Want to share a location visually?
Whether your office or branch locations, service points, machines, kiosks, or restaurants etc, map is an effective way to do it.
Three popular ways to use it:
1. Generate a custom map link to send users to the right location on maps.google.com
- Share a map link with the search path and include the location in the query parameter. Example:
- Search a building: https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=google%20office%20pasir%20panjang
2. Use the Static Maps API for a non-interactive snapshot of a location
- Like the option above, the Maps Static API also involves building a custom URL. Instead of sending the user directly to the URL, it’s used as the source in an HTML image tag and allows you to mark a location on your website, without the need to re-route to Google Maps.
- For example, here’s a map showing office location:
- <img src=”https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/staticmap?center=centrepoint%20south%20mid%20valley%20city%20Malaysia&zoom=16&scale=2&size=640×400&markers=centrepoint%20south%20mid%20valley%20city%2059200%20Malaysia&key=YOUR_API_KEY”>
3. Build a dynamic map with the Google Maps JavaScript API
- With JavaScript, you can build custom maps with a lot of flexibility. The Maps JavaScript API allows you to create maps that are interactive, allowing users to zoom, pan, and click map locations. It also allows you to respond to clicks and customise the experience for your users.
- You can find step by step instruction in this tutorial.
Source: Google Cloud Blog – Google Maps Platform
