Locator Style Updates

Posted by lcleveland in MySLP SaaS, Squarespace, Store Locator Plus, Web Presence, Weebly, Wix, WordPress, WPSLP

A built-in feature on all Store Locator Plus products from the free WPSLP downloadable plugin to the fully managed MySLP service is one-click deployment of new interface styles. Our locator Style Gallery server is updated form time-time-time with new styles you can try as well as tweaks to existing styles.

Today’s Updates

We cleaned up the styling for the hours that are displayed in the results listing , placing them on their own line in the results output. This update is available to all MySLP and WPSLP users.

We also cleaned up the Directory Landing Page for users that employ the directory feature for WPSLP Power.

The change is immediately available to the following locator styles:

Updating Styles

Don’t worry, if you selected a locator style already it will not change even if we update your selected style on our server. If you want to update your selected style to or latest version you must select a different style from the plugin gallery first, then re-select the style you were using.

Keep in mind that some styles in our Style Gallery will change your locator settings. The styles that change settings clearly note that they will do so in the description. Read the descriptions before clicking that “Activate” button.

How To Select A New Style

For MySLP start from Advanced Options in your dashboard.

For WPSLP start from Store Locator Plus on your admin login.

Go to Settings > View

In the Appearance section you will see a list of available styles from our Style Gallery.

Hover over the bottom edge of the “card” showing the style information and click the Select button when it appears.

How To Update Your Style

Follow the above steps and start by selecting a locator style that you are not currently using.

Follow the above steps and re-select the style you were using originally. This will re-load the style and the settings from our gallery server.

Location Sensor Can Help Visitors Find Your Store

Posted by CiCi in Research, Store Locator, Store Locator Plus, Web Presence

Finding Locations Near You

How important is it for people to find a location nearest them? “Near Me” has been a top-ranked search term on Google for the past seven years. This may be the number one reason to use a location sensor. Research indicates that the common phrases of “near me” in Google searches is a top-ranked query. The phrase “handyman near me” might return a cloud based app that in turn redirects the users search to some popular apps but how does your browser, Google Maps or other platform know where you are?

Location Sensor

Enter location sensor, a browser-based tool that detects where a user is at the time of search. On GPS-enabled mobile devices it returns the precise location using the device’s built-in GPS sensor. For the Store Locator Plus users the location sensor can be enabled by checking a box under General Settings. WordPress Plugin users will need the Power add on. MySLP service users will need to be subscribed to the Power, Professional, or Enterprise plan.

Using HTTPS Improves Sensor Performance

Google Chrome’s v 50 and higher ( the most popular browser with the largest market share at this time) requires site urls to be served over a secured site before it will allow the location of the user to be transmitted. They have stated that location is sensitive data and determined that HTTPS versus HTTP be required to protect the privacy of your users’ location data. Other popular browsers , such as Mozilla Firefox, may submit a pop-up box asking the user to grant permission for their location to be known.

In short, if your site is using the location sensor feature it must get an SSL certificate and be serving pages on an https address. Many browser disable multiple features if you are not a secure site, including the location sensor. It won’t be long before ALL browsers disable location sensor support if you are not hosting an https site.

Location Sensors Can Increase Sales

If you have a physical location that counts on people walking in the door to make a sale, adding Google Maps and employing the location sensor can have a notable impact on your walk-in traffic. Your first step is to get an SSL certificate on your site so you can serve secure pages; This also helps boost your Google search rank. Once you have that completed put Google Maps software that supports the locations sensor on your site. Add a couple of posts to your site that relate to your business such as “Boutique Near Me” and drop the map code on that post. It won’t happen overnight, but as your site starts to generate traffic the map will lead people to your store.

Have questions? Contact us.

Store Locator Category Checkboxes

Posted by lcleveland in MySLP SaaS, Store Locator Plus, WordPress, WPSLP

Store Locator Plus adds the ability to select categories of locations using checkboxes with the Premier add on and Power add on installed.

For WordPress plugin users, you will need an active Premier Subscription to enable the new feature. It will also require SLP, Power, and Premier to be updated to version 4.8.4 or higher.

MySLP Enterprise level users will be getting these updates in the 17.10 upgrade to the service later this month.