Jekyll static site template, with pages organized by _pages and _layouts, and styles based on Bootstrap
research-lab-website — Jekyll Starter Template
By ericdaat
A Jekyll-based research lab website template that manages team members, publications, and news using Markdown, JSON, and YAML respectively, derived from the Allan Lab template at Leiden University.
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What stands out
A quick read of the recorded project description.
Team members are maintained as Markdown files, with front matter supporting role, avatar, and various academic social links
Publication data is stored in _data/publications.json, and the README states it is exported from Zotero
News is managed in _data/news.yml, with each entry containing date, title, tags, and body
The README provides a Netlify deployment status badge, and it can be deployed to Netlify
The code is under the MIT license, allowing free use, modification, commercial use, and distribution
Template Details
This is a research lab website template built with Jekyll, derived from the template provided by Allan Lab at Leiden University. The page structure is organized by the _pages and _layouts directories, with styles based on Bootstrap that can be modified as needed.
Content maintenance is separated by type: team members are Markdown files under _pages/team/_posts, using the member layout, with front matter that can include role, avatar, social links (Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Scholar, GitHub, ORCID, ResearchGate, etc.), and education history; publications are stored in _data/publications.json, and the README states that this JSON is exported from Zotero, with each record containing fields such as title, journal, pages, volume/issue, abstract, DOI, authors, and publication date; news is stored in _data/news.yml, with each entry containing date, title, tags, and body.
Running locally requires first installing Ruby, Bundler, and Jekyll, then executing bundle install to install dependencies, and then using bundle exec jekyll serve to start the local server. The repository README also provides a Netlify deployment status badge, indicating that the template can be deployed to Netlify.
Usage limitations: publication data relies on the JSON format exported from Zotero, and manually adding entries requires following the field structure given in the README; team member files must include the specified front matter fields; the template does not mention built-in search, multilingual support, or backend management features in the provided information.
Is it right for your project?
Use Cases
- Universities or research institutions building a lab homepage to showcase members, publications, and news
- Research groups needing a static website that maintains three content types separately: members, publications, and news
- Those with an existing Zotero library who want to use exported data directly for the website's publication list
- Static site projects using Jekyll and planning to deploy to Netlify
Suitable For
- Developers or lab technical staff familiar with Jekyll and Markdown
- Lab websites that need self-hosting and file-based content maintenance
- Research teams wanting to start quickly based on the Allan Lab template
Getting started & customization
Use these recorded setup notes alongside the repository instructions for your chosen version.
- 1
First install Ruby, then install Bundler and Jekyll via gem install bundler jekyll
- 2
After cloning the repository, run bundle install to install dependencies
- 3
Use bundle exec jekyll serve to start the local server for preview
- 4
To add a member, create a Markdown file under _pages/team/_posts with front matter matching the README example
- 5
Add publication entries to _data/publications.json following the JSON structure in the README example; this file is exported from Zotero
License & source material
Usage conditions & limitations
Free to use · keep license noticeThis entry covers the free version under the MIT license in the public repository; the free scope is the code of this version and does not mean that external services or third-party assets are free.
Must comply with when using
- Free use, modification, commercial use, and distribution of this version's code are permitted.
- When distributing copies or substantial portions of the code, retain the original author's copyright notice and the full MIT license notice.
- The code is provided as is; warranties and limitations of liability are governed by the original license and applicable law.
Additional costs & items to verify
- The publication data file _data/publications.json is exported from Zotero; adding or updating publication entries requires using Zotero or strictly following the JSON field structure given in the README, otherwise rendering may fail.
- Running locally requires first installing Ruby and installing Bundler and Jekyll via gem, then running bundle install to install dependencies, so environment preparation has some barrier to entry.
- Preview and development require the Jekyll local server command; the site is statically generated and does not include backend management or online editing features.
- Demo images, fonts, icons, and other third-party assets must be checked against their respective licenses and cannot be judged solely by the code's MIT license.
- External services such as domains, hosting, databases, payments, or AI may incur additional charges.
View Original Text Basis
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge
Original License Text
This json file is exported from [Zotero](https://www.zotero.org/)
Original README
brew install ruby gem install bundler jekyll
Original README
https://github.com/ericdaat/research-lab-website/blob/master/LICENSEhttps://github.com/ericdaat/research-lab-website/blob/master/README.mdbundle exec jekyll serve
Original README
Compiled by DeepSeek based on repository license and README ·2026-10-02. Results only cover the materials read; dependencies, images, fonts, and subsequent term changes are subject to their respective original texts.
Project checks & description sources
Template Information
- Source platforms
- GitHub
- Documentation and maintenance reference score
- More documented · 77 / 100
- Technologies
- Jekyll · HTML
- Website type
- Starter
How this score is calculated
Our heuristic uses license records (up to 30), a demo link (12), a preview (10), stars (15), recorded maintenance (15), description completeness (8), feature records (5) and classification data (5). It is not a code, security or performance test, or a Google score. A link does not establish tested functionality.
What to verify for this project
- Repository update recorded
- 2024-02-25
- Screenshot last checked
- 2026-10-02
A demo link is listed. Check it with your own content and viewport sizes; its presence does not confirm that forms, authentication or payments work.
The catalog identifies Jekyll as the primary stack. Check the actual dependency manifest and lockfile for versions and hosting requirements. These notes use recorded metadata, not a code audit or a deployment test.
Use a selection guide →How this description was prepared
AI-assisted description based on catalog records and repository material. Repository authors are not automatically the reviewers of this description.
Automatically checked against source and license rules; no manual editorial review.
Inspect the recorded source material
SHA-256: b8664c64ed39439af564546caf15b71d9c3b1ef71b4027e010e584774bab4ef4
2026-10-02T16:07:42.439Z
Source file / repository[](https://app.netlify.com/sites/brave-bell-c85a34/deploys)
# Research lab website template
This website is built with [Jekyll](https://jekyllrb.com/).
It is derived from the great template provided by the
[Allan Lab](https://www.allanlab.org/aboutwebsite.html), at Leiden University.
## Setup
``` bash
brew install ruby
gem install bundler jekyll
```
Clone this repository, then install the dependencies:
``` bash
bundle install
```
## Run
Run the local webserver with:
``` bash
bundle exec jekyll serve
```
## Contribute
### Add a new member
New members are stored as markdown files under
[_pages/team/_posts](_pages/team/_posts).
Each new member `.md` file must look like this:
``` yaml
---
layout: member
category: staff
title: Researcher Name
image: researcher.png
role: Lab Director
permalink: 'team/researcher-name'
social:
twitter: https://twitter.com/
linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/
google-scholar: https://scholar.google.fr/
github: https://github.com/
website:
orcid: https://orcid.org/
research-gate: https://www.researchgate.net/
education:
- Education
---
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod
tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam,
quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo
consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit
esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat
cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt
mollit anim id est laborum.
```
### Add a new publication
Publications are stored as `.json` file under
[_data/publications.json](_data/publications.json).
This json file is exported from [Zotero](https://www.zotero.org/)
bibliography tool.
Just add a new entry to the list like this:
``` json
{
"id": "http://zotero.org/groups/2386072/items/NU9LTX7C",
"type": "article-journal",
"title": "Foo",
"container-title": "IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging",
"page": "448-459",
"volume": "38",
"issue": "2",
"source": "IEEE Xplore",
"abstract": "Bar",
"DOI": "10.1109/TMI.2018.2865709",
"author": [
{
"family": "",
"given": ""
},
],
"issued": {
"date-parts": [
[
"2019",
2
]
]
}
}
```
### Add news
News are stored as `.yml` file under [_data/news.yml](_data/news.yml).
An entry looks like the following:
```yaml
- date: 03/09/19
title: "Something great"
tags:
- some
- tags
content: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit,
sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Eu turpis egestas pretium aenean. Luctus venenatis lectus magna fringilla
urna porttitor. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. Pellentesque massa placerat
duis ultricies. Commodo viverra maecenas accumsan lacus vel.
```
### Edit template
We use [Bootstrap](https://getbootstrap.com/) for designing the website.
Feel free to modify either the [_pages](_pages/) or the
[_layouts](_layouts/) components.
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