Business programme
Start-Up, Scale-Up by Lloyds Bank Academy
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Learn for yourself
Money, digital, career skills
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Money skills
Learn for yourself
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Learn for business
To help start up and grow
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Strategy and operations
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Marketing, website and digital
Learn for your business
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Help others learn
Money and digital skills
Help others learn
Search for information online
Learn to search online and find what you need.
Introduction to 'Search for information online'
Do you want to learn a new skill, check the bus timetable or just see what’s on TV tonight? You can find all that information – and more – online.
This lesson will help you find things online, from information to movies, music and more. So, the next time you want to know something, you’ll feel confident to go online and find what you need.
What you'll learn
- The types of information you can find online.
- How to search for what you need.
- Other online ways to find information.
How long it takes
9 minutes
Starting to use the web
Chapter 1
How long it takes
3 minutes
How the internet can help you find information
The internet (also known as ‘the web’) connects devices all over the world. We use it to keep in touch with friends and family, through voice and video calls, messages and emails. It can also help us to find information. In fact, you can use it to find out pretty much any information you’ll ever need to know.
To do this, you'll use:
A web browser
Think of this as your window to the internet.
Search engines
These help you find what you’re looking for.
Websites and apps
Where the information is.
What’s a web browser?
This is how you access the internet. You can use it to visit the different websites that hold information. You can do this by typing a ‘web address’ into the browser to take you straight to the website.
Your device is likely to have a browser built into it. You can use that one or pick a different one.
Popular browsers include:
The standard web browser for Windows PCs and laptops. You can also download it for mobile devices.
This is the most popular browser. You can use it on any type of device.
You can only use this one with an Apple device, like iPhones, iPads and MacBooks.
This is just for Android phones and tablets.
Made by the not-for-profit Mozilla, this works for all devices.
Be aware
Just because something is popular, it doesn’t mean it’s right for you.
Before you pick a browser, do read about each one. Make your choice based on what's best for your needs.
What's a search engine?
These can help if you don’t know the web address of the site you’re looking for. A search engine does the hard work for you, by searching through all the information available online. Then it shows you what it thinks you need.
For example, you might want to find the website of a shop that sells rucksacks, but you don’t the web address or the name of the store. So, you could just type the word ‘rucksacks’ into the search engine.
It will give you a list of results that match that word. You can read through these results and use them to go to a website that sells what you’re looking for.
Unlike browsers, you don’t need to download search engines. They’re just websites that you access through a browser.
Popular search engines in the UK
There are plenty of search engines out there, and you don’t have to use just one. You can use different engines for different things. It’s a personal choice.
What are websites and apps?
These have information and let you use it in different ways. You access them in different ways.
Using websites
For this, you need to type a ‘web address’ into your web browser. This is a bit like a normal address. It tells the browser where you want to go online.
Don’t know the exact address? No problem! Just type the name of the organisation and the search engine will find it for you.
Using apps
First, find your app. Visit the App Store (for Apple devices) or Google Play (for Android devices). Type in the name of the app (or the kind of thing you’re looking for) just as you would in a search engine.
This will give you some results – just pick the one that matches what you need then tap ‘Get’ or ‘Download’.
How to search online
Chapter 2
How long it takes
2 minutes
How search engines work
Search engines show you the best results based on the words you type in. We call these words ‘search terms’. The more specific the term, the better the results.
In our example earlier, we explained how you can find results by typing search terms like ‘rucksack’. When you use single words like this, the search results can be very broad. So how do you narrow them down?
Here's a few tips:
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Try using more words to describe exactly what you want. For example, instead of ‘rucksacks’, try ‘waterproof rucksacks’ or ‘blue rucksacks’.
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If you don’t want to see certain things, like a specific colour, put ‘-’ in front of the term. For example, you could type ‘rucksack -blue’. This means the results won’t show blue rucksacks – just other colours.
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If you want to see results for an exact term or phrase you’ve entered, put your search terms in quote marks. For example, you might type ‘Cafés “York”’ so your results only show cafés in York.
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Most search engines have different result types, or categories for you to use. For example, in Google, you can pick ‘shopping’ to just see retail sites or ‘images’ to see pictures of what you’re searching for. There are also options to see videos and other result types. Find these options near the top of the screen. They’re often just below the search bar.
Say you want an image of a car. When you type ‘car’ into the search bar, pick the ‘images’ button. This will filter out other kinds of content like articles about cars and sites that sell cars.
Idea
You can also use sites and apps for certain types of information. For example, Pinterest or stock image sites for images. YouTube and TikTok will just show you video content.
Plus, there are shopping sites for many hight street stores and shopping apps like Amazon, eBay and Vinted.
Test your knowledge
Try again - that's not quite right!
Hint: You use this when you quote what someone has said.
That's right!
You can put search terms in quotations to see the results for the exact terms or phrase you've entered.
Content you can find
Chapter 3
How long it takes
2 minutes
Types of content
In the last chapter, we talked about how to narrow down your search. One of the ideas was about how to just show pictures, videos or shopping sites. There are many different types of content and you can find these types by searching or using apps or websites. Let’s look at some of these content types and how to access them.
Entertaining content
You can find lots of entertainment online – films, music, books, games. Most of the things you love offline will be available in some form on the web.
Here are some examples:
Games
Get games through your mobile device’s app store. Look for the ‘Games’ category there.
Books
You can read books online, from your device or an eReader. That’s a device you use just for reading books online. Sites that sell online books include Amazon’s Kindle store and eBooks. Plus, services like BorrowBox and Audible let you borrow, buy and stream books to read or listen to.
Free TV
Catch-up sites like BBC iPlayer, ITVX, All 4 and My5 let you watch your favourite programmes at a time that works for you. They’re all free to use, though you’ll need a TV licence. Freeview is another free to use TV platform.
Paid-for TV
Other TV services like NOW, Apple TV+ and ITV Premium have premium or ad-free content. You’ll need to pay a subscription for these.
Movies
Watch your favourite films on streaming sites like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+.
Music
Streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music let you play and download your favourite tunes.
Be aware
Some streaming sites are free to use, but you have to buy or rent the movies for a fee. Others charge a monthly subscription to access their range of films or music. Before you sign up, check what you need to pay, and how often.
Picking the right service for you depends on which one you like most and how much you’re willing to pay for it.
Learning content
Have you ever asked yourself ‘I wonder how that works?’ or ‘Could I do that?’
The web has information to show you how it works or explain how to do it. You might find out with a simple search question. Sometimes, Artificial Intelligence (AI) answers appear at the top of your search results. These tend to get their results from different places and can be useful for a quick summary. There are other types of learning and informational content, too.
These include:
These are just a few of the ways that the web shows you information. The next chapter has more ideas on how to learn online.
Other options
Chapter 4
How long it takes
2 minutes
When you need more information
Often, a simple search or a visit to a website will give you what you’re looking for. At other times, you might want to dig deeper or get different ideas. Let’s look at some of the ways you can do this.
Web chat
You may find these on sites that sell goods and services. They let you speak with the company quickly and easily. You can ask questions and resolve issues more quickly than you might be able to through a phone call or email.
Look for the word ‘chat’, or phrases like ‘chat with us’. If you select this, you’ll likely see a chat box appear where you can type and receive messages.
This chat is private. Only you and the person you are chatting to can see it.
Tutorials
Tutorials take you through a process step-by-step, like how to set up a phone. They can take many forms.
- Video sites can be quick and easy to use.
- Websites with words and images may give you more detail.
Idea
Try searching for ‘tutorial on’ then type in what you want to learn.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Companies often keep track of questions they get asked a lot by customers. They then use them to make a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) which they display on their website.
For example, you may want to know what the usual delivery times are for a shop. One of their FAQs could be ‘What are your delivery times?’. Next to it will be the answer, for instance ‘Our typical delivery times are 3-5 days’.
Forums
With forums, you can get ideas from a group of people. This is useful if you want to hear lots of different opinions on a certain topic. Bear in mind that you’re just getting opinions – not necessarily facts. So, you need to decide which opinions you trust.
For example, you might join a parenting forum. On the forum, you hear from lots of other parents about some of the ways they look after their children. Some comments you may find helpful. Others you might ignore.
Remember
Forums are good to gain a sense of community and connect with people who have similar experiences.
This doesn't mean all the tips and experiences will work for you.
Want to learn more?
Using the internet and online services
Lloyds Bank Academy is committed to providing information in a way that is accessible and useful for our users. This information, however, is not in any way intended to amount to authority or advice on which reliance should be placed. You should seek professional advice as appropriate and required. Any sites, products or services named in this module are just examples of what's available. Lloyds Bank does not endorse the services they provide. The information in this module was last updated on 21st January 2026.