TOPIC: I am loosing visitors with this new map V3

I am getting a few emails from visitors to my website that say the icons are missing on the map, they do not understand you have to zoom in to see them, i can tell from my stats that i am loosing visitors after they land on my map page also, the little dot markers are confusing people and i must admit i was confused when i first seen them.

Can we not have the commanly used google cluster icon which tells us how many hotspots are in that broad view area that people are used to?

I was hoping to get a drop down selection box for catogories as i have so many the icons are not working for me, i also need to have a grouping for the catogories to make navigation simpler which allows multiple selections

Thanks in advance

Keith

Hey Keith,
I'm not sure what to reply. Yes, I agree that version 3 was confusing. But in 3.1 you have the custom tiles and I don't think that they are confusing. People encounter the same thing with maps.google.com and it is definitely the most commonly used mapping application. So people know what the dots do. In our case as with google maps you can hover with the mouse and you will see the title for the spot, if you click it you'll get an infowindow. I honestly don't see what is so confusing - you get some "main" markers and all other available markers displayed with dots. If you zoom in the small dots will transform to "main" markers. Easy to find the information and get an idea where the markers are.

A lot of people are mentioning the default javascript cluster. I had this one implemented in November last year, but it doesn't work for hotspots. First of all -> it is only javascript -> which means you have to give it all the markers from the db -> so you have to transfer that data to the user's browser... Then you have the performance -> you can't use it reliably for more than 2000 locations.

About the categories -> yes it is nice to have nested categories, but it is not a killer feature.

I'm much more interested in offering a list view (like they have on airbnb) than nested categories.


I want to make cool & usable software. I really think that I'm doing that right with version 3.1 (and I think that it is awesome...), but if you are not on the same opinion and are totally unsatisfied with the direction hotspots is heading I'll be happy to refund you.

Kind regards,
Daniel

Thanks for the reply Daniel,
I don’t need a refund Daniel, first because you work so hard and you deserve it and second I believe in what you are doing but thanks for the offer!

I was having a rethink last night about the new set up and maybe all I really need is a better way to display the categories as I need so many of them the icons at the top of the map won’t work for me and they look confusing…

For example if I had a way for the user to select the multiple categories in a better way then the map would be tightly focused on what they are looking for and thus eliminating the stuff they are not interested in and in turn the map would not look so messy and load quicker

I liked the “airbnb” idea but the map is a little small and out of balance with the rest of the page, for me it would be better if the map and descriptions share the page 50/50 side by side?

It is always difficult to please everyone but I’m sure you will reach a compromise soon enough

Keep up the good work…

Keith

Hi Keith,

You can display the categories with some kind of menu using css & html, and probably some php. That's the idea i have in mind for the new revamp of my website: CHECK HERE

My site will be based on search results because I consider that search it's the easier way for people to find whatever they are looking for, instead of being jumping from category to category.

I am not planning to show any category's icon on top of the map, the top of the map will be only for search inquiries. The categories will be displayed only at the top menu.

Daniel is a great developer, and i know sometimes we are asking too much to him, and probably he is pissed with us 99% of the time we request something to him. Sorry Daniel to be a pain in the a%#@.

Keep the good work Daniel!

Hi

My search on the website does not produce any results since the last update yet if i search on the map itself it works! i am waiting for the next release to hopefully fix this.

I take your point about rewriting the script to achieve what i need but then future updates would be a pain...

Keith

The menu i created for my site is synchronized with hotspots' database, any changes in the database will be reflected in the menu instantly.

Also, my site is divided in 3 parts: the top menu, the center, and the bottom menu. The center is an 'object' containing the map (hotspots), so, any changes/updates will be reflected instantly as well.