Google map on your website? What about Waze?
By Carla
Photo by Sebastian Herrmann
In May 2018 Google made it impossible to embed a Google map onto a website without the use of a credit card (even if you didn’t have to pay anything).
We wrote a blog post about how to acquire the necessary API key to continue to embed a Google map on your website.
This blog offers you an alternative to an embedded Google map: Waze.
Waze, formerly FreeMap Israel, was acquired by Google in 2013. It is a self-described “community-driven GPS navigation app that is free to download and use”.
One of the best things about Waze is that it is updated with real-time data like traffic jams, road works and speed traps. This community-driven data is shown in real-time in your embed, so if someone is visiting your offices or shop they will be able to spot traffic, etc, on your website. Pretty handy!
How to add a Waze map on your website:
Navigate to the Waze live map: https://www.waze.com/en-GB/live-map
In the top left box labelled driving directions, enter and select your starting point (this will be the location you want to display in your map embed):
Once you have selected the location, click the share icon in the left-hand pane. This will trigger a pop up:
Select the Embed a map tab in the pop up box:
Copy the code and paste it into the appropriate section of your website page:
<iframe src="https://embed.waze.com/iframe?zoom=16&lat=-33.926899&lon=18.419082&ct=livemap" width="600" height="450" allowfullscreen></iframe>
By default, your selected location will not be highlighted with a pin. You will need to add it into the embed code:
<iframe src="https://embed.waze.com/iframe?zoom=16&lat=-33.926899&lon=18.419082&ct=livemap&pin=1" width="600" height="450" allowfullscreen></iframe>
You can adjust the width and height of the embed by changing the numbers:
<iframe src="https://embed.waze.com/iframe?zoom=16&lat=-33.926899&lon=18.419082&ct=livemap&pin=1" width="100%" height="250" allowfullscreen></iframe>
If you’d prefer to avoid the admin of the Google maps requirements, this is a great alternative. And if you’re unsure about which way to go, we’re here to answer any questions – just click the button below.
Access the Waze documentation Contact us for a quote