Several Ways to Create a 360 Virtual Tour
How to create a 360 virtual tour is a way to present location photos in a more enjoyable manner. It is very suitable for friends who want to promote places, such as: hotels, tourist attractions, or cafes.
The 360 virtual tour technology has actually been around since 2012. However, it was not as easy as it is now. In the past, most applications used to create 360 virtual tours were desktop-based and in flash format. Now, friends can also create their own 360 virtual tours with the help of a smartphone. Fun? Of course.
Here are some ways to create a 360 virtual tour that you can try.
Using Google Street View
Since 2018, Google has launched the Google Street View application that allows its users, including friends, to upload photos that can be turned into a 360 virtual tour.
Why does Google do this? Google also benefits from friends creating their own 360 virtual tours, as these virtual tours can be accessed by other Google Maps users. This significantly eases their work in improvising their Google Maps Street View.
Google Street View is free. Friends can try exploring it themselves. There, friends can also connect points that contain the panorama photos they have created. When users click the arrow icon, they will be directed to the panorama photo linked at that point.
Using Kuula Service
If friends want an easier way to create a 360 virtual tour, they can use the Kuula website. Kuula has both free and paid (Pro) features. If you just want to display a 360 panorama, you can create it on the free version of Kuula. However, if you want to create a 360 virtual tour like the one on Google Street View, you need to upgrade to Pro.
It is quite reasonable to upgrade to Pro to create a 360 virtual tour. The 360 virtual tours on Kuula have many customizations and are much easier to create compared to making them on Google Street View.
Using iStaging Service
If Kuula is only a service that can be done on the website, iStaging is more comprehensive. iStaging offers tools to create 360 virtual tours, desktop software, and even provides a mobile app that can simplify the creation of these 360 virtual tours.
The subscription package from iStaging is also more expensive and limited compared to Kuula. However, its customization features are more extensive than those of Kuula.
Using Theasys Service
If Kuula and iStaging seem to be all paid services, Theasys is somewhat different. They offer up to 5 panoramas or virtual tours for free. However, there are ads that appear at the bottom of the virtual tour when embedded on a website.
Oh, if friends want to download the virtual tour in .html format, they have to pay $10 for each virtual tour. So, how about if you want it for free? The way is to embed the code provided by Theasys in the form of an API. For now, Theasys only supports WordPress. Unlike Kuula, which you can install on any website platform.
For friends who want to experiment, Theasys can also be a fun way to try creating a 360 virtual tour without paying. Or maybe friends want to try something more challenging with Google Street View.
Those are some ways to create a 360 virtual tour that are commonly used today. If friends prefer desktop applications for creating 360 virtual tours, they can try KRPano, EasyPano, and similar panorama software. Happy trying.
Author: Iskael
