Help Using Our Site
Our site has been designed to make it as easy as possible to access information and services provided by Trafford Council.
This page provides guidance on how to get the most out of our website:
- Website structure and navigation
- Breadcrumb trail
- A-Z of council services
- Search facility
- Site map
- Viewing options
- Printer-friendly pages
- Bookmark and share
- Quick links
- PDF attachments
- Useful website links
- What to do if you still need help?
Website Structure and Navigation
This information on our website has been structured and presented using the Local Government Navigation List (LGNL). The LGNL is a navigation scheme designed to help users access council information and services in simple, clear manner.
Some of our information and services often appear in more than one category, as we all think and search for information in different ways.
Breadcrumb Trail
With the exception of the homepage, at the top of each page you will find what is known as a "breadcrumb trail".
The purpose of a breadcrumb trail is to provide you with a link back to each previous page you navigated through to get to the current page you are on. This allows you to always take a step back if your journey through our site becomes unsuccessful.
The term breadcrumb trail is taken from the popular fairytale Hansel and Gretel, in which Hansel leaves a trail of breadcrumbs to find his way back through the forest.
A-Z of Council Services
At the top of each page on our website is an A-Z Index. This will provide you with an alphabetical list of council services and information. Clicking on the links within the A-Z will take you to dedicated pages containing more detailed information and additional resources.
If you know exactly what you are looking for, the A-Z may be the easiest place to start.
As always, we welcome your comments. If you feel that we could improve our A-Z, please use our feedback facility at the bottom of this page.
Search Facility
On most occasions, the search facility will be the easiest and quickest way of locating information on our website.
In the search box, type in the word, term or phrase and click the 'Go' button. Our system will then provide you with the closest matches relative to your search.
Site Map
At the top of our website you will find a link to our site map. The site map will provide you with a view of the complete structure of our website. Showing you where each individual page has been placed, and the category in which it belongs.
Viewing Options
To make our website as accessible as possible, at the top of each page you will see a viewing options link. Clicking on this link will direct you to a page where you can adapt our website to meet your individual needs. For your convenience, the settings you choose will be saved for future visits.
Printer-friendly pages
Should you choose to print any content page within our site, you will receive a special printer-friendly version. For ease of reading, a content-only version of the page will be produced, with all the navigational elements within the page removed.
Bookmark and Share
At the bottom of every page within our website there are a selection of links to 'Social Bookmarking' websites. These site allow you to store, tag and share links across the internet.
This means, that if you find a page on our site that interests you and you want to save it for reference or share it with other people, clicking on one of these links will allow you to do this.
All of the sites are free to use but do require you to register first. Once you have registered with your chosen site, you can begin to bookmark. Each site works in a different way so be sure to read to user guide available on each site.
Learn more about social bookmarking on the Wikipedia website.
Quick Links
On our website homepage you will find a box containing 'quick links'. These links provide a shortcut into the most popular areas of our site including, reporting a problem, our most popular online services, how you can have your say and how to pay your bills.
PDF Attachments
Some of the page within our website will contain links to PDF documents (Portable Document Files). To view these files you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. This software is free to download from the Adobe website
Accessibility tools are also available on the Access Adobe website
Useful Website Links
On some of our content pages you will find a 'Useful Website Links' box to the right of the screen. This is used to provide links to external websites the may contain information or resources you may find of interest or use.
Please note that Trafford Council is not responsible for the content on external websites
What to do if you still need help?
We are committed to ensuring that your visit is both useful and enjoyable. If you experience any difficulties using our site, or finding information, you can:
- Use our online feedback form (available at the bottom of every page)
- Send an email to webmaster@trafford.gov.uk
We will respond to you query as quickly as we can.
