LIM Lab Website

This is the official website for the Learning, Inference & Memory (LIM) Lab, at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, UCL, London.

🌐 Live at: https://lim.bio

🚀 Built with Jekyll

This website is built using Jekyll with the github-pages gem, ensuring full compatibility with GitHub Pages. This provides:

• Template System: One layout file controls all pages
• Data-Driven Content: People and publications managed in YAML files
• Automatic Builds: GitHub Pages builds automatically on push
• Easy Maintenance: Add new content without touching HTML

📁 Site Structure

├── 404.html             # Custom 404 error page
├── _config.yml          # Site configuration
├── _layouts/
│   └── default.html     # Main layout template
├── _includes/
│   ├── header.html      # Header partial
│   └── footer.html      # Footer partial
├── _data/
│   ├── people.yml       # Lab members data
│   └── publications.yml # Publications data
├── Gemfile              # Ruby dependencies
├── Gemfile.lock         # Locked dependency versions
├── .gitignore           # Git ignore rules
├── index.md             # Home page
├── research/
│   └── index.md         # Research page
├── people/
│   └── index.md         # People page
├── publications/
│   └── index.md         # Publications page
├── labnews/
│   └── index.md         # Lab news page
├── join/
│   └── index.md         # Join page
└── assets/
    ├── css/
    │   └── style.css    # All styling
    └── img/             # Images and photos
        ├── athena1b.jpg
        ├── European_Research_Council_logo-01.webp
        ├── sainsbury.png
        ├── ucl.png
        └── [other member photos and logos]

🛠️ Local Development

Prerequisites

• Ruby 2.7 or higher
• Bundler gem

Setup

# Install dependencies
bundle install

# Build the site
bundle exec jekyll build

# Serve locally
bundle exec jekyll serve

The site will be available at http://localhost:4000

📝 Adding Content

Adding Lab Members

Edit _data/people.yml and add new members to the appropriate section:

research_fellows:
  - name: "New Person"
    title: "Research Fellow"
    photo: "photo.jpg"  # or null for no photo
    description: "Research description..."

Adding Publications

Edit _data/publications.yml and add new publications:

published:
  - authors: "Author Names"
    title: "Paper Title"
    journal: "Journal Name"
    year: 2024
    status: "In press"  # optional
    note: "Additional note"  # optional

Adding News

Edit labnews/index.md and add new news items in the Recent News section.

🎨 Making Design Changes

Global Changes

• Header/Footer: Edit _includes/header.html or _includes/footer.html
• Layout: Edit _layouts/default.html
• Styling: Edit assets/css/style.css

Page-Specific Changes

• Content: Edit the respective .md file in each directory
• Page Title/Description: Edit the front matter at the top of each .md file

🌐 Custom Domain Configuration

This site uses a custom domain lim.bio instead of the default limlabswc.github.io:

• CNAME file: Contains lim.bio to configure the custom domain
• Jekyll config: _config.yml updated with the custom domain URL
• DNS records: Configured in Cloudflare with GitHub Pages IPs
• HTTPS: Automatically enforced through GitHub Pages

DNS Configuration (Cloudflare)

• A records: 4 GitHub Pages IP addresses (185.199.108.153, 185.199.109.153, 185.199.110.153, 185.199.111.153)
• CNAME: www subdomain pointing to limlabswc.github.io
• Proxy status: All records are proxied through Cloudflare for performance and security
• Subdomains: bcontrol.lim.bio and dosing.lim.bio also point to the GitHub Pages site

🚀 Deployment

This site is automatically deployed to GitHub Pages when you push to the main branch. No manual deployment needed!

The site is live at https://lim.bio with HTTPS automatically enforced.

📋 Features

• ✅ Custom Domain: Professional lim.bio domain with HTTPS
• ✅ CDN Performance: Cloudflare proxy for global fast loading
• ✅ Responsive Design: Works on all devices
• ✅ SEO Optimized: Proper meta tags and structure
• ✅ Fast Loading: Static files, optimized for speed
• ✅ Easy Updates: Data-driven content management
• ✅ Professional Design: Clean, academic aesthetic
• ✅ Accessibility: Proper semantic HTML and alt tags
• ✅ DDoS Protection: Cloudflare security features

🔧 Technical Details

• Domain: lim.bio (custom domain via Cloudflare DNS)
• Hosting: GitHub Pages with Jekyll
• CDN: Cloudflare proxy for global performance
• SSL: Automatic HTTPS enforcement
• Jekyll Version: 3.10.0 (GitHub Pages compatible)
• Ruby Version: 2.7+
• CSS: Custom stylesheet with responsive design
• Images: Optimized for web with proper alt tags
• Navigation: Automatic active state highlighting
• DNS: 4 A records for redundancy + CNAME for www subdomain
• GitHub Pages: Fully compatible with automatic deployment

🤝 How to Contribute

We welcome contributions to improve the website! Here's how you can help:

1. Update Your Profile:

   • Edit _data/people.yml to update your information
   • Add or update your photo in assets/img/
   • Include your latest research interests and publications

2. Add Publications:

   • Edit _data/publications.yml
   • Follow the existing format for consistency
   • Include DOI links when available

3. Share News:

   • Edit labnews/index.md
   • Add new items to the "Recent News" section
   • Include relevant links and images

Development Workflow

# Fork and clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/limlabswc.github.io.git
cd limlabswc.github.io

# Install dependencies
bundle install

# Make your changes
# Edit files as needed

# Test locally
bundle exec jekyll serve

# Check at http://localhost:4000

# Commit and push
git add .
git commit -m "Description of changes"
git push origin your-branch

# Create pull request on GitHub

Contribution Guidelines

• Images: Optimize images for web (compress, use appropriate formats)
• Code: Follow existing patterns and structure
• Testing: Always test changes locally before submitting
• Documentation: Update README if you add new features

Types of Contributions Welcome

• ✅ Content updates (people, publications, news)
• ✅ Bug fixes and broken link repairs
• ✅ Accessibility improvements
• ✅ Performance optimizations
• ✅ Mobile responsiveness fixes
• ✅ SEO improvements
• ✅ New features (with discussion first)