360° virtual tour
A 360° virtual tour is a setup that lets a real place be walked through in the browser.
Also known as: virtual tour · 360 tour · panoramic tour
Photographs taken in a real space, or a modelled scene, are joined so that the visitor can look around and move between points. It is used for showrooms, museums, hotels, factories and building projects.
There are two approaches. A photographic tour is cheaper and realistic, but nothing in it can be changed. A modelled tour is more expensive, and in exchange colours, materials and layout can be altered — and it can be extended into a product configurator.
When to use it
When it makes sense
When the place itself is the product: a hotel room, a showroom, a flat that has not been built yet.
When it is unnecessary
When the space is ordinary and adds nothing. A tour of an office corridor takes up the visitor’s time without giving anything back.
How it looked in our work
The home page of this site works on the same principle: a modelled studio space that turns 360 degrees.
Common questions
Do I need a special camera?
For a photographic tour, yes: a 360-degree camera or a panoramic head. For a modelled tour, no — the space is built from plans and photographs.
Can a tour be used on social media?
The tour itself lives at a web address. Short clips can be recorded from it for social platforms, but the interactive version only works in the browser.
How does this term apply to your work? Let us talk.
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