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.
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.
Closeby seems like a great solution for businesses wanting to implement a store locator without the usual technical hurdles. The integration with Mapbox and the ease of configuration make it a strong contender for any brand's website.
How does Closeby personalize recommendations to ensure users find businesses or services that truly match their preferences?
I get that you're trying to make store locators easier, but I'm worried this might oversimplify things too much, how does this perform when a site has hundreds of locations, also what about the privacy concerns with location services, would be cool if you had some kind of demo with higher volume locations to see how it handles under stress, could also consider an option for advanced customizations for those who do have some coding knowledge,
Interesting concept, but why limit free usage to only 5 locations, feels like a bait, also would be nice to see some real-world examples of how it matches different brand UIs, what about accessibility features, not sure if it's the ultimate solution yet
Hey found this via a friend's recommendation and wow what a game changer for store locators, super helpful and user-friendly, wondering if there's any way to integrate it with social media stores or add more customization options for the map themes, keep up the awesome work 🙂
It will be really good for the loyal brand customers to locate the nearby store instead of randomly seeking the market for the choice.
For customers preferring or keen to buy or reapeat regular purchase, this will be a perfect solution.
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?
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.
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.
Congrats on the launch! Technology-wise, is the map inserted into a website using HTML, or is it an iFrame?
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?
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!
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! 🚀
Closeby sounds like a game-changer for store locators! The emphasis on UX is crucial, especially matching with brand aesthetics. Kudos to @closeby_brian for iterating based on real feedback. Can't wait to try it out! 🔥
Amazing concept! How has the user feedback been so far? Have you considered adding a feature for customizable branding?
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!
