Customising Google Maps

markesmith

Hi all,

I'm looking to have an app developed for Google Maps that lets me tells users which supplier is closest to them. So, say, for example, a customer calls and asks what the nearest store to their location (e.g. Oughterard) is, I can type in that location and the Maps API will tell me the closest store and the distance.

Is this something that Google Maps API can do? Also, what would it cost to get this app developed?

TonyStark

markesmith wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm looking to have an app developed for Google Maps that lets me tells users which supplier is closest to them. So, say, for example, a customer calls and asks what the nearest store to their location (e.g. Oughterard) is, I can type in that location and the Maps API will tell me the closest store and the distance.

Is this something that Google Maps API can do? Also, what would it cost to get this app developed?

Do you have a database of suppliers and their GPS coordinates?

There is a directions API : https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/directions/

So it looks like it is possible.

oeb

markesmith wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm looking to have an app developed for Google Maps that lets me tells users which supplier is closest to them. So, say, for example, a customer calls and asks what the nearest store to their location (e.g. Oughterard) is, I can type in that location and the Maps API will tell me the closest store and the distance.

Is this something that Google Maps API can do? Also, what would it cost to get this app developed?

Kind of, I have written apps like this a few times in the past. How you do it is as follows.

When a new supplier is added to the database, we stick its lng and lat into the database.

When someone types in their location, we compare the lgn and lat with the others and grab the closest. To find the distance between two points you use the haversine formula. We then pass these points (Current location and target location) to google maps to display them as markers on the map.

It's not overly complicated to do this part of it, but you might find difficulty getting costing of a project this vague in here. Your best bet is to put together a full description of what you need (Does a person need to be able to print directions? Does this need to geo locate a person from their phone? Does this need to be integrated into an exsisting site or do you need a full site done with this?) and approach a few different freelancers or development studios and see what they can offer you.

markesmith

Thanks for the replies, and sorry but have to be reasonably vague so as not to give too much away!

Basically, we have over 140 providers throughout the country, and receive calls from customers who need to know who's the closest provider to their current location.

Certain providers only work on certain brands, and are colour-coded on our Google Map. Specialists in brand 1 have a red marker, brand 2 are green, and so on. Independents (can work with any brand) are yellow.

Ideally, we ask the customer their location, and we type this into the Google Maps interface, which will tell us the closest provider to that location by driving distance.

We also ask the brand they use, so if it's brand 1, the interface will tell us the nearest red marker.

Staff can then basically say, "Okay, so you're in Youghal, nearest brand 1 provider is 50 kms away in Cork, but there's an independent just 12 miles away."

Hope this explains it a bit better.

ChRoMe

markesmith wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, and sorry but have to be reasonably vague so as not to give too much away!

Its a store locator, trust me you are not the first to do it.

oeb

markesmith wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, and sorry but have to be reasonably vague so as not to give too much away!

Basically, we have over 140 providers throughout the country, and receive calls from customers who need to know who's the closest provider to their current location.

Certain providers only work on certain brands, and are colour-coded on our Google Map. Specialists in brand 1 have a red marker, brand 2 are green, and so on. Independents (can work with any brand) are yellow.

Ideally, we ask the customer their location, and we type this into the Google Maps interface, which will tell us the closest provider to that location by driving distance.

We also ask the brand they use, so if it's brand 1, the interface will tell us the nearest red marker.

Staff can then basically say, "Okay, so you're in Youghal, nearest brand 1 provider is 50 kms away in Cork, but there's an independent just 12 miles away."

Hope this explains it a bit better.

Yup, any experienced developer should be able to do this easilly enough. You are probably best off contacting a selection of local developers and asking for full quotes. "How much will it cost" is subjective. I might be willing to do it for a couple of grand, someone else might be happy to do it as a nixer for a couple of hundred quid.

Some more questions you might want to address yourself before you look for quotes though, it helps to be as exact as possible to get accurate quotes.

1. Will this function as a complete website or does it need to be integrated into an existing website? If so, what platform?

2. Does this app need to offer anything else? eg: a content management system to add news articles and edit other individual pages?

3. Is the list of locations static, or will you be adding and removing them over time?

4. Does this need to integrate with anything? Any back office tools? Any third party APIs?

komodosp

The Google Maps API has a Distance getting service (you'll have to check the API guide)

So once you have the customer's location, enter it into your javascript bit, loop through all the applicable locations getting the distance using this, then the one with the minimum distance is your man.

You can then use the Directions service to get the directions.