Explore the World With Multimap
Sometimes a simple home page belies an excellent and very useful site, and that is certainly the case with Multimap.
The calm blue colour scheme and lack of fussiness in the design add up to a new look that is arguably much better than the old one. As soon as you arrive on the home page you’ll be greeted with a map of Britain, but once you start searching you’ll find that Multimaps has plenty in store for you.
The home page also features two drop down boxes on the left hand side, featuring:
- Your search history
- Your favourite routes and places
As and when you add to these sections you’ll be able to access the information in them on your subsequent visits to the site. This adds a personalised element to Multimap which greatly enhances its appeal.
Using the search facility
The home page options are automatically set to ‘find a place’, so all you need to do is type in the place you need. This can be as vague as a city, or as detailed as a postcode, which makes it easier to search if you only have a scrap of information to go on. Even just the first half of a postcode is enough to bring up the general area you need, which can then be easily searched to find the exact location you are after.
The place you are searching for will appear on the map with a red circle around it. You can then zoom in if you wish by using your mouse to adjust the sliding scale on the right hand side of the map.
There is a drop down box underneath the search box which allows you to choose the country in which your destination is located. This is automatically set to the UK unless you select another country.
If more than one search result comes up in answer to your query, you can simply click on the correct one to see the map you are looking for. If on the rare occasion your query doesn’t return the result you want, there is a link you can click to report the location to Multimap, who will then research it and add it to their database. You will still be able to search by general area and then hone in on the location you need though, so there is no location that isn’t covered.
How user friendly are the maps themselves?
The maps are very clear and a delight to use. You have the option of choosing the normal road map, looking at an aerial view (which looks much like a photograph) and viewing a hybrid of the two. The hybrid option brings up a white box which you can move around with your mouse. As you move it over the photographic image you will see the road names appearing over the top.
If you scroll down a little you will also see plenty of useful information provided to make the map even more useful. The nearest railway and airport to the location you searched for are noted down, and if you click on either of these the map will automatically swoop over to that location.
If you need some technical information about your location you’ll find it included here too. Latitude and longitude are both displayed under the map itself, together with five days of weather forecasts – very useful if you are planning to visit the area in the very near future. It is these aspects which make the maps stand out.
Each map you find will also be automatically stored in your search history, making it easy to revisit it without the need to type your location back into the search box.
Other useful features
Perhaps the most interesting and beneficial feature on Multimap is the ‘useful information’ section. Each location that you search for will also return some results in this section, allowing you to delve into the area in more depth.
For example, there may be related Wikipedia entries for the location you are looking at. A search for Cambridge in the UK returns a map which also features several Wikipedia entries related to the area. These are marked on the map by the characteristic letter W. Clicking on any of these letters will bring up a small box containing a bite sized piece of information about that specific location. For a more detailed insight you can click the link provided to visit Wikipedia itself.
This outstanding section of the Multimap website makes easy work of finding the most important places. Clicking on the parking option brings up the familiar blue P signs to indicate where the best places are, while petrol stations and even Wi-Fi hotspots are also included.
Driving directions
Getting the directions you need is easy work on Multimap. All you need to do is click on the ‘get directions’ options above the search box, type in your start and finish points and click the button to get your map and directions. It couldn’t be simpler. Multimap will even provide you with directions if you are walking instead of using a car, using the most accessible route for walkers each time.
Once your selection has appeared on screen you can amend it to pass through another location en route, as well as reversing the directions to provide you with the route back home.
If you need help
Nothing could be simpler than clicking on the tab marked ‘help and support’ in the main menu bar across the top section of the screen. This takes you into the main help page, which groups all the most popular questions together in sections.
On the left hand side you will also see the top FAQs at present, which may well feature the subject you are looking for.
In conclusion
The Multimap site is packed with great features and information, and goes that extra step further in providing maps which are useful and interesting, and provide more than you realised you were looking for.
The ability to save your maps means the site is set up to meet your needs every time you visit, which can only save time in the future – making each and every subsequent visit even more worthwhile.