Hi PH community! We built v1.0 of Closeby almost 8 years ago to solve a problem for a family member’s Squarespace site. They wanted a store locator for their website, but the options available were pretty basic and came with a lot of UX issues. So we did what design-UX nerds do best: get obsessed with the problem and iterate continuously on our (now 15k+) customers’ feedback. Today, Closeby makes a bunch of little things about the store locator experience great. Things like… - Does the map theme (colors, textures, layers, map pins) match my site UI & brand? - Is the map interaction and scrolling experience easy? What about on mobile? - How do I load a map and a bunch of locations without affecting my page’s load time? - How can I add/remove/edit my locations easily? - How do I make my visitors’ experiences frictionless for things like… - Getting directions to locations - Customizing a location’s call to action - Serving visitors the sites nearest them (…without invading their privacy) - **Can I solve all of these UX challenges for my site visitors without becoming a mapping engineer?** Closeby is our proposed solution to all of those problems (and a few others as well 🙂). I’d love for you to check it out if you need a store locator. **It’s free for up to 5 locations**, so you can test it out and make sure it fits your use case without having to put in a credit card.

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!

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!

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?

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 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! 🚀

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? 🚀

nice product and useful ,I love it

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!

Impressive. Any plans for multi-language support?

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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!

I love the idea for this, especially in a busy city.

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! 🚀

Love the idea for this. Good work guys 💪

Congrats on the launch @closeby_brian What platforms do you support? Can I install this on a client's hand coded website? Excited and so many questions! Is there a demo embed you can show off?

Congrats on the launch! Technology-wise, is the map inserted into a website using HTML, or is it an iFrame?

Congratulations on the launch of Closeby. 🚀

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.

Saw this on PH and honestly, do we really need another store locator, like isn't that what Google Maps is for already, seems like overkill if you ask me, I guess for someone super into design it could be cool but feels unnecessary to me.