We developed our Web site based on extensive research, the latest thinking in design and technology, user statistics and consideration for Web accessibility.
There are multiple entry points to the information you want. And you don't always have to come back to the home page to get to different pages.
Features
Our Web site has several features. The City's main index page directs users to four home pages organized according to community interests.
The four community home pages are Living in Toronto, Doing Business, Visiting Toronto and Accessing City Hall.
Regular visitors may choose to bookmark one of these four pages, or portals, as their personal quick access to the City of Toronto Web. ("Portal" is Web talk for distinct home pages; think of each community home page as your own doorway into the services that you use most often.)
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The design of our home page mirrors the design of Toronto's City Hall, one of the most famous landmarks of Toronto.
The home page contains hyperlinks to features that our research indicates are popular and frequent destinations for visitors to the site. Clicking on these links will take you directly to the information about the service area.
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Or you can click on the photograph or colour-coded heading for the home pages and you will be taken to that page. These colour-coded headings appear at the top of all of our pages.
You can also use the search engine in the top navigation bar of every page.
On the right side of the home page, there are links to site highlights and new services.
Note: The official Toronto Web site was designed to be viewed within an 800 X 600 screen. If your monitor is set for 640 X 480, you may have to scroll to the right to view content on the right-hand side of the screen.
The four community pages
Once you are on one of the four community home pages, you will find several ways of accessing information and services.
The navigation bar on the left of the screen is organized in categories specific to that home page. For example, the Living in Toronto navigation bar has direct links to 311 Toronto, the TTC and building permits. The Doing Business navigation bar takes you quickly to City planning and economic development documents.
The lead story on each community page is just that, an important current event or announcement or new program. This story will change regularly, and contains links to story elements. Below the lead story are "What's new" features, again tailored to the interests of each community.
On the right-hand side of each community page, you'll find a series of four picture links to more important stories and, below this, quick link access to popular, longer term highlights and services.
If you think you want to look at one of the other community pages, you can access them through the colour-coded bar on the top of the page. Notice how the colours help to remind you which community page you came from: Living in Toronto, Doing Business, Visiting Toronto and Accessing City Hall. These are always presented in the same order left to right.
