Standardised site homepage

Purpose

Provides a gateway to your standardised website, and connects to the wider European Commission web presence.

About the homepage template

A homepage needs to convey the mission of the site, provide access to the site content without overwhelming readers, and reinforce that this site is part of the wider Commission web experience.

When to use this template

Homepage. Use the homepage template for any standardised site homepage. It can also be adapted as a landing page for programmes.

When to consider something else

• Internal pages. Don’t use a homepage template for standard internal page content. The same things that help people understand basics can quickly become distracting for people who are looking for more depth.
• Events, conferences, campaigns, communities, etc....

What to include

The homepage of any standardised website should provide access to:

• Policy areas, and major topics
• Funding opportunities
• Concrete results, projects, or initiatives
• Statistical information, data
• Opportunities to participate in and understand the impact of legislation (Have Your Say, reports)
• News and events

Dos

If you use a banner, favour a hero banner over a carousel at the top of the homepage. Use your banner to introduce your site, or to promote important information, campaigns, or events.

Break up your page content into sections with helpful titles.

Use common navigation labels wherever possible.

Don'ts

Don't offer text-heavy content. Use your homepage as a hub that lets users navigate to more detailed information.

Don't use links with images as the sole content of your page.

Don't include breadcrumb navigation on your site's homepage.

Usability guidance

• Understand your users. What do you have to say? What do your users need to know? Figure these things out. It’s important to know what you have to say about your organisation, topic, or event before you settle on a homepage design. Get started by reviewing research on the top tasks for EC site users and by checking analytics, such as your site's visitor statistics.
• Don’t make it too complicated. Don’t try to include forms or side navigation on a page like this. Those are visually complex components, and a homepage works best without complexity.

Content type

Use the Landing page (EU Login required) content type for this template. 

Remove unnecessary elements. Do not create extra content just to fill the template. You can remove individual components (such as the event block) or sub-components (such as horizontal menu items in the header) from the template as you implement it. This version gives you a broad idea of the number of things your landing page could include. But never make a page more complex than you need to. If you’re unsure, interview users to find out what they need to know.

See component guidelines below. There are specific guidelines on how to use the components that compose your page.