Navigating the site
There are three ways to find the products you’re looking for on the Stanfords website:
Text Search
Terms entered in the text search box at the top of the screen search within:
- Product name/title
- Author name
- Publisher name
- Catalogue number
- 10-digit ISBN code (for books)
- Sheet reference number (for maps, charts and topo guides)
- General words likely to be found in product descriptions
- Location (if this matches a location in the Navigation Menu you will be taken to the same page that would appear if you had selected that location from the Navigation Menu, if it does not match such a location, results will show for where that name appears).
If the products you are looking for are not presented to you immediately you can refine your search using the links on the right.
These are broken down into:
- Product types that contain stock that matches terms searched
- Places that have items associated to them matching the terms searched
- Other pages from the site that contain the terms searched (e.g. articles or promotional pages)
Navigation Menu
This method of navigation is extremely powerful and unique to Stanfords allowing customers to select any location in the world and match it to products associated to that region.
It can be used in the following ways:
- Selecting the location you want immediately* (e.g. Paris)
- Selecting the location by drilling down through other locations (e.g. Europe>France>Paris)
- Selecting the product type you want immediately (e.g. Street Maps & Atlases)
- Matching the location and product type
*Please note, on the homepage regions and cities contain a reduced list of location for the sake of speed. On selecting a country further locations are made available in these fields, so if you're trying to find the location by region or city immediately and its not there, please try drilling down instead.
Upon making a selection the menu will refine itself to show further selections that can be made in red.
On choosing a location:
- Other locations that can be drilled down to are shown in red
- Product types that are associated to that location are shown in red
- Products that are not associated to that location are removed from the menu
- Locations that are contained in the first location selection, but not within your later refinement are shown in grey (e.g. Europe>France>Paris will show inner regions of Paris in red, and other French regions and cities in grey)
On choosing a product type:
- Locations that do not have stock of that sort associated to them are removed
As you make refinements you will see the text below the menu show how many products matches are made. Please note, these are not only individual items but may also relate to a series containing many individual items.
Once you are happy with your selection press Go.
The next page
A new page loads showing all the stock at the required level of refinement.
If you have chosen a large location, you can continue to drill down using links on the right under ‘Refine your search’. The most popular locations are shown here, but others are available upon opening the navigation menu again, either by clicking on it or by clicking the link ‘Explore more places’.
If you have chosen a location and no product type, the most popular product types are shown on the right and, again, more products are available from the navigation menu – opened either by clicking on it or by clicking the link ‘Explore more places’.
If you have chosen a product type and/or a location, you can continue to refine the products into a particular sort. For example, under Guide Books you can choose from a long list of different kinds of guidebook, the same is true for Maps & Atlases, while under Stationery you can select from the various varieties we stock.
Beneath ‘Refine your search’ are more links useful for a ‘Related search’. These no longer drill down, but instead move you to a location’s neighbour or larger location in which it is contained (e.g. on a France page you will see links to Denmark, England, Europe, Germany, etc.)
What makes the Explore Menu special?
The Explore Menu is special because it actually helps you research your destination, while also suggesting products that you probably wouldn’t have considered or even heard of in some cases!
For example, you may have a general interest in traveling to Kenya but know little about where to go within the country itself. In filtering the menu by selecting Kenya you’ll discover the names of the country’s key regions and cities; planning your trip from there.
In the opposite direction, you may be interested in archeology and need some ideas for archeological destinations to visit. In this case, choose archeological guides from the products menu and see what countries and regions are connected with archeology.
Menu Links
Underneath the Navigation Menu are a number of links to particular pages. A Home link can be found here and you can also navigate back to the homepage by clicking on the Stanfords logo.
A link to the Business Mapping site (great for planning applications, architectural drawings and much more) is also found here.
Other links here will take you to various areas like our New in Stock and Offers catalogue pages.
At the bottom of the site are a few more links to take you to information pages where you can find details on Stanfords’ history and how to contact us.
At the very top of the site on the right are links to Your Account, Your Basket and Log In/Log Out. On the left is a link to a Text Only service.