Store Locator Postal Code , City Address Format

Store Locator Plus® 5.2 brings a new search results shortcode to assist in proper formatting of European addresses — especially German addresses which list the postal code followed by the city.   Prior to the 5.2 release the standard shortcode was [slp_location city_state_zip] which displayed a standard US-format address with a comma between the city and state when warranted.

A new variation of the shortcode [slp_location zip_state_city] puts the zip (postal code) first followed by the state and city WITHOUT any commas.   The new shortcode goes in the Store Locator Plus® | Settings | Results Layout setting.     To swap the address format change the [slp_location city_state_zip] entry in the Results Layout setting with [slp_location zip_state_city].

In addition to the new layout option, the [slp_location city_state_zip] output was patched to ensure a space remains in place between city and postal code if the state is not set.

MySLP Users

Users of our My Store Locator Plus®  SaaS service will automatically receive this new feature  as our servers are updated.    That is one of they many benefits of having a monthly MySLP subscription — no more plugin updates or migration concerns.   As soon as the newest features have been tested and scanned for security issues we update our servers.    Your JavaScript embed code keeps on working, automatically getting the latest features.

If you wish to change your Results Layout setting you can login at the MySLP Dashboard.

WordPress Plugin Users

Users that opt to stay with our legacy Store Locator Plus® products, we are continuing to patch these self-managed/self-installed plugins.   You are responsible for making sure your WordPress account is backed-up prior to upgrading and will need to manage the installs on a site-by-site basis.

Remember, WordPress users are not required to upgrade to the MySLP SaaS subscription.   If you have purchased the WordPress plugins and want to check on what was ordered and what updates are available you should login at the WordPress Plugin Store.

Store Locator Address Accuracy

My Store Locator Plus® was updated this weekend with new software. While we were at it the MySLP servers were upgraded.

Better address accuracy outside the United States

The biggest change to the My Store Locator Plus® software was the implementation of region data handling. The map domain, aka “region” setting under Store Locator Plus | Settings | Map influences the accuracy of the results returned for new location addresses as well as user searches.

Users in countries like Australia or parts of Western Europe should see a notable improvement in the accuracy of locations returned when searching for an address. The map engines, primarily Google, that are used to geocode addresses are more heavily influenced by the region setting in those countries.

WordPress Subdirectory Install and The REST API

Seems there is a number of new people having issues with the Store Locator Plus® address lookup feature due to a failed REST API request. With Store Locator Plus 5 all address lookups are routed back through the WordPress site via the REST API in order to protect Google API keys.

If your site is running WordPress from a subdirectory you may run into issues if your web server is not configured to properly handle REST API routing. Especially if the site is using “pretty permalinks”, any Permalink setting under WordPress Settings | Permalinks other than “plain”.

The problem is that most of the Codex articles on the subject of doing a “WordPress in it’s own directory” installs came out well before the REST API existed. Most, dare we say ALL, have not been updated since and completely ignore the corner case of a WordPress subdirectory install with Permalinks enabled.