virtual tour FAQs UK: 14 honest answers from our team
virtual tour FAQs UK: every question a UK business asks us before booking a 360° virtual tour, with honest answers from a team that has been publishing tours to Google Maps since 2012. These virtual tour FAQs UK cover cost, equipment, timescales, what to ask a virtual tour company, embedding, social-media sharing, performance tracking and more.
If your question isn't covered below, get in touch for a free quote — we typically respond within one working day. Our virtual tour FAQs UK are based on real briefs from clients including LEGO, BMW, Currys, Hamleys, the Post Office and the Universities of Nottingham and Salford.
What is a Virtual Tour
A virtual tour is an interactive and immersive experience that allows you to explore a location from anywhere in the world. It is created using a series of high-resolution images generally that are stitched together to create a seamless 360-degree view. Virtual tours can be used to showcase a variety of locations, such as properties, hotels, places of interest, and businesses.
How does a virtual tour work?
A virtual tour is created by taking a series of panoramic images of a location. These images are then stitched together using special software to create a seamless 360-degree view. Virtual tours can be viewed on a variety of devices, including computers, smartphones, and tablets.
To view a virtual tour, users simply click and drag their mouse or swipe their finger to move around the scene. They can also zoom in and out to get a closer look at specific details. Some virtual tours also include features such as hotspots, which allow users to click on certain objects in the scene to learn more about them.
Virtual tours can be used to showcase a variety of locations, such as properties, hotels, museums, and businesses. They can also be used to create educational experiences, such as virtual tours of historical sites or scientific facilities.
Here is a more detailed overview of how a virtual tour is created:
- Planning: The first step is to plan the virtual tour. This includes deciding which areas of the location to include and what type of content to include in the tour.
- Capture: Once the tour has been planned, it is time to start capturing the images or videos. This can be done using a variety of equipment, such as a DSLR camera, a 360-degree one click camera, or even a smartphone.
- Editing: Once the images or videos have been captured, they need to be edited and stitched together to create the virtual tour. This is done using special software.
- Publishing: Once the virtual tour has been created, it needs to be published so that people can view it. This can be done by embedding the virtual tour on a website or by sharing it on social media.
Virtual tours can be a valuable tool for businesses and organisations of all sizes. They can help to give potential customers a more immersive and engaging experience. If you are looking for a way to improve your website and attract more customers, consider getting a virtual tour.
What are the benefits of using a virtual tour for my business?
Virtual tours offer a number of benefits, including:
- Convenience: Virtual tours can be viewed from anywhere in the world, at any time of day or night. This makes them ideal for people who are short on time or who have difficulty traveling.
- Detail: Virtual tours provide a very detailed and realistic view of a location. This can be helpful for people who are trying to make an informed decision about whether or not to visit a place in person.
- Engagement: Virtual tours are interactive, which makes them more engaging and memorable than traditional photos or videos.
What types of businesses can benefit from using a virtual tour?
A wide variety of businesses can benefit from using a virtual tour. Here are a few examples:
- Property: Virtual tours can be used to showcase homes, apartments, and commercial properties to potential buyers or tenants. This can help to save time and money by reducing the need for in-person showings.
- Hospitality: Virtual tours can be used to give potential guests a preview of hotels, resorts, and other vacation destinations. This can help them to make a more informed decision about where to stay.
- Retail: Virtual tours can be used to give potential customers a tour of stores and shopping centres. This can help them to find the products they are looking for and to plan their shopping trips more effectively.
- Restaurants: Virtual tours can be used to give potential customers a tour of restaurants and to see their menus. This can help them to decide where to eat and to make reservations.
- Museums and galleries: Virtual tours can be used to give people a tour of museums and galleries without having to visit them in person. This is especially beneficial for people who have difficulty traveling or who are located in remote areas.
- Tourist attractions: Virtual tours can be used to give people a tour of tourist attractions, such as theme parks, zoos, and historical sites. This can help them to decide which attractions to visit and to plan their days out more effectively.
- Education: Virtual tours can be used to create educational experiences, such as virtual tours of historical sites or scientific facilities. This can be a valuable tool for students and teachers.
In addition to these specific examples, virtual tours can be used by any business that wants to give potential customers a more immersive and engaging experience. Virtual tours can help businesses to attract more customers, increase conversion rates, and improve customer satisfaction.
If you are considering using a virtual tour for your business, be sure to choose a reputable provider like Trusted Photography and to get a quote that fits your budget.
How much does a virtual tour cost?
The cost of a virtual tour can vary depending on a number of factors, including the size and complexity of the location, the features required in the tour, and the experience of the virtual tour provider.
In general, virtual tours for small businesses and homes can start at around £200 – £300. However, virtual tours for larger businesses and more complex locations can cost a fair amount more.
Here are some of the factors that can affect the cost of a virtual tour:
- Size and complexity of the location: Larger and more complex locations will generally cost more to create a virtual tour for. This is because it takes more time and effort to capture all of the necessary images and videos. If someone offers to do a virtual tour that takes them all day to photograph and then 3-4 days processing then it will cost you their day rate x 4 as a sort of rough guide.
- Features required in the tour: Some virtual tour providers like Trusted Photography offer a variety of additional features, such as hotspots, floor plans, video, still images and narration. These features can add to the cost of the tour so if you are cost conscious keep it simple.
- Experience of the virtual tour provider: More experienced virtual tour providers will generally charge more for their services as opposed to a newbie who may charge a lot less but not actually have the experience to do a good job.
With a little planning and forethought, you can get a high-quality virtual tour for your business at a reasonable price.
How long does it take to create a virtual tour?
The time it takes to create a virtual tour can vary depending on a number of factors, including the size and complexity of the location, the features required in the tour, and the experience of the virtual tour provider.
In general, virtual tours for small businesses and homes can be created in a few days including photography and processing times. However, virtual tours for larger businesses and more complex locations can take several weeks to create.
Here is a breakdown of the typical steps involved in creating a virtual tour:
- Planning: The first step is to plan the virtual tour. This includes deciding which areas of the location to include and what type of content to include in the tour.
- Capture: Once the tour has been planned, it is time to start capturing the images.
- Editing: Once the images or videos have been captured, they need to be edited and stitched together to create the virtual tour. This is done using special software.
- Publishing: Once the virtual tour has been created, it needs to be published so that people can view it. This can be done by adding it to Google Maps or embedding the virtual tour onto your website.
The time it takes to complete each of these steps will vary depending on the size and complexity of the project. For example, it will take longer to capture images and videos of a large office building than it would to capture images and videos of a small retail store which may only need 20 minutes or so onsite. Similarly, it will take longer to edit and stitch together footage from a complex virtual tour with multiple hotspots and floor plans than it would to edit and stitch together footage from a simple virtual tour of a single room.
If you are considering getting a virtual tour for your business, it is important to ask the provider how long the project will take. This will help you to plan your budget and to schedule the project accordingly.
Here are some tips for reducing the time it takes to create a virtual tour:
- Provide the provider with clear and concise instructions upfront.
- Be available to answer any questions the provider may have during the project.
- Be flexible with your schedule.
By following these tips, you can help to ensure that your virtual tour is created as quickly and efficiently as possible.
What kind of equipment do you use to create virtual tours?
There is a variety of equipment that can be used to create a virtual tour. The type of equipment you need will depend on the size and complexity of the location, the features required in the tour, and your budget.
Here is a list of some of the most common equipment used to create virtual tours:
- DSLR camera: A DSLR camera is a good option for creating high-quality virtual tours. DSLR cameras offer a variety of features that are useful for virtual tour photography, such as the ability to manually control the exposure and focus. It is also the most likely to give you the best possible results.
- 360-degree camera: A 360-degree camera is a specialised camera that can capture a full sphere of images and videos. 360-degree cameras are a good option for creating virtual tours of large or complex locations. In the case of Matterport tours are generally restricted to inside only and the tour cannot really be edited so is an as is service.
- Smartphone: A smartphone can be used to create virtual tours, but it is important to use a high-quality smartphone with a good camera. Smartphones can be a good option for creating a single spin rather than a full tour. Results on the web of these are very mixed, generally with lots of image stitching errors. So not so good for creating the right first impression of your business.
In addition to a camera, you will also need a tripod and a panohead to create a virtual tour. A tripod will help to keep your camera steady while you are taking pictures or videos. A panohead is a specialised tripod head that allows you to rotate your camera around a fixed point. This is necessary for creating the panoramic images which are used to create virtual tours.
You may also want to consider using additional equipment and software to improve the quality of your virtual tour.
Here are some tips for choosing the right equipment for your virtual tour:
- Consider the size and complexity of the location. If you are creating a virtual tour of a large or complex location, you will need to use equipment that can capture high-quality images at different lighting levels.
- Consider the features required in the tour. If you want to include features such as hotspots or floor plans in your tour, you will need to use equipment that is compatible with these features.
- Consider your budget. Virtual tour equipment can range in price from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. Choose equipment that fits your budget and that meets your needs.
If you are unsure of what equipment would work best for your business then contact us and we would be happy to help.
Can I customise my virtual tour?
Yes, you can customise your virtual tour to a great extent. Trusted Photography offers a variety of customisation options, such as:
- Branding: You can add your company logo and branding to your virtual tour.
- Content: You can choose which areas of your location to include in the tour and what type of content to include, such as images, videos, hotspots, and floor plans.
- Design: You can choose the design of your virtual tour, including the layout, navigation, and controls.
- Features: You can choose to include additional features in your virtual tour, such as video, social media sharing buttons, lead capture forms, and e-commerce functionality.
Here are some tips for customising your virtual tour:
- Think about your goals. What do you want to achieve with your virtual tour? Do you want to attract more customers, increase sales, or generate leads? Once you know your goals, you can start to think about how to customise your virtual tour to achieve them.
- Consider your target audience. Who are you creating the virtual tour for? What are their needs and interests? You know your customer-base better than us and once you understand your target audience, you can tailor the content and features of your virtual tour to appeal to them.
- Use high-quality images and videos. The quality of your images and videos will have a big impact on the overall look and feel of your virtual tour. Be sure to use high-resolution images and videos that are well-lit and in focus. Make sure areas are tidy beforehand.
- Add interactive elements. Interactive elements, such as hotspots and floor plans, can make your virtual tour more engaging and informative. Hotspots allow users to click on certain objects in the scene to learn more about them. Floor plans allow users to navigate through your location more easily.
- Make it easy to share. Social media sharing buttons make it easy for users to share your virtual tour with their friends and followers. This can help you to reach a wider audience and promote your business.
By following these tips, you can create a custom virtual tour that is both effective and engaging, ask us about overlay solutions.
How can I embed my virtual tour on my website?
Virtual tours can be embedded directly into your website, which makes it easy for visitors to explore your location. To embed a virtual tour, simply copy and paste the embed code provided by us into your website’s HTML code.
How can I share my virtual tour on social media?
You can either share a direct link to the tour or the page on your website the tour is embedded. this also provides a backlink into your tour from your social pages so can potentially help with ranking.
How can I track the performance of my virtual tour?
Trusted Photography provides a fairly comprehensive stats package with most of our tours as standard so you can keep an eye on the view counts etc for your virtual tour. It shows the most commonly viewed among other stats.
How can I use a virtual tour on my website?
Adding the virtual tour to your website which is embedded on Google gives you what is called a reciprocal link this means Google will factor this in to your site and businesses trust score. Every little helps when it comes to ranking factors and a virtual tour is certainly one of those cogs.
Why should I use a virtual tour for my business?
Virtual tours can be a valuable asset for businesses of all sizes. They can help you to:
- Attract more customers: Virtual tours can help you to attract more customers by providing them with a realistic and engaging way to explore your location.
- Increase conversion rates: Virtual tours can help you to increase conversion rates by giving potential customers a better understanding of what your business has to offer.
- Improve customer satisfaction: Virtual tours can help you to improve customer satisfaction by providing them with a convenient and informative way to learn more about your business.
If you are looking for a way to improve your website and attract more customers, consider using a virtual tour.
What questions should I ask a virtual tour company?
In addition to the above general questions, you may also want to ask more specific questions about the virtual tour company you are considering hiring, such as:
- How many years of experience do you have creating virtual tours?
- Can you show me some examples of your previous work?
- What equipment do you use?
- What is your process for creating a virtual tour?
- What is your turnaround time?
- Do you offer any discounts?
If you are considering getting a virtual tour for your business, be sure to ask your potential vendor all of the questions you have to make sure you are getting the best possible product and service.
More about these virtual tour FAQs UK
Our virtual tour FAQs UK are written from real briefs — the same questions that clients like LEGO, BMW, Currys, Hamleys and the Post Office asked us before booking. If you want even deeper detail on how Google Maps publishes 360° imagery, see Google's own Street View imagery policy and their guide to adding photos to Google Business Profile.
Every set of virtual tour FAQs UK we publish gets refreshed when Google ships a major update — the Matterport vs Google Street View landscape changes faster than most agencies admit. Our virtual tour FAQs UK reflect 12+ years of publishing tours to Google Maps and Street View as a UK 360° team.
If you spot a question we haven't covered in our virtual tour FAQs UK, get in touch — we'll add it to the next update.