5 Guidelines in Creating 360 Tours
In the online world, attracting visitors is the main competition. The more viewers you get, the more exposure your website gets. In the case of business owners, more website exposure means more leads and sales. That is why these entrepreneurs look for the best content that can attract more website visitors. There is plenty of content that can get viewers hooked to your website. There are audios, videos, and images, but nowadays, interactive content is what gets website visitors to stay and engage with the website. One of the most common interactive content is a 360 virtual tour.
A VR tour is made of images that are pieced together to create a digital version of an existing location. With a VR headset, the viewer can experience a place as if they are actually in there. Furthermore, a 360 virtual tour can have audio narrations and pop-up information to keep the tour very informative. In addition, one can even travel to different scenes using hotspots and navigation bars. Thus, if a visitor takes the VR tour, they not only engage with the website but also spend a lot of time on the webpage. As a result, the website benefits greatly from an integrated 360 virtual tour.
To create a VR tour, you need first and foremost photography experience. That is because you need to take shots of the location you want to create a digital replica of. Next, you need photo editing knowledge so you will be able to fix issues in the image thus, making the images 360 virtual tour ready. If you want to know how to create a VR tour on your own, here are 5 simple guidelines to follow.
Taking 360 virtual tour photos
As stated in the introduction, you need to take pictures of the place that will be on the 360 virtual tour. In doing this, you need at least 6 images of the place from all angles. Imagine you are inside a cube. There are 4 sides, 1 top, and 1 bottom and if those are images, you will be creating a VR tour effect. Thus, you need to take images for the 360 virtual tour like that. You will need 4 images for the side and 1 image each for the top and bottom. You can use the panoramic camera setting to capture the 4 sides while you can use a regular camera setting to capture the top and bottom.
There is a VR tour that uses 8 images instead of 6. This is done by taking 6 images for the side and 1 each for the top and bottom. The 8-images 360 virtual tour can create a more circular rotation and brings more detail to the side images. Whichever you choose is fine as long as you will be able to get good quality and clear images for the VR tour.
Editing the VR tour images
It is alright if the 360 virtual tour images didn’t turn out perfect. This is a common case especially if you are taking shots from an outdoor place. That is why it is mentioned earlier that photo editing skills are necessary for creating a VR tour. During the photo editing process, this is your chance to make the images perfect.
If there are photo-bombing objects, you can remove them. If the lighting is too bright or too dark, you can make the needed adjustments. If people are necessary for the image, it is best to blur out their faces to respect the privacy of these people. Once the images are perfected through editing, you can now piece them together to create the 360 virtual tour.
Creating the 360 virtual tour
To piece the VR tour images together, you need to select 360 virtual tour software. Nowadays, there are plenty of VR tour creator platforms available online. There are Google VT creator, Matterport, MakeVT, Veer Experience, and so on. Before you start making the 360 virtual tour, it is recommended that you search and try out the VR tour platforms first. Select the one that you can use comfortably and can give you the results you intend. Once, you have selected the one, you should upload the image.
Most 360 virtual tour platforms will just ask you to upload the images. Some will permit you to rearrange them if they aren’t arranged accordingly. If you have more than one scene for the VR tour, you should create a scene and upload the corresponding images for it. Once you have uploaded the images, you basically already have a working 360 virtual tour ready.
Adding hotspots, sounds, and information
Although the VR tour is basically done after you uploaded the images, you can’t just leave it as plain as it is. It is best to make the 360 virtual tour as effective and informative as possible. Furthermore, you need to fix the navigation of the VR tour if you have more than one scene to show. The best type of 360 virtual tour navigation you can use is the hotspots.
Hotspots are clickable buttons that will redirect the visitor to the next scene. It is usually labeled to where the button leads to. There are also some hotspots where you can get a preview of the scene if you hover over the button. Other navigation that VR tour creators use is the floorplan and menu bars.
To make the 360 virtual tour informative, you can add narration audios and clickable pop-up information. This will inform the VR tour visitor of what they are seeing and learn a few things about it that images cannot express. Furthermore, you can also include some music to make the 360 virtual tour more lively and enjoyable. Thus, you should make the most of what the VR tour platform has to offer so you can create a 360 virtual tour with a great experience.
Check how the VR tour turned out
If you reached this step, you are already done with the 360 virtual tour. However, you must check out the VR tour yourself. This is so you will have an insight into what the 360 virtual tour looks like from the perspective of the visitor. You will be able to pinpoint the areas that don’t work smoothly or those that can be improved. With these in mind, you will be able to go back to the VR tour platform to fix or improve this. Thus, you can make your 360 virtual tour a high-quality one with a better experience.
Need help with your VR tour
Creating a 360 virtual tour is not as difficult now as before. That is because many platforms can help you instantly create a VR tour. However, if you are a business owner, finding the time to learn how to create a 360 virtual tour can already be difficult. If you will be the one to create the VR tour yourself, you will need a lot of time and patience. If you want a lot of high-quality virtual tours ready in a short time, the best thing is to hire an expert to do it on your behalf. A good option is to hire a company like Digital Solutions. Get in touch with them and learn more about their VR tour services.