Description
Granpai3DGlobe drops a genuine, rotating WebGL 3D globe (or a flat world map) anywhere on your site with a single shortcode – no Google Maps API key, no per-load billing, no external tracking scripts. Add a pin for every office, store, event, or team member, and each one opens a clean modal with its own heading and text when clicked.
Who is this for?
- Multi-location businesses that want a store/office locator that actually looks impressive, not a plain embedded map
- Agencies and teams building an “our global presence” or “where we work” page
- Travel, real estate, or events sites that need to plot places on a map
- Nonprofits and NGOs showing where their projects or chapters operate
Core features (Free)
- Real 3D Globe mode (WebGL, drag-to-rotate, scroll/pinch to zoom) or a Flat map mode for a more traditional look
- Dark or Light theme, independent of map mode
- Photoreal (satellite imagery), Minimal (clean line-art), or Night Lights globe style
- Custom pin color per map, and choice of which side the pin panel docks on (desktop)
- Next / Previous navigation between pins in the modal, with an animated flight-line arc tracing the path between them
- A “Get Directions” button on every pin (on by default, toggle per pin) – auto-builds a Google Maps link from the pin’s own coordinates, no API key needed
- Unlimited maps and pins are a Pro feature – Free includes 1 map with up to 5 pins, so you can fully evaluate the plugin before upgrading
- One simple shortcode:
[Granpai3DGlobe id="123"] - Import / Export your maps and pins as JSON – move between sites or keep a backup
- No API key required, no recurring third-party map billing
Pro add-on (sold separately)
- Unlimited maps and pins
- Two additional globe styles: Dot Matrix and Low-Poly
- Pin images and contact/social icons (email, phone, website, Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn) shown right in the pin’s modal, plus a hover preview before clicking
- Custom initial camera focus point per map
- Modal tag color, modal border color, globe base color, and country color overrides
- Choose whether pin images show as a full photo banner or a small logo mark
- Growth Timeline mode – give pins a date and scrub through your company’s expansion year by year, with an optional autoplay
- Pin List Sidebar – an always-visible, scrollable list of every pin alongside the map
- Auto-Balance Layout – automatically shifts the globe to keep it clear of the open pin modal
Pro is a separate, small companion plugin that only ever hooks into the extension points this plugin exposes – it never modifies this plugin’s files, and everything you build on Free keeps working if you never upgrade.
Why not just embed Google Maps?
A standard map embed is flat and instantly familiar – which also means it doesn’t stand out. Granpai3DGlobe is built for the moment you want a homepage, “About us,” or locations page to feel a little more impressive: an actual rotating 3D sphere rendered in the browser, with your own pins, colors, and content – and no Google Maps API key or usage limits to manage.
Screenshots
Installation
- Upload the plugin files to
/wp-content/plugins/granpai3dglobe, or install directly through the WordPress plugins screen. - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ screen in WordPress.
- Go to 3D Globe Maps > Add New Map in the admin sidebar, configure it, and add your pins.
- Copy the shortcode shown on the map’s edit screen into any post, page, or widget.
FAQ
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Do I need a Google Maps API key?
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No. Granpai3DGlobe doesn’t use Google Maps at all – the globe is rendered entirely with WebGL using open map data, so there’s no API key to obtain, no billing to monitor, and no risk of the map breaking if a key expires or a quota is hit.
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Will this slow down my site?
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The globe/map assets only load on pages that actually use the shortcode – there’s no sitewide overhead. The 3D rendering itself runs in the visitor’s browser via WebGL, which is hardware-accelerated on virtually all modern devices. If your map sits high up on a page (like a Hero section) and you want to squeeze out every last PageSpeed point, Settings > Performance has an optional “Aggressive lazy-load” toggle that delays the map’s scripts until a visitor scrolls near it – off by default, since the normal loading already works well for most sites.
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Does this add any “Powered by” link or branding to my site?
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Not unless you turn it on. There’s an optional, completely off-by-default credit link under Settings > Performance – nothing is added to your site’s frontend unless you explicitly opt in.
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Does this work without a Pro license?
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Yes. The Free plan includes 1 map with up to 5 pins, every render mode/theme/style, and the full Import/Export tools – enough to fully evaluate the plugin before deciding on Pro.
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Can I use this as a store or office locator?
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Yes – that’s one of the most common uses. Add one pin per location with its own address/contact details (Pro) or description text (Free), and each pin’s modal includes a “Get Directions” button pointing to that location on Google Maps.
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Can I recolor the Photoreal globe style?
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No – Photoreal uses a real satellite photo texture of Earth, which can’t be recolored as a flat color. The Minimal style (Pro) supports a custom globe base color instead.
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What data does this plugin store, and where?
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Maps and pins are stored as custom post types in your own WordPress database, like any other content – nothing is sent to or stored on an external server. The Import/Export tool lets you back up or move this data as a plain JSON file.
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Where do I manage my Pro license?
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Under 3D Globe Maps > Settings > License once the Pro add-on is installed and active.
Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
Contributors & Developers
“Granpai3DGlobe” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
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Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
2.8.3
- Fixed a loophole where importing a file with more maps than the Free plan allows, then restoring the extras from Trash, would bypass the map limit entirely – restoring an over-limit map now correctly sends it back to Trash with a clear explanation instead.
- Added a warning on the Import screen when you’re already at the Free plan’s map limit, before importing causes any confusion.
2.8.2
- Fixed Import/Export not including the “Get Directions” toggle per pin, and the modal side (left/right) per map – both were silently reset to their default on import.
2.8.1
- Fixed the “Enable aggressive lazy-load” checkbox on Settings > Performance not saving – it had lost its Save button when the new credit-link setting was added in 2.8.0.
- Both Performance tab toggles now use the same animated switch style as the rest of the plugin, instead of a plain checkbox.
2.8.0
- Flight-line arc and Next/Previous pin navigation are now core Free functionality (previously required Pro) – on by default, giving every Free install a more compelling, shareable demo out of the box.
- Fixed a bug where the modal’s nav row (needed for both Get Directions and Prev/Next) never rendered at all on a pure Free install without Pro installed.
- Added a “Support” link on the Plugins list screen, pointing to the WordPress.org support forum.
- Added an optional, off-by-default “Powered by Granpai3DGlobe” credit link in the pin modal (Settings > Performance) – opt-in only, per WordPress.org’s plugin guidelines.
- Redesigned the “Upgrade to Pro” banners shown throughout the admin to be more visually distinct, and switched them to open Freemius’s checkout directly.
- Fixed the docked pin modal being cut off (and the globe appearing oddly shifted) in the admin Map Settings live preview.
- Fixed the modal title being nearly invisible in the admin live preview due to a missing color rule.
2.7.0
- Free plan pin limit raised from 2 to 5 pins per map.
- Added a “Get Directions” toggle for every pin (on by default) – auto-builds a Google Maps link from the pin’s own coordinates.
- Pro: the Get Directions button now supports a fully custom link and button text, so it can point anywhere – a website, an article – not just Google Maps.
- Pro: added an “Autoplay on page load” toggle for Timeline maps (Map Settings > Timeline). Heads up if you already use Timeline: this replaces timeline auto-play previously starting unconditionally the moment Timeline was enabled – the new toggle defaults to off, so existing Timeline maps will need it turned on again to keep auto-playing.
- Every “Upgrade to Pro” link across the plugin now opens Freemius’s checkout directly, instead of occasionally landing on a broken page.
- Free now shows every Pro feature as a preview (grayed out, with its real label) instead of simply not rendering it, so it’s clear what upgrading unlocks.
2.6.1
- Fixed the “See Pro” upgrade button in Settings > License not opening a working checkout – now uses Freemius’s Checkout widget directly, with both Annual and Lifetime plans selectable.
- Fixed a licensing-menu configuration issue that could show “Sorry, you are not allowed to access this page” right after connecting to Freemius on first activation.
- Updated the bundled Freemius SDK to the latest version.
- Hardened the data passed to Pro’s extension hooks with an extra layer of sanitization.
2.6.0
- Redesigned pin clustering: overlapping pins are no longer hidden behind a single marker with a count badge – every pin now stays visible and individually clickable, fanned out in a small arc.
- Fixed several sources of erratic modal/navigation behavior in the admin Map Settings live preview, including stale event listeners and false-positive pin clustering.
- Added a “Clone” row action on the Globe Maps list to duplicate a map together with all its pins.
- Added a Zoom on/off toggle for 3D Globe mode.
- Various fixes to pin modal positioning and sizing on wide or docked layouts.
2.1.0
- Added a live preview to the Map editor screen.
- Added a custom initial camera focus point per map.
- Pro features now pause cleanly (without losing saved data) if a license lapses, instead of showing stale data.
2.0.0
- Rebuilt around a Map + Pin data model (previously a single shortcode with attributes).
- Added Flat map mode, Light theme, and Minimal globe style.
- Added Import / Export.
- Added the Pro add-on.