can withstand close review.

Stellate works with research teams and institutions to develop websites, dissemination materials, and communications infrastructure that can be funded through grants. Request a quote or get in touch to talk through your project.