Digital tools

Intelligent signposting

Google searches, online directories and signposting lists all have their place. But they often leave the hardest work to the person looking for help. People don't always know what kind of support they need, which questions to ask, or how to choose between similar looking services.

Even when the right service is found, the journey can stop there. Information is passed on, but the person may not feel able to make contact, understand what to expect or know what to do next.

Step is a uniquely powerful digital solution to signposting: guiding people through the right questions, matching them with a solution from our mapping of over 80,000 support options nationally, then staying with them to check options helped.

How Step helps
The Step app asking what help someone needs, with options for money, housing, health and more
01 / Discover

Find the right support

Step asks what help someone needs, with options to speak or type a response

People can describe their situation in their own words, by typing or speaking, in their preferred language. Step guides them through a series of questions, helping clarify what they need and identify relevant options from our national network of over 80,000 support services.

Rather than presenting a long list of search results, Step provides a tailored selection of support options, with information to help people understand what's available and which routes may suit their circumstances.

02 / Act

Help people take the next step

A personalised support plan shows service details and practical contact options

Finding a service is only useful if someone can act on it. Step turns recommendations into practical next steps, with a personalised support plan that can be shared digitally or printed.

Where referral options are available, people can also be helped to connect with services directly.

03 / Follow through

Stay with people, where needed

Step follows up to ask whether a support service helped

With appropriate consent, Step can follow up after signposting to find out whether someone accessed support, whether it helped and whether further help is needed.

This creates an opportunity to offer another route forward if things haven't worked out, while helping your organisation understand what happens beyond the initial conversation.

Flexible ways to use Step

Designed for the way you work

01 / Self-service

Self-service: support people can access themselves

Make Step available through a QR code, website link, email or text message. People can explore their options independently, at a time and pace that works for them, without needing to wait for an appointment or speak to an adviser first.

It's an additional route into support for people who know they need help but aren't sure where to turn - or who simply need a practical answer to a specific problem.

02 / Frontline teams

Frontline teams: better signposting conversations

Use Step on a computer or mobile device during face-to-face conversations or over the phone. Work through a person's needs together, explore relevant options and provide a support plan with clear actions to take forward.

Step also gives staff and volunteers a practical structure to follow, helping them navigate unfamiliar issues with greater confidence without needing to know every service available locally.

For your organisation

Why organisations choose Step

Local-level signposting, from anywhere in the UK

We help find the right specialist and local support within their community, wherever your team is based.

Empower your frontline teams

Volunteers and staff who don't regularly signpost, often lack confidence of offer a solution. Step gives them the tools to guide people to the right help, without requiring prior knowledge of all support areas.

Less time maintaining information

Step manages the wider service data, reducing the need to spend time researching and maintaing information. You can still add your own local knowledge and trusted services.

Better data on your signposting

Step provides a suite of visual reporting tools to understand the needs of your clients, and where people are being referred. Where follow-up is enabled, you can get data on whether people accessed support, and what helped.

The information behind Step

The information behind intelligent signposting

Step's recommendations are powered by the Step Network: the UK's largest source of data on free support options, built through ongoing research, AI-assisted discovery, human validation and local knowledge.

Learn about the Step Network

Help more people find the right support

Give people a clearer way forward, while helping your team make the most of the support available.

Talk to Step