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Closeby — A store locator map for your brand
Closeby is to store locators what Stripe is to payments - an easy way to get the UX right for your customers without the engineering hassle of getting a million little invisible things right. Configure, design & publish a store locator for free.
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@dash4u hi! We have businesses with 50k+ locations - and location management at scale is pretty simple, you can do so in bulk via a CSV or Google Sheet.
@closeby_brian great work and congrats on 2.0! I hope even more of the merchants I shop with will use Closeby so it will be easier for me to find their locations.
Really interesting concept, @closeby_brian! I'm curious about a few things: how does Closeby handle the need for scalability when a business grows beyond the initial 5 locations? Also, what kind of feedback have you received on the mobile experience—are there any specific challenges users commonly face? Lastly, are there any plans to integrate with popular e-commerce platforms for smoother setups? Can't wait to see how this evolves!
@charles_ thanks!
Past 5 locations, most of our customers use a CSV or Google Sheet to manage locations in bulk.
Mobile experience - it's _pretty_ good. The key challenge of course is the ability to scroll a map AND your page with a finger, and we have a few settings that help a user optimize that experience for their customer base.
E-comm platforms - yes! We've got an app integration with Shopify and Wix, so customers can install us directly that way as well.
@leo_chen8 hi! Closeby supports any language - all of the text from buttons to the search bar are configurable. If I had to guess, I'd say ~1/3 of our widgets are in a language other than English (Spanish, Japanese, etc.)
This sounds pretty cool, @closeby_brian! I'm really interested in how Closeby handles the UX for mobile users, especially since that's a huge part of store locators today. With so many options out there, what do you think sets Closeby apart from others in terms of seamless integration? Also, curious about future updates—will there be features for advanced analytics or custom data insights after the free version? 🚀
@elke_qin yes, about half of our user traffic is mobile so the mobile UX is very important to us :). We do a couple things to make sure it's a quality experience (e.g. scrolling a page AND scrolling/zooming a map from a finger point without frustration) - and we put some of the responsiveness options in our settings for users to choose the best experience for their customer base.
Great to see such an innovative solution, @closeby_brian! The focus on UX is key for any store locator—definitely an area where so many options fall short. Excited to see how Closeby evolves; keep up the good work! 🚀
Sounds interesting, @closeby_brian! But I'm curious, what metrics have you seen from users that show Closeby's impact on UX? Any particular KPI that stands out?
Hey Brian,
How does Closeby ensure smooth performance on various devices and screen sizes?
Do you offer any features to help businesses showcase special promotions or events at specific locations?
Congrats on the launch!
@kyrylosilin thank you! It handles responsiveness to various screen sizes quite well - if I had to guess, Closeby views are probably 60% mobile / 40% web, and it's pretty well-optimized for both. Plus, there are a few settings users can play with to dial the UX in even more for their customer base's preferences.
Special promotions at certain locations - there are several ways to do this, from highlighting special pin colors / custom icons for certain locations to custom buttons to link users a promotion or event.
This sounds like a game-changer for anyone looking to enhance their site’s UX!
Love the focus on making the store locator experience seamless without diving into the mapping engineering black hole.
Kudos to @closeby_brian for building something so user-friendly!
Excited to see how it shakes up the PH community! 🚀
Congrats on the launch of Closeby, @closeby_brian! 🎉 It's incredible to see how you transitioned from a personal project into a full-fledged solution for store locators. The focus on UX is truly impressive, especially addressing those common pain points.
The way you’ve iterated based on user feedback is a testament to the power of the Maker community on PH. Love that it’s free for up to 5 locations—such a great way for users to test it out without the risk. This is exactly what site owners need to elevate their customer experience without the heavy lifting of backend engineering.
Looking forward to seeing how Closeby evolves further with more features. This is definitely going to get some serious traction! Upvoted!
💎 Pixel perfection
Congrats on the launch, @closeby_brian! It sounds like you’ve really paid attention to UX challenges with store locators. But I’m curious, how does Closeby handle optimization for page load speed when there are multiple locations? Any tips on balancing aesthetics with performance for non-technical users?
@antoine_gauthier_ good question! Check out the demo at www.closeby.co, it has about 22k locations in it and should give you a good test of its load speed at scale.
And to answer your question for non-technical users balancing aesthetics & performance: I'd play around with the features in our settings and get a feel for the impact of locations on load speed. Users can cluster locations or limit the total # of locations that appear at any given zoom level, and get a feel for the speed/experience tradeoffs.
Congrats on the launch! Technology-wise, is the map inserted into a website using HTML, or is it an iFrame?
Props to @closeby_brian for creating this! Solving UX woes without the heavy lifting is a game-changer. Can't wait to see how Closeby evolves! 🚀
Great job @closeby_brian! Love how you've iterated based on feedback from 15k+ customers. Store locators can be tricky, but your focus on UX really stands out. Excited to see how Closeby evolves!
This new store locator tool seems like it's trying to be the Stripe of maps but honestly it sounds like overkill for most small business owners, I mean do we really need another tool that's gonna overcomplicate things and be one more thing to manage, Plus, designing and publishing for free usually means hidden costs somewhere down the line.
@agrometeo2050 sure, not everyone needs a store locator :). We charge by location tiers, no hidden costs.
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