--- title: "Turn Research into a Searchable Website with AI" description: "Build a local research collection from approved notes and public sources, with provenance, filters, timelines and links back to the original evidence." author: Power of AI date: 2026-09-06 url: https://powerofai.ca/workflows/research-to-website --- # Turn a research folder into a searchable website with AI Build a local research collection from approved notes and public sources, with provenance, filters, timelines and links back to the original evidence. Make the research something you can move around inside. A folder of notes can become a place to explore a subject. Search, filters, timelines and maps let you notice connections that a long document makes difficult to see. The first version can be remarkably modest: a few sources, a clear schema and one useful way to browse them. ## Make records before making a beautiful page Choose the unit of the collection: a source, event, place or claim. For a source collection, use a stable ID, title, author, date, source URL, short summary and topic tags. Add a field for uncertainty or extraction notes. Keep quotations distinct from your paraphrases. For an event timeline, distinguish the date of the event from the date of the source. Allow approximate dates without pretending to know the day. If you add a map, separate recorded coordinates from proposed locations. Sensitive or restricted information can remain in the private working set; it does not need to appear in a public version. ## Build with five records you can check Use a small, manually reviewed set to establish the interface. Search should find titles and summaries. Filters should combine predictably. A record should open the original source and show the basis for its interpretation. Test a record with missing information so the design has room for uncertainty. Ask the agent to keep the data separate from the presentation. A simple JSON or CSV file can be easier to maintain than editing a page for each new source. Include a short guide to adding a record. You want the research collection to grow without needing a redesign. ### A request you can adapt Build a local research browser from these five approved source records. Add search, topic filters and a detail view with source links, dates and uncertainty notes. Keep quotations separate from summaries. Preserve stable record IDs. Make the data easy to edit and verify all links against the supplied records. Use no invented records or coordinates. Show me the working page. ## Add views that answer different questions A timeline helps with sequence. A map helps with spatial relationships. A comparison table helps with competing claims. Add a view because it answers a question you have, not because a dashboard feels incomplete without charts. For a map, include a list view with the same records so the information is accessible without interpreting markers. For a timeline, label uncertain or approximate dates. A visual should carry the limitations of the underlying evidence rather than making the evidence look more precise. ## Create a deliberate public edition Before publishing, review rights, permissions, personal information and sensitive locations. A private research archive and a public website can have different fields. Generate a public export with only the approved fields rather than relying on a hidden UI to protect private data. Check the served site itself. Search engines need meaningful page text, descriptive titles, stable links and content people actually want. Give substantial topics their own pages when they deserve them; do not generate hundreds of nearly identical pages from thin records. The site becomes useful through its evidence and navigation, not its URL count. ## Take this into your next task Build the data and provenance carefully, then choose the views that help you ask better questions of the collection. [Build a project brief](/showcase#brief-builder). ## Sources and editorial notes Reviewed September 6, 2026. Product capabilities depend on the app, plan, region and workspace settings. Workflows and prompts are authored teaching material, not recorded model results or measured time-saving claims. ## Keep going - [Build Your First Tool with Codex: A CSV Checker](/codex/build-your-first-tool) - [Organize a Messy Folder with AI](/workflows/organize-a-folder) - [AI Showcase: Working Tools and Project Blueprints](/showcase)