Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
If you're seeing a warning about having viewed too many maps, please accept my apologies. Unfortunately it's something I've had to put in place due to changes made to Google Maps.
Google have big plans for Google Maps - they want to change it into a $1bn revenue standalone company.
In July 2018, Google started charging websites who use their Google Maps product. Sites are changed for every time a map is loaded and although there is a free tier, the usage of maps on Football Ground Map is way over it.
Based on our first week's usage, we estimated that our yearly charge would be in excess of $9,000 USD per year - something which the site (and I) cannot afford.
We were left with only one option - look for another online maps provider.
Mapbox are a competitor to Google Maps and whilst I still have to pay, it is much cheaper than Google's product.
Mapbox maps are now fully integrated into the site and (from a developer's point of view), they are a joy to work with.
Unfortunately, as with any paid product, it's charged based on usage - the more we use it, the more the site has to pay. Which is exactly the reason why you're seeing a message about having viewed too many maps.
We log every map request and cross-referenced it against a list of known bots (automated programs which visit websites and hog resources) as well as our list of genuine users. If your machine gets flagged up in this list, then we'll temporarily stop displaying the maps on the site.
If you think you've been incorrectly marked as a bot, please contact Rob who will be able to help.
