Website Design Articles :: Useful Tools

Create a Google Map for your website

MapBuilder.net is an Web 2.0 service or rapid mashup development tool to build custom Google and Yahoo maps without any knowledge of the Google/Yahoo Maps API and JavaScript.

MapBuilder provides an easy-to-use visual interface for the map building process with geocoding and import features. Also MapBuilder lets users tag locations on their maps, and then publish the map either on MapBuilder.net or their own website.

Map Builder is:

• a great tool for webmasters and webdevelopers
• an excellent resource to get started with Google or Yahoo maps
• a good resource to build communities around your maps or just start collaborated map development.

Another resource is the Dreamweaver Tools for Google from WebAssist, a Dreamweaver extension which includes a facility to drop a Google Map on any page to highlight multiple locations with custom markers.

The extension wizard allows you to configure and specify several address locations for display in a given area, and customise the size, zoom, inset, and scale attributes for the map generated.

Maps cannot be previewed within Design View, so a placeholder image is used to represent how the map will be sized and placed within the page.

The countries currently supported for mapping using this extension are the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand.

Both tools require you to sign up for a Google Maps API key.