Two things about using a web browser on a computer seem to frustrate many seniors: typing in urls (or searching for them because they are difficult to remember) and hard-to-read read pages. On my club's website, we have links in our sidebar for both topics. Each link simply opens the following PDF (which is in out media library) in the browser. Nothing fancy. No new tab. No plugin. No feature-rich interface to confuse someone who may already be having difficulty.
The instructions have been simplified in an effort to avoid bewildering choices. Note: Safari for the Mac users and Chrome for the Windows users takes care of virtually all of our members.
The document reads as follows:
Zoom In and Out
Make a web page easier to read by zooming in, or if you want
to, zooming out. You can repeat zooming in to keep enlarging, and vice-versa zooming out. And most of the time your browser will remember the zoom setting
you last used on a page.
Here’s how:
Zoom In on Windows: Ctrl +
Zoom Out on Windows: Ctrl –
Zoom In on Mac: ⌘ +
Zoom Out on Mac: ⌘ -
(⌘
is the symbol for the Mac Command key)
Bookmarking
Sometimes typing a URL for a webpage can be a pain. For a
page you visit frequently, you can bookmark it and never have to type the
page’s URL again. You can put it on the bookmark bar of your web browser and
then just click it when you want to use it. Here’s how:
How to Bookmark a Webpage in Safari
On Mac:
- Open
the Safari app and go to the webpage you want to bookmark.
- Click
the Share button in the toolbar.
- Select
Add Bookmark from the dropdown menu.
- In the
pop-up window, you can optionally rename the bookmark and choose where to
save it: Bookmarks Bar.
- Click
Add to finalize the bookmark.
On iPhone/iPad:
- Open
the Safari app and go to the webpage you want to bookmark.
- Tap
the Share button (a box with an arrow).
- Select
Add Bookmark.
- Choose
where to add the bookmark: Bookmarks Bar.
- Optionally,
rename the bookmark.
- Tap
Add to save the bookmark.
How to Bookmark a Webpage in Chrome
- Open
the webpage: Navigate to the website you want to bookmark in
Chrome.
- Locate
the star icon: Find the star icon in the address bar on the right side.
- Click
the star icon: Clicking the star will open a dialog box.
- Choose
the Bookmarks Bar: In the dialog box, ensure the "Bookmarks
Bar" folder is selected as the save location.
- (Optional)
Rename the bookmark: You can change the name of the bookmark in the
dialog box to make it shorter or more descriptive.
- Click
"Done": Click the "Done" button to save the
bookmark to the bar.
To show the bookmarks bar if you don’t see it:
- Click
the three dots (More actions) in the top right corner of Chrome.
- Go to
"Bookmarks".
- Select "Show Bookmarks Bar" to toggle it on or off.
