Here at Fabric Eleven, we are happy to announce the launch of a WordPress plugin developed by our own Chris Marslender. With his Google Maps Retailers WordPress Plugin, Chris created a solution to a problem we’d been trying to solve for a client, and has now made it available via WordPress’s own site. The plugin allows you to manage and output retailers to a Google Map that you can tailor to your needs.
What it Does
If you have a product that is distributed to more than one store nationally, you might well have been interested in a way to display retailers offering your product on a google map. That kind of display can offer a valuable visual hook for consumers, or for other retailers looking to add your product to their stores. If any of these aspects interest you, this plugin can help, and what is more, this map offers a range of options that can be customized to suit your needs:
- Add locations to a map of the United States
- Pick the states you would like to feature
- Link to your locations
- Select the colors of individual states
Reviews and New Uses
Now that the plugin has been launched, we are excited to begin receiving feedback from those using it in their sites. While we have certainly gotten use from it in our own sites, we are looking forward to seeing the new and creative ways others find to use the plugin. Say you wanted to designate regions with different ranges of your products, while also indicating every state in which your products are available—this plugin could help. Since you can customize each state’s color, you could easily set each region with a particular set of products to the same color—e.g., blue for all of those with the full range, red for those with a limited range—giving customers or potential clients a quick and easy way to see what is available and where. We look forward to even more applications of the plugin, as there are sure to be plenty we haven’t even thought of yet.
Giving Back
At Fabric Eleven, we are happy to get a chance to put something out there for the rest of the development community using WordPress. After getting so much from the platform, Chris and the rest of the development team were pleased that they had an opportunity to offer something of their own in turn. As new clients bring us new problems, we are sure to be developing new solutions. If any might make suitable plugins, we hope to make them available as well.