Knowhow-Now Article

How To Add Driving Directions To Your Website At No Cost

By Kenny Marshall

Kenny Marshall

If your website is beginning to give the impression of being a bit old you should know that your practice's image is being hurt needlessly. It's absurdly simple to add modern advanced content to even an aging accounting website design. Let's examine your "Contact Us" page as an example.


Let's add some dynamic driving directions to your website. If you're still relying on a simple map you're starting to run the risk of looking like you can't keep up. Google now makes it easy for a client to type in their address on the contact page and get specific driving instructions. This can save you money by cutting down on phone calls to your office for driving directions. Here's how it works.

The first thing to do is get Google to generate the code for you. Go to their driving directions gadget page. Once it opens click the java button that says, "Add Gadget to Your Site".

A new page will open with a short form that you can fill out to modify your gadget. For the most part the default settings are fine. You have a choice of border styles. The default is pretty generic and will look good on almost any accounting website, but if you want you can choose a border style that matches the color scheme of your site. The important thing is that you modify the "destination" field. Change it to the address of your accounting practice. In the destination field, after your address, put your firm name in parenthesis. Now preview your gadget.

The preview is at the top of the page and shows you exactly what the gadget will look like on your site. Very slick, yes? If the name of your firm is too long for the available space increase the width of the gadget and preview it again. That's all there is to it. Once you get the gadget looking the way you want just click "Get the Code". A form window will appear at the bottom of the page. All you need to do is copy and paste this code onto your website.

the more value you provide, the more visitors you will have

Place the code on your "Contact Us" page. My preference is to have it placed between the address and the map, but you can place it anywhere you want. Just make sure you put it someplace where it can be easily found.

Most of us use content management systems with WYSIWYG, or "rich text" editors. Unfortunately you can't just paste this code into a WYSIWYG editor. In order to add the gadget to your site you'll need to access your pages source code. Don't panic! This is easier than it sounds.

In your WYSIWYG editor place a sting of like 10 or 20 capital "X"s where you want to place the gadget on your page. Now look around your editor for a button or link that says "plain text", "html", "source", or "code". This link will change the page text and display it in code. Find the string of "X"s in the code. Paste the gadget code over the "X"s and save the page. Wasn't that easy? Now, if necessary, publish the site.

Having a map on your CPA website makes it that much easier for clients to find you. Now with the driving directions gadget on your site you can save your clients and prospects time in figuring out precisely how to find your business location from pretty much anywhere. There isn't any good reason that you don't have both of these features, and plenty more, integrated into your accounting website design.


If you're still relying on a simple map you're starting to run the risk of looking like you can't keep up.

directions are often very helpful

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