28 Nov Create, code and customise beautiful maps for your website or app

Create, code and customise beautiful maps for your website or app: If you are a coding genius and hope to create beautiful, stylised maps which can be used to display, visualise and analyse information, then Google Maps API is for you.

With Google Maps API, the sky (or earth) really is the limit with the capabilities of what you can create. Whether you want to add a map with touch screen gestures to an Android or iOS app, or to your website or application, there are a whole host of features you can add to create your own bespoke map. Here is a list of just some of the features you can achieve with Google Maps API:

• Find locations, add info windows, and plot routes
• Visualise features and arbitrary data on your map, add layers through Google Maps Engine
• View a heatmap to visualise the intensity of geographical data on a map, or draw polygons and and shapes to graph out areas of interest
• Add Street View panoramas and perform spherical geometry computations to calculate angles and areas
• Customise the look of the map with custom shapes and markers, and create a unique map style with editing of colours and layout
• Show public transport routes, cycle routes and traffic conditions
• Search and find nearby businesses and places
• Use autofill for address forms based on the Google Maps directory
• Track, visualise and analyse asset movement …and the list goes on!

So how are other companies using Google Maps API to create interesting and engaging maps?

Following the 2010 Haiti Earthquake disaster, the Haiti Aid group used Google Maps API to plot areas affected by the disaster to analyse where to concentrate relief efforts. The map shows the locations of 326 projects being carried out by 57 organisations. You can browse individual projects on the map and get details on each project’s budget and impact.

One of the world’s favourite console games, Grand Theft Auto 4, uses Google Maps API to let you explore the fictional Liberty City in Google Maps Street View. Thousands of in game screenshots were taken to create custom Street Views with the Google Maps API.

Tiffany & Co. decided to create a social campaign allowing their customers to share intimate moments by plotting their romantic locations on a map. Using Google Maps API, Tiffany & Co. were able to create a website that lets customers place a heart-shaped marker on a romantic spot and add details of their precious moments shared here. Others could simply browse the map for the best locations to woo that special someone.

Google Maps API allows you to create visually rich experiences that can be used for games, websites, applications and more. Creativity is the key, as the tools are available for you to create a powerful, bespoke map that can differentiate you and encourage a higher level of interaction with your user base.

If the thought of coding your own map scares you, then do not fear. There are tonnes of handy tools available from Google to provide you with all the best practice tips, along with example pieces of code and developer forums. So why not get started trying to create your own map that is completely bespoke and provides all the features you need.

Need convincing of why else to go Google?

Using the Google Maps API allows you to use the most popular and commonly used map across the globe, which millions of users are already familiar with. Google Maps is also the most updated map, with more improvements and updates than any other mapping platform. Using the Google Maps API for Work also lets you have complete control over advertisements on your map, and enough page loads to always satisfy your needs.

For more information and help getting started, contact our team on +44 (0) 113 366 2008 or email helpmegogoogle@appscare.com. If you want to know more about using Google Maps, check out our Google Maps Coordinate and Google Maps Engine blog posts.