Google Maps.
Whether you’re a huge organization or an entrepreneurial business owner, or even just a small town coffee shop, showing your place of business on Google Maps is a must!
But if you’re a super beginner like me, then the act of adding a Google Map to your WordPress website might seem downright mystifying.
Well, you're in luck!
We know how easy it is to get lost in all the technical mumbo-jumbo so that’s why we’ve made this easy and painless guide that will help you add a Google Map to your website.
Just like the old adage, “there’s more than one way to skin a cat”, you can bet your bottom dollar that there are a couple of ways to install Google Maps as well, but we're only going to focus on two main ways.
All you need to get started is just some basic coding know-how or be familiar with WordPress dashboards, and you’re golden!
Method #1: Adding them Manually
If you’re feeling kind of hands-on, you can choose to add the Google Map manually into your WordPress website as a post or an article.
First thing’s first, you need to find the location that you want to show in Google Maps. Once you’ve done that, click on the share icon:
When you do this, it should open another window with a location code (iframe) in Google Maps. Here’s where things can get a bit dicey.
Click on the Embed a Map button and then you can copy the entire location code that they give you. What you can also do is choose the size of your map or set a custom size. Whatever you do, don’t forget to copy the location code!
So now that you have the location code. What do you do?
Well, load up the old WordPress dashboard to embed the location into your WordPress post or page.
Go to Post>Add New, or open up a post/page that you’ve already created in editing mode. In here, select the Text option instead of Visual and put the location code at the spot you want in the text.
After you’ve placed the code into your post, switch back to Visual display to check and make sure the map is properly embedded.
Voila, you're done and you have a page with your Google Map in it! If it didn’t load properly, check whether the location code was properly copied and pasted.
Method #2: Using a Plugin
If that last method was still a bit too hard for you then worry not! WordPress not only makes it easy for you to start a website, they also make it super easy to add features, such as Google Maps, with plugins.
While there are hundreds of plugins available for Google Maps, we recommend you use Google Maps Widget by WebFactory for its speed and huge features list.
Google Maps Widget
Right off the bat, one of the best things about Google Maps Widget is that they can be freely downloaded from the WordPress plugin directory.
It only takes about a minute to install and then you can customize your map and embed it to your WordPress website within minutes.
Still need help? Here’s a handy video by the folks at WebFactory:
Of course, if you really want to make your map stand out, it’s worth trying out the Google Maps Widget PRO version.
With the PRO version, you can pin multiple addresses on the map and extend the plugin to include more than 50 features. It also provides you with more than 20+ lightbox skins, 15 map skins, and over 1,500 custom map pins.
If that’s not impressive, then just check out their complete features list:
- Responsive and fast
- Compatible with all WordPress themes and plugins
- Custom info bubbles with unlimited pins per map
- More than 15 map skins
- More than 20 lightbox skins
- Over 1,500 custom map pins
- Unlimited maps per page
- Customizable map language
- 4 modes for maps: directions, view, street, and street view
- Fastest loading maps with advanced cache
- Full support for shortcode and hidden sidebar for easy shortcode handling
- Easy site migrations with export and import tools
- Integration with Google Analytics to track how many visitors open maps
- Great email support that’s based in the USA
- Regular patches, updates, and new features.
In addition to all the amazing features that you get with the PRO version, Google Maps Widget is widely considered to be the fastest Google Map plugin in WordPress.
Part of that is because, instead of loading a large interactive map into your website, Google Maps Widget renders a thumbnail image of the map instead. This reduces the amount of transferred data needed for the visitors and your web host, thus making everything load faster.
Of course, if you’re just starting out and you’re not sure if you should splurge on the plugin, Google Maps Widget PRO offers 7 days full refund trial period!
That way, you can try it out as much as you want and check whether it works on your site or with any other plugins you’ve installed. If you feel like you don’t need it, then just roll back to the original, free version.
Read More
- Affiliate marketing explained
- Best web hosting for small business
- Best websites to purchase your SSL certificate
- Best WordPress alternatives to build your site
- Best membership website platforms
- Cheapest WordPress hosting solutions to consider
- How to create a mommy blog with WordPress
- How to create an IDX real estate website
- Should you pay for expensive Managed WordPress hosting
- Top WordPress Event Calendar plugins
