This is a guest post written by Matt Change from Faculty Creative. They are a creative Baltimore SEO Agency which provides a wide range of digital marketing services such as social media, web design, and more. To learn more information about them, check out their website at facultycreative.com.
For your website to attract more attention, it is important that you implement the guidelines of search engine optimization. If you zero in on onsite SEO, then you are missing out on a large puzzle piece. Having quality backlinks in your website is a vital element of SEO. However, the challenge for most business owners is how to create the right content that would prompt these authority websites to link to them.
The following are five techniques for getting those backlinks that will help increase your ranking in the search engine and drive more traffic to your site.
1.) Opt for a List Site
Many people enjoy reading list blogs. People seems to be interested in reading about the 10 secrets to become a millionaire, 10 unknown facts about the solar system, 10 top foods for weight loss, etc. A recent study revealed that list blog posts are those that are most frequently shared on social media sites.
2.) Creating Guides
Writing a guide, whether it is about steps on how to start an online business or how to build your own gazebo, usually takes a bit more effort and time as opposed to creating a list post. But still, these create great results.
Using an “ultimate” or “most effective” help guide to something is an excellent tool to have when a discussion regarding the subject appears on social media, this enables you to post the link. If your guide post is well written and helpful, other internet users will willingly share it and help create backlinks for you.
3.) Make Use of Infographics
Although it is true that infographics have dropped slightly in popularity, they are still the most popular type of content that you can post. The key is to make sure the infographics are good quality and on a subject matter that many people would be interested in.
4.) Influence Some Authority
What if you can get someone like Ellen Degeneres, or Tyra Banks or any famous personality, preferably in your industry to share or comment on something you have published? It would surely get the attention of other people, one way or another, making them curious enough to go to your website?
But exactly how can you get the attention of the celebrity? One good way is to make your post look remarkable. If they offering a product or giving advice through a blog, then you can follow it and post on their website. You can also send an email about how their product or advice have changed your life. Just make sure to be sincere and truthful. There is a good possibility that the popular personality will ask you for more information.
In that case, offer them to write a blog post or do a case study for them. Or, you could write a blog and include its link in your email. This technique can lead to backlinks if done correctly.
5.) Interact with Your Community
This “community” can refer to a geographical region, a group of hobbyists who share the same passion, or a team of industry experts, it is essential that you engage to that community and continue creating good content.
A few approaches to accomplish this is to offer solutions to a complicated problem or find interesting information that is not often found on all the other sites in that community. Sure, it will require some time and resources, but it can generate a lot of backlinks.
As the internet gets flooded with internet sites that are competing for backlinks, then you need to increase your efforts. The good thing is, you can follow the above-mentioned proven techniques to help you acquire those backlinks.
Special thanks to Mario from Celebrity Photo Booth for this article. His business specializes in photo booth rentals in Toronto and he also has a lot of experience in taking photos and working with photographers from around the greater Toronto area. For more info, check out his site at celebrityphotobooth.ca.
There are so many spectrums of colors that out there that if shot right can produce beautiful photos. The basic types of colors out there are the primary colors and the secondary ones, however there are a wide range of colors in between that can help you with getting amazing photos.
In terms of photography, besides the black and white colored photos of old, plenty of software and features in digital cameras today make it possible to play with a wide range of colors to play. Everywhere you turn there is a potential of gorgeous color harmonies coming together to make one spectacular shot after another. Having the right lighting and pointing your camera in the right direction can give your photo the best possible colors. In case you have lucked out on the lighting or camera direction, it is possible to manipulate the color to create something that you will be proud of!
Think and plan ahead
Much as it is possible to manipulate colors into the photo after it has been taken, it is a good idea to think and plan ahead before pressing that shutter. Take a look at the subject in its surrounding and figure out the best possible angles you can take the photo to achieve the look you have in mind.
Arrange your subject in relation to the background
The background does have a huge impact on how the photo will turn out. A dark background may overshadow the subject while a light one may over-brighten the subject. In short, different background colors can bring out different looks on your subject in as far as color goes. Try to pick and choose colors that will best complement the subject on the photo. In case you don’t have the option of manipulating your background then you can simply manipulate the subject instead to fit beautifully with the background.
Play around with light
Colors tend to look one way with the presence of certain light and a totally different way when other light is introduced here may be times when the subject will benefit from having plenty of light during the photo shoot while there may be times when little light will do the trick. This is why you will notice a huge difference in photos taken at sunrise from those taken at sunset. The same applies for photos taken in a dimly lit room and those taken in a brightly lit room. When playing with artificial light it is important to note that Fluorescent lights give of a fairly dull white light with a touch of green while Tungsten lighting gives off a nice yellow glow much like the sun.
That being said however as mentioned earlier, software such as photoshop lets you manipulate color in the photo after it has been taken. However, it is important not to abuse the photo-editing stage. There are plenty of tools that you can utilize to turn a less than perfect photo into a perfect one. It take time and patience plus plenty of practice.
With Client-side JavaScript it is possible to make innovative, user-friendly web sites. Single Page Application (SPA) framework which is next to AJAX and relies heavily on JavaScript is rapidly making an impression in the web developer community. The end results are highly interactive and fast loading web applications that are great for fast-to-market development.
Unfortunately, a number of risks such as indexing and link-ability challenges are attached to heavy reliance on JavaScript to provide navigation functionality on the web page as well as rendering the page’s content.
The strategies given below will help you come up with AJAX sites and Single Page Applications that not search disasters.
Background: Client Side JavaScript and URL Fragments
Quite a number of client-side web frameworks are making use of the AJAX technology because it does help enhance user experience by providing fast and responsive pages. AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) helps turn static websites into dynamic web applications, which applications can help provide a rich and valid user experience minus having to refresh the entire page and change URL. With this technology, only the content that is necessary for the user experience is loaded thus helping do away with the need for the user to actively click a link in order for the browser to refresh the page.
Typically, a hashtag is appended to the URL with the (#) prefix which helps represent different states of the application.
When these technologies are applied, users are able to enjoy website content in a fast and intuitive way on a clean interface. Appending the hashtag however doesn’t necessarily change the URL. What happens is that the hyperlinks that include the URL fragments are used in loading the requested product data at the time of user interaction, this in turn helps do away with page refreshing.
The Problem
The problem with making use of these technologies is that key product data or any important content may not be observable to search engines. This is because search engines don’t normally parse the JavaScript. The end result is that standard bot indexing practices that follow links fail in the absence of a sophisticated emulation of the JavaScript logic by indexing robot since the hashtag part of a URL is only visible to the local browser and not the server.
Unfortunately, much as Google has continuously evolved the JavaScript capabilities of its robots, Yahoo/Bing are yet to catch up. Much as the engines may make an attempt to index the content, the end result is normally poor search visibility in relation to competitors since representation of the state that is most relevant to the search query is not accurately done.
One Solution: Fallback Pages
In case the requesting resource doesn’t parse JavaScript, Fallback pages which as HTML pages are displayed instead. Fallback pages which are basically static pages typically try to replicate the functionality and content of JavaScript web application by way of the server-side rendered pages. These pages do comprise of the same content that the JavaScript application would show in addition to making use of standard index-able links for navigation.
The Benefits
Fallback pages are great for organic search landing pages since they provide search engines the content they need. Unless users are making use of a limited or text browser, these pages are not intended for them.
The Downside
The downside of Fallback pages is that you end up with continued maintenance workload in addition to having to deal with the initial build time and expense. In addition, fully replicating JavaScript functionality via static pages may not be entirely possible. What this means is that you end up having to create a separate and slightly different site for key organic landing pages which ultimately adds to the workload.
Implementing Fallback Pages
There are a number of approaches available to help implement fallback pages. One of the approaches is pretty simple as it entails placing the important content in the <noscript> tag. This approach is however limited to key entry pages since it does add code bloat thereby making it awkward.
Handling it on the server side is another approach that can be used. A standard hashtag(#) was introduced by Google in 2011 which hashtag is useful in translating URLs into query strings for indexing by robots. The inclusion of the harshtag can be beneficial in the creation of index-able URLs simple because unlike the fragment part of a URL, web developers are able to render the appropriate content on the server side which is exclusive for search engines since query strings are visible to server-side systems.
Much as the above approach is great for indexing by Google. However, a number of SEOs and developers find it a pain for different reasons and Jeremy, from SEO Toronto states that the most common reason is that it brings about an added development workload and is not entirely supported by third party web services or other search engines.
Other Solutions to the URL Problem
It is possible to end up with invisible URLS to or those different from search engines depending on a given UX state for AJAX or SPA sites. What this means is that users may end up seeing a different URL from that seen by the search engines.
In order to help mitigate the inability of users to copy and paste URLS, custom ‘share’ UX elements and functionality inclusive of sharable URLS have to be created. With UX elements, it is possible to lessen the lack of sharable URLs on JavaScript sites that are heavy. Since however, developing server-side logic that can force the state via URL elements is required, not everyone will make use of these UX elements.
Problem
Thanks to the ability of HTML 5 to manipulate the path of URL, it is possible for a search-engine friendly URL that can also be bookmarked and shared to be shown to the client while the JavaScript and URL fragments run in the background. This scenario is especially useful for SPA and AJAX sites.
Implementing push State
It is relatively straightforward to add pushState and with the recently added History API, it is possible for full URL updates to be pushed to the browser bar on the client side minus the need of making use of the limited accessible URL fragments or forcing a page refresh.
Downsides
Sites that are already accessible without JavaScript enjoy the best SEO implementations of pushState. Since pushState is enabled to allow for copying and pasting links, it is not a solution to AJAX site problems but rather it is helpful.
The implementation of pushStats does also add to the development and maintenance workload which means that with every change or evolution of the site there will be a need to update the variables and URLS that are referenced.
In addition, pushState does also require a modern browser. This however isn’t a real problem since obsolete browsers will be a thing of the past anyway and you need to adapt to newer browsers lest be left behind.
Putting it together
Depending on your budget, in order to create an SEO-friendly AJAX or SAP site you would need to:
At a minimum, create fallback pages for key organic landing pages or embrace a fully progressive enhancement site that may or may not work with JavaScript.
Implement pushState which will help deal with the URL problem for JavaScript-enabled users or clients. This in turn facilitates the bookmarking, sharing and generation of a single URL for all users.
There are a number of benefits attached to AJAX and Single Page Application, most important of which is an excellent user experience. As such, it is important for brands or agencies to realize that building in the technical elements will help ensure that JavaScript-heavy sites are linkable and indexed and as such, should be considered essential in web design as well as building projects from the start.
With no navigation available, blogging or website would not be as user-friendly as possible. The navigation should not only be user-friendly but it should be good as well. This way, visitors to your site or blog get a wonderful experience.
With so many browsers out there, a number of web developers find it hard to come up with the most suitable navigation to cater to all the given browsers. Normally, many developers make use of the popular JavaScript Frameworks such as jQuery, Dojo, prototype, and mootools which are not only free to use but are also useful.
Below, you will find a number of useful navigation scripts most of which are supported by JavaScript Frameworks.
In case you are wondering what JavaScript is, it is an object-oriented scripted language that is used within the client application or other application to enable programmatic access. JavaScript is mostly used in the form of client-side JavaScript which allows for the development of better user interfaces and lively websites. It can also be applied as an integrated component of the web browser.
Sliding Menus
Using jQuery to create ‘Mootools Homepage’ inspired navigation
With so many JavaScript libraries out there, finding the right one for your needs can be hard. Let’s find out how to create mootool homepage inspired navigation with the use of jQuery.
Making use jQuery and CSS in the Floating HTML Menu
In case you need to work with long web pages then the floating menu is the most appropriate choice for you. It helps the page move as you scroll the page. This makes it easy to get back to the top of the menu if the need arises.
Using jQuery with the Accordion Menu
While using the Accordion Menu, you can either have the menu visibility toggled when the header is clicked or when the mouse is moved over the menu.
jQuery Vertical Slide Fived Height Menu
The vertical slide is a simple expanding menu that enables you have the ability to click to open as well as click to close a top level sub list. It also allows you have fixed, non-expanding top level links. Browsers that this have been tested on include Google Chrome, Safari (PC), Firefox, IE7 , Opera, IE6 and Firefox.
Unobtrusive Slide Out Menu
With the DHTML menu script, the submenu does slide to either the left or right. In order to make it search engine friendly and visible to users who have JavaScript disabled, this menu is based on an unordered list (<UL><LI>)
Drop Line Menus
Professional Dropline
When hovers are used, it is possible for the top levels to have links. All you have to do is to hover over the top level item to dropdown the associated sub line. When this is done, you will notice that the top level remains black to indicate that it has been selected. You will then need to hover the same item in order to close the sub list or hover another top level item in order to close the current sub level and open a new one. Please note, ‘privacy policy’ and ‘home’ have no sub levels.
jQuery Dropline with Current Selection
With the dropline menu, it is possible to set the current page with the menu to open highlighted. The current trail is removed when you hover over any of the other menu options and a new trail is displayed. The current selection does re-appear when you move the mouse of the menu.
This script is not only styled with the use of CSS but it also helps reduce the need to use jQuery to control the display.
It has been tested in IE6, IE7, Opera, Firefox, Google Crome, and Safari(PC) and all the browsers with the exception ofIE6 have an opaque background to the droplines.
Horizontal Dropline/ Dropdown/Flyout Menu using jQuery
Whenever there is a 2-second lapse when the mouse moves away from any of the menu items, the dropdown will automatically close. Besides closing, it is possible to modify this feature to collapse back and keep the dropline.
It has been tested in IE6, IE7, Opera, Firefox, Google Crome, and Safari(PC)
Tree style Menus
jQuery-Menu Tree
The Menu Tree is a simple, four level sliding menu tree that is vertical in standing. When you click on any of the orange color list items, that sub level will be expanded and any other open levels will be contracted. When the same list item is clicked, that level and any sub-levels that are open will be closed.
This feature has been tested on IE6, IE7, Opera, Firefox, Google Crome, and Safari(PC)
jQuery Plugin: Treeview
The Treeview, which is lightweight and is great for unconstructive navigation enhancements is a flexible transformation of an unordered list into an expandable and collapsible tree.
Multi Level and Multi Direction Menus
CSS Drop-Down Menu Framework
With this menu, you get a good looking, flexible navigation menu that can also be transformed at a change of the CSS class name. It is possible to make transformations into horizontal, vertical right-to-left, vertical left-to-right, horizontal upwards and horizontal linear.
JavaScript Dropdown Menu with Multi Levels
This JavaScript Dropdown menu weighs only 1.2kb. It includes features such as active header persistence, animation, multiple instance support and easy implementation. The end result will be a prettier website since it has been tested on Firefox 2/3, Opera, IE 6/7/8, Chrome and Safari.
Smooth Navigational Menu
This menu which is powered by jQuery is a multi level navigation menu. It is a CSS list which makes for smooth website navigation.
It is possible to fetch the menu’s contents via Ajax, get them from an external file or from direct markup on the page.
Superfish
The Superfish is an enhanced Suckerfish-style menu jQuery plugin that makes use of an existing CSS dropdown menu. (It will degrade gracefully minus Java Script)
Professional Slide Drop
This drowndown menu is simple in nature and has a vertical sliding action. When the mouse hovers over the top level link, it doesn’t just appear in a vertical shutter action, it does slide down. In order to close one top level, you will have to hover over the same top level.
This is made possible because this feature makes use of a simple JavaScript routine to help read the mouse’s hovering actions. It is possible, depending on the current state of the submenu to either slide the submenu list up or down.
It has been tested in IE6, IE7, Opera, Firefox and Safari(PC)
Professional Dropdown
This is a good looking menu however; it is not clear whether or not it is still maintained. This menu has been tested on IE5.5, IE6, IE7, Opera, Netscape, Firefox, Mozilla, Safari (iPod Touch) and Safari(PC). If you wish to use this menu, you need to first of all test it with recent browser versions to ensure it works as you wish it to.
Create a Multilevel Dropdown Menu with CSS and Improve it via jQuery
You will learn the task of building a working CSS-only dropdown menu on the first part of this tutorial. You will learn, with a few lines of jQuery, how to add a few touches here and there on the second part of the tutorial.
Chrome CSS Drop Down Menu
The Chrome CSS dropdown menu is a CSS and JavaScript hybrid dropdown menu which is search engine friendly and is configurable.
Other types of menu
Vimeo-like Top Navigation
This menu is based on the unordered list and is based on the top navigation that is implemented on Vimeo.com, which navigation provides you with a drop down menu when you hover over the search box.
Sliding Top Menu with jQuery
The Sliding Top menu which can be used as a login area or info box is a script which is built from jQuery. It can be utilized through the open and close button.
A Circular Menu with Sub-Menus
This menu is useful in adding a sub menu level within the top level circle. It makes use of a circular pattern in adding smaller icons. In addition to adding the smaller icons, it is also possible to add a simple description to each icon. It has been tested on IE6, IE7, Opera, Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari (PC)
Fancy Sliding Menu for Mootools
This menu which runs on Mootools with an idle state listener helps bring all the tabs back to their normal state when there is no mouse movement present on the window.
Collapsible Menu
In this tutorial, you will learn how to create menus with the help of Mootools. The end result can be an animated effect of a collapsible box when the mouse moves over it
Promoting your business in the social media world is an essential component of a successful marketing campaign. This is why more businesses are developing and creating blogs and websites where they can post relevant and informative content to educate and attract consumers. With the continuous advancements in information technology and Internet in general, there are now visualization tools that can be availed to present data in a simpler and more understandable way.
Below are five data visualization tools that you can consider in your marketing strategy.
Fusion Charts Suit XT
It is a premium and professional library of JavaScript chart. With it, you can create almost any type of chart that you think is suitable for the data that you want to share. Aside from the SVG that it uses, it also has support for more than 90 types of charts, which include various gauges, funnel, gantt, 3-D, and even country, state, continent or world map. What is good is there are 3-D and 2-D versions for most of the charts. You’ll love this tool because you can customize the
borders, colors, fonts, labels, and others.
Pizza Pie Charts
It is a chart that is responsive and is based on Adobe’s Snap SVG framework. Instead of objects from JavaScript, the chart focuses on the easy integration of data through CSS and HTML markup. Though you still have the option to pass objects from JavaScript to Pizza. As long as the device has Pizza, you can easily deliver any pie chart whenever you need. There is SVG on the pie so the chart will look great on HiDPI and retina devices.
Leaflet
It is a modern library of open-source JavaScript designed for interactive and mobile –friendly maps. Vladimir Agafonkin, with the help of a team of dedicated contributors, developed the tool to allow easy creation of online maps. What’s great about it is that it includes all of the features essential in creating maps. The developer considered usability, performance and simplicity when the tool was being designed. It perfectly works on any mobile device and even on desktops.
Google Charts
It is a visualization tool that allows marketers to perfectly visualize any set of data on an infographic content. We actually came by this one through our friend Sean from Bulldog Infographic Design. Sean has used it on multiple projects and finds that it has a gallery that contains a huge number of ready-to-use types of chart. Examples include hierarchical tree maps and simple line charts. If you want visualizations such as gauges and geocharts, then it’s the perfect tool to use.
Smoothie Charts
It is a very small type of charting library that is designed specifically for live data streaming. Joe Walnes developed the tool specifically for continuous display of streaming data. It works on
Safari and Chrome. It lacks other features but it’s the perfect tool if you want to have a display of streaming data.
With these visualization tools, you can effectively build your presence on the social media world without having to shell out huge sums of money. With continued and proper use of these tools, you can establish the credibility of your brand, which is essential in gaining new customers.
Have you been looking for a useful IDE for Windows OS, one that doesn’t cost an arm and a foot? The good news is that with this article, you will find helpful ways to help ease the discomfort of having to deal with unhelpful IDE for Windows OS or spending a whole lot of money.
Let me introduce to you the Codelobseter PHP Edition. This tool will help you improve quality, speed and productivity on your work flow. The Codelobster is not only a free editor but it is also a highly functional one which will ease your work day. In addition, it is very comfortable and easy to use. In case you have used a PHP editor before then you will find working with this tool bliss.
Codelobster Features
The Codelobster comes with a number of useful features and advantages which help make your work flow easier. Some of the tool’s features include:
You get help with all the supported languages with the ’Context help’ All you have to do is press the F1 key which will bring up a page displaying a detailed description for the current tag, function or attribute.
Not only is mixed code supported but the code highlights feature does help highlight respective areas of HTML as HTML , JavaScript as JavaScript and PHP as PHP all in the same file. In addition, it is possible to make your own choice from color schemes, inclusive of popular IDEs.
There is an Auto-completion feature for HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP, inclusive of CSS3 and HTML5. When working with PHP, you will notice that the structure of project is completely recognized and you will find that the complete list of methods does come up in appropriate places.
There is the HTML/CSS inspector feature which makes it easy to connect given elements of the page with the proper style and code.
The PHP debugger which makes it possible to implement PHP script on an incremental level while at the same time watching the values of all variables on every line.
The Support of FTP feature does help ensure that you can work directly on a remote server and make any changes on files you deem necessary.
The SQL manager feature which enables you make all required actions with your database. Actions such as add, edit, delete or reporting data and executing SQL queries can be done with the help of this feature. In addition, auto-completion and highlights are available as you work with the SQL files.
The portable option which enables you make use of the editor minus the need of having it installed in the first place.
Other useful features include; the ability to select blocks, pair highlighting, tooltips, collapsing, viewing the structure of files and project, bookmarks, preview in a browser, navigation on descriptions of functions in addition to being able to include files by a simple hold-down o the CTRL key. In essence, standard features that are useful in working with the codes.
Aside from the features mentioned above, the Codelobster also includes special plug-ins to further ease your work flow, these include;
If you’d like more information on CodeLobster, check out this review by Alex from PHP Code Academy below.
Summary
To further make working with this tool bliss, you will find different versions available and depending on your needs, you should be able to find the most suitable one for your needs. The Codelobster versions available include the Free, Lite and Professional versions.
In essence, the Codelobster makes for a useful piece of software to use. It will be worth your time and help with your productivity.
If you are equipped with the right JavaScript tools and libraries, you get to cut down on time and effort you would otherwise need in developing a web.
Below, you will find 25 sources for building and embedding interactive maps. With the rise of web 2.0, JavaScript which has been around for nearly two decades is now a powerful force in modern web development. With the help of Javascript APIs and tools, any smart web developer can speed up the web development process while at the same time enhancing user experience.
The tools given below do help with the creation of interactive maps. Most of them are relatively easy to use in that even though you are not a professional web developer or designer, you can easily insert a map onto your website if that is your wish. This is possible if you do posses a basic understanding of JavaScript and HTML.
Although most of the tools given below are free to use and are open source, there are those that do charge you.
Leaflet
This is an especially useful tool for creating mobile-friendly interactive maps which works across all major mobile and web platforms. It can work well on old features of HTML5 and CSS3 as well as new features of the same on recent browsers.
OpenLayers
With the OpenLayer tool, you get to place dynamic maps in any web page without the need of worrying about server-side dependencies. In addition, this tool is capable of displaying map markers and tiles that have been downloaded from any source. The best news of all is that this is an open source tool which makes it free to use! On the downside though, using it on mobiles can be pretty difficult!
GeoExt
The GeoEXT tool is great for rich web mapping applications. It makes use of the efficient user interface from ExtJS and the knowhow from OpenLayers to help in the creation of GIS in addition to quickly mapping apps for web applications.
Polymaps
This tool is an ideal choice for developers that need to make use of a variety of maps to present a wide range of data. You not only can make use of maps from traditional sources but you can also get support for different visual presentations or tiled vector data.
Mapstraction
The Mapstraction library can act as a single interface for a majority of different JavaScript Map APIs. It is useful in managing different numbers of Map APIs in addition to enabling you switch between map providers. In addition, this library does also support all the major Map APIs.
DataMaps
In case you wish to simply copy-paste a script then this is the tool to use. You should be able to quickly insert a simple map onto your web page with this tool. You can download a bundle of maps (which this tool essentially is) for data visualization into a single JavaScript file
Gmaps
Gmaps help you make the most of Google Maps. What you will get is lot of things done with as little fuss as possible.
Google Maps(Official)
Google Maps also does help you enjoy the benefits of the powerful mapping capabilities of Google. With the latest versions, you get to enjoy a smother, faster and better mobile user experience. In case you wish to add content or manipulate maps then you can do so with this tool by making use of different services.
Kartograph
Kartograph is for those people who don’t wish to make use of any mapping service. It is meant for designers or data journalists that wish to come up with interactive maps on their own and place them onto their website in a neat manner. You don’t need a server to use this tool since it is a stand-alone.
Cesium
Cesium is an open source JavaScript library that helps developers create 2D maps as well as 3D globe-type maps in a web browser minus the need of using any plug-in. There is no need of worrying about compatibility when using this library since it does work across different browsers and platforms.
Modestmaps
In case you are in need of a lightweight and free library to help you in the creation of interactive maps then Modestmaps is your best choice. With this option, you get dependability, ease of use and simplicity.
Raphael
Although this Javascript library is small, it is extremely useful. What makes it extra special is that it makes it easier to work with vector graphics on the web. This library does make it easier to draw cross-browser vector graphics. In addition, it is easy to attach JavaScript handlers to the DOM objects that are created with Raphael.
Nokia Maps
With NokiaMaps, you get to make use of the HERE Maps JavaScript API to build web apps that are centered on the HERE maps. For first time users that need help with getting maps on their website or apps, this is an especially useful tool since you get guidance on their site.
amMap
With the amMap, you get to enjoy a number of features. You get to make use of images or photos as layers or backgrounds in addition to being able to highlight routes and location. This tool does support all modern browsers in addition to working well with a number of major mobile operating systems. It is also free to use.
UMapper
If you wish to create embeddable maps for Adobe Flash then you will find UMapper a useful tool to have. It is a web-based map-authoring application that doesn’t require a whole world of skills to create good maps. In addition, this tool does make use of advanced algorithms to display complex data sets and vector images.
Quickmaps
Although the Quickmaps tool is in its beta version, it is a handy tool to have as well. It is ideal for anyone wishing to quickly create and post a map on their website. What makes it extra special is that you can do all the work in your browser.
MapQuest Tools
Mapquest tools, which is one of the oldest map providers for the web, is gradually transforming into an open source from a paid service. It is easy to use and makes it easy to add locations, places and create shapes and outlines to an interactive or static map.
MapBox
MapBox which is powered by OpenStreetView is another useful tool to have. It does provide you with access to a number of preset color themes and customizations which makes it possible to utilize it in a number of languages. In short, the form is not only attractive but also functional to use. This tool is great for websites, web apps or products.
ZeeMaps
ZeeMaps is meant for specific types of interactive maps. It is an ideal tool to use if you wish to come up with maps for presentation or geoanalysis. Besides offering numerous features that most of the tools in this list offer, ZeeMAPS also makes it easier to get inputs for the map from different sources in addition to setting up 3-level access for the maps.
Click2Map
Click2Map lets you create powerful maps online. This superfast tool lets you add markers and it automatically clusters them. Besides being super fast, you can also host your maps on their servers and app versions of this tool if you wish (to create and publish maps right from your mobile)
ClustrMaps
ClustrMaps may not be a map builder in the sense of the word but it helps you know in real time the people that are browsing your website by making use of dots on the map. This is especially important in as far as SEO and analytics are concerned. In order to make this possible, you need to make use of the free JavaScript that is provided by ClustrMaps.
MapBuilder
MapBuilder is another one of those map tools that helps you add locations to your map. With this tool, you get to add a detailed description on the locations. In addition, this tool helps you save a lot of time and effort especially if you are developing GIS applications.
Animaps
Although you may take a minute in getting the hang of using this tool, it doesn’t take away from the fact that it is a very handy tool in the creation of interactive maps. You end up with fascinatingly smooth maps when you make use of this tool. It is possible to create maps with shapes and lines that can gradually change. In addition you can also make use of this tool to create maps with moving markers, interactive image as well as text the pops on cue.
iMapBuilder
iMapBuilder is a lot more than a tool to help you create feature-rich interactive maps in your browser, it enables you build interactive maps that are specific for Flash. It is also possible to make use of existing image files and convert the same into interactive maps. In addition, it is also possible to create custom Google Maps.
Crowdmap
In case you have a need to create a number of maps on a daily basis, Crowdmap is a handy tool to have. In addition, it is possible to gather news and information from your mobile or internet. With the gathered information, it is possible to view the organized, visual aspect on a map.
Below, you will find 25 sources for building and embedding interactive maps. With the rise of web 2.0, JavaScript which has been around for nearly two decades is now a powerful force in modern web development. With the help of Javascript APIs and tools, any smart web developer can speed up the web development process while at the same time enhancing user experience.