How We Built Our Own Store Locator — And Why It Was the Best Decision We Made
By Sajjad Hanifa | S&H Software Solution
I'll be honest with you. This product didn't start with a big vision or a business plan. It started with a problem — a real one, from a real client sitting across from me, frustrated.
We at S&H Software Solution work with a lot of businesses. Not just startups or small shops, but established companies — especially franchise networks. And if you've ever worked with a franchise, you know one thing: they always have the same question. "How do we show all our locations on our website? We have 80 branches across Germany and our customers can't find us."
That sounds simple, right? Just drop a map on the website. But anyone who's tried doing this properly for a business with 20, 50, or even 100+ locations knows — it's actually a pain. The plugins are bloated. The third-party tools are either too expensive or too limited. And none of them give you the control and flexibility that a real business actually needs.
The Moment We Decided to Build It Ourselves
After dealing with this same challenge for multiple franchise clients — businesses with locations spread across Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt and beyond — 80 locations that all needed to appear on one single map — my colleagues Hassan, Hassaan and I sat down one day and said: "Why are we always working around tools that don't quite fit? Let's just build exactly what our clients need."
That conversation was the starting point of My Store Locator.
Over the next couple of months, the three of us worked on building something that we ourselves would actually want to use. Powered by Oracle APEX on the backend, the idea was simple: store owners manage their locations in one place, and with a single embed code, everything appears on their WordPress website — clean, fast, and mobile-friendly.
No plugin conflicts. No bloated code slowing down the site. Just one iframe. Copy. Paste. Done.
Who Is This Actually For?
When we launched, we knew our primary audience — our franchise clients. But the more people we showed it to, the more we realized how broad the need actually is.
My Store Locator is built for:
- Franchise networks that need to display dozens or hundreds of locations across Germany or Europe on one interactive map
- Retail chains that want customers to quickly find their nearest store without calling or Googling
- Service businesses — think insurance agencies, car dealerships, medical practices — with multiple branches
- Small businesses expanding to a second or third location and wanting a professional presence
- Agencies and developers who build WordPress sites for clients and need a reliable, lightweight store locator solution they can embed quickly
Basically — if you have more than one location and a WordPress website, this is for you.
What It Can Do
Here's what makes My Store Locator actually useful in practice:
🗺 Interactive Map — Ready in Minutes Your locations appear on a clean, responsive map. Customers can search by city, filter by category or distance, and get directions with one click. No technical setup required from their side.
⚡ Lightweight & Fast Traditional WordPress plugins add weight to your site. My Store Locator runs through a simple iframe — your site stays fast, your Google ranking stays healthy.
📍 Manage Everything in One Place Add, edit, or remove locations directly in Oracle APEX. Changes appear on your website instantly — no developer needed every time something changes.
📱 Works on Every Device Whether your customer is on a phone in Munich or a desktop in Berlin — the map looks great and works perfectly everywhere.
🔧 No Plugin, No Conflict One embed code. That's it. No plugin updates, no compatibility issues, no headaches.
📊 Analytics Dashboard (Pro Plan) See which locations get the most searches, where your customers are looking, and how they're interacting with your map.
The Pricing — We Kept It Fair
One of the things that frustrated us about existing tools was the pricing. Some solutions charge hundreds of euros per month for what is essentially a map with pins on it. We didn't want to do that.
- Starter — $9/month — Up to 25 locations, perfect for small businesses just getting started
- Pro — $29/month — Up to 250 locations, advanced filters, custom branding, analytics
- Enterprise — Custom — Unlimited locations, dedicated support, API access, onboarding — tailored for large franchise networks
A Few Months of Work, Something We're Proud Of
I won't pretend it was always easy. There were late evenings, plenty of back and forth between the three of us, and a few moments where we questioned our own decisions. But looking at the finished product — and seeing our franchise clients actually using it, their customers finding stores with it — makes it worth it.
What started as a solution for our own clients is now something anyone can use.
If you run a franchise, a retail chain, or simply a business with multiple locations — I'd love for you to try it.
👉 Live Demo: my-store-locator.com/demo
👉 Full Tutorial on YouTube: Watch here
👉 Website: my-store-locator.com
And if you have questions, feedback, or want to talk about an Enterprise setup for your franchise network — reach out. We built this for businesses like yours, and we're happy to help.
The Team Behind It
This project wouldn't have been possible without my two colleagues who made the technical vision a reality:
- Hassan Raza — Oracle ACE Associate & Senior Oracle APEX Developer at S&H Software Solutions
- Hassaan Ahmed Tahir — Oracle APEX & WordPress Developer at S&H Software Solutions
Thank you both — this one's ours. 🙌
— Sajjad Hanifa, S&H Software Solution