Store Locator Tutorial

This article describes how to quickly add a store finder option into your existing website in minutes, with no coding required!

When you've finished, your web page will have an additional text box for the customer to enter their location, and a "Find Store" button to open the store locator application.

1. 

   Register

   If you haven't already registered for our Find My Nearest service, you'll need to do so now. Just fill in our quick registration form to get started. One of our account managers will contact you to ensure you get set up with the package that is best for you.
2. 

   Purchase

   Once you've registered, you will need to purchase a licence for the Find My Nearest service. This allows you to use the Find My Nearest service directly using web services or Ajax as well as using the ready-made store locator application.

   The purchasing wizard will take you through a few questions to ensure you get the best deal.
3. 

   Enter Store Details

   Now you are set up with access to the system, you'll need to tell us the location of each of your stores. Go to our Find My Nearest data editor and:

   • Create New Data List

     Create a data list to contain your list of stores. Give this a useful name as you'll need to refer to it again later. Note that you can create multiple lists if you have different sets of stores that you want to use on different websites.

   • Edit List

     Start editing your new data list to add stores into it.

   • Add Point

     For each store, select the Add Point option and enter the details of the store. For each store you can enter a name to help identify it to the customer, an address, telephone and fax number, and any additional description information which may be useful.
4. 

   Obtain your Ajax API Key

   To keep your login details secure, you will need to generate your Ajax API Key. Enter your username, password and the domain name of the website you will be using the store finder from, and click the Generate API Key button. Take note of the API Key that is generated for you.

5. Copy Website Code

   Everything is now set up, so you can now just copy and paste the following code into your website:

                           <script type="text/javascript" src="http://webservices.data-8.co.uk/storefinder/Lookup.ashx?key=AJAX_KEY&licence=LICENCE_TYPE&dataset=DATA_LIST_NAME&maxmatches=5">
                           </script>
                       

   You will need to replace the following values from this code sample with the values that are appropriate for you:

   • AJAX_KEY

     Replace this with the Ajax API Key you generated above.

   • LICENCE_TYPE

     Replace this with the type of licence you purchased for the Find My Nearest service, which can be one of the following values:

     1. WebServer - unlimited website usage
     2. WebClick - pay-as-you-go website usage

   • DATA_LIST_NAME

     Replace this with the name of the data list you created above.