LocalKiteSpots.com - New and Improved for 2010
After 3 years in production, we've re-invented the site, yet again. After speaking with many riders at local beaches here in Ontario, Idaho, and Florida, we've incorporated many of the best ideas into the site. We looked closely at how our community uses the site, and have made it easier for them to quickly get the information they want.
We hope you find the new LocalKiteSpots.com to be easier to use, while still providing a way to easily discover new spots with a Google Map interface.
Since most of our users are repeat visitors looking to get information on current weather for their nearby kiting spots. We've optimized the site for this function, while still providing Google maps, which are great for discovering new spots.
Google Maps are great. There is no better way to discover new spots, or to get a quick overview of wind speed than looking a map. We love Google Maps, but they do have some serious shortcomings:
- They are really slow, especially when you just want to check wind conditions at a couple spots
- It's tiring to drag and pan to get weather information for spots you already know about.
- It's hard to compare weather conditions, or forecasts at several spots at once
We've moved the main interface of our site to use faster image based maps. They still provide a quick overview of wind conditions, and load nearly 10 times faster.
Faster Maps
We've updated the site to use map images, which show our wind colored markers. These maps load in a fraction of the time of full Google Maps. Map images are from Google directly, and offer a way to quickly check wind conditions, without waiting for the full Google map to load.
Improved Weather Reporting
We now display wind conditions and forecasts for all spots on a map. This allows you to quickly compare riding conditions at several spots, without having to click all over a map. For example, I ride at Keswick, Cherry Beach, and Frenchman's Bay. Now I can just check current conditions and forecasts at these spots on a single page, without having to click, pan and zoom to spots on a Google Map.
My Spots
Some of our maps have really grown large, with too many spots to follow at once. The Ontario map has over 150 spots (and growing thanks to you!). Many users have asked for a way to view just their favorite spots. By joining LocalKiteSpots.com, now you can add spots to a 'My Spots' list. You can click on 'My Spots' to just see the spots you are interested in. You can still see all the spots when you want to, but for days you know you're only checking on your favorite spots, just use that page.
| Spot Click heading to Sort | Level | Wind | Temp | Snow | Kite Surf | Snow Kite | Land. Buggy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allenwood |  | 15 | -5 | 20.0 | Yes | |||
| Cherry Beach | | 14 | -3 | 3.8 | Yes | |||
| Frenchman's |  | 14 | -5 | 3.8 | Yes | |||
| Keswick - Walter Drive | | 10 | -5 | 21.0 | Yes | Yes | ||
| North Oliphant | | 10 | -4 | 3.8 | Yes |
Sorting by Kite Sport
Many users have asked for a way to view just spots that are related to a specific kiting sport, say "Land boarding". We now offer a quick sport summary that lists the kiting activities of each spot. Now you can quickly find spots especially suited to your favorite kiting sport, and add them to your favorite spots.
Bigger, Better Google Maps
For those of you that love our Google Maps, we have something for you too! We've updated our Google Map layout to allow for full screen maps. You can also remove the data pane that shows forecast data.
We've also added integrated search on our full screen map. This is a really cool feature that allows you to locate businesses right on the map. For example, looking for a hotel, or food near a kiting spot? Enter "hotel", or "food" in the search and a list of nearby hotels and restaurants will appear right on the map.
Summary
LocalKiteSpots.com is our favorite project, and we continually strive to make the site better. We hope you agree that our new layout is a significant step forward and makes LocalKiteSpots.com the best online wind sport website, with the best forecasts, and the easiest navigation for new and return visitors.
