I’d like to add a map to my website and possibly some directions to show to get to my business. Is there an easy way to do this?

I was asked this question by Peter from Birchwood Building and Construction, who was having a new website redesigned and wanted to spruce up his contact page. Only a few years ago, the best way to do this would have been to hire a graphic designer to come up with something, or to photocopy a map from somewhere, but today, thanks to Google Maps, it’s pretty easy to add a map to your website. Here’s how.

• Fire up Google Maps and locate the location you want to display on the map. Just type in the location in the Google Maps Search Box and zoom in to the area you want.

• Get the code to add to your website. You can do this by clicking on “Link to this page” in the top right hand corner and copying the HTML you are given. If you want to change what the snippet looks like, just click “Customize and preview embedded map”

• Add the code to your website. Just place the code where you want the map to appear.

As you can see, it’s not that hard to do, and you can be used to add a splash of colour to any website. So, regardless if you have a balloon shop or sell designer jewelry, it’s worth keeping this in mind to add some interactivity to your website.