Using this site

This website was designed and development entirely in-house by Connexions Northamptonshire. The design, layout, menu structure and content were development in consultation with young people of different ages across Northamptonshire.

The site is split into different areas, depending on who is visiting and what information they are looking for. These sections are accessible through the main portal page.

Whilst all part of the same website, the section for young people uses a different template from the rest, giving it a more colourful and youthful appearance.

We have tried to make the information as interesting, relevant and concise as possible, whilst trying to avoid making the site too colourful and confusing to look at. The main features and sections of the young people's website are as follows:

Main Navigation

The main menu can be found along the orange horizontal bar. This includes links to each of the main content areas - click one of these to see a description of that section, along with links to each of the sub-sections.

Each main link features a drop-down menu which you can use to access sub-pages directly.

Top Level Navigation

The top level navigation (right at the top of each page) features links to each of the main sections of the website, as well as a link back to the portal page. Use these to navigate your way around the main areas of the site.

Breadcrumbs

Underneath the orange menu bar on each page, you will see a set of links called "You are here" - also known as "breadcrumbs". This shows which area of the site you have gone into and which page you are currently viewing. It is an indicator of how far into the site structure you have gone. Simply use the links to return to the main page of the section you are in, or click "home" to skip to the home page.

Search Facility

Each page features a search box, which you can use to search the contents of the entire site.

In the young people's section, this appears as a speech bubble coming from the fuzzy orange bug; in the other sections, this appears as a standard search box down the right-hand side.

When you're ready to search, simply press the return/enter key on your keyboard. You will then see a list of search results, showing each page where your search terms have been found - the link to the page is in purple, and the exact place your search terms were found is highlighted in yellow.To use the search, simply click on the text that says "click to search" and type in your search terms. Click the purple page title to visit that page.

If your search produces too many results and you still can't find what you're looking for, try filtering the results using either the "ordering" drop-down box or by selecting the "any words" or "exact phrase" options and clicking the search button again.

Side Columns

To the left and right-hand side of each page, you will see the side columns. These are used to display additional information and links, relevant to the page you are on.

On occassion, they will also contain other interactive features such as clickable banners and voting polls.

Footer

At the bottom of every page is the area known as the "footer". This includes banners to other major Connexions sites on the left, a list of "site links" in the middle, and a "Did you know?" panel on the right:

• The banners provide quick and easy links to other Connexions sites we think you might be interested in.
• The site links provide direct links to the additional pages on the site, such as our accessibility statement and disclaimer, as well as to this guide of how to use the site.
• The "Did you know?" panel displays random tips and snippets of information which might be useful.

Site Map

A "site map" is a complete list of everything on the website, organised into sections. They are useful if you are trying to find something specific and you want a list of everything all on the same page. The is a link to the site map at the bottom of every page, under "site links".

Links

This site features many links to other sites, as well as links to other pages on this site. All links can be identified by a blue dotted underline, like this: this is a link.

If the link goes to an external website, it will feature a small icon to show that it will open in a new tab or window in your web browser, like this: this is an external link.

Need further help?

If you need any extra help in using our website, or have any questions, please email us at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it