Address lookup, with proximity, visualized on map?

  • Unknown's avatar
    cccrnadmin · Member ·

    Hi all and thanks in advance for _any_ suggestions,

    I’m new to WP, so not quite sure which pieces of the puzzle I need to put together.

    I need to pull together some combination of I think map plugin, list/table plugin, and outside web service integration. Looking for any recommendations on approach, good plugins, which services to use, best approach to config, etc.

    The project:

      let the user enter their address (validate address somehow – how? vs. what?)
      determine if that address falls within one of several predefined geographical areas (GIS data, uploaded to a custom list or table in WP? something else?)
      possible to specify some ‘fuzzyness’, i.e. config so that entered addresses falling within some specified distance of the defined areas match (do in the GIS data? in plugin? custom coding on page?)
      communicate to user whether submitted address falls within the defined area

    Any ideas?

    Best,
    :)Ben

  • karenlattfield · Staff ·

    Hi there Ben,

    Just to clarify, are you referring to a self-hosted site using the WordPress.org software, or do you plan on hosting a WordPress site here on WordPress.com (the two are different – here’s a link explaining the difference: https://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/)?

    If you do plan on hosting your site here, you would need a Business plan for the level of integrations you are talking about: the ability to add any plugins other than those already included within all WordPress.com plans by default requires a Business Plan, as does the ability to add custom themes. However, none of the plans allow for any modifications of theme files (there are potentially ways around this depending on what you want to achieve – it could be editing CSS, using Custom HTML widgets, adding plugins with the ability to modify certain theme details, or simply uploading a custom theme that is designed to achieve what you need).

    Some plugin options might include the Simple Locator for WordPress, where you could predefine some locations, and using something like Advanced Custom Fields you could make sure users enter specific location details in a specified area on your website (a page, a widget), which can be integrated with the Simple Locator plugin.

    If you do take the Business plan route, you will also have access to live chat which can be helpful in quickly getting the support you need with your site and account.

    However I am guessing you may be referring to a self-hosted WordPress site, in which case your best bet is to ask this question in the WordPress.org forums here: https://wordpress.org/support/forums/.

    I hope this helps!

  • Unknown's avatar
    cccrnadmin · Member ·

    Thanks for the reply, Karen.

    Hadn’t gotten to thinking about hosting yet; trying to pin down if this can be done in WordPress.

    I’ve seen the simple locator and other locators, but as far as I can tell, they all let the user enter an address and proximity to find matches from a list of entries that is maintained either by site owner or some service like Google.

    What I need to do is define a map shape and let user see if their address falls within it.

    :)Ben

  • karenlattfield · Staff ·

    Hi Ben,

    The WordPress software itself is incredibly extensible. If the functionality doesn’t currently exist within a plugin or a combination of plugins, you can create the functionality you’d need by building a plugin, though this may not be what you are looking to do and is also not within the scope of the support offered in WordPress.com’s forums.

    I see you’ve already asked the question over at WordPress.org – the developer community there are more likely to have encountered a similar problem or created similar solutions based on the fact that they will all be working with the software and it’s increased functionality rather than the more tailored WordPress.com packages.

    Stack Overflow is another place where people may have asked similar questions – here is one I found which sounds similar to yours – however to add Javascript files to your site you’d need a self hosted site running the WordPress.org software.

    I’m not aware of any other plugins that could do what you need from what I understand you are saying. All I can suggest is trying a plugin search such as this.

    Perhaps you’ll find the solution is simply a combination of existing plugins, or custom plugins (if supported), in which case you could set up a WordPress.com Business plan and add those plugins as needed.

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