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Creating your own self-guided trails and tour apps is easy.

AT Creative’s self-guided platform utilises:

  • GPS to trigger content as you walk/cycle/drive along a route route
  • Feature-rich mapping that allows you to track your progress and see where the trail waypoints are
  • Text, images, audio, video to share your stories
  • Interactive features such as quizzes, AR and trail feedback forms
  • An intuitive online content management system allowing you to easily add and edit your tours Content Builder

Get in touch/book a demo Learn about our excellent customer service.

An app for all occasions

We specialise in creating self-guided tour apps for local authorities, professional tour guides, and other organisations that care for the outdoors.

Our first GPS-triggered app was launched back in 2009. Since then we have continued to develop our location-aware self-guided trails platform to support interactive discovery and exploration of heritage sites, tourist attractions and the countryside.

Explore our case studies

Go native

Our native apps (those designed specifically for iOS and Android devices) fully utilise the device’s features, such as the camera and GPS, to provide a fast and smooth experience whilst delivering exciting experiences such as location-specific content and Augmented Reality (AR).

Take a tour

In the video below Dan Boys, AT Creative founder, heads out on the Shirland and Higham Trail from the Places and Trails app to look at some of our self-guided trails app platform features.

screenshot of trail map on dizzy o dare app

Standard functionality

All of our self-guided trail apps come with the following rich core features, as standard:

 

  • Rich content pages

    Pages containing information about places of interest are made from flexible content ‘blocks’ below an optional image gallery, containing one or more images (with optional captions).

    Flexible content blocks available for selection include:

    • Text
    • Expandable/collapsible text (also known as accordions)
    • Single image
    • Image gallery
    • Audio
    • YouTube links (which are embedded into the page but require an internet connection to play)
    • Signpost buttons
    • Image compare – select two equal ratio images to automatically fade between
    • Image fader – select an image to appear in the camera and manually fade in and out to compare the past with today’s scene

    You can add captions and accessibility (alt) text to images.

  • Self-guided trails

    Link Places together to create a trail. Upload the trail route, set the waypoints and add a trail summary. The trail route and associated waypoints are displayed on a map.

    Trails are displayed as ‘cards’ – with an image and brief summary, plus options for distance, time to allow and the number of waypoints – for the user to browse and select.

  • Interactive mapping

    All of our apps utilise Google Maps to display place of interest pins, trail routes (and waypoint pins) and the user’s current location (if Location Services has been enabled by the user). Pins can be filtered by category to display e.g. historic buildings.

    Users can switch between interactive street and satellite views in Google Maps. Auto-centring and auto-rotation can be enabled to aid navigation.

    Optional extra – offline maps

    Google Maps require a connection to the internet to work as the map tiles are held on Google’s servers. If your project area has patchy signal or you’d like something a little more custom then, as an optional extra, offline maps can be bundled with your app. We often utilise OS Open Data and Open Street Map for this purpose because both provide the option to bundle multiple map tile layers within the app that allow zooming. With offline maps we limit the geographical area to keep the app download as small as possible. We can also bundle illustrative maps, so long as they are geographically accurate i.e. match up with the real world.

  • Real-time tracking

    When an app user enables Location Services (during the app install process) the app will use GPS to show the user where they are on the map and their relationship to places of interest. The app can then calculate when a user enters a Place ‘trigger zone’ and notify the user there is content to access.

    GPS can also be utilised to automatically ‘check’ app users into places along a trail; the map pins change colour as waypoints are visited. With our Offers and Rewards plugin (an optional extra) users can be rewarded for completing a trail.

    Our app platforms do not store or share any data, including location data.

  • Navigation

    All major pages are accessed via a tab bar system at the bottom of the screen (5 menu items or less). Alternatively, a more comprehensive menu navigation that slides into view can be used.

    If the sliding menu option is used, a Closest Place indicator will be present at the top of the menu. This highlights the place closest to the device (and distance from it), but will only work if location services has been enabled by the user.

  • Clear onboarding

    The onboarding (app installation) process starts once the app is downloaded. It begins with the user allowing the app access to location services and notifications (to alert users when they are near a place of interest in the app). Suitable explanations are displayed to explain why these permissions are required e.g. The app uses Location Services to show your position on the screen, tell you how far away places are and calculate when you are near a place of interest. The final stage of onboarding is content download. Some content will be bundled with the initial download – a requirement of both Apple and Android – but the app will regularly communicate with the CMS to check for any updates.

    A Terms of Use page can be added to the onboarding stage. This may contain information to highlight to users that they use the app at their own risk. Users have to check the box to agree to the message before proceeding.

    Once onboarding is complete the user can use the app.

  • Real-time content updates

    Our intuitive password-protected, web-based Content Management System is simple to use ensuring you can easily edit existing content and add new updates when you need to.

    Edit and create new places of interest with just a few clicks and then drag and drop the places to into order to create a trail.

    Once the changes have been made they will be pushed to your app in real time.

Plug in extra functionality

Our platform is very flexible and it is easy to add extra functionality from the outset or added in as part of an update. We have a range of optional extras, available from a few hundred pounds, that can be ‘plugged in’. Let us know if you have an idea for something different and we’ll bring it to life.

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Augmented Reality

AR is the layering of digital content over the real world. Create virtual art galleries or place 3D reconstructions in today’s scene.

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Offline mapping

Customisable map tiles that work offline. From Ordnance Survey (OS) to Open Street Map layered map tiles to custom illustrative maps.

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Quizzes

Create multiple choice quizzes for each trail or one to cover a whole geographical area. Reward app users that get all the answers right.

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Photo filters

Custom photo filters linked to your places and trails. Allow app users to create unique and fun memories to share with social followers.

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Offers & Rewards

Incentivise experiences in your app. Create trails with automatic Place check-in and reward visitors who complete a trail with custom offers.

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Language selector

Multilingual content for international audiences. Our apps recognise a device’s default language and serve app content in the native tongue.

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Trail feedback

Display a trail feedback form once users have checked into all trail waypoints. Leave up to 5 stars and a text-limited comment.

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Premium content

Enable in-app purchases or time limited passes for premium content within your app and generate income from all your hard work.

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Custom feature

Do you need something not listed here? Let us know and we’ll spec it out and bring it to life.

Looking to publish a trail on our Places and Trails app (rather build your own app)?

ios screenshots from the plymouth trails app

Tried and trusted

If you have downloaded more than one of our apps you will recognise the architecture (layout) is very similar. This templated approach allows us to keep costs low, but flexible enough to customise functionality and apply branding to make each app unique. You are welcome to supply your own app assets e.g. app icon or simply share your branding guidelines (or preferred colours) with us and we’ll do the rest.

App builder

Our Content Management System (CMS) is so easy to use. Even if you haven’t used a CMS before we are confident you will be uploading your places and trails content in no time. We provide online training, which is recorded and shared so you can refer back at any time.

Analytic data

We will provide you with access to our analytics package. Understand who many downloads your app has had and build up a picture of which places and/or trails are most popular, and how many are triggered by GPS and those manually selected.

Outstanding support

Our primary objectives are to ensure you get value for money, are guided clearly through the process and that your time with us is fulfilling and exceeds expectations. We are UK-based and always respond promptly to support requests. We rate highly for customer satisfaction.

“AT Creative are really easy to work with, being responsive and understanding the needs of the project and our objectives. The trails app solution is straightforward and offers a user friendly experience in addition to being practical to use and upload content to. The AT team were always on hand to offer advice and support. We’re delighted with the Digital Trail and it will be great asset for visitors to the Mayflower destinations during the commemoration year and beyond.”

Emma Tatlow, Mayflower 400 National Visitor Project Manager