Having a virtual tour on Google or 360° photos on Facebook is great for your business, but the real benefit comes from properly showcasing a virtual tour on your website. Below we compare options for embedding a virtual tour on your business website, and explain the pros and cons of each.
Virtual Tour (Website Embed) Options Compared
We will look at these core options:
- Standard Google Street View 360° virtual tour
- Custom Google Virtual Tour
- Matterport 3D virtual tour
- Custom 3D virtual tour
1. Google Street View (inside) 360° Virtual Tour
Whenever we create a virtual tour for a business, we always tend to publish it to Google. It is visible straight from the Google search results and Google Maps, as such it gets good views straight from Google. Additionally it can also be embedded on your website. Below is an example. Embedding the Google virtual tour is straight forward, here are instructions on how to do this.
Pros:
– Free hosting
– Familiar Google Street View navigation style
– Multi-device compatible
Cons:
– No branding
– Basic
– No options for menus, hotspots, information points or including information or additional media
2. Custom Google Virtual Tour
A custom Google 360° virtual tour is built upon the Google street view virtual tour. The base tour is hosted on the Google Maps platform, but we add customisation on top to enhance the user experience. Typically this is your logo and a menu for faster navigation and also to highlight key areas people should visit. Additional features can include hotspot/information points to explain/communicate more information – these can include text, images, video and links. Custom tours can also include audio/music, video elements, plus auto-rotation in order for it to stand out as different to a static image on your website. Plus we can include call to action buttons as well as additional HTML functionality.
Pros:
– Menu
– Branding
– Sound
– Customisable
– Familiar Google Street View navigation style
– Great for large or complicated businesses
– Outdoors or indoors
– Multi device compatible
Cons:
– Can get a bit busy if you add lots of custom features
– Small monthly cost
3. Matterport 3D Virtual Tour
A Matterport 3D virtual tour embedded on your website provides a unique user experience. It’s strengths lie in its best in class smooth navigation experience plus the dollhouse view where people can view and interact with a 3D model of your space. Plus the video play through option which when clicked makes the tour play through like a video – but the user can take control at any point.
Pros:
– Best in class smooth navigation experience
– 3D dollhouse view
– 2D Floorplan view
– Highlight reels
– Auto-Play ‘Video’ mode
– Information hotspots
– Multi device compatible
– CAD & 3D file options for 3D designers
Cons:
– Limited customisation options
– Limitations with exterior/outdoors capture & navigation
– Requires continuity between spaces scanned within single 3D model
– Small monthly hosting cost
4. Custom 3D Virtual Tour
Built on top of the Matterport 3D virtual tour platform. Customisation is intended for larger or more complicated businesses to bring in the best of both worlds. Going custom allows for additional branding, a menu for quick navigation between multiple areas of your 3D virtual tour, or even multiple 3D virtual tours. Custom tours are perfect for hotels, schools, retirement villages and many more situations. Below is just one example of a custom 3D tour. Auaha custom tour examples here.
Pros:
– All the pros of a 3D tour plus
– Navigation menu
– Branding
– Ability to connect multiple 3D spaces
– Further customisation
Cons:
– Small monthly hosting cost
– Setup cost depending on requirements