SISO LABSWhy station directions matter#
A website that begins from the nearest station meets a visitor where they already are. A short note about which station to use, and which exit to take, removes the first guess a visitor would otherwise make. It also shows that the owner has thought about the route from the street, not only the address.
A good direction page is short. It names the station, the exit number, one or two landmarks the visitor will recognise, and the walking time. The reader should be able to read it on a phone while standing on the platform, and then follow it without opening a map. Clear words do more than a long description with many details.
How walk times are estimated#
A walk time on a website should be honest about where it comes from. In the DISPO approach, the straight-line distance between the station exit and the shop is measured on map data. That distance is multiplied by 1.3 to allow for the streets, corners and crossings a person actually walks, and the result is divided by a walking speed of 75 metres a minute. The figure is an estimate, not a timed walk, so it should be shown as approximate.
This method is simple enough to check by hand. The aim is to give a sensible expectation, so the visitor can decide whether to walk, take a taxi, or plan a little more time. An estimate that is clearly labelled is more useful than a precise-looking number that nobody has timed.
Building a station guide#
DISPO publishes station guides for Bangkok. Each guide covers a BTS, MRT or Airport Rail Link station and lists its exits, nearby places and walk times. The facts are taken from OpenStreetMap, a free map database that many people edit, and the entries are checked by a script. This keeps the information tied to the map rather than to memory or guesswork.
For a shop owner, the practical point is that a station guide gives the directions a website needs without the owner having to write each route from scratch. The owner still reads the result, confirms that the exit and landmarks match the real street, and corrects anything that is out of date. Station layouts and nearby buildings can change, so a check is worth doing from time to time.
Rules and checking with a lawyer#
Directions are only part of a website, and the content around them must follow the rules that apply to the business. Thai rules limit how cannabis may be advertised, so check your plans with a lawyer. An owner should read the rules carefully before publishing anything, because a page that looks harmless can still be a problem.
This note is not legal advice. Before going live, an owner should review the wording of the whole site with a lawyer who knows the current rules. Accurate, clearly written directions are a sensible place to begin, and the rest of the site can follow once those questions have been answered.