Waterway info

We are creating a free resource for people to find and enjoy waterways throughout Florida. Our interactive map features pinned images and points of interest (like kayak launches and docks).

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Inspiration

We are nature lovers who code. Our goal is to help others find fun things to do outside that aren't easy to find anywhere else on the web.

What it does

Provides locations and features of Florida waterways, small and large. Important attributes are associated to each waterway to help users plan their trips and select the best option for them.

How we built it

Built a WordPress theme with custom posts that send data into the Google Maps API. Backend GUI is easy to use so no-code contributors can post pictures and waterways.

Challenges we ran into

Trying to put all of our photos, points of interest, and waterway outlines on a single map ended up providing poor user experience and often overloading the API. We overcame this by separating each waterway into it's own URL and keeping the main map to polygons/outlines only.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The site is still young and needs a lot of content, but it's already useful and can help people find a fun way to enjoy the outdoors on a weekend. We've already seen a small amount of organic traffic and hope those people are out catching fish or paddle-boarding after closing the site!

What we learned

The Maps API is really flexible and just requires the correct inputs to accomplish whatever location-based concept you are envisioning. There were several features we had not been aware of used before that fit in really nicely (such as the custom map markers for each type of POI).

What's next for Waterway info

Our next steps are to photograph, document, and write about 100s more waterways. The fun thing about this project is that it makes us go enjoy nature.

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