Multimedia and Web services: Design, development, web content and promotion for your online success.

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On this page: Web Site Maps • Date Functions • Live Assistance

Maps and Other Web Page Enhancements

Maps and Driving Directions. A number of companies offer maps that can be placed on business web sites. Google Maps makes available an Application Programming Interrface ["API"] that enables webmasters to imbed maps in web pages.

Google does not charge for this service and permits both business and personal web sites to use its maps. Google Maps pages contain advertising. Although Google does not include driving directions, driving directions are available from other sources.

Mapquest also publishes an API that allows its maps to be used on third-party web sites. Mapquest makes available both maps and directions, as well as forms with the destination address pre-populated. Your visitor tyopes in his or her address, presses Get Directions and immediately receives driving directions to your destination.

Other sources of maps and directions include MSN and Yahoo, which makes available a simple API, three Flash APIs, an AJAX API, and a Map Image API. Maps and driving directions are relatively easy to add to your web site and are a real plus for your visitors.

 Sunday, 07-Sep-2008 23:05:39 CDT 

Web Site Content That Changes. Whatever the focus of your web site, you can easily and inexpensively add relevant, self-updating or rotating content to keep your page looking fresh and current. You can add
The current local date and time.
– Images that change according to the time of day.
– A text display of the current temperature.
– A phrase, quotation, or testmonial that changes each time the page is refreshed or reloaded.

Of course, you'll want to use content that makes sense for your web site. If your web site sells things that are time and date specific, such as event tickets, hotel rooms, or travel, or takes restaurant reservations, all it takes is a short PHP script to add the local date and time to your page:

To create a sense of urgency around a date, you can use a Javascript or PHP to remind your visitors how many days are left before Christmas (or any date you choose):

Look! Only days until Christmas!
Have you sent Santa Claus this year's list yet?

It may not motivate many people in May or June, I know, but it really is a pretty neat script come October.

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