Guide to using this website
Our Directory provides a wide range of information on services, childcare, activities and events for you or your family. In fact there is so much information to be found here you may need some extra help on how to find exactly what you want. This brief guide will help you make the most of our website.
In this guide we will cover:
- Searching by using 'Search Terms' or by using a 'Postcode or Area'
- Narrowing your search using filters and categories
- Sorting your results
- Shortlists, printing a list of results or emailing them.
We hope you find this Guide useful. If you are still having difficulties or can't find something specific you know is on in Trafford, feel free to contact us and let us know.
Searching
The main ways you can search for information are:
'Keyword(s)' - Searching in this box will bring up any listings on the site that contain the word/s you are searching for in either the title or about sections.
Example - you want to know what services may be available to your child who is being bullied. Type "bullying" in the search box will bring back all records that have the word bullying in either the title or about section.
Using speech marks (" ") around your search terms only brings back results that contain those words as an exact phrase. This can be useful if you know precisely what you are looking for, or know the exact title of a specific listing.
'Place name or postcode- this search box allows you to search for listings close to a postcode or area that you want to look at. If you search using a postcode, you need to include the space.
Example: M41 7BL not M417BL
Results show up with the closest listing first. You can set a maximum distance for your results (1 mile, 2 mile or 5 miles) and you can also view the results on map. The search results will let you know how far away the service or activity is from the postcode.
Example - You want to find a childminder that is near to you. Put your home postcode into the box. This will bring up everything - all services, activities, childcare or events taking place sorted by distance to your home address.
To find out about childminders only, you can either use a search term in addition to using the postcode or narrow your results using filters and categories...
Filters and Categories
The home page has a number of buttons that relate to categories of information. You can search for things directly from there or use the search boxes. When you have a set of results further categories and subcategories will be available to you under 'Narrow Your Results'.
You can also use a range of other filters to find exactly what you are looking for.
Example - the subcategories under the Childcare main category has a filter which will help you find providers that pick up from certain schools.
Common filters are:
- age range
- day
- time of day
- the first part of a postcode (postal area)
There are different types of filters throughout the site, depending on what search results you have. Look on the left hand side to see if any can help you narrow the information down for you further.
Sorting
Sorting your results can help you further in locating the information you need. There are three main ways to sort your results, and these options show in a drop down list above your list of results.
- Sort by Name (A-Z order)
- Sort by Rating
- Sort by Distance
The first two sorts are available to you whenever you have any list of records showing, the third filter of Distance however only shows up after putting in a full postode in the 'In Postcode or Location' box.
Sorting your results can also help you order the information you need whilst making a shortlist...
Shortlists
You can add listings or information on the site to your own personal shortlist. This is very similar to adding goods to a basket when buying from an online shop.
You can then either print this shortlist off or email it - to yourself or anybody else you think may want the information - provided you have their email address, of course!
To add listings or information to your shortlist there are two options:
1) Above your search results there is an 'Add All To My Shortlist' button. This adds all listings in your search results to your shortlist. If you have more than one page, move to the next page and continue as necessary.
2) On a specific listing, next to the title, there is a button to 'Add To My Shortlist'. This will add just that one listing and not all the listings on the page. This way you can pick and choose from your results to make up your shortlist.
When you have finished making your shortlist, click on Your Shortlist at the top right hand side to see all the results you have chosen. You can display a short version or a detailed version of the shortlist by clicking the appropriate button before saving, emailing or printing your results.
Your shortlist information is stored in a temporary part of your browser, so if you close down your browser, the shortlist will be cleared. To remove single listings from a shortlist, click on the 'Remove From Shortlist' button. You can also clear the whole shortlist at anytime by going to the shortlist and selecting 'Clear shortlist' from the onscreen options.