π¨ Customize Your Map
Customizing your Google Map is useful for two main reasons:
- A unique map style/theme matching your brand differentiates you from competitors.
- Decluttering and simplifying the map's content adapts it to your particular use case. E.g. if you're running a clothing store, your map doesn't need to show nearby car repair shops β and vice versa.
Left: the default Google map.
Right: a retail-optimized Google Map, explained in more detail in the next chapter
Website localization helps you tailor your site to specific regions and cultures, which can improve user experience and engagement. This can lead to increased traffic, conversions, and revenue for your business. The same principle applies for including a Google Map on your website.
By default , the Maps JavaScript API uses the user's preferred language setting as specified in their browser, when displaying textual information such as the names for controls, copyright notices, driving directions and labels on maps.
This setting can be overridden by including the desired language in the <script> tag, e.g.:
<script
async
defer
src=".../api/js?key=KEY**&language=de**&callback=initMap"
></script> Dynamically changing the map's language without reloading the page is notoriously difficult to get right. Even Google's official demo opts for a hard reload .
remove all the listeners you've manually added
remove the Google-related scripts and CSS from the document
<head>, i.e.:src.includes("googleapis.com/maps") || src.includes("maps.gstatic.com");Delete the existing gmaps namespace to prevent memory leaks
window.google = {} as any;And finally append the
language-enriched & updated<script>tag to the document<body>
Your Google map comes with a sensbile set of UI controls which are visible by default: