If you are new to using websites, here are a few simple tips that might help.
Using links
Some pieces of information are in blue underlined text. This means they are a link to further information.
- Links appear in the main text but also on the left and right sides of most pages.
- When you open these links the information on your screen will change. Use the ‘back’ arrow at the top left of your screen to return to the page you were originally looking at. If this is greyed-out, close the window by clicking the little cross at the top right of your screen. The original page you were looking at when you clicked the link should now be visible.
Using email links
Sometimes you might find a link to an email address. It may say something like: ‘send an email’. Email links also often appear in the ‘Contact’ section at the top right of the web page.
- If you open the link your email screen should automatically open with the email address appearing in the ‘to’ field.
- If this doesn’t happen, go to the ‘tools’ menu near the top of your screen, and choose ‘internet options’. When the internet options box appears, select the ‘programs’ tab at the top. Where it says ‘Email’, use the arrows to find the email program you normally use – if you’re not sure, try ‘Microsoft Outlook Express’. Then select ‘OK’.
Opening links in a new window
As discussed above, when you open a link the new page will usually open in the same window – changing the page you were first looking at – and the only way to get back to the original page is to click the ‘back’ arrow at the top left of your screen.
Some people find this confusing – it’s easy to accidentally close down the new information window hoping to return to the original page, and end up closing down your whole internet session instead.
- If you hold down your shift key when you open the link, the page will open in a new window ‘on top’ of the original one.
- This means you can close down the new page when you’ve finished reading it (by selecting the little cross at the top right of the window, or choosing ‘file’ at the top left, then ‘close’) and you’ll see the original page you were looking at.
Reading and downloading documents
Some of our web pages have a ‘Downloads’ section on the right hand side. This contains useful documents which you can open and view, save on your own computer or print out. These files are normally ‘PDFs’. PDF stands for ‘portable document format’ and is a type of file.
- You need special software called Adobe Reader to be able to view PDF files. This is available as a free download.
- If you are using a public computer, it may already have this software installed.
If you want to keep the document to refer to later, you can save it on your computer:
- Open the file. You’ll notice it will open in the Adobe Reader screen, which looks slightly different. Choose ‘file’, then ‘save as’, give the document a name you’ll remember, and save it on your own computer.
Finding your way around the site
Left-hand navigational tabs
On the left of the page is a list of items in a blue column. Clicking on these will take you to further information in the same section of the website. You’ll notice the title in the yellow bar will change, depending on where you are in the website.
‘See also’ navigational tabs
Further down the page you will see another blue column with the yellow title ‘See also’. Clicking on these items will take you to information on other parts of the website which might be useful.
Right-hand links
On the right hand side of the page, you’ll normally see three sections:
- Contacts
- Links on our site
- Website links
Often there will also be a fourth section here called ‘Downloads’.
‘Contacts’ gives the main contact phone number you can use to find out more about the information on the web page.
- Often there is also a contact email address. If you see the ‘@‘ symbol just click on the underlined text next to it to send an email. This should open an email window with the email address filled in. See ‘Using email links’, earlier in this guide, for more.
‘Downloads’ only appears if there is a useful document associated with the web page you’re looking at – for example, a booklet, leaflet or form. See ‘Reading and downloading documents’, earlier in this guide, for more.
‘Links on our site’ are links to other useful information on the Leeds City Council website.
‘Website links’ are links to helpful information on other websites (i.e. not Leeds City Council).
Other pages in this section
At the bottom of the page you will often see the words ‘Other pages in this section’ followed by a list of other titles. This is a list of other pages within the topic that you are currently looking at, a bit like the different chapters of a book.