About the website

Introduction

The Unofficial Tourist Guide for Sibiu is a project by Chirp Internet SRL ('Chirp'), a web development company founded in 1997 and headquartered in Sibiu since 2008. Chirp has many years of experience working with database-driven and map-oriented websites and this is a way for us to refine our skills while giving something back to the community.

For starters the website will be only (mostly) in English and over the next few months should capture a lot of the English-language search traffic for Sibiu and surrounding towns. The maps and other details will also be useful to Romanians and visitors from other countries. If there is demand in the future we can expand to include Romanian, German and other languages.

Getting started

We offer a completely free listing, including text, photos and links to all businesses in județul Sibiu who fit into the categories of Restaurants, Accommodation, Cafés, Bars & Clubs and Tourist Spots in Sibiu and surrounding towns. Best of all you can update your own page directly at any time.

First you need to register to receive a password. Using this you can claim an existing business already on the website, or create a new entry from scratch. Again, this is a work in progress so please if anything is confusing or if you have ideas for making the site better.

Mobile tracking

The map shows where you have been and where you are going.

Both the full website and the mobile version support GPS location tracking on mobile devices such as the iPhone, iPad and Android phones.

When you select the My Location option on the map, your device will send location information to Google which is used to add the orange marker shown in the example to the left. Google may keep this data for up to 2 weeks.

In some browsers we can also use HTML5 Local Storage in your browser to keep track of your recent position and show that on the map as well (the blue line). This data is stored only in your web browser so remains secure.

To activate tracking, go to the page of your destination and click the My Location button in the map. When it's working you will see the orange man marker and a line showing the direction you need to go. As you move, the blue line marking you trail will also appear.

Final word

If you have a pensiune, restaurant, pub or club in Sibiu and haven't uploaded all your details and photos then you are missing out on a great opportunity for promoting your business. Even if you do already have a website you should make the effort as a lot more people can find you through the Sibiu Tourist website.

Again, if you have any suggestions or want to be involved.

 

Duncan Crombie
Chirp Internet SRL