MAPS.ME is a free offline mapping application with over 140 million downloads. It has been available on the App Store and Google Play since 2010.
Approximately 70% of user sessions take place offline, with the primary user base consisting of tourists. The audience is globally distributed.
My task involved modifying and enhancing the functionality of the bookmarks while preserving the simplicity of their creation. One of the critical stages in preparing for a journey for our audience is planning—56% of MAPS.ME users deliberately create bookmarks.
To increase user retention, we decided to provide more functionality for planning future trips and sharing travel plans with family, friends, and other travelers. Users leave bookmarks on the map to plan their trips by day or to mark must-see attractions, the best restaurants and bars, kids' entertainment, and more. The problem was that it was difficult to organize, share, and identify bookmarks at a glance when there were too many of them.
I have redesigned the flow of creation and saving bookmarks, visibility on the map, sorting, sharing and export features.
Approximately 60% of our audience enjoys sightseeing; however, there is a notable challenge: creating daily travel itineraries is a time-consuming process.
When planning their trips, individuals often resort to various sources of information. They research on platforms like TripAdvisor, explore recommendations from their favorite bloggers and Instagram influencers, and sometimes even visit bookstores to purchase printed travel guides. This process requires a significant investment of time and effort.
To address this issue, we envisioned a solution that integrates travel guides with interactive maps—a concept we found particularly compelling. Following a brainstorming session, we decided to develop and launch an MVP (minimum viable product) for a travel guides marketplace.
The initial MVP was a simple landing page featuring travel guides for the top 10 most popular cities. The landing page demonstrated strong conversion rates, with a high number of downloads. Based on this success, we moved forward with building a comprehensive marketplace within the app.
Maps.me, based on OpenStreetMap, offers highly detailed, user-generated maps that often include features absent from Google or Apple Maps, such as hiking trails, water sources, and viewpoints. These maps are particularly valuable for outdoor enthusiasts due to their offline functionality, enabling navigation and search without an internet connection—ideal for remote activities.
For safe trekking, it is crucial to assess a trail's complexity, calculate physical demands, and evaluate safety. This requires information such as total elevation gain, ascent and descent distances, and gradient steepness—details unavailable on common online maps. Such data helps estimate hike duration, determine fitness requirements, and identify necessary equipment for challenging sections.
In conclusion, the primary purpose of an outdoor mapping app is to ensure a safe experience by offering comprehensive trail information, preparation guidance, detailed elevation profiles, and turn-by-turn navigation.
So, I have designed an extended elevation profile, outdoor travel guides feature, isolines and outdoor navigation.