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November 22, 2019For those who have a business with physical locations, embedding Google Maps on their official website is a must.
A map is the easiest way to direct users to a certain location and is also a joy to engage with when using Google Maps’ outstanding software. Developers simply have to add some lines of code to the website and Google will do its magic and list the location right away.
However, even though it is simple to add, encountering an unexpected error is not unthinkable. One of these errors is "This Page Can't Load Google Maps Correctly", sometimes phrased in a slightly different way.
This error is encountered quite often, and thankfully it has some logical, easily understood explanations. Keep reading this article to find out more about it and fix it before it starts bothering your visitors.
Google Maps Won’t Load – Why?
Why is this error appearing in the first place? In the past, the "This Page Can't Load Google Maps Correctly" error didn’t constitute an issue because Google ran other procedures.
Later, Google changed their procedures and they are now requiring a Google API key and a Google Cloud Platform billing account to use Google Maps. This change was applied on June 11, 2018. Since then, the "This Page Can't Load Google Maps Correctly" error seems to be encountered more and more often by those who are not aware of the change.
Thus, the main cause behind this error is the API key requirement. Because Google Maps is embedded on important websites that get a lot of monthly views (over 100,000), the company thought of a method to make money by adding a fee for high-volume users.
The API is still free for smaller websites that don’t get a lot of hits, but bigger websites are now charged for using the API.
When a person signs up for the API, they get a $300-worth credit to use during the first year, as well as $200-worth credit of free usage for each month. Small websites won’t normally reach these limits which lead to paying for credit. However, bigger websites will have to pay $1.60 for every 1000 views surpassing the 100,000-limit.
Unless your website has huge amounts of traffic and you are 100% sure that people will access the map more than 500 times a day, you can make use of Google’s API for free. If you’re not sure, you can add a maximum cap to your site.
Other problems related to the API are:
- Missing API key error – the Google Maps API does not exist
- The API key is not activated
- The API key is invalid
- The API key is not compatible with your URL
Important Facts You Should Know About
Besides the change of procedure in 2018, you should also know some facts about Google Maps that may help you understand the appearance of the"This Page Can't Load Google Maps Correctly" error:
- All Google Maps projects need to have a linked billing account.
- Unless a valid API key is present, the map will be displayed in a lower resolution and will have a watermark on it.
- If the credit card linked to the account is invalid or the number of free map views is surpassed, the "This Page Can't Load Google Maps Correctly" error will show up.
Possible Fixes for "This Page Can't Load Google Maps Correctly"
Now that you know how the API works and what the requirements to use it are, it’s time to learn how to fix the error. Here are the steps for each situation in particular:
Billing
When the "This Page Can't Load Google Maps Correctly" error is caused by a billing problem, you, as well as the other visitors of your site, will be greeted by this message.
As a website owner, you can click “Do you own this website?” and you will be redirected to the Google Maps Platform, where you can start making the needed changes to get the map back online.
Once you’ve reached the platform, you need to click “Get Started” and use Google’s wizard to fix the issue. A dialog box will show up, and you’ll have to answer a series of questions.
Start a new project, enable the billing option for this project (even though you won’t pay any money as long as your website respects the limits) and follow the rest of the instructions.
If you already have a billing account that is connected to your YouTube Red subscription or other apps in the store, the credit card information should already be there.
If you are creating an account for the first time, you’ll be asked to supply credit card information. Again, keep in mind that you won’t be charged if you own a small website that is very unlikely to have more than 500 hits per day.
The process ends here, and you can use your API key right away.
New API Key
If you need to create a new Google API key from scratch, you will need to navigate to the Google Maps Platform. The process is similar to the one mentioned before, but there are some differences. You will reach this dialog box once again:
CheckMaps, Routes, and Places and then click Continue. You want all of these options for the best user experience. Log in to your existing Google account or create your Google account if you don’t own one. Just as before, start a new project and move on to the next step.
Provide your payment information, even though Google offers you free credits. Go to your API Console and make sure your API key can only be used on your site. You can do that by accessing Application restrictions, then navigate to “HTTP referrers” then type in your domain’s name.
After making the necessary changes, click Save. Copy the API key because you will need it to get the map back on your website.
If your website is WordPress based, you might need to paste your Google API Key into a WordPress plugin or other section of your settings. The "This Page Can't Load Google Maps Correctly" error should now be gone.
Other Aspects to Check
When the problem still persists, you should get informed about other potential aspects that may cause the error to appear. Some of them are:
- Caching errors – waiting 5 to 10 minutes and refreshing the page or clearing cache data might solve the problem
- Console issues – check the console settings and look for any inconsistencies
Final Word
The "This Page Can't Load Google Maps Correctly" error is not difficult to fix, but you should stay up to date regarding any changes that Google makes to the protocol, including the billing process.
Google Maps won’t load for a multitude of reasons. You need to find a solution that works best for your situation. At least one of the solutions provided above should help you fix the issue. If all else fails, it might be time to contact Google Support directly.
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