European Commission services should develop and use EC branded standardised websites for their online communication as much as possible. In exceptional circumstances, where a standardised website cannot accommodate a service's specific communication needs, it is possible for a Commission service to develop an EC branded harmonised website instead. Harmonised websites allow for greater flexibility in terms of website design and development. The instances when a harmonised website can be considered are given below as well as the rules on their development.
Harmonised sites host specific content that answers a particular communication purpose:
Internal policy websites: Websites providing information on internal working methods of the EU institutions, standards and guidelines. Resources for institutions’ employees, partners and service providers.
Sites that do not directly match any of these categories will be analysed by DG COMM who will define the applicable rules and guidelines.
According to Europa domain rules, EC branded harmonised websites are hosted on the 3rd level domain of the Commission (ec.europa.eu), following the URL structure.
Exceptionally, where a site is jointly owned with a third party, it may be hosted outside the ‘europa.eu’ domain. The address should be decided on with the third party, with preference given to the top-level domain ‘.eu’. DG Comm must validate this choice
All content on EC websites is under the responsibility of one or more Commission Departments.
Site owners must
Creation and revamp of harmonised websites must be approved by DG Comm B3 through the revamps and new websites procedure.
The content must follow the writing guidelines and be translated according to the language policy.
Rules
The first element of the breadcrumb must always be labelled 'Home' and must link to the homepage of the actual site where the current user page is located. The home page is followed by its child pages, e.g. Home > 1st level of the website > 2nd level > page title. Breadcrumbs should NOT be displayed on the homepage of a site.
Usability testing has proven that it is better to put the label 'Home' rather than the name of the site because it is:
Exceptions: if a small site is integrated into a larger site - for technical reasons, for example - the first element of the breadcrumb may link to the homepage of the larger site.
EC branded harmonised websites must follow general rules on logos and icons and specific EC branded harmonised websites design rules.
They must comply with accessibility rules.
The use of the Europa Web Publishing Platform for harmonised sites depends on the specific website requirements and needs to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Harmonised websites must comply with Privacy, security and legal notices.
The Europa Web Guide is the official rulebook for the European Commission's web presence, covering editorial, legal, technical, visual and contractual aspects.
All European Commission web sites must observe the rules and guidelines it contains.
Web practitioners are invited to observe its contents and keep abreast of updates.
More information about the web guide.