Let’s face it – as the Internet has become more and more ubiquitous, we have become lazier.

Web usability has got to a stage where we expect everything instantly. We type a search query into Google, and more often than not, the answer we were looking for is presented to us within a second or two.

There’s no point bemoaning our heightened expectations – as web developers, we must simply do our best to create websites that are intuitive, and deliver exactly what it is that the target audience is looking for. We must fulfill expectations.

The Dynamic Web

There is a growing trend of integration between websites and applications (online and offline). For instance, I find it rather useful that I can click on a telephone number on a website and be taken straight to Skype, where I can call that number. That functionality is logical, and improves the user experience.

The same logic applies to the plugin I am featuring today - Convert Address to Google Maps Link. The ingenious title really says it all – this plugin will take any text on your WordPress site within <address></address> tags, and create a hyperlink to Google Maps. The core functionality of the plugin was lifted from Michael Jasper’s post: Convert < address > tags into Google Map link using jQuery.

Here’s an example:

It’s as simple as that – you wrap the address in <address></address> tags, and the plugin will do the rest. Simple, lightweight, and exactly what the user expects.

Download Convert Address to Google Maps Link here.

Creative Commons image courtesy of Ndecam