How to add a store finder to your website

Most store finders that disappoint don't fail because of technology. They fail because of data. A wrong house number, outdated opening hours or a branch that closed months ago – visitors notice straight away. This guide therefore follows the order that works best in practice: data first, then presentation, then the embed.

1. Plan: what should the store finder do?

Before you paste any code, answer three questions:

• Who is searching? Shoppers looking for the nearest branch need different information from trade partners or job applicants.
• What should happen next? A phone call, directions, a visit to the branch website, an enquiry?
• How many locations do you have – and how often do they change? Five branches can live in a simple list. Several hundred need search, filters and an import.

The answers tell you which data you need to maintain and which layout fits.

2. Prepare your data

Required and useful fields

For each location you need at least a name, street and house number, postcode, city and country. These are also worth having:

• Phone number and e-mail address
• Link to the location page or the partner's website
• Opening hours
• Category (for example branch, partner, service point)
• Status (for example open, planned, temporarily closed)

If your business has specifics – services offered, languages spoken, areas covered – create your own fields for them. In My Store Locator these are called custom fields; you can show them on the map or use them as filters.

Address quality

The map is only as good as the addresses behind it. Before importing, check:

• Consistent spelling (one form of "Street"/"St." throughout)
• Postcode and city match
• No extras like "2nd floor" in the street field – use a separate field or the description
• A country for every location outside your home market

Coordinates

Every location needs latitude and longitude to appear on the map. If you already have coordinates, use them – they are more precise than any automatic lookup. If they are missing, they can be determined from the address during import or when editing a location. Afterwards, spot-check that markers sit in the right place, especially in business parks, shopping centres and on new streets.

Opening hours

Opening hours go out of date faster than anything else. Decide who maintains them, and enter lunch breaks as a second time slot rather than free text. Add public holidays and closures as special days. Only then can a filter like "open now" work correctly.

Categories and statuses

Keep the number of categories small. Five clear categories help more than twenty overlapping ones. Statuses let you control which locations count as open and which – for example "planned" – should not appear on the map at all.

Import

Most companies already keep their locations in a spreadsheet. Export it as CSV, map the columns during import and check the result. My Store Locator handles up to 5,000 rows per import and keeps an import history. See the import help for details.

3. Choose a template

The right layout depends on how your visitors search. My Store Locator offers six templates:

• List + map: list on the left, map on the right – the classic for desktop sites.
• Single location: one location full screen with all details, for example on a branch page.
• Mobile sheet: map with a pull-up list, for sites with mostly mobile visitors.
• Explorer: full-screen map with a floating row of cards.
• Split view: list, map and detail panel side by side.
• Finder: search, status filter, cards and a fixed map – a good fit for networks whose locations have different statuses.

The Free plan includes templates 1 to 3. One practical detail: if you switch templates later, the embed code stays the same, so nothing changes on your website. See all templates with previews on the templates page.

Then match colours, font and corners to your design and decide which fields appear on the cards. Less is usually more: name, address, opening status and one or two actions are often enough.

4. Think mobile

Many people look for a branch while they are out and about. So check:

• Can visitors reach the search without scrolling?
• Does "use my location" work?
• Can they tap phone numbers and start directions directly?
• Is the map short enough that visitors don't get "stuck" scrolling inside it?

If most of your traffic is mobile, the "Mobile sheet" template is a good starting point.

5. Embedding: iframe or script?

There are two common ways to embed a store finder.

iframe: you insert an <iframe> element with a fixed height. It works in practically every site builder and CMS, is robust and stays cleanly separated from the rest of your page. The downside: the height is fixed.

JavaScript widget: you insert a placeholder <div> and a script. The widget adjusts its height to the content automatically. Your system has to allow custom scripts, though – some site builders only permit that on certain plans.

There are step-by-step guides for common systems: WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Webflow and HTML/iframe. You can also share the map as a link or QR code, for flyers or counter displays. A WordPress plugin with a shortcode is coming soon.

6. Take consent into account

When a map loads, data such as the visitor's IP address is sent to the map service. Many companies therefore load the map only after the visitor agrees. My Store Locator has a consent mode for this: visitors first see a placeholder with a privacy notice, and the map loads only after a click. Our guide Store locators and GDPR explains the background.

If you use a consent management tool, check with your privacy advisor whether the map should also be listed there as a service.

7. Test before launch

Test the store finder where it will actually run – on your live page, not just in the preview.

Checklist

• All locations are imported and the count matches your source
• Spot check of at least ten markers: positions are correct
• Searching by city, postcode and branch name returns sensible results
• Searching for a place without a branch gives a clear response instead of a dead end
• Opening hours, including lunch breaks and holidays, are correct
• Filters (category, status, "open now") work
• Phone, directions and website links work
• Layout checked on phone, tablet and desktop
• Consent mode or your consent tool behaves as planned
• Your website's privacy policy mentions the map service
• Contact form on the map (if used) tested

8. Maintenance and roles

After launch the real work begins: locations open, move or close. Decide who may change what. My Store Locator has roles for this – Owner, Administrator, Editor, Store manager (own locations only) and Viewer. Store managers can update their own opening hours without touching anything else.

Check the statistics regularly as well. Searches without a result are particularly useful: they show where people look for you but you have no location. The statistics work without cookies and do not store IP addresses.

A good routine: review opening hours before public holidays, compare the location list with your internal source once a quarter, and only publish new locations once their data is complete.

FAQ