Google has made it easy to add cool stuff to your website with the release of Web Elements. Each of these elements have been available for some time now, most with embed codes or API’s readily available. Web Elements is a collection of eight tools in one easy-to-find place, each with a simple interface and refined embed code.
With this new set you can get maps to a specified location…
…embed interactive calendars…
…embed presentations and other documents from Google Docs…
…carry on conversations…
…and create custom search functions for your website…
…as well as include news, YouTube news, and spreadsheets on your site.
As I said before, none of these functions are new. Google has just bundled them together nicely with a simple interface. That simplicity can be a hinderance, though. For example, if you want maps with marked paths and multiple waypoints, you’re better off using the Google Maps interface rather than Web Elements.
Still, it’s a nice, quick way to get new content into your website or blog. The nice thing is that you can do all of this from one location, and you don’t have to have a Google API key on your website for each application.