Notice
From release 3.3 onwards, the individual templates (Core, Standardised & Harmonised) can be found on the ECL as configurations of the structurally merged components (Site header, Page header & Footer), which now have a single, dedicated page. Concurrently, the EWG (Europa Web Guide) has also been updated to better accommodate information regarding the optionality of components & elements per site type. Please follow the corresponding links found in the table below for more information.
| Knowledge base | New location | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ECL (Europa component library) | EC Site header - Harmonised config. | EC Page header - Harmonised config. | EC Footer - Harmonised config. |
| EWG (Europa web guide) | Guidelines for EC branded Harmonised website |
EC branded Harmonised group 3 websites that host specific content that answers a particular communication purpose, in particular partnership websites.
A Partnership website is where the European Commission is a co-operating partner in its creation but is not the sole owner of the information contained therein. It is a joint effort between the EC and non-EC partners in terms of concept, budget, management and maintenance and requires its own individual form of governance and custom style guides to accommodate possible co-branding.
Anatomy
| Elements | Mandatory | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Global banner | optional | the Global banner is the official EU stamp that gives a visual indicator and easy access to EU institutions and bodies sites, guaranteeing the user visits an official EU website. The global banner it’s only mandatory for sites under the europa domain. |
| Harmonised site header | yes | the Harmonised site header is present on every page. It communicates the site brand and provides basic structure and guidance. The site header is composed of several mandatory and optional elements such as:
|
| Harmonised footer | yes | the Harmonised footer is present on every page. It provides supplementary information about the partnerships |
NOTE: ECL components are not mandatory in the Page body
Do's
- make sure the pages contain all the elements in the anatomy table above
Don'ts
- do not replace pages only on existing websites as this will create visual inconsistencies, this must be done at a site level
When to use
- the Harmonised template must be used for all new development and can also be introduced on existing pages to replace a previous template, but this should be done on a site basis, not page by page
When not to use
- do not follow these guidelines when you are updating sites that fall under the Core or Standardised category
- do not follow these guidelines when you are updating sites that fall under web information systems, network or internal policy websites - use Harmonised Group 1 instead
- do not follow these guidelines when you are updating sites that fall under events, campaigns or blogs - use Harmonised Group 2 instead