Getting started online

The internet is full of amazing resources and there is information on just about anything you need to know. If you are unsure about the address of the website you wish to visit, you can use a search engine. The most common search engines are Google and Bing.

Type your keywords into the search box - 'How to download Spotify' or 'Events in Colchester'. Click 'Search' and you are presented with a list of website pages that match your search.

If it doesn't work the first time, try amending your search, the clearer you are with what you type into the search box the better your results will be.

It is important that you remain vigilant when your search engine populates returns, there are a few things to look out for to ensure the site is safe: 

An icon of a locked padlock should be present in the ‘URL’ bar at the top of your web browser, this when pressed will give you information pertaining to the security, cookies and permissions of the site. Also you can look at the website address to see if it is secure: 

• Secure websites begin with: https://
• Unsecured websites begin with: http://

Frequent spelling or grammatical errors can be a good indication as to the quality of a website. Websites that appear to be written in broken English should be avoided, as well as websites that don't include unique photographs of the product, the ability to leave reviews, or an advertised returns policy.

Common sense is usually enough to avoid being misled by these pitfalls, so be suspicious of deals that are ‘too good to be true’. The adage that if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is, rings true when it comes to ecommerce safety.