This guidance is for ELIXIR Nodes presenting their activities online. It outlines how to structure web content, apply consistent terminology and engage users effectively. 

Establishing your Node’s online presence

Each Node should maintain at least one of the following:

• Page on elixir-europe.org – Managed via the Hub, automatically includes institute and coordinator details
• Node website – Drupal or HTML templates available. Contact webmaster@elixir-europe.org for access
• Lead institute website – Dedicated section highlighting ELIXIR Node activities. See ELIXIR Netherlands and ELIXIR Spain for examples

All Node websites that have a separate brand and identity should acknowledge membership of ELIXIR visibly. This can be done by displaying:

• The ELIXIR logo
• A short explanatory text. You may use the standard boilerplate text:

ELIXIR is a European research infrastructure which manages and safeguards the massive amounts of life science data and tools being generated by publicly funded research. We are a network of scientific and technical experts working together to coordinate, integrate and sustain bioinformatics resources, providing access to high-quality data, tools, standards, compute and training. These open resources enable researchers to access and analyse life science data to accelerate research and its impact on society.

Writing your Node summary (elixir-europe.org)

Provide a 300-word overview describing how the Node connects, develops and provides services. Avoid repeating information already included in the template (e.g., personnel or contact details). Focus on:

• What the Node does
• How it supports the ELIXIR ecosystem
• The national context via its lead institute

Avoid listing future activities unless the Node is newly established.

Using ELIXIR terminology correctly

Maintain consistency with capitalisation and naming:

• ELIXIR – Always capitalised
• ELIXIR-STEERS – Hyphenated and capitalised
• ELIXIR Node/Hub/Platform/Community – Capitalise key terms
• ELIXIR Members – Use lowercase "members" when referring to people
• Heads of Node, Heads of Nodes – Use contextually
• Group names – e.g., ELIXIR Board, ELIXIR Training Coordinator Group
• Node countries – Use full names, e.g., ELIXIR Germany; however, the exception is ELIXIR UK

Avoid the term ELIXIR Europe. Use ELIXIR consortium when describing Hub, Nodes and members collectively.

Publishing news releases

Use news releases to highlight Node activities or amplify social media updates:

• Cover the basics: who, what, when, where, why
• Clarify ELIXIR jargon for broader audiences
• Link to or adapt content from the ELIXIR news section

Evaluating online presence

Use Google Analytics to monitor site traffic. Key metrics include:

• User trends over time – Home > Users overview
• Top visited pages – Home > Pages
• Referral sources – Acquisition > Overview and Channels

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Support and resources

For Node website templates and ELIXIR logo use:

• Email webmaster@elixir-europe.org for Drupal or HTML templates
• Contact Zippy Tseng for Node logo requests

This document is part of the Node Communications Toolkit, maintained by the ELIXIR Hub. It is intended for internal guidance only and should not be redistributed outside the ELIXIR consortium.