What a virtual tour is
A virtual tour is a set of 360° photographs of a real place, linked together so you can explore it from your screen. Each photo, called a scene, captures everything around one spot: in front, behind, above and below. You can turn to look in any direction, then jump to the next spot, the way you'd walk from room to room.
To make a scene, a photographer takes several overlapping shots from one position and stitches them into a single sphere. Join enough spheres together and you have a tour of a whole building, campus or site.
Most tours add a few extras on top:
- Navigation points: arrows or circles that take you to the next scene.
- Info hotspots: icons that open text, photos, video, prices or a link when you tap them.
- Floor plans or maps: an overview that shows where you are and lets you jump straight to a room.
- Branding: the owner's logo, colours and contact details.
How is that different from photos or a video? A photo shows only what the photographer pointed the camera at. A video follows one fixed path at one speed. In a tour, you choose where to look, where to go next and how long to stay.
The main types of tour
360° photo tours
The most common type. Scenes are linked with navigation points and hotspots, and the tour runs in a web browser from a single link. This is what we build for most clients, and what you'll see in the example below.
3D tours (such as Matterport)
Captured with a scanning camera that also measures depth, so the tour knows the shape of the building. As well as walking through, you can zoom out to a dollhouse view of the whole property, switch to a floor plan, and sometimes measure distances.
Google Street View tours
Indoor 360° photos published to Google Maps. They appear on a business's Google listing, so people can step inside straight from a Google search.
Aerial 360° tours
Scenes captured from a drone, showing a site in the context of its surroundings. Our Lagos Blue Line tour opens with aerial views over the rail hub before taking you down to ground level.
Try it: look around this room
This is a single 360° scene. Drag it in any direction, use the + and − buttons to zoom, and tap the white hotspot to see what an info point looks like.
For a tour with several linked rooms, try the sample tour on our homepage: switch between the lobby, lounge and suite, and follow the coral hotspots.
How to move around, device by device
The controls are almost the same everywhere. Once you've used one tour, you can use them all.
On a computer
| To do this | Do this |
|---|---|
| Look around | Click and drag anywhere in the picture, or use the arrow keys. |
| Zoom in or out | Use the + and − buttons. Many tours also respond to the scroll wheel. |
| Move to another spot | Click a navigation arrow or circle, or a room on the floor plan. |
| Read more | Hover over or click an info hotspot. |
| Full screen | Click the full-screen icon (four corners). Press Esc to leave. |
On a phone or tablet
| To do this | Do this |
|---|---|
| Look around | Swipe with one finger. Some tours also let you move the phone itself to look around (look for a phone or compass icon). |
| Zoom in or out | Pinch with two fingers. |
| Move to another spot | Tap a navigation arrow or circle. |
| Read more | Tap an info hotspot. Tap again or tap the X to close it. |
| Best view | Turn your phone sideways and tap full screen. |
In a VR headset
Open the tour link in the headset's web browser and look for a VR or headset icon. Then simply turn your head to look around. To move, point at a navigation spot with the controller or hold your gaze on it for a moment. Not every tour supports VR, but every tour works on a normal screen.
On Google Maps
- On a computer: search for the business, open its listing and click its photos. Look for the photos marked 360° or "Street View & 360°", then drag to look around and click the arrows on the floor to move.
- On a phone: open the business in the Google Maps app, tap its photos and choose a 360° image. Swipe to look around and tap the arrows to move. Tap the back arrow to return to the listing.
Google's own Street View help page covers this in more detail.
Tips for the best experience
- Give it a few seconds. Each scene is a large, detailed image. It may look soft for a moment before the full-quality version appears.
- Use Wi-Fi if you can. Tours load fine on mobile data, but a long tour with many scenes uses more data than a few photos.
- Go full screen. It hides the rest of the page and makes the space feel real.
- Look up and down. Ceilings, floors and views from windows are often the details that win people over.
- Open the floor plan if the tour has one. It's the fastest way to find a specific room.
- Don't worry about getting lost. You can't break anything. The back button or the floor plan will always get you back.
Why businesses use them
A tour answers the questions photos can't: how big is it really, how do the rooms connect, what's next door? That means fewer wasted viewings, more confident buyers and guests, and a way to reach people who can't visit in person, from diaspora home buyers to parents in another state choosing a school.
See how this works for property, hotels, schools, retail and more, or look at the tours we've delivered.
Common questions
Do I need to download an app?
Does a tour work on any phone?
How much data does a tour use?
Can I share a tour?
Further reading
- A beginner's guide to 360 virtual tours, Eye Revolution: how scenes are made, and what to look for in a good tour.
- 360 virtual tour: the complete guide, Panoraven: scenes, hotspots, info points and floor plans explained.
- Intro to Showcase, Matterport Academy: getting around a 3D tour, including dollhouse and floor plan views.
- Use Street View in Google Maps, Google Maps Help.
