Help using our website

What is a search engine ?

Our sites search engine is provided by Google. It is designed to search for information from within the council’s website and then display a list of possible results. Up to 10 results will be displayed at any one time. The most relevant pages are displayed near the top of the list.

Why we use a search engine

As the council’s website has approximately 1,300 individual pages covering a wide area of topics, it’s important that visitors are given the option to use a search engine to enable them to find relevant content quickly.

How do I use the search engine?

Searching is simple, just type whatever you’re looking for in to the search box and click the ‘Search‘ button. The search engine will then search the entire website for content that is relevant to your search.

Improving the search results

Keep it simple. Simplify your search terms by using as few words as possible. For example, use “bus routes” instead of “bus times from Scunthorpe to Brigg on a Wednesday afternoon”. This is likely to return a more helpful set of results.

Think how the page you are looking for might be written. For example, use “bin collection dates” instead of “when will my bin be collected?”

Use the in-search help. If any word in your search term has been misspelled or the search engine knows of a better word to use, you will be prompted with something like, “Did you mean: library?”. Simply select the link displayed to automatically search for the new term.

What are PDF documents?

Portable Document Format (PDF) documents are the most common way full-text articles are provided on our website. You will need a suitable reader to view them.

Why we use PDF documents

PDF documents are typically smaller in size than Microsoft Office documents and are much more accessible as they can be opened on any PC that has the free Adobe reader installed.

How can I open PDF documents?

A PDF reader can be downloaded free from the Adobe website (full instructions for downloading the reader are provided on the Adobe website).

What is social bookmarking?

Social bookmarking is a method for our visitors to share, organise, search, and manage links to our website.

You need to be registered with social bookmarking websites to be able to save a page.

Why we use social bookmarking

Social bookmarking allows our visitors to share content from the council’s website to their friends and family using their own social media accounts, for example, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn.

How do I use social bookmarking?

Wherever you see the social bookmarking or ShareThis icons on our website, you will be able to promote that webpage to your friends and family by simply selecting the service you want. For example, selecting the Facebook icon will create a post on your Facebook account which will then be visible to your friends list.

Need help signing up?

• How do I sign up to Twitter?
• How do I sign up to Facebook?

The council has an interpretation service for people who don’t speak English.

Just call the hotline number for your language. This connects you to an interpreter who will speak to the council for you and tell you what they say.

If you call in person at Information, Advice and Guidance centres, libraries and leisure venues, staff can also contact a network of interpreters available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They will also be able to arrange for translation of documents, publications and other information.

What is an online form?

Online forms work very similar to how a paper form would work; the biggest difference is that an online form will only display questions relevant to you.

Using online forms also allows us to reduce the amount of wrong or missing information being submitted.

Before you begin

• If you live in North Lincolnshire:
  • You can sign up to our self-service portal to save time when you complete any of our online forms.
  • You will also be able to view a history of your requests and accounts.
  • If you prefer not to have an account, please continue without an account.
• If you live outside of North Lincolnshire:
  • Please continue without an account.
  • When asked for your address, please select ‘Can’t find your address?’ and enter it manually.
• If you already have an account:
  • Please log in.

How do I complete a form?

Once you’ve selected and opened a form, you will be asked a number of questions. If the question is mandatory a red asterisk (*) will appear next to the question.

Forms might be divided in to sections, if so you can progress to the next stage by clicking the ‘Next’ button. If you would like to go back to the previous section click the ‘Previous’ button.

If the form has been divided in to sections, a progress bar will appear at the top of the form which will show you what section you’re currently looking at.

At the bottom of each form, there’s a submit and cancel button. Once you’ve completed all required questions on a form click the ‘Submit’ button.

How do I save a form?

Where applicable, a form can be saved and completed at a later date by clicking the “Save” button. This option is only available on large forms and if you live in North Lincolnshire. You can of course save the form as many times as you need before submitting it.

You will then be asked if you want to create a new account or use an existing account.

If you choose “Create New Account” you will then be asked to supply name, e-mail address and password.

How do I access a saved form?

Whenever you save a form by using a newly created account or an existing account, you will receive an e-mail with a link back to your saved form including its unique reference number.

When you click on this link you will then be asked to login using your username and password.

Usernames and passwords are case sensitive and must be entered in the same format that you provided when you created the account.

I’ve forgotten my password

To reset your account’s password follow the link from your original e-mail where you will then be asked to login. Select the ‘Forgot your password?’ option. You will then need to enter the same e-mail address you used to register the account and then click ‘Get Password’.

Preventing timeouts

Sometimes when it takes a long time (over 20 minutes) to complete a section of the form there may be problems with the form timing out. This can mean that any work you have recently input into the form is lost and will have to be re-input.

There are a number of things you can do to avoid this if you think it may take some time to complete a particular section:

1. Before starting the section concerned always save the form.
2. If you are taking a long time to complete the section save the form again before you reach the 20 minute limit.
3. Alternatively save the form and then write what you wish to say using the word processing package on your PC. Then when you are happy with what you have written, bring back your saved form and copy and paste the text into the relevant area of the form.

How do I keep a copy of a form?

If you wish to keep a copy of the form once you’ve submitted it there a number of ways you can do this:

1. When you submit the completed form if you provided a valid email address as part of your personal details – an email receipt including a copy of the form will automatically be sent to the address supplied.
2. Before submitting, click on the ‘Review’ button and either save the html page locally on your computer and/or print a hard copy.
3. Again, before submitting the form, click on the ‘Printable Version’ button which will then open up a copy of the form as a PDF document. You could either save locally on your computer or print out a hard copy.

The form will not find my address

If you live outside of North Lincolnshire, the form will not find your address. Please select ‘Can’t find your address?’ and enter it manually.

Our online maps allows you to look around the area where you live and find out information about the services provided by North Lincolnshire Council.

How do I find my address?

To find your address within the My Maps section, enter your postcode or street name in the “search for a location” at the top of the page. Select the ‘find’ button. You will then be shown a list of possible addresses. Once you’ve found your address, select it.

To change the address you’re looking at, select the ‘change’ button where you will then be able to perform a second search.

How do I navigate the maps?

There are two way of navigating around the maps:

1. Using your mouse

To move the map, click on the centre of the map and drag your mouse the opposite way you wish to move and the map will be re-drawn.

To zoom in or zoom out of the map, move your scroll wheel up or down.

2. Using the navigation tool

To move the map using the navigation tool in the top left of the map, click on the arrow that represents the direction in which you wish to move. The map will be re-drawn.

To zoom in to the map select the + icon located within the navigation tool.

To zoom out of the map select the – icon located within the navigation tool.

How do I find information on the map?

Once you’ve selected a property, you will then be able to enable various layers which will display any associated locations on the map, for example allotments or recycling centres.

No layers will be enabled until you select which ones you are interested in. To enable a layer, select the ‘show map categories’ tab on the left hand side.

You will be shown a list of available layers. To enable a layer, click the tick box. A list of locations will then be displayed on the map.

Once you’ve found a location you’re interested in, click on it. A pop-up will appear where you can find more information about that location, for example opening hours or contact details.