What's Changed on the MapQuest Homepage?
Check out the updates to MapQuest® and you'll see that we've made the homepage cleaner and even easier to use while adding helpful features to enhance your mapping and routing experience.
New Feature Highlights:
- Larger, Full-Screen Map!
One of the biggest enhancements is the size of the map. Now, not only is there a map added to the home page but we've expanded it to the entire width of the page.
While the size of the map has changed, the robust features you have come to expect have stayed the same. You still have the ability to:- Automatically display your default location, if you have one set.
- View the Current Weather
- Check current Gas Prices and Traffic Conditions
- New Tabbed Style "Maps" & "Directions" Form Interface
Entering your address information to view a map or get directions is now easier than ever! We've added separate tabs to allow you to toggle between the "Maps" and "Directions" input forms.
This new "tabbed" style retains all the search features you have come to love such as:- Copy and paste your address information into the form fields or manually enter your information via the "Use Classic Forms" link.
- View airport locations as well as business categories within your search location.
- Easily reverse your starting and ending locations.
- Quick Help button offering easy access to helpful links and information.
- Switching between Maps and Directions forms
On the new forms section, you can toggle between getting a simple map or getting routing directions with just a simple click. Click the "Maps" tab to get a map and click the "Directions" tab to switch to directions form.
- Copy and Paste Form
We've improved how you can enter your Address, City, State and/or ZIP information. You can still use the classic style form where you enter the information in four separate fields, but we also provide you with a much faster and simpler form where you can simply copy and paste an entire address into one box. Click on the "Use Copy & Paste Forms" link on the bottom of the form to use this feature. Click on the "Use Classic Forms" link to use the four-box address form.
- Airports and Business Categories
On both the Maps and Directions tabs, you will find that the familiar "Find a Business" field has two buttons: "Airports" and "Category". These buttons give you quick access to a list of airports and common categories that you might want to search. In this dropdown, you will see two tabs. One will be for Airports and the other for business Categories. You can easily switch between the Airports and Categories by clicking each of the tabs.
The listings for each of the tabs can be selected and expanded. For example, if you click a state or province in the Airport list, you can select the airport that you desire. Likewise, you can expand the Categories list to show a more specific subset of stores or items that you might be looking for. In the example below, the Arts & Entertainment category is expanded to show the list of possible choices for you to use in your search.
- Reverse Starting and Ending Locations on your Directions Form
Another feature within the form is the ability to quickly reverse your Starting and Ending locations. To do this, click the double arrow button located in between the Starting Location and Ending Location fields.
- Quick Help
If you get stuck or confused while using our new page, you can click on the Quick Help button located on the upper-right corner of both Maps and Directions forms to get easy access to helpful links and information.
You'll notice that the new MapQuest homepage also features a bigger interactive map. The map will show either your default location or your approximate current location.
If you click on the Traffic button, you can see the current traffic for a specific location (note: your location selection must be a U.S. metro area that supports live traffic feeds). A pop-out window will then appear in the lower-right hand corner of the map that allows you to select whether you want to see traffic incidents, road/highway construction or combination of both.
With the Traffic check box enabled, your map will look similar to the following:
Along with traffic conditions, you can also check the current weather for that location. Click on the weather link to check the weather forecast and see a photo of the region.
Last but not least, when you click on the Gas Prices button, a Gas Prices window displays in the lower-right hand of the map. This window displays the lowest and highest gas prices in your map area. If you select the "Click Here" link in the window, you can use our Gas Prices feature to enter a more specific address and select your fuel preference to find the cheapest locations in that area.
