A scholarly home for
the writing journals can't house.
VeloCMS is a citation-aware blog platform for scientists, PhD students, and university faculty — with native KaTeX math, BibTeX references, DOI auto-linking, and ORCID author identity built in from the start. The Memo Garamond theme — a journal-style academic preset — ships free on every plan, so your research writing looks like scholarship, not a generic blog.
Why researchers keep hitting walls
Journal blogs, Medium, Substack, Hugo — each one fails academic writers in a different way. You end up writing less, sharing less, and being cited less than your work deserves.
Journals say no to your blog companion content
Your published paper is 8,000 words of dense prose — and most of the context, the failed approaches, the dataset quirks, the reproducibility notes — lives in a README that nobody reads. Journals won't host a companion post. Your institution's website requires IT tickets. So the most useful writing you do as a researcher just never ships, and the public never sees it.
Medium and Substack don't render LaTeX correctly
You paste a KaTeX expression into Medium and get back garbled Unicode. Substack doesn't support math at all — not even a workaround. The options are: screenshot every equation (fragile, inaccessible, ugly), use a separate hosted LaTeX renderer and embed an iframe (breaks on mobile), or abandon math-heavy posts entirely. None of those is acceptable for a methods writeup or a statistics explainer.
Personal Hugo/Jekyll = perpetual yak-shave
You set up Hugo three years ago. Now the theme repo is archived, Node.js is three major versions behind, the build broke after a macOS update, and you spent last Saturday debugging a SCSS compilation error instead of writing. Researchers waste 40+ hours per year on Git workflows, broken builds, and theme upgrades. The tooling has become the job, and the writing stopped.
What a citation-first platform gives you
Not features bolted on as plugins. Citation tooling, academic identity, and journal-quality typography baked into the platform from the start.
KaTeX math rendering out of the box
Inline and display-mode KaTeX expressions render natively in the editor and on the published page — no plugins, no workarounds, no screenshots. Type \( \frac{\partial u}{\partial t} \) in the editor and it renders correctly in HTML, RSS, and email digest.
BibTeX-style references with footnote linking
Paste your .bib library into the References panel or type citations inline using \cite{} syntax. VeloCMS auto-generates a linked footnote list at the end of the post — each citation links back to the inline reference mark, exactly how a journal formats it.
DOI auto-linking for every citation URL
Any URL matching doi.org/* or dx.doi.org/* auto-converts to a permanent, resolver-backed citation link. Readers get clickable DOIs; search engines get structured citation data. Works in both the editor and the final HTML output.
ORCID profile integration on the author page
Link your ORCID iD in settings and VeloCMS generates a verified author card showing your research identity — ORCID badge, publication list link, and affiliation. Google Scholar and AI indexers recognize the ORCID schema markup and attribute content to your research identity correctly.
Memo Garamond academic theme — included free
The Memo Garamond preset mirrors journal typography: Garamond-style serif body, generous line height, narrow content column, sidenote support, and a muted color palette that makes long-form reading comfortable. It ships on the Free plan — no upsell required.
Features academic writers actually need
KaTeX math, BibTeX upload, DOI CrossRef metadata, ORCID badges, reproducibility code blocks, and arXiv companion drafts — all in one CMS that doesn't require a weekend to maintain.
KaTeX display and inline math blocks
The TipTap editor ships a dedicated Math block (display mode) and inline Math mark for short expressions. KaTeX renders on the server — equations ship as static HTML in the initial response, never as client-side JavaScript. LCP stays under 1s even on math-heavy posts.
BibTeX reference manager with .bib upload
Upload a .bib file from Zotero, Mendeley, or JabRef in Admin → References. Citations autocomplete in the editor with \cite{key} and auto-populate the footnote list on publish. Supports APA, Chicago, and Vancouver citation styles — switch styles globally from settings without re-entering any data.
DOI cross-linking and citation graph
Enter a DOI and VeloCMS fetches the CrossRef metadata — title, authors, journal, year — and formats the citation correctly for your selected style. On publish, outbound DOI links are marked with schema:citation so AI crawlers can build a citation graph from your posts.
ORCID author identity and affiliation badge
Connect your ORCID iD once in settings and every post carries a Person schema node with your ORCID URI, current affiliation, and a verified badge on the public author page. This is what makes your name show up correctly in Google Scholar author search.
Methods reproducibility: code blocks + execution links
Code blocks support syntax highlighting for R, Python, Julia, MATLAB, Stata, and 20+ languages. Attach a Binder, Colab, or Code Ocean link to the code block and it renders as a 'Run this code' button — readers can reproduce your analysis in one click without any setup.
arXiv companion post mode
Paste an arXiv abstract URL and VeloCMS pre-fills a companion post draft with the title, authors, abstract, and a structured layout: Overview / Key Findings / Methods Note / Citation. Companion posts link to the canonical arXiv page with rel=canonical so search engines treat your preprint as the source.
From Medium / Substack / Hugo to VeloCMS in five steps
No developer required. The importer handles format detection, draft creation, and LaTeX preservation. You handle the writing.
Export your old blog
Request a Medium export ZIP (Settings → Security & apps → Download your information) or run hugo export from your Hugo repo. Substack offers a CSV export of posts and subscribers. You don't need anything perfectly formatted — the importer handles messy HTML.
Upload your archive
In Admin → Import, drag in your Medium ZIP, Substack CSV, or Hugo Markdown directory. VeloCMS detects the format automatically and queues your posts as drafts. No manual format conversion needed — the importer normalizes everything to the TipTap AST.
Re-flow with Memo Garamond
In Admin → Themes, select Memo Garamond. Every post instantly re-flows with journal-style typography — the Garamond serif, generous margins, narrow reading column. Browse through your imported posts to check the layout before activating your custom domain.
Add your BibTeX library
In Admin → References, upload your .bib file or paste it directly. VeloCMS parses it and makes every entry available for autocomplete in the editor. Re-open any imported post and add \cite{} marks where references belong — the footnote list generates automatically on save.
Publish your first methods writeup with embedded KaTeX
Open any imported draft or start fresh with the Methods Writeup template. Type equations using standard LaTeX syntax — the editor renders them live. Hit publish and you're live. Point your CNAME at VeloCMS for the custom domain, or use your free velocms.org subdomain to start immediately.
VeloCMS vs Medium vs Substack vs Hugo
| Feature | VeloCMS | Medium | Substack | Hugo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custom domain | Pro — yes | No | Paid add-on | Manual |
| LaTeX / KaTeX rendering | Native | No | No | Plugin required |
| BibTeX references | Built-in | No | No | Plugin required |
| DOI auto-linking | Yes | No | No | No |
| ORCID integration | Yes | No | No | No |
| Time investment per post (mins) | ~30 | ~45 | ~40 | ~90 |
| Cost per year ($) | Free–$108 | $0–$50 | 0%+10% | $0+ops time |
Free for up to 100 posts. Pro when your lab needs a custom domain.
Free
$0
Forever
- Up to 100 posts
- KaTeX math rendering
- BibTeX references
- Memo Garamond theme
- velocms.org subdomain
Pro
$9
per month
- 1,000 posts
- Custom domain + SSL
- DOI auto-linking
- ORCID integration
- AI writing assistant
- Newsletter broadcasts
Business
$29
per month
- Unlimited posts
- Multi-author lab blog
- White-label branding
- arXiv companion mode
- Priority support
- BYOK Stripe (member revenue)
Questions researchers ask before switching
Honest answers — no sales spin.
Does VeloCMS support LaTeX / KaTeX math equations?
Yes — KaTeX renders natively in both the editor and the published page. Inline expressions use \( ... \) syntax and display-mode equations use \[ ... \] or the dedicated Math block. VeloCMS renders KaTeX server-side, so equations ship as static HTML — no client-side JavaScript required, no blank equation boxes on slow connections.
How does the BibTeX reference system work in VeloCMS?
Upload a .bib file from Zotero, Mendeley, or JabRef in Admin → References, or paste BibTeX entries directly. Once loaded, citations autocomplete in the editor using \cite{key}. On publish, VeloCMS generates a properly formatted footnote list at the bottom of the post, with each in-text citation linked to its footnote entry. APA, Chicago, and Vancouver styles are selectable globally.
Can I link DOIs to papers I cite?
Yes — any URL matching doi.org or dx.doi.org auto-converts to a permanent DOI citation link with CrossRef metadata (title, authors, year, journal). If you enter a DOI in the References panel, VeloCMS fetches the full metadata automatically and formats the citation in your selected style. Outbound DOI links carry schema:citation markup so AI crawlers can build a citation graph from your posts.
Does VeloCMS connect to my ORCID profile?
Yes — link your ORCID iD in Admin → Settings → Author Profile. Every post carries a Person JSON-LD node with your ORCID URI and current affiliation. The public author page shows a verified ORCID badge and a link to your ORCID record. Google Scholar and academic AI indexers recognize this markup and attribute your posts to your research identity correctly.
How is the Memo Garamond theme different from other blog themes?
Memo Garamond is designed specifically for long-form scholarly writing. It uses a Garamond-style serif body at 18px with a 1.8 line-height, a narrow 680px content column (matching journal proportions), sidenote support for marginal annotations, a muted warm-gray palette that reduces eye strain on long reads, and a citation-ready footnote section. It ships free on all plans — no upsell.
Can I import my existing academic blog from Medium, Substack, or Hugo?
Yes — VeloCMS imports Medium ZIP archives, Substack CSV exports, and Hugo Markdown directories. The importer detects the format automatically, normalizes HTML to the editor AST, and queues posts as drafts. Math expressions in code fences are preserved as KaTeX blocks. The process takes about 15 minutes for a typical research blog of 50–100 posts.
Will my arXiv preprint posts show up on Google Scholar?
Posts in arXiv companion post mode carry Article JSON-LD with a citation link back to the canonical arXiv page. VeloCMS also emits a ScholarlyArticle schema variant when ORCID is connected, which academic indexers — including Google Scholar — recognize. That said, Google Scholar's crawler indexes selectively; having clean schema markup and a stable custom domain significantly improves your chances.
Is VeloCMS free for graduate students or low-budget labs?
The Free plan supports up to 100 posts, KaTeX math rendering, BibTeX references, DOI auto-linking, and the Memo Garamond theme — no credit card required. That's more than enough for most PhD blogs, lab notes, or methods writeup archives. The Pro plan at $9/month adds a custom domain, AI writing assistant, newsletter broadcasts, and 1,000 posts. Labs with multi-author setups can share a Business account at $29/month.
Your research deserves a permanent, citable home.
Start free with Memo Garamond. KaTeX, BibTeX, DOI linking, and ORCID identity — all on a platform that stays out of your way so you can keep writing.
Start free with Memo Garamond