Google Maps must be the most ubiquitous and simple way to put an interactive map on your website. They’re everywhere; we’ve used them on contact pages, art installations and even made an interactive map for the UNHCR a few years ago.
Every once in a while, Google update the API, the software developers use to put maps onto websites. We’re currently up to version 3 of the Google Maps API and have been for some time. Most modern sites are using the latest version, but surprisingly many are still running the old version.
As of May 19th 2013, Google will be switching off support for the old “Version 2 API” causing any site still relying on it to stop working. Most sites built after may 2010 will be unaffected but some sites, especially those websites using content management systems such as WordPress & Drupal, might be using plugins that rely the old API to display Google Maps on your website.
Now, it’s not the end of the world if your map doesn’t display on your contact page, but it’s not good, so we recommend you give your web team a shout and get them to check your site is using the latest Google Maps API. In most cases the cost to upgrade should be negligible but if your site uses custom built Map tools, an upgrade to keep it working could get expensive.