{"id":29373,"date":"2021-10-29T15:13:31","date_gmt":"2021-10-29T14:13:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/noexpert.co.uk\/?page_id=29373"},"modified":"2025-09-03T15:11:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T14:11:13","slug":"background-information","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/?page_id=29373","title":{"rendered":"Creating customised maps &#8211; background information"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve been asked a few times now about how I got into creating customised maps.<\/p>\n<p>I initially started by using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.co.uk\/maps\/about\/\">Google maps<\/a>\u00a0to enhance my food blog\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\">www.noexpert.co.uk<\/a>.\u00a0 I created food and shopping related maps and subsequently made use of the &#8216;<em><strong>Eating &amp; Drinking in Ramsgate map<\/strong><\/em>&#8216; when I was asked to do a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitramsgate.co.uk\/food-blogging-in-ramsgate\/\">guest blog<\/a> for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitramsgate.co.uk\/\">Visit Ramsgate Website<\/a> in 2017.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1i9b0_7WkEyS1U1xiaiV7fQiywOM\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Later following an informal meeting with <a href=\"https:\/\/uk.linkedin.com\/in\/rebekah-smith-0414a164\">Rebekah Smith<\/a>\u00a0the Ramsgate Town Promoter.\u00a0 I suggested creating a &#8216;<em><strong>Music venue map&#8217;\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>which when presented with my food &amp; shopping maps was effectively the beginning of the Visit Ramsgate Websites <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitramsgate.co.uk\/maptrails\">Maps and Trails page.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Google maps I created initially used the default Google Map icons and when I created the <em><strong>&#8216;Dog Friendly Places in Ramsgate Map&#8217;<\/strong><\/em>,\u00a0 I found I did not have suitable default icons for some of the required map entries, to resolve this problem I created some bespoke map icons.<\/p>\n<p>I was not entirely happy with the look where Google default icons and my bespoke icons were displayed together on the same map,<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-30579 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/resize1636812522594.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/resize1636812522594.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/resize1636812522594-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/resize1636812522594-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 85vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>so when asked to create a map covering <strong><em>&#8216;Barbers, Salons and Spas&#8217;\u00a0<\/em><\/strong> in Ramsgate I made use of a graphics package I had &#8220;mastered&#8221; during ,&#8217;Lockdown&#8217; to create a range of bespoke map icons.\u00a0 The bespoke icons on the <em><strong>&#8216;Barbers, Salons and Spas Map&#8217;<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0 were well received, encouraging me to produce suitable bespoke icons for all the entries on earlier maps.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1RftDmHyLNYy-sX3_-pJT91Xfk5y0Lxa4\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The Ramsgate specific customised Google Maps have been very popular with several of the older maps accumulating over 20,000 views. The <strong><em>&#8216;Where to Shop in Ramsgate Map&#8217;<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 for example has been viewed over 27,000 times.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=11fVaFmdcN9JFZ8MP2J4yEq5QsBg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/uk.linkedin.com\/in\/rebekah-smith-0414a164\">Rebekah Smith<\/a>\u00a0contacted me again about creating a special map showing the locations and the \u00a35 offers being made by the local businesses taking part in a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.totallylocally.org\/fiver-fest\">FiverFest<\/a>\u00a0campaign.\u00a0 The map was to be embedded temporarily on the Visit Ramsgate website for the duration of the advertising campaign.\u00a0 Something that we plan to repeat for other campaigns.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=13kOb9H2YBzXrrXhGQU3CyGhy22paKU-U\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>A few days into the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.totallylocally.org\/fiver-fest\">FiverFest<\/a> campaign I was contacted by Sharon Davies on behalf of Thanet District Council. She really liked the Ramsgate Map and asked if I could quickly produce a similar <a href=\"http:\/\/www.totallylocally.org\/fiver-fest\">FiverFest<\/a>\u00a0map for all of Thanet.\u00a0 The map I created covered businesses in Birchington, Broadstairs, Margate, Ramsgate and Westgate on Sea.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1ZgE_YDSp97ydKWf4aEdmaWRSPNMn9Xvg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Both <a href=\"http:\/\/www.totallylocally.org\/fiver-fest\">FiverFest<\/a>\u00a0maps did well in enhancing the campaign. 39 businesses took part in the Ramsgate campaign and obtained over 2400 Map views and 123 businesses took part in the Thanet wide campaign and obtained over 2700 map views.<\/p>\n<p>As well as the maps, I also put together a range of trails :-<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/Gallery-Trail-Ramsgate\">Gallery Trail<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/Public-Art-Trail-Ramsgate\">Public Art Trail<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/Retro-Shopping-Ramsgate\">Retro Shopping Trail<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/Ramsgate-Pegwell-Nature-Trail\">Nature Trail &#8211; Ramsgate to Pegwell <\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When I collated the statistics for the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitramsgate.co.uk\/maptrails\/\">Visit Ramsgate Maps and Trails<\/a>\u00a0in November (2021), I discovered that the total number of map\/trail views had exceeded <strong>100,000<\/strong>. Which was great news.<\/p>\n<p>Customised maps now also include\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/shop.ordnancesurvey.co.uk\/maps\/os-maps-subscriptions\/?gad_source=1&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwwe2_BhBEEiwAM1I7salbrQVPUzm7Nphb0iBx56L0Xwb7vyNwB442VkqzQVPDiOum4c70GRoCFcwQAvD_BwE\">OS Maps <\/a>showing a range of walking and cycling routes with integrated refreshments, shops &amp; attractions information.<\/p>\n<p>To view examples:-<\/p>\n<p>1. Download the\u00a0 OS Maps app:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/os-maps-walk-hike-run-bike\/id978307846\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Apple<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=uk.co.ordnancesurvey.osmaps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Android<\/a><\/p>\n<p>2. Click on the following links<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/explore.osmaps.com\/route\/24155043\/Visit-Ramsgate-THE-BEACH-ROAMER-walking-route-Ramsgate-to-Margate\">Beach Roamer walking trail<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/explore.osmaps.com\/route\/23751572\/A-Visit-Ramsgate-Trail-PIER-TO-PIER-Cycle-Trail-Ramsgate-to-Deal\">Pier to Pier Cycle route<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>3. Select \u2026 option to show Waypoints on route.<\/p>\n<p>To view examples embedded on a website click below and select the \u2018More\u2019 button to view routes :-<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitramsgate.co.uk\/walking\/\">Visit Ramsgate \u2013 Walking<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitramsgate.co.uk\/cycling\/\">Visit Ramsgate \u2013 Cycling<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To learn more about customised mapping follow me on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/No_Expert_Maps\">Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/?page_id=29322\">Return to the main mapping page<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Top page - Noexpert.co.uk\" href=\"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\">Return to Top Page<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve been asked a few times now about how I got into creating customised maps. I initially started by using Google maps\u00a0to enhance my food blog\u00a0www.noexpert.co.uk.\u00a0 I created food and shopping related maps and subsequently made use of the &#8216;Eating &amp; Drinking in Ramsgate map&#8216; when I was asked to do a guest blog for &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/?page_id=29373\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Creating customised maps &#8211; background information&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":29322,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-29373","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29373"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32784,"href":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29373\/revisions\/32784"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.noexpert.co.uk\/food\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}