August Product Roundup: Our biggest update to Maps yet, Wider Layouts, Pre-Headers and More

In August we invested product development time in two specific areas: AI Visibility (more on this in a separate update) and cosmetic design updates (my personal favourite part of what we get to work on).

We have six updates that landed on Springnest sites in August, here's what's new:

Our biggest update to maps and location in years

We've reimagined the way maps look and work, all with the intention of keeping your visitors on your site for longer, and breaking down the doubts and barriers visitors face before booking direct.

• Maps on map pages are taller and fill more of the screen instead of sitting in a fixed box
• Marker design is entirely refreshed, dynamically matching your site's design system and colour palette (no more one-size-fits-all marker design)
• Your property's location marker is bigger than the others, and optionally you can toggle a pulse effect around your location to orientate your visitors
• You can switch your map's design between colour and grayscale
• We added eight new categories, based on feedback from the Springnest community: Wine Farms, Workspaces, Wellness, Cafes, Golf Courses, Beaches, Cycling Routes, and Bars and Nightlife
• "Restaurants and Bars" renamed to "Restaurants"

Learn why a well-populated map page can avoid "tab-hopping" and boost bookings: Stop losing bookings to tab-hopping

Your site is wider

Your site now uses more of the screen width. This is going to feel most apparent when viewed on a laptop or larger screen (while there's an ongoing increase in mobile visitors across Springnest sites, desktop still accounts for almost half of views across the board).

New: Pre-headers

Decades ago in print journalism, the idea of "eyebrow" text was adopted to provide immediate context and category so readers instantly understand the main headline. It transitioned into web design as a pre-header or primer that hooks the reader's attention and establishes context first, allowing the main headline below it to remain short, clean, and high-impact.

This new, optional field is now available in Springnest admin, wherever headings appear: page titles, sections, blocks, banner slides, popups, and the reviews and newsletter widgets. Use them sparingly and intentionally 😉

New: Secondary buttons

Secondary buttons are now available on every Springnest site. Find the option anywhere you already set a button: blocks, sliders, rooms, activities, events, offers, blog posts and listings. These can be useful to create a secondary call to action to a block or banner (imagine a content block promoting your restaurant, with the two buttons: "See the menu" and "Book a table")

New: Per-slide text position

Each banner slide can now set its own text position (left, centre or right, top, middle or bottom) instead of following one site-wide setting. This gives you maximum flexibility and freedom to find the most suitable combination between your banner image composition, and the text you layer over them.

Reviews widget: Grid layout

The latest update to the Reviews widget has a new layout option: reviews shown side by side in a grid instead of one at a time, with a swipeable carousel once you have more than three. Switch it under Website → Widgets → Latest Reviews.