Why should we care about geographical elements on websites?
To start, geographical features can help prevent users from feeling confused when browsing a website. The last thing website creators want is to distract users from their content with any form of confusion, as this decreases the site’s credibility and will have the user closing the tab in no time. Geographical accuracy helps establish trust, as users are more likely to view a site as reliable when its data looks neat and gives precise information. Ignoring this can make users feel disconnected from the content. In this information age, people don’t want to put in any more effort into finding information than they have to, which is why efficient geographical maps and clear information are so crucial for websites. People don’t have the time or energy to dive deep into the depths of websites or books – they want the information to be presented upfront, in big bold letters and colorful images.
Interactive maps and other geographical tools can help users visualize website content better. However, it can be hard to find a middle ground between displaying too much detail, which is hard to navigate, and sharing information that’s too vague. Maps that show precise locations, like the sites of historically active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes in the Ring of Fire, are far more helpful than those that display broad or generic geographic data. When a website provides detailed yet concise data and maps, users are able to access the information they need without having to click through pages of irrelevant content. A good example of a website that successfully finds this middle ground is NASA’s eclipse explorer website. On NASA’s website, users can track past solar eclipses, like the May 2024 eclipse, state by state, and their duration with visuals to help piece together the information.
When a map is interactive, users can take in the information presented to them how they wish, rather than consuming historical data while feeling unengaged. This content increases the likelihood that users will resonate with the content and store the information in their long-term memories, which encourages them to keep revisiting the site. Not to mention, interactive maps that display detailed information tend to impress users more than dull, two-dimensional maps, and people love to be impressed.
The scale of the geographical elements used also matters in keeping users engaged with a website. Maps that can zoom in and out help users understand both the local and national effects of an event, which allows them to grasp the information better. For example, a website that covers World War II would use interactive maps showing the movements of troops, battle sites, and borders changing, which demonstrate how the war evolved over time gives meaning to the changes described. Understanding where battles took place can make the event easier to picture, especially for users unfamiliar with the geography of Europe during the 1940s. Geography usually influences historical events, and maps can showcase patterns like trade routes or territorial conflicts. Without clear and succinct information, users would struggle to comprehend the scale and effect of such events. Well-designed geographical elements on websites can even feed into the user’s curiosity, which encourages them to seek more information about a topic and expand their knowledge.
AI Check: After asking ChatGPT to give me suggestions on how to make my blog post better, it mostly focused on my tone and grammar. It made pointers like avoiding redundancy in my paragraphs and keeping a more formal tone. It also recommended that I provide stronger conclusions at the end of each paragraph, telling me to “end each section with a key takeaway.” I thought it correctly noticed that I have less of a formal tone on a blogpost than one might on a formal paper. I thought its suggestions were a little vague and not really substance based.
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