Google Maps Directions Link Generator

The link opens Google Maps with the route already set

Google Maps has its own address for directions. This page fills it in with your place, and the travel mode if you choose one:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=Herrengasse%2014%2C%20Vienna

On a computer, the link opens Google Maps in the browser. On a phone with the Google Maps app, it opens the app. The visitor presses Start, as with any route.

Leave the starting point empty for invitations and flyers

With no starting point, Google Maps starts from where each visitor is. That is right for almost every use: a wedding invitation, an event page, a shop window or a booking email. Type a starting point only when everyone comes from the same place, such as a station or a hotel.

Type the full address, then test the link once

Google Maps searches for whatever you type. A full street address with the town finds one place. A name alone, such as "Café Central", may find a different place with the same name. Open the link before you print it.

You can also paste a Google Maps link to the place; the page reads the place name from it. A short maps.app.goo.gl link cannot be read without opening it, so type the address instead. Nothing is sent to Google; the link is built in your browser.

For a QR code that asks customers for a review instead, use the Google review QR code generator.

Shorten it when you want to count who used it

Press Shorten it to save the directions link as a zip1.io address. The custom ending, the part after zip1.io/, is optional. Use letters, numbers, hyphens and underscores, up to 12 characters. Leave it blank and zip1.io chooses an ending.

After you shorten, you can switch the QR code to the short link, and each scan that opens it counts as a click. A click means someone opened the link. It does not mean they arrived.

The stats page shows country, browser, operating system and referring site, and the time of the last click. Anyone with the short link can open its stats. Visitor IP addresses are stored to count unique visitors. They are never shown on the stats page or included in the export. Read more on click tracking.

For developers

The link follows Google's documented Maps URLs format. These are the settings this page writes:

FAQ

• How do I make a Google Maps link with directions?

  Type the address in the box on this page and copy the link. It opens Google Maps with the route to that address already set, starting from where the visitor is.

• Where does the route start?

  From where each visitor is, unless you type a starting point. Leave it empty for invitations, flyers and shop windows.

• Does it open the Google Maps app?

  On a phone with the Google Maps app, yes. On a computer, it opens Google Maps in the browser.

• Why does the link find the wrong place?

  Google Maps searches for the text you typed. Use the full street address with the town, then open the link once to check it before you print it.

• Can I paste a Google Maps link?

  Yes, a full Google Maps link to a place works: the page reads the place name from it. A short maps.app.goo.gl link does not, because it cannot be read without opening it.

• What do the click numbers include?

  A click means someone opened the short link. It does not mean they arrived. The stats page shows country, browser, operating system and referring site, and the time of the last click. Anyone with the short link can open its stats. Visitor IP addresses are stored to count unique visitors. They are never shown on the stats page or included in the export.

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