Google Maps eliminates unlimited free use of its API
By now, we all know Google Maps, a service that we use both through its official website and implemented on many pages thanks to its API. Many are the pages and applications that have included it for free throughout all this time since its launch in 2005, although from now on they are going to find a surprise: the Google Maps API will no longer be free in an unlimited way.
Indeed, you will have to pay for the use of the API as long as you exceed 25,000 basic maps or 2,500 stylized maps per day. Obviously, this decision has caught application developers by surprise, there will be those who can see it as logical and those who do not like this decision. What is clear is that maintaining this API is costing Google money due to the large number of applications that support it, although on the other hand, the payment option is not something to tear your hair out either, come on, it could be perfectly acceptable for many pages.
For those who do not like this decision, there are always alternatives, such as Open Street Map or MapQuest, which offer a wide range to choose from.
Source: http://wwwhatsnew.com/2011/10/27/google-maps-elimina-la-gratuidad-ilimitada-del-uso-de-su-api/
To select or not: the challenge of changing the rules of the game
External tools used for websites created, developed and/or managed by their provider, such as Google Maps, Woopra, Mollom, Youtube, and Vimeo, among others, which are used free of charge at a given time, may adopt another policy of use and gratifications according to the considerations of the company that supports the tool. This fact may entail economic costs for their use, which were not previously contemplated within the budget that the client had allocated to maintain the site.
What is the challenge for companies seeking to position themselves on the internet? A tool can be the added value of your website. The question that comes with that statement could be is it worth paying that extra cost? As a business owner, you must carefully evaluate whether this tool provides sufficient value to the content you manage on your site, and if it is more than useful for the users of your website.
Contact your provider and ask if it is possible to replace that tool with another one that has the functions that made it indispensable on that site, or consider keeping it if that seems appropriate. Remember that before making a decision in this regard, keep in mind the functional and economic value of external tools for the maintenance, development and positioning of your website on the Internet.
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