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How to Make a Virtual Tour

Last Updated: February 9, 2024 Tested

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd . Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher. The wikiHow Tech Team also followed the article's instructions and verified that they work. This article has been viewed 186,082 times. Learn more...

This wikiHow teaches you how to shoot and edit a 360-degree tour of a house. While you'll need a camera capable of shooting 360-degree panoramas, you can use a free website to piece together, host, and publish your video.

Recording Your Tour

Step 1 Buy or rent a 360° camera.

  • You'll also need a tripod for the camera.

Step 2 Ensure that your camera works remotely.

  • If you end up installing an app on your smartphone, you may have to pair your phone with the camera via Bluetooth. Some cameras can also pair via Wi-Fi.

Step 6 Take a panoramic shot.

  • Keep in mind that you may have to take multiple shots within a few feet of each other if you plan on transitioning through a doorway. [1] X Research source
  • The service you'll use to piece together your footage allows a maximum of 25 photos.

Step 8 Move the photos from the camera to your computer.

  • The photos can usually be found in a "DCIM" folder on the camera or its SD card.
  • If you're using the camera's SD card, you may have to place the SD card in a USB adapter and then plug the adapter into one of your computer's USB ports.

Creating Your Tour

Step 1 Open the MakeVT site.

  • Enter an email address in the "Email" text box.
  • Enter a password in the "Password" text box.
  • Re-enter your password in the "Password confirmation" text box.
  • Click Create account .
  • Enter your email address and password, then click login .

Step 4 Click CREATE NEW TOUR.

  • Click Upload panoramas under either the "Spherical" or "Cylindrical" heading.
  • You can upload a maximum of 25 photos at 20 megabytes apiece.
  • Click Open .
  • Wait for the photos to finish uploading.

Step 7 Scroll down and click Go to the Hotspot Editor.

  • Click once the panorama.
  • Click an indicator shape (this is what a user will click to move to the next scene).
  • Click the "Select type of hotspot" text box, then click Transition in the drop-down menu.
  • Click the next scene's panorama in the "Select the destination panorama" section.
  • Scroll down and click Save .

Step 10 Link the rest of your scenes.

Publishing the Tour

Step 1 Click View, Share, & Export.

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Real Estate | How To

How to Create a Virtual Tour for Real Estate in 10 Steps

Published July 3, 2023

Published Jul 3, 2023

Gina Baker

REVIEWED BY: Gina Baker

Kaylee Strozyk

WRITTEN BY: Kaylee Strozyk

This article is part of a larger series on Real Estate Lead Generation and Marketing .

1. Determine the Best Type of Virtual Tour to Offer

2. choose the right equipment, 3. select virtual tour software, 4. plan the shots for your virtual tour.

  • 5. Clean & Stage Each Room

6. Level the Tripod

7. take test shots, 8. take all photos on your image shot list, 9. compose your virtual tour, 10. share your virtual tour.

  • Statistics & Benefits of Creating a Virtual Tour

Bottom Line

Virtual tours allow prospective buyers to interact with a home and look at features in detail without being on-site. This can greatly increase the reach of your listings, so it’s essential for agents to know how to create them. To create a virtual home tour, start by deciding the type of virtual tour you’d like to create, choosing your equipment, and planning your shots before taking your photos. Additional details like leveling the tripod, staging each room, and using virtual tour software are also vital to creating a virtual tour.

Many real estate agents avoid creating virtual tours because of the assumed time, effort, and expenses. However, companies like Asteroom remove those obstacles by offering affordable and easy-to-use software, as well as a simple 3D tour kit for creating high-resolution virtual tours right from your smartphone. The kit provides tools to turn your smartphone into a 360-degree camera to create tours in 15 minutes. Start creating virtual tours with Asteroom today.

Visit Asteroom

Here are 10 steps on how to create a virtual tour for real estate in greater detail:

“Virtual tour” is an umbrella term used to describe a few different types of interactive property photos or videos. These include video walk-throughs, 3D virtual tours, and interactive 360-degree virtual tours. However, it’s important to know that a slideshow of listing photos set to music is not a virtual tour since it does not recreate the experience of being inside or walking through a property. True virtual tours have some element of interaction for viewers so they have a clear understanding of what it’s like to visit the property in person.

The three main types of virtual tours include the following:

Walk-through

A video tour or walk-through is exactly what it sounds like—a video showing the home as the agent or photographer walks through the property, or in other words, a guided walk-through of a property. Video tours are the least interactive virtual tour option, but they are the easiest to create using anything, from smartphones to highly sophisticated digital video equipment.

Video tours can be created in 10 to 15 minutes by walking around the home with your smartphone or a camera, like this example from Nava Realty Group:

Example of a real estate video walkthrough

Real estate video walk-through (Source: YouTube )

Video tours are one of the easiest ways to add an engaging and unique element to your property listings, but that’s only the beginning. In fact, video is the most engaging type of social media content, with 66% of users saying that short-form video is even more engaging than long-form. Therefore, make sure you take advantage of the marketing power of video.

3D Virtual Tour

3D virtual tours are not videos but are interactive experiences that allow users to click through 3D images and experience what it is like to move through the property. They are created by taking multiple photos of each space with a panoramic camera lens, then using virtual tour software to stitch the images together. The result is an interactive experience that allows viewers to more clearly understand the floor plan, view spaces from different angles, turn around, and back up in each room to see details.

Because this type of virtual tour is created from static images and not from video, the flow from room to room can feel jumpy, like looking at something in Google Street View. However, they provide considerable value to potential buyers because they can virtually “walk” through the property at their own speed and look at spaces in detail.

Kitchen view of a Zillow virtual tour

Clickable virtual tour (Source: Zillow )

Another affordable way to easily create a 3D home tour is with the Zillow 3D Home Tours . It’s a free app that works with 360-degree cameras and smartphones to capture panoramas and generate an interactive home tour. The tour can then be shared on the MLS, the Zillow listing, social media, and your website. Try the app today.

Visit Zillow

Interactive 360-degree Virtual Tour

360-degree tours offer an immersive, true-to-life experience of walking through a home, similar to wearing a virtual reality (VR) headset. Of course, learning how to make a 360-degree tour requires more specialized equipment and software than the other types of virtual tours, but the result will help you and your listings stand out from the competition.

Sample residential 3D tour from Matterport (Source: Matterport 3D tour example )

360-degree virtual tours, like 3D tours, require you to set your camera in the center of the room. Then, you must activate your 360-degree camera, and it will rotate to take a high-resolution, 360-degree photo of its surroundings. Each photo is then uploaded to special software, where text, links, and other interactive multimedia content can be added to the photos—creating a highly dynamic experience for the viewer.

One of the reasons that some agents avoid learning how to make virtual tours is that they are confused or intimidated by the equipment necessary to create them. In reality, the growth of virtual reality (VR) and 360-degree photography has increased the number and type of equipment options available. In fact, some virtual tour kits are extremely affordable and user-friendly, showing you how to do a virtual tour by using your smartphone or a DSLR camera.

Many real estate photographers and professionals agree that the best way to create a virtual walk-through is by using a DSLR rig. A “rig” basically means adding equipment accessories to your DSLR to create a virtual tour. When you’re figuring out how to create 360-degree virtual tours with a DSLR camera rig, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of equipment and accessory options. However, the basics will always include:

  • DSLR camera: A few great DSLR options for creating virtual tours are the Sony a7R series , Sony a6000 , or Nikon D3500 .
  • Fisheye lens: This type of lens allows you to get the widest angle. Before selecting one, research cropped, circular, and diagonal fisheye lenses.
  • Tripod and/or monopod: A tripod sits on a surface and holds your camera steady, while a monopod has only one leg, and is used for shooting smooth 360-degree videos.
  • Panoramic tripod head: In addition to a tripod that holds your camera steady, virtual tours and 360-degree photos will require a tripod head for panoramic photos. Evaluate whether you need a manual or automatic tripod head.
  • Carry case: While this may seem like an optional piece of equipment, it’s necessary to keep your equipment safe, secure, and easy to transport around the property.

On the other hand, advanced 360-degree cameras provide higher quality photography and videography with more extensive tools, features, and accessories.

Here are a few of the top virtual tour cameras on the market:

In addition to having the correct equipment, having good quality software is essential for learning how to make a virtual walk-through. There are a variety of software programs at every price point, and they help you create different types of tours.

Make sure you research your equipment and software options to ensure that all of your purchases work together effectively. Read through reviews, compare prices and features, and search for examples of photos taken with each type of camera to help you decide on the best fit for your needs.

To start, check out the following four top virtual tour software programs:

As you learn how to create a virtual tour, you’ll find that it requires more planning and preparation than still photos. Those who are successful in real estate know how to develop systems to improve their listing process and overall success.

Start by making a list of every room in the house that should be included in the virtual tour walk-through. Before the shoot, walk through the home, find the center of each room, and make sure your camera will be able to capture and highlight the features of each room from that vantage point.

Dollhouse view of a real estate 3D virtual tour from Matterport

Matterport 3D dollhouse (Source: Matterport )

If the center doesn’t work, find a place where your camera will pick up the most detail and mark the spot with a piece of tape. Don’t forget that every space matters to a potential buyer, so it’s important to include rooms like bathrooms, walk-in closets, and mudrooms in your virtual tour. Creating a shot list ahead of time can help make sure you don’t leave anything out.

Download our free virtual tour shot checklist to get started:

FILE TO DOWNLOAD OR INTEGRATE

Virtual tour shot checklist template.

Thank you for downloading!

5. clean & stage each room.

With your virtual tour plan in hand, make sure the home is physically prepared for the photo shoot. At a minimum, remove anything that stands in the way of the lens or anything that might be distracting or look like clutter. In addition, consider using additional home staging tips like depersonalizing, removing excess or mismatched furniture, or even adding a new coat of paint.

Sample virtual staging from BoxBrownie

Living room before and after virtual staging with BoxBrownie (Source: Facebook )

For the best results, consider in-person home staging or using a virtual staging company . Staging a home has an enormous impact on the buyer’s perspective, especially in virtual home tours where they are likely to zoom in on photos and actively search around each room.

Top virtual staging companies, like BoxBrownie, create highly realistic images for an affordable price with an incredibly fast turnaround. Virtual staging with BoxBrownie enables you to produce the most efficient and effective strategy, driving maximum traffic to your listings.

Visit Box Brownie

As you learn how to make virtual walk-throughs, there are certain steps you must remember to take for every shot. Making sure your tripod is level will only take a few seconds, but it’s essential for any image, video, 360-degree, or panoramic photo you’ll take. In real estate photography , having clear lines and angles is absolutely essential. Don’t try to create panoramic or 360-degree images without a level place to put your camera.

Image of a tripod with level lines against the wall and floor

If your tripod does not come with a built-in bubble level, simply download a leveling tool on your smartphone, like Bubble Level for iPhone or iHandy Level . Level the tripod by adjusting the legs until the bubble is centered between the lines.

At the beginning of your shoot, test each shot on your image list. As you learn how to make a virtual tour that generates leads , you’ll notice specific details that need to be adjusted, like lighting, the camera angle, or oddly placed decor.

360 camera taking real estate photos for a virtual tour

Real estate photoshoot with Matterport camera (Source: Mantle Realty )

If you notice something distracting in the shot, move the camera or stage the items in the room accordingly. Keep an eye on any mirrors, glass, or windows, making sure you and your camera do not appear as a reflection in the pictures. If you do, pick a different place to stand and operate the camera remotely.

With a thorough shot list and the correct camera settings, you’ll be ready to move through each room on the property to take pictures. Find the spot you planned in each room, set up your tripod, and take pictures. Check each image on the camera screen before moving the tripod, retake shots as needed, and confirm you have all the images you need before moving on to the next room. It’s better to have too many photos than too few.

Once you have all of the correct shots of the property, it’s time to create the virtual tour with your software. Regardless of what equipment and tools you need, the process of how to make a 3D tour will generally follow these three steps:

  • Upload Images to Software
  • Add Extra Features
  • Consider Outsourcing the Virtual Tour

Uploading images to the EyeSpy360 virtual tour software

Uploading images to virtual tour software (Source: EyeSpy360 )

Start by uploading your images into your software program. If it’s your first time creating a virtual tour, the software may teach you how to make a virtual tour through step-by-step prompts. Go through the steps of adding static or panoramic images, and the software will stitch static images together for 3D virtual tours and assemble the panoramic photos for 360-degree tours.

Adding hotspots in an iStaging virtual tour

Virtual tour creator (Source: iStaging )

Most software programs include additional features to improve your tour and enhance the viewer’s experience. These can include audio descriptions, interactive links (also called hotspots), music, or text. Depending on your software choice, click on settings or the edit button to get a choice of extra features to add to your virtual tour. Viewers will be able to back up, zoom, or change directions automatically with their mouse when the virtual tour is complete.

Real estate virtual tour freelancers in Fiverr

Virtual tour freelancers (Source: Fiverr )

Virtual tour software providers have made the process very simple, but that doesn’t mean every agent has the knack for editing videos or learning high-tech software programs. Many new real estate agents attempt to do everything themselves, but there are many cases when outsourcing is the most efficient way to create a virtual reality tour, 3D tour, or floor plan.

It’s easy to find a professional freelancer to help make a virtual tour on Fiverr. Just search for a virtual tour freelancer and browse through hundreds of profiles, examples, and reviews. Before beginning your project, you can even contact freelancers to ask questions and agree on a price. See who’s available on Fiverr today.

Visit Fiverr

Once you’ve finished creating your virtual tour, take every opportunity to advertise it on your listing. Many virtual tour software programs provide a link or HTML code to embed the tour on websites, emails, or social media. In fact, it’s best to develop a system for sharing and promoting your tour and add that to your marketing or open house checklist .

Here are some of the best places to share your tour for maximum reach:

  • On your IDX website
  • Single-property websites
  • Zillow listing
  • Email campaign
  • Social media
  • Real estate newsletter

Branded virtual tour example with real estate logo

Virtual tour with real estate logo (Source: Ricoh360 Tours )

Statistics & Benefits of Creating a Virtual Tour

Although there are many tools on the market to make the process of creating a virtual tour easier, the reality is that it requires additional time, money, and attention to complete. It’s important for you to evaluate whether or not this is a crucial element of your real estate listing marketing plan .

Real estate virtual tour statistics

However, there are a few major benefits to creating and publishing VR tours:

  • Fewer wasted appointments: Although it’s great to have a large pool of interested buyers, it’s extremely frustrating when you spend time scheduling and managing showing appointments for buyers who aren’t interested in purchasing the listing. Virtual tours help many buyers self-eliminate, and studies show that they can reduce wasted viewings by about 40% .
  • Appeal to a wider audience: You may be surprised at the number of potential buyers who are moving from out of state or are unable to visit properties for other reasons. Since virtual tours provide a more realistic view of the home, you may receive offers without even having to schedule a showing. In fact, almost 90% of prospective buyers stated they are more interested in a property with a 3D tour that allows them to take digital measurements of rooms. Additionally, 55% of buyers said they would be willing to purchase a home sight unseen if it had a virtual tour.
  • Give your listing a competitive edge: Zillow listings with a virtual tour receive an average of 68% more views . If you want to attract the largest number of potential buyers, virtual tours are an incredible strategy.
  • Generate more listing leads: In a study by Matterport , 83% of Millennials and 94% of GenZers stated they would prefer to work with an agent who offered virtual tours.

Virtual tours provide potential buyers with a unique, fun, and engaging tool to view a property online. There are a few different types of virtual tours that can help your real estate listings generate significantly more interest and increase the sale price. With the right equipment, software, and strategy, learning how to make a virtual tour can be relatively simple and can make a big impact on your business.

About the Author

Kaylee Strozyk

Find Kaylee On LinkedIn

Kaylee Strozyk

Kaylee Strozyk is a regular contributor for Fit Small Business, specializing in real estate. She's a freelance SEO copywriter for real estate, B2B, and SaaS companies

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making virtual reality tour

How to Create a 360 Virtual Tour

making virtual reality tour

Creating a 360 virtual tour is a simple yet powerful step towards enhancing your business or selling a home.

In this guide, we will explore the benefits of 360 virtual tours, discuss the importance of staging, and provide step-by-step instructions on how to create impressive virtual tours. Whether you are a real estate agency or an entrepreneur looking for a lucrative business opportunity, this guide will equip you with the knowledge you need to leverage the potential of 360 virtual tours.

To further enhance your understanding and expertise in the world of creating 360 virtual tours, it is highly recommended to delve into a wealth of knowledge available on this subject. By exploring these topics below, you can gain valuable insights and acquire the skills necessary to take your virtual tours to the next level.

making virtual reality tour

Benefits of 360 Virtual Tours

Let's explore the key advantages:

Enhanced Visual Experience:

360 virtual tours provide an immersive and interactive visual experience, allowing potential buyers or clients to explore properties or businesses from the comfort of their homes.

Broadened Reach:

With virtual tours, you can attract long-distance buyers or clients who may find it challenging to visit properties in person. This expands your reach and saves time by narrowing down potential leads to those genuinely interested.

Time and Cost Savings:

Virtual tours eliminate the need for numerous in-person property visits, saving both real estate agents and potential buyers valuable time and resources. It streamlines the process and allows you to focus on more qualified leads.

Staging Homes for Success:

What is the role of staging in creating a compelling virtual tour? Staging plays a crucial role in making properties look visually appealing and inviting to potential buyers.

making virtual reality tour

How to Stage a Home?

Before showing a home in any capacity whether in-person or a 360 virtual tour it is important to take several aspects into account. Cleaning is the easiest way to achieve a more visually pleasing space. Furnishing and remodeling can be expensive, but decluttering and clearing the space is a free option; a simple step towards reaching buyers. 

Here's how to stage a home effectively:

A visually pleasing space starts with thorough cleaning. Decluttering and clearing the space are cost-effective options that instantly enhance the visual appeal. For those wanting to spend more money on staging, an option is to hire an interior designer and refurnish.

Furniture and Design:

Consider hiring an interior designer who specializes in home staging, or take a DIY approach by arranging furniture in a way that creates a sense of space and allows potential buyers to envision themselves living in the home. When doing so, the goal is not to make the home personalized. The purpose of design is to impact potential buyers or to create space buyers see themselves living. An interior designer specializes in home staging, however, staging can be done easily for free. 

Creating a 360 Virtual Tour

360 virtual tours are easy to create and extremely beneficial in selling a home or property. Learning how to create a 360 virtual tour not only enhances the likelihood of selling a home but can make you a unique asset. How can you create a captivating 360 virtual tour? Follow these steps:

The first and most significant step is staging the home. When doing so, make sure to declutter and clean. Take care of any noticeable flaws such as painting and fixing any damage. Right before creating the tour, double-check that everything is in place, all drawers are closed, and nothing is left on the floors.

Lighting makes all the difference when creating the most successful and aesthetically pleasing virtual tour. Before capturing the panorama, turn all the lights on in the home. Make sure to take advantage of natural lighting as well; natural lighting is perfect in creating a bright and inviting home. Walk through the home and open all the blinds to access as much natural light as possible. 

Place a 360 Camera on a 360 panoramic camera stand. When placing the camera on the stand make sure the camera is firmly screwed in and the camera stand is stable. A great 360 camera for creating 360 tours is a 360 Insta 1x camera. The 1x is the older model, the newer models may have better features depending on budget. 

Camera placement is crucial for the outcome. The rule of thumb is to set the camera stand to 5 ft. If the camera stand is too high or too low the shot will not be ideal. The camera must also be placed at the same height for every shot, including other rooms in the tour. Make sure to always place the camera in the center of the room for the best results. 

Check camera settings, every camera is different, but the goal is to make sure the camera settings are on panorama so that the camera takes a shot of the whole room. On the 360 Insta camera, the setting will be called “optimal 360 tours.” Most cameras will have the option to delay the camera from capturing the panorama, use that setting to make sure there is time to exit the room. 

Unlocking the Virtual Tour Experience: Discover More Essential Insights

making virtual reality tour

We believe that in order to become an expert in any field, it's crucial to lay a solid foundation by mastering the basics. We understand that delving into a new topic can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially when faced with unfamiliar key terms and jargon. But fear not! We are here to guide you and expand your knowledge of key terms in the exciting world of 360 virtual tours.

Understanding these essential key terms is the first step towards gaining confidence and expertise in creating immersive virtual experiences. And the good news is, with the help of CloudPano, even first-time users can easily grasp these concepts.

360 Photo: Step into a World of Immersive Imagery with CloudPano

Imagine being transported to a breathtaking landscape, surrounded by the sights and sounds of a captivating scene. A 360 photo makes this possible by capturing a complete view of a location or environment in all directions.

What it is: With CloudPano, a cutting-edge platform, you can effortlessly capture, upload, and showcase your own 360 photos. These photos allow viewers to explore and interact with the image, providing a truly immersive experience that goes beyond traditional photography.

How it works: By leveraging the power of CloudPano, you can easily create stunning 360 photos using compatible devices. Once captured, you can upload them to the platform, where they are seamlessly integrated into a user-friendly interface.

Benefits and applications: Whether you're a travel enthusiast, a real estate agent, or a business owner, 360 photos offer a unique way to engage your audience. With CloudPano, you can showcase your property, destination, or products in a compelling and interactive manner, leaving a lasting impression on your viewers.

360 Scene: Unveiling the Power of Virtual Spaces with CloudPano

Picture yourself stepping into a virtual world where you can explore any location or space from the comfort of your own device. A 360 scene brings this possibility to life by digitally representing a place or environment captured from all angles using a 360 camera. CloudPano empowers you to create captivating and interactive 360 scenes by seamlessly stitching together multiple 360 photos or videos. This comprehensive virtual experience allows users to immerse themselves in a location as if they were physically present. Using CloudPano's intuitive tools and advanced technology, you can effortlessly create dynamic 360 scenes. By strategically placing cameras and capturing various perspectives, you can craft a seamless and immersive virtual space.

Benefits and applications: From showcasing architectural designs to creating virtual tours of museums or historical sites, 360 scenes offer endless possibilities. With CloudPano, you can transport your audience to any place and provide them with an unforgettable virtual journey.

Hotspot: Guiding Your Virtual Explorations with CloudPano's Interactive Hotspots

Close your eyes and imagine yourself wandering through a virtual environment, seamlessly navigating between different scenes or points of interest. Hotspots make this exploration possible by serving as interactive elements that guide users within a virtual tour.

What it is: With CloudPano, you can effortlessly create and customize hotspots, enhancing the interactivity and navigation of your virtual tours. These hotspots act as signposts, allowing viewers to seamlessly transition from one scene to another, uncovering new areas of interest along the way. CloudPano's user-friendly interface empowers you to easily add and customize hotspots within your virtual tours. You can define the destinations, set the appearance and behavior of each hotspot, and provide informative tooltips to enrich the user experience. Whether you're showcasing a real estate property, a tourist destination, or an educational exhibit, hotspots play a crucial role in guiding your viewers' exploration. With CloudPano, you can ensure a seamless and engaging virtual tour experience for your audience.

Logo: Enhancing Your Virtual Tours with Customized Branding on CloudPano

Imagine introducing your audience to a virtual tour that not only showcases your offering but also reinforces your brand identity. A logo serves as a visual symbol that represents your brand, and CloudPano allows you to seamlessly incorporate it into your virtual tours. With CloudPano, you have the ability to add your own logo to your virtual tours, ensuring brand consistency and recognition throughout the entire experience. By customizing the placement and appearance of your logo, you can strengthen your brand presence within the virtual environment.

How it works: CloudPano's intuitive platform makes it effortless to add your logo to your virtual tours. Simply upload your logo image, select the desired placement within the interface, and adjust its size and transparency to achieve the desired effect. Adding your logo to virtual tours helps establish your brand as a reliable and recognizable presence. Whether you're a real estate agent, a travel agency, or a business owner, incorporating your logo through CloudPano elevates your virtual tour's professionalism and reinforces your unique identity.

Micro Features: Elevating User Experience with CloudPano's Customizable Tools

Imagine having a set of finely tuned tools that enhance the overall user experience within a virtual tour. Micro features, such as customizable icons, tooltips, and navigation controls, add a layer of sophistication and interactivity to the CloudPano platform.

What they are: CloudPano not only provides a range of powerful features for creating virtual tours but also offers micro features that make a significant impact on user engagement. These small yet impactful functionalities enable users to navigate, explore, and interact seamlessly within the virtual environment.

How they work: With CloudPano's user-friendly interface, you can easily customize icons, tooltips, and navigation controls. Tailor them to match your branding, adjust their behavior, and provide informative tooltips to guide and engage your audience throughout the virtual tour.

Benefits and applications: The thoughtful inclusion of micro features within your virtual tours elevates the overall user experience. By leveraging CloudPano's customizable tools, you can create a highly engaging and interactive environment that captivates your audience and leaves a lasting impression.

making virtual reality tour

How to Create a 360 Virtual Tour from your Phone

Creating a professional virtual tour does not require expensive equipment or hardware. Like most things, creating a 3D virtual tour can be done on a phone. With a simple app download, selling a home can be made quicker and easier.

The CloudPano mobile app is free to download and intuitive for users. Utilizing the app makes creating a 3D virtual tour accessible, without having to buy a 360 camera or a camera stand. 

How to Create a 360 Virtual Tour with CloudPano App:

Download the CloudPano app.  

If further instruction is needed the top right corner of the app has step-by-step directions on how to use the app. The app is very simple to use, and with practice, great results will follow. 

When creating a 360 virtual tour on the app the camera must be vertical, fortunately, the app will notify if the camera is not vertical. Similar to using a camera and camera stand, it is best to aim for the same height in every room. Again, the rule of thumb is 5ft. The best way to achieve consistent height is by creating a reference point such as shoulder height.

The fourth step is fairly simple, just tap anywhere to start.

Take notice of the Yin and Yang symbol. The Yin and Yang should be separated, Slowly turn the camera, until the Yin and Yang are connected. Pause briefly once the Yin and Yang meet then continue turning until the whole room is captured. On another note, there is a light that will turn green if everything is running smoothly. 

The panorama will automatically save to your camera roll and move on to the next room until complete.

Virtual Tour: Unlocking Immersive Experiences with CloudPano's Multimedia Presentations

Imagine transporting your audience to a simulated or real-world environment, allowing them to explore and interact remotely. CloudPano specializes in creating virtual tours that combine 360-degree images, videos, and interactive elements, unlocking immersive experiences for viewers.

What it is: A virtual tour is a multimedia presentation that replicates the feeling of being physically present in a specific location. CloudPano's expertise lies in curating virtual tours that engage users by providing them with a comprehensive and interactive exploration of the environment.

How it works: With CloudPano's platform, you can create virtual tours by seamlessly integrating 360-degree images, videos, and interactive elements. By connecting scenes, adding hotspots, and customizing the tour's flow, you transport your audience into an immersive virtual experience.

Benefits and applications: Virtual tours have diverse applications across industries such as real estate, tourism, education, and entertainment. Whether you're showcasing properties, promoting destinations, or providing educational experiences, CloudPano's virtual tour capabilities enable you to captivate and engage your audience in a unique and immersive way.

Add Scenes: Crafting Immersive Journeys with CloudPano's Scene Integration

Imagine guiding your audience through a captivating virtual journey, seamlessly transitioning between different areas or points of interest. CloudPano's scene integration feature empowers you to create virtual tours with multiple scenes, allowing users to navigate and explore each viewpoint. CloudPano's platform enables you to easily add scenes to your virtual tours, providing users with a rich and immersive experience. By connecting scenes with hotspots, you create a seamless transition between different areas, fostering a sense of discovery and engagement. Within CloudPano's intuitive interface, you can effortlessly add scenes to your virtual tour. By capturing multiple viewpoints using 360-degree images or videos, you can curate a compelling narrative and guide your audience through an interactive exploration of your chosen environment.

Benefits and applications: Adding scenes to your virtual tours enhances the storytelling potential and user engagement. Whether you're showcasing a real estate property, an architectural masterpiece, or a tourist destination, CloudPano's scene integration empowers you to craft immersive journeys that captivate and inspire your audience.

Floor Plans: Unlocking Spatial Understanding within Virtual Tours with CloudPano

CloudPano offers more than just stunning 360-degree visual content in virtual tours. It allows users to incorporate interactive floor plans, enhancing spatial understanding. By seamlessly transitioning between the immersive visuals and detailed floor plans, viewers can gain comprehensive knowledge of the space's layout and organization. This unique feature enriches the virtual experience, providing practical insights and educational opportunities. Explore, understand, and appreciate spaces like never before with CloudPano's fusion of visuals and interactive floor plans.

What they are: Floor plans are 2D representations of a space, providing a bird's-eye view of the layout, dimensions, and flow. CloudPano allows you to seamlessly integrate floor plans within your virtual tours, enabling viewers to navigate and comprehend the space's spatial arrangement. Within CloudPano's platform, you can easily import and incorporate floor plans into your virtual tours. By placing interactive hotspots on the floor plans, users can explore different areas of the space, gaining a deeper understanding of its structure and functionality. Including floor plans within virtual tours is especially valuable in real estate, architecture, or event planning. By providing viewers with a visual representation of the space's layout, CloudPano's floor plan integration enhances their understanding and facilitates decision-making.

Watermark: Preserving Your Brand's Identity with CloudPano's Watermarking Feature

With CloudPano's watermarking feature, you can confidently share your virtual tours, knowing that your content is protected and tied to your brand. By adding visible overlays or marks, CloudPano ensures that your ownership, branding, or copyright information is prominently displayed, giving you peace of mind and maintaining the integrity of your content. Watermarks are essential elements in protecting your intellectual property. CloudPano's platform provides the capability to add watermarks to your virtual tours, ensuring that your content remains secure and associated with your brand. With CloudPano's intuitive interface, you can easily upload and position watermarks within your virtual tours. Whether it's your logo, copyright notice, or branding elements, the watermarking feature allows you to visually assert ownership and protect your virtual tour content.

Watermarks add a layer of professionalism and security to your virtual tours. Whether you're a photographer, a real estate agent, or a business showcasing your products or services, CloudPano's watermarking feature ensures your content is attributed to your brand, safeguarding its integrity and preventing unauthorized use.

Editor: Unleashing Creativity and Customization with CloudPano's Web-Based Editor

Imagine having complete control over the customization and fine-tuning of your virtual tours, creating an engaging and personalized experience for your audience. CloudPano's comprehensive web-based editor equips you with intuitive controls to craft and shape your virtual tours to perfection.

What it is: CloudPano's editor is a powerful tool that allows you to customize and fine-tune every aspect of your virtual tours. From adjusting scenes to adding hotspots, embedding media, and applying various customization options, the editor empowers you to unleash your creativity and create captivating virtual experiences.

How it works: Within CloudPano's platform, the web-based editor provides an intuitive interface where you can make real-time modifications to your virtual tours. With easy-to-use controls, you can customize scenes, add interactive hotspots, embed images or videos, and tailor the tour's overall look and feel.

Benefits and applications: CloudPano's editor is ideal for anyone seeking complete creative control over their virtual tours. Whether you're a professional photographer, a marketer, or a business owner, the editor's versatility and customization options enable you to create visually stunning and engaging virtual experiences.

Beyond the Surface: Unveiling Deeper Meaning of Virtual Tours

New Window: Seamlessly Integrate Your Virtual Tours with CloudPano's New Window Feature

Imagine browsing a website and stumbling upon a captivating virtual tour. With the new window feature offered by CloudPano, you can seamlessly embed your virtual tours within websites or launch them in a separate browser window or tab, allowing for an immersive and uninterrupted experience.

What it is: CloudPano empowers you to integrate your virtual tours into your online presence effortlessly. By opening the tours in a new window, you provide a seamless transition from your website to the immersive virtual environment, enhancing user engagement and exploration.

How it works: With CloudPano's intuitive platform, you can easily generate an embed code or link that opens your virtual tour in a new window. This ensures that your audience can fully immerse themselves in the experience while maintaining a seamless connection to your website.

Benefits and applications: Whether you're a real estate agent showcasing properties, a travel agency presenting destinations, or a business highlighting your space, the new window feature allows for a captivating and uninterrupted exploration of your virtual tours, seamlessly integrated into your online presence.

Video Call: Exploring the Boundaries of Virtual Communication with CloudPano

Imagine the ability to communicate with others in real-time, seeing and hearing them as if you were physically present. While CloudPano primarily focuses on creating immersive virtual tours, it does not currently offer built-in video calling functionality. Video calls have revolutionized the way we connect and collaborate, bringing people closer regardless of their physical location. Although CloudPano's primary focus is on creating captivating virtual tours, it doesn't currently provide native video calling features within its platform.

Alternative solutions: To facilitate real-time communication alongside your virtual tours, you can integrate popular video calling platforms like Zoom or Microsoft Teams. By including links or buttons within your virtual tours, you can seamlessly transition between the immersive environment and live video calls. While CloudPano doesn't offer native video calling, you can leverage external video calling solutions to enhance your virtual tour experience. This integration enables you to engage with clients, collaborate with team members, or provide interactive guided tours, fostering a deeper connection and understanding.

Infospot: Unveiling Hidden Gems within Your Virtual Tours using CloudPano's Interactive Infospots

Imagine exploring a virtual tour and coming across an interactive element that reveals valuable information and enriches your understanding of a specific point of interest. Infospots within CloudPano's virtual tours bring this possibility to life. Infospots are interactive elements placed within a virtual tour that provide additional context, information, or details about a specific feature or point of interest.

CloudPano allows you to easily add infospots, enhancing the overall engagement and educational value of your tours. Within CloudPano's intuitive interface, you can position and customize infospots to highlight key features, showcase product details, or provide relevant information. By clicking or interacting with these spots, users gain access to supplementary content, enriching their virtual tour experience. Infospots serve as powerful tools to engage your audience, offer educational value, and encourage exploration within your virtual tours. Whether you're showcasing historical landmarks, guiding museum visitors, or providing detailed product information, infospots create a dynamic and interactive environment.

Share Accounts: Collaborate and Empower Your Team with CloudPano's Share Account Feature

Imagine working on a virtual tour project with multiple team members or clients, each having their designated level of access and contribution. CloudPano's share account feature makes collaborative and streamlined project management a reality.

CloudPano enables you to create and share access to virtual tours by setting up multiple user accounts. This feature allows you to grant different levels of permission to team members or clients, empowering them to view, edit, or manage specific projects or tours. Within CloudPano's platform, you can easily invite team members or clients to collaborate by assigning them specific roles and permissions. This ensures that each stakeholder has the appropriate level of access and can contribute effectively to the project.

Benefits and applications: The share account feature simplifies collaboration and project management within CloudPano. Whether you're working with a team of photographers, designers, or clients, this feature streamlines communication, enhances productivity, and enables seamless coordination on virtual tour projects.

Capture 360 Photo: Unleash Your Creativity with CloudPano's Effortless 360 Photo Integration

Imagine capturing stunning 360 photos and seamlessly incorporating them into your virtual tours or using them as standalone visual assets. CloudPano's user-friendly interface empowers you to unleash your creativity and bring your vision to life. CloudPano provides a seamless integration for capturing and uploading 360 photos directly from compatible cameras or mobile devices. These photos can then be effortlessly integrated into virtual tours, enhancing the immersive experience and captivating your audience.

How it works: With CloudPano, you can easily import and integrate your 360 photos into your virtual tours. The intuitive platform allows you to upload your photos, arrange them within the tour, and create a cohesive narrative that takes your audience on a captivating visual journey. Whether you're a professional photographer, a real estate agent, or a business owner, CloudPano's 360 photo integration offers endless possibilities. From showcasing properties to creating virtual travel experiences, the ability to capture and incorporate 360 photos enriches your virtual tour content, captivating and engaging your audience.

making virtual reality tour

Why CloudPano is the Best Tour Software?

Creating 360 virtual tours provides numerous opportunities for real estate. 3D virtual tours save real estate agents from spending hours on end taking potential buyers to different homes.  Virtual tours eliminate homes clients are uninterested in purchasing and only show homes eligible for purchase. 

360 virtual tours are not only beneficial for narrowing houses down to purchase but an avenue to reach long-distance buyers. Shopping for long-distance moves can be difficult, and in-person tours are hardly an option without major spending. 

CloudPano is a software that makes creating 360 virtual tours look professional all while being user-friendly and intuitive. 

Floor Plan Hot Spots : With this feature, you can create interactive hot spots on a 2D floor plan. Hot spots act as clickable areas that provide additional information or navigation options within the virtual tour, allowing viewers to explore specific points of interest in the property.

2D Floor Plan : The CloudPano app enables you to include a 2D floor plan in your virtual tour. This feature gives viewers a bird's-eye view of the property layout and helps them navigate through different rooms or areas of the space.

3D Dollhouse : The 3D Dollhouse feature allows viewers to visualize the property from various angles and perspectives. It provides a comprehensive view of the entire property, enabling a better understanding of the spatial layout.

Thumbnail Tours : Thumbnail tours provide a convenient way for viewers to navigate through multiple virtual tours. They are a collection of small preview images that represent different sections or rooms within the property. By clicking on a thumbnail, viewers can jump directly to that specific area of the virtual tour.

Live Chat Call : This feature allows you to engage with potential buyers or clients in real-time during their virtual tour experience. Viewers can communicate with you through live chat, asking questions or seeking additional information about the property.

VR Mode : Virtual Reality (VR) mode provides an immersive experience for viewers by enabling them to explore the virtual tour using VR headsets . This feature enhances the sense of presence and allows for a more interactive and engaging tour experience.

Capture Leads : The CloudPano app offers lead capture forms that you can integrate into your virtual tours. This enables you to collect valuable contact information from potential buyers or clients, facilitating follow-up communication and conversion opportunities.

Google Street View : CloudPano allows you to integrate your virtual tours with Google Street View. By linking your tours to the Google Street View platform, you can expand the visibility of your virtual tours and reach a wider audience.

Integration with Realtor.com : CloudPano provides seamless integration with Realtor.com, a popular online platform for real estate listings. This integration allows you to showcase your virtual tours directly on Realtor.com listings, increasing exposure for your properties.

Connects to Zillow : CloudPano also offers integration with Zillow, another widely used real estate platform. By connecting your virtual tours to Zillow listings, you can attract more potential buyers and provide them with an immersive tour experience.

Customize Themes : The app provides various customizable themes for your virtual tours. You can choose from different styles and designs to match the branding or aesthetics of your business or property.

Team Editing : CloudPano allows multiple team members to collaborate on virtual tour creation. This feature enables efficient teamwork and streamlines the process of creating and editing tours, especially in a collaborative work environment.

Referral Programs : CloudPano offers referral programs that allow you to earn rewards or benefits by referring others to use the platform. These programs incentivize users to share the benefits of CloudPano with their network and expand its user base.

Access to a Private Facebook Group : As a CloudPano subscriber, you gain access to a private Facebook group. This community provides a platform for sharing ideas, tips, and experiences with other users, fostering collaboration and learning within the CloudPano community.

These features provided by the CloudPano subscription enhance the functionality and customization options for your virtual tours, empowering you to create engaging and professional experiences for your audience.

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Visit CloudPano.com and embark on your journey towards creating captivating virtual tours that leave a lasting impression.

360 Virtual Tours With CloudPano.com. Get Started Today.

Try it free. No credit card required. Instant set-up.

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Captivate Your Audience: Homes Ideal for 3D House Tours

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A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Virtual Home Tour

concept photo, woman looking at 3-D house on tablet

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The COVID-19 economy has pumped up consumer demand for virtual home tours. These presentations, created using 360-degree and 3D tour technology, provide an immersive experience for viewing homes while limiting in-person contact.

Virtual tours give buyers a perspective on the home’s layout and flow that can’t be achieved with still photos, says consultant Jeff Turner of Santa Clarita, Calif. The tours help buyers weed out houses that are in their price range but that don’t fit their style, says Turner, a consultant to virtual-tour provider Immoviewer and entrepreneur in residence at Second Century Ventures and Reach , the National Association of REALTORS®’ strategic investment arm and award-winning technology accelerator. “Consumers are hungry for the opportunity to have a better online shopping experience, and to me, that’s the promise of 3D, 360-degree virtual tours.”

Data shows that virtual tours drive sales, says Amir Frank, a content manager at Matterport in Sunnyvale, Calif. Matterport studied MLS transaction data from the South, Southwest, Northwest, and Midwest from November 2016 to November 2019. The results showed listings with a 3D tour sold for up to 9% more and closed up to 31% faster than listings without them.

The cost and complexity of virtual tour technology have come down in recent years, making these tours more accessible for real estate professionals. To help you create exceptional virtual home tours, here’s a step-by-step guide to gathering equipment; preparing to shoot and edit the photos; uploading and editing the images; creating the tour from walkthrough to exit on an online platform; and publishing and marketing the tours.

Step 1: Choose Your Equipment and Platform

“We’re in the golden age of 360-degree cameras,” says Turner. “I’ve got within my grasp, right now, six different 360 cameras. All cost between $250 and $500. The cost shouldn’t be a barrier for anyone who’s doing any volume of home sales. I have a 3,400-square-foot house here in Southern California, and I can capture and turn this into a usable tour in less than 20 minutes.

“These are one-click tools,” he adds. “You don’t have to focus them. And the quality of these low-cost cameras has been improving over time dramatically.”

“To shoot a 2,000-square-foot home, it takes this [Ricoh Theta V] between five and 10 minutes,” agrees Peter Schravemade of Maroochydore, Queensland, in Australia, relationship manager for Box Brownie, a company that offers turnkey photo editing, virtual tours, and other services for real estate pros.

Besides its affordability and speed, says Schravemade, the Ricoh camera allows you to “bracket” to create the best possible images. Bracketing means taking the same photo multiple times, each with a different exposure, which helps ensure your tour includes exceptional interior and exterior views. He recommends shooting from three to five different exposures, then editing them together to create a bracketed image.

Matterport’s higher price results from its function as both a camera and a scanner, taking 360-degree tour photos, then creating a dollhouse-like floor plan. The floor plan is the major advantage, says Bill Lublin, CEO of Century 21 Advantage Gold in Philadelphia. Using the “dollhouse” format, viewers can go from room to room easily. However, it takes one to two hours to upload the Matterport tour, so it’s a slower process than what the Ricoh products offer.

Whatever 360-degree camera you use, you’ll also have to download a smartphone app or invest in a hosting platform for your tours. You’ll upload your photos to that platform for storing, editing, and sharing.

Step 2: Organize Photography, Lighting, and Camera Placement

Before you start shooting, open your photography app or hosting platform, and then place your 360-degree camera on your tripod. “I like to take photos exactly how I would move through a house,” says Turner, “starting with the exterior.” Take one photo from across the street and another in the front yard. Photograph both sides of the house if there’s room for your gear; then move around the house, and capture the backyard. When you’ve finished shooting the exterior, open the front door and photograph the entryway. Before taking interior shots, open doors and turn on all the lights. Open blinds and curtains, unless the view detracts from the image. “Then navigate through the house and take photos, as many as is necessary to allow people to flow through it.”

Inside, place the tripod in the center of each room with the camera set at eye height, above furniture and countertops. Then leave the room to take the photo using the smartphone app. You can take one photo per room, unless you’re bracketing your exposures or the size of the room requires more. Large rooms may need two or three images from different positions.

A Matterport camera requires a different workflow. The camera scans every corner of the room, creating a 3D dollhouse-like floor plan. Frank suggests starting at the lowest level and working your way up. Position the camera to take shots from the center of hallways and at each room’s entryway. Then put your Matterport camera in each corner of the room to create a feel for room size; the number of photos will assist the software as it forms the 3D dollhouse model.

Step 3: Upload the Tour

There are hundreds of 360-degree tour providers and hosting platforms, including Matterport, Ricoh360 Tours, Ogulo, Immoviewer, Box Brownie, Giraffe360, and EyeSpy360, says Schravemade. Many have apps that upload your photos as you take them. Editing tools on many of the platforms will stitch your images together for a seamless tour experience.

Costs vary by platform and complexity. Immoviewer has a subscription model that runs from $69 per month for five active tours to $159 per month for 20. Box Brownie uses a pay-as-you-go model in which a tour with up to 15 photos costs $16, one with 16 to 25 photos costs $24; options for image enhancement start at $1.60, and 360-degree virtual staging is priced at $64. The more complex Matterport tours fall in the $250 to $400 range.

Step 4: Create the Tour, From Walkthrough to Exit

Many editing programs, including Box Brownie and Immoviewer, will put your photos in the right sequence as they upload; as long as you take your photos in the order of the flow of the home’s floor plan, they’ll be properly arranged for the virtual tour.

If you’re using Matterport’s software, after you upload your photos, they’re processed into the 3D model in the correct order. You can then start adding “Matter Tags” and highlight reels, embedding videos and brochures, and labeling rooms and dimensions, says Frank.

If you have the editing skills to stitch the images together yourself, Schravemade recommends programs such as Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, available as an online subscription for $9.99 per month as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud package. (A subscription to the full Adobe Creative Cloud costs $52 per month, but most users need only those two apps.)

With Immoviewer, “those tours are live the moment they’re uploaded. So if you’ve got a good [wireless] connection from the house and you use the app, the moment those images are uploaded, that virtual tour is live and ready to go,” Turner says.

Matterport’s detailed scanning and photography process can take a couple of hours to finish uploading. Once that upload completes, it then takes 24 to 48 hours to process. That’s when you’re able to start tagging and adding specs and points of interest. Box Brownie uses manual stitching for its photo editing process and has a 24-hour turnaround, says Schravemade.

Step 5: Publish and Market the Tour on Multiple Channels

Platforms such as realtor.com®, many MLSs, and social media are ideal places for publishing your virtual home tour. You can embed the tour link in email campaigns and text messages or drop it straight into Facebook, says Schravemade.

Once the images and 3D model have been created, Frank says, the Matterport system “automatically generates photos it thinks are usable in your marketing campaigns, as well as a few short teasers, which are great; you can easily download a GIF or MP4 [video] file and use it in your marketing campaigns.”

Make virtual home tours part of everything you can, whether it’s inexpensively with Immoviewer or Box Brownie or more fully immersive with detailed Matterport tours, Lublin advises. “People are more hesitant to enter properties now, but there’s a tremendous demand, and providing them the ability to see and choose to eliminate properties online is a powerful tool,” he says. “You always want to be seen as tech-forward. Now it’s easy to be tech-forward.”

Turner estimates 95% of listings still don’t have a true virtual tour, even amid the pandemic. “I wish [agents] wouldn’t be so hung up on perfect image quality, especially with a virtual tour,” he says. “Do one, get it up there, and give consumers this experience they’re looking for. A 360-degree camera is going to do a really good job of capturing an above-average image of the room.”

What You Need to Create 3D Home Tours

  • Camera: $250–$3,500. Experts interviewed for this article recommended a range of options, including the Ricoh Theta V ($380); Insta360 One X ($456); Ricoh Theta Z1 ($1,000); and Matterport Pro2 ($3,400).
  • Tripod or monopod: $25 to $50
  • Extra battery: $30 to $40
  • Battery charging station: $20 to $40
  • App: Virtual-tour providers have apps that enable you to upload 3D photos to create tours.

On a Budget

For about $15, you can get a selfie stick, attach your smartphone to it, and walk through a listing, narrating as you go and pointing out features people might otherwise see more readily in an in-person tour. It’s not a true virtual tour, but it’s an economical way to create a tour to post to social media and aggregator sites.

Hear From the Experts

The National Association of REALTORS®’ recent three-part TechEdge series took a deep dive into virtual tours. The June 30 session, “The Virtual Agent,” was hosted by broker-owner Bill Lublin and featured Jeff Turner and Peter Schravemade. REALTORS® can purchase a recording of the session for $14.95 at nartechedge.com .

Mandy Ellis

Mandy Ellis

Related content, 10 tips for looking your best on video, 6 steps to running a virtual open house.

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How To Create A Virtual Tour For Real Estate in 2024

Learn how to create an engaging virtual tour for real estate, showcasing properties effectively to captivate potential buyers and enhance listings.

Learn | By Jeff Collier

As an agent hoping to attract prospective clients, you should learn how to create a virtual tour for real estate.

This marketing approach can limit the hassle that comes with normal house tours.

Plus, it significantly saves you time and effort, which real estate agents value greatly!

As a professional photographer, I’m glad to shed some light (pun unintended) on everything related to virtual tours.

I’ll explore their importance for your business and their different types.

Then, I’ll go through step-by-step instructions to help you build a tour that showcases your home’s best features.

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Table of Contents

What Is a Virtual Tour in Real Estate?

In real estate photography, a virtual tour is a screening of the interior and exterior of a property to showcase its features to potential buyers.

How Does a Virtual Tour Work?

Virtual tours try to mimic traditional home tours by allowing the viewer to interact with elements in the house.

It’ll be like they’re standing in each room, looking at every corner from different perspectives without dealing with the flat view of a normal photo.

Depending on the type of virtual tour, it can either engage you in 360-degree photo-realistic visuals or show you a sequence of videos.

What Does a Virtual Tour Consist of?

Normally, virtual tours consist of several 360-degree or panoramic photos stitched together to create the illusion of walking inside the house.

Most of the time, these visuals are accompanied by background music, on-screen text, or narration.

The tour starts from the house’s entry point, and then the screen pans, rotates, or dollies to show you around each room. Based on the nature of the tour, the viewer can either change the viewing angle themselves or follow a predetermined path.

Why Create a Virtual Real Estate Tour?

According to research, 61% of home buyers chose virtual tours as the best technology for evaluating real estate.

It fared better than accurate listing information (58%) and high-quality images (51%).

But what makes virtual tours everyone’s favorite option?

First, these tours are distance-friendly—perfect for people who want to move from one state to another. Second, many people, especially millennials and GenZers, said they’d rather deal with a real estate agent who had virtual tours of homes.

Plus, creating virtual tours helps you reduce wasted appointments. Only invested buyers will contact you after viewing every part of the listed property.

The 3 Different Types of Virtual Real Estate Tours

Before you whip out your photography equipment, you should decide on the type of virtual tour you’d like to make.

1. Walk-through

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Even though it’s the least interactive form of a virtual tour, don’t underestimate the influence of a walk-through. It’s a guided tour that you (as the real estate agent) record while walking around the house.

This video tour is the easiest and requires simple equipment. You can even use your smartphone camera to film a video showing the property.

2. 3D Virtual Tour

A 3D virtual tour involves taking multiple photos of each interior space with a panoramic lens camera. Afterward, these pictures are stitched together to give the illusion of standing inside each room.

Unlike walk-throughs, these 3D tours give your customers more control over what they see, but they require more work on your part.

3. Interactive 360 Virtual Tour

360° virtual reality tours are the most interactive, allowing viewers a lifelike experience of walking through a house. It’s a lot like wearing a virtual reality (VR) headset.

While they’ll give you a competitive edge, 360-degree virtual tours are the most challenging to make, especially without a background in photography. They require special techniques, equipment, and virtual tour software to produce seamless results.

How to Choose the Best Camera for Virtual Real Estate Tours

Virtual real estate tour cameras must capture the finest interior space details.

On the upside, the market is teeming with cameras designed for this purpose.

However, it can be confusing for real estate agents to find the perfect one for their needs. So, consider the following to make a well-informed decision:

  • High-resolution sensors: Go above 4K.
  • Advanced features: AI-powered object recognition, live-streaming abilities, slow-mo, timelapse, and shooting standard single-lens photos
  • Image-stabilization: Necessary for a smooth viewing experience
  • Fisheye lens : To capture wide angles
  • Battery life: Your camera shouldn’t die on you while filming.
  • Your budget restrictions: Balance good video quality and price.
  • 360 capability a bonus: This can speed up the creation of 360 degree virtual tour footage

Editor’s Choice: Insta360 ONE RS 1-INCH 360

Insta360 virtual tour kit.

If you want an action cam that fits real estate virtual tour projects, the Insta360 ONE RS 1-Inch is one of my favorites.

The virtual Tour Kit includes the camera itself and a Mounting Bracket, a Vertical Battery Base, a Lens Cap, a 114cm Invisible Selfie Stick, an all-purpose Tripod, and a 64GB MicroSD card, giving you all the equipment you need to start creating virtual tours.

Videos are captured in up to 6k, giving you tons of detail and the ability to crop into footage digitally.

FlowState Stabilization means that you can hand hold the camera and walk around the property without any perceivable camera jitters to distract the viewer,

Another much-appreciated aspect is that it takes 21-megapixel 360 photos, giving you excellent quality for your real estate images as well as video.

Plus, you’ll like its low-light processing capabilities, thanks to its dual 1-inch sensors, which help your evening house images come to life.

A screenshot of the upgraded workflow.

The ONE RS is compatible with all the top real estate virtual tour software, including Zillow, Matterport, Floorfy, Kuula, 3DVista, Cloudpano, GoThru, OpenSpace, DroneDeploy, and Structionsite.

You can shoot with the Insta360 ONE RS using one of the compatible virtual tour apps and edit and share your content immediately.

How to Choose the Right Virtual Tour Software

As a real estate agent venturing into photography, it might sound like a big deal to select software for a virtual tour.

But don’t fret; the market has loads of options with varying difficulty levels.

You’ll just have to think about these features to find the ideal virtual tour software:

  • Compatibility with your equipment
  • Type of virtual tour it’s made for
  • Video editing tools (beginner-friendly, require some background, or expert use)
  • Advanced features (branding, virtual staging, etc.)

4 Best Virtual Tour Apps for Real Estate

Here are my top three recommendations for a smooth virtual tour creation experience:

  • Matterport: For maximum control over immersive 360-degree tours and 3D videos
  • Asteroom: Offers real estate professionals smartphone compatibility and a user-friendly way to capture virtual tours
  • EyeSpy360: A subscription-free program that supports branding and virtual staging

Zillow 3D Home app: Makes 3D tours using your phone only and shares them on Zillow (but not suitable for sharing anywhere else)

Step-By-Step Guide to Creating a Virtual Real Estate Tour

Now, let’s dive into the specifics of making a real estate virtual tour!

Step 1: Get Your Equipment Ready

Based on the type of virtual tour you intend to shoot, decide on the right software, camera, and other accessories.

If you’ll be using your phone, I suggest buying a fisheye lens adapter to help you get wide-angle shots.

You can invest in a full-fledged DSLR camera for a more professional approach, but it might cost you a small fortune. Don’t forget to purchase a rotating tripod for more stability while you shoot 360-degree views of your rooms.

Next, pair your camera with the ideal software from the earlier list. Remember that your choice also depends on your video editing knowledge and how much you want to be involved with the tour creation process.

Step 2: Plan Your Virtual Tour

Plan the shots by following a prospective buyer’s path when checking out the house.

Your route should be logical, starting from the front door, passing through each room, looking inside closets and bathrooms, etc.

You should also mark where you’ll place your camera to take 360-degree photos.

Ideally, it should be in the center of the room, but small spaces or long hallways will require other camera placements.

Step 3: Clean and Stage the Home in Preparation

A crucial part of preparing the house for your photoshoot is cleaning it thoroughly, especially if it’s still lived in.

Pay attention to windows, mirrors, and other reflective surfaces that indicate a home’s cleanliness.

Otherwise, potential buyers might be put off by any cluttered or dusty areas.

Plus, it’s a good idea to stage the home. Home staging means adding and arranging furniture pieces, accessories, or rugs to give each room an appealing look.

Step 4: Do Lighting and Camera Tests

Test your equipment and make any necessary adjustments.

Think about using natural vs. artificial lighting or a mix of both. Do you need extra equipment to illuminate darker rooms? Are some places too bright that you must adjust your camera settings accordingly?

Also, ensure you and the camera don’t appear on reflective surfaces!

Step 5: Take Your Pictures and Upload Them onto the Software

Lastly, start rolling, going from one room to the next until you’ve completed your planned shots.

Then, upload the photos onto the virtual tour software you’ve chosen. Follow the instructions for the specific program, and consider adding interactive links, narration, or text while editing.

Finish by adding the virtual tour to your property listing or sharing it with your clients.

How to Make a 360° (3D) Virtual Real Estate Tour with iPhone/Android

Here’s how you can achieve decent results by making a 360° virtual real estate tour with your smartphone.

Step 1: Use the Google Street View App

After following the instructions from earlier (planning your shots, doing tests, and home staging), download this app from the Play Store or App Store.

  • Tap on the camera icon, select “Take Photo Sphere,” then point the camera to the orange dot.
  • Take the first photo and repeat the same process until the green box appears.
  • Click on the green box, then select the options to share or save your creation.

Step 2: Upload the 360-degree Images to Your Virtual Tour Software

In this step, you’ll use another mobile app to create your virtual tour called My360.

After signing up, create a new tour profile before clicking “+ Spheres.” You’ll then be prompted to upload the photos you’ve taken.

Wait until the upload is over before you close the app.

Step 3: Finish Creating the Tour Using the Desktop Version

I advise switching to the My360 desktop app to give you maximum control over your photo editing experience.

Once you type in your credentials, you’ll find the pictures you’ve uploaded from your smartphone that are waiting for you to use.

Finally, make your virtual reality tour, then attach it to your property listings.

5 Best Practices When Creating a Virtual Real Estate Tour

Want your virtual reality tour to look like it’s been shot by a professional? Consider these practices that promise incredible results!

1. Use a Shot List

Organization is key when you’re in the planning phase, which is why I suggest you make a shot checklist.

This list should involve every room the tour will cover, preferably chronologically.

For example, the first item could be “Exterior and front yard,” followed by “Front door,” followed by “Proch,” and so on, based on your vision.

2. Level Your Tripod

Ensure your tripod is level so the photos you capture don’t come out uneven.

Here, you may use a bubble level indicator, adjust the center column, or tweak the tripod leg height.

3. Take Test Shots

Test shots are essential, helping you make any corrections to your lights, level of detail, photo depth, and other factors.

They’re also time-efficient, reducing the time wasted if you encounter a problem while taking your final shots.

4. Consider Virtual Staging

Several websites (like iStaging) and virtual tour software services offer virtual staging.

This involves editing your panoramic photos to include furniture, accessories, and home decor. For busy real estate agents, this option can be a hassle-free alternative to traditional home staging.

5. Create Both Branded and Unbranded Versions of Your Tours

In digital marketing, branding is everything because it links everything to the business.

So, when posting on public websites, you should brand the tour with your details to leave a lasting effect on the viewers.

Unbranded versions work best in settings where you can’t use branded ones. This sometimes includes sites that promote your house showing.

FAQs About Creating a Virtual Real Estate Tour

What is a virtual tour camera?

A virtual tour camera has a 360-degree lens , capturing a wide view of each room to include all the details within the shot.

How do you make a good virtual tour?

You need suitable equipment, strong virtual tour software, careful planning, and a good understanding of how to show each property in its best light.

Usually, finding the right formula comes with experience.

How can I make a virtual tour for real estate for free?

You may use Google Street View and My360 to make virtual tours without spending money on equipment or software subscriptions.

Can I create a virtual tour for real estate online?

Unfortunately, an online service doesn’t allow you to make a virtual tour without downloading desktop or smartphone software.

How do I create an interactive virtual tour?

You’ll need an app that supports virtual reality, such as iStaging, Kuula, and CloudPano.

What is a branded virtual tour for real estate?

A branded virtual tour includes the real estate professional’s name, listing office, and contact information.

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Jeff Collier is an experienced film photographer who enjoys experimenting with modern digital photography equipment, software and apps. He’s also an ex-world champion triathlete and avid cyclist, clocking hundreds of km each week in the beautiful Tweed Valley of northern NSW, Australia.

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The Ultimate Guide to Virtual Tours

3D visuals now include temperature checks and sanitiser stands

The  COVID-19 pandemic  has accelerated the virtual tour industry's growth, revolutionizing how businesses operate. With its versatility and adaptability, virtual tours are an indispensable asset for  event venues , offering numerous benefits such as increased bookings and an immersive customer experience.

In this blog, we'll explore the key advantages of virtual tours and provide essential tips for creating a successful virtual tour experience. From harnessing the power of technology to understanding your target audience, unlock the secrets to staying competitive in your industry.

What Is a Virtual Tour?

A virtual tour is a digital representation, sometimes using 3D rendering techniques, that recreates the experience of exploring a physical location. It often uses interactive features called "hotspots" that let you move from one area to another.

Virtual tours go by many names – digital tour, panoramic tour, 360 tour, 360-degree tour, 3D tour, immersive experience, interactive tour, online tour, remote tour, and virtual reality – but they all aim to simulate the experience of physically walking through and interacting with a space.

Types of Virtual Tours

Virtual tours are a fantastic way to experience a location without being there, and they come in different types with unique features. Let's explore these main types of virtual tours:

360 Virtual Tour

This is one of the most accessible and common types of virtual tours. It provides a 360-degree view of a space, allowing users to look around from any angle. These tours are typically created by merging multiple camera shots or using a 360-degree camera to capture the entire environment.

They are easy to develop and can be embedded in websites and apps, making them widely accessible. 360 virtual tours benefit real estate listings, tourism destinations, and event venues by giving prospective clients or customers a virtual walk-through experience.

3D Virtual Tour

3d site visits | Cvent

As the name suggests, this type of tour offers a three-dimensional experience. The entire environment of the tour is created in 3D, allowing users to explore a location in a more immersive and realistic way.

3D virtual tours are often more detailed and interactive than 360-degree tours and can be accessed through web applications or mobile, desktop, and other platforms. These types of tours can even be used to populate fictional or long-gone locations, making them applicable to various industries and use cases.

Virtual Reality (VR) Tour

Taking virtual tours to the next level, VR tours provide an unprecedented level of immersion and realism. With a headset and appropriate software, users can feel like they are standing in the location and taking in the surroundings. VR tours are created in 3D, allowing users to look around by moving their heads and interacting with the environment using controllers with the headset.

According to a  recent study , the virtual reality market is projected to reach $165.91 billion by 2030, indicating the growing popularity of this technology. This type of tour is ideal for destinations like museums, archaeological sites, and venues where offering an immersive experience is valuable.

Where Are Virtual Tours Used? 

Virtual tours have become a powerful tool adopted by various industries to enhance their marketing efforts, provide immersive experiences, and improve customer engagement. Here are some industries that use virtual tours:

Events and Conferences

Virtual tours are a key tool in  venue sourcing  for event organizers. They provide a realistic, immersive view of a venue's layout, amenities, and configurations, aiding in informed decision-making. Unlike traditional 2D plans or static images, the latest virtual tours allow a three-dimensional visualization of the space, enhancing understanding of traffic flow and seating arrangements to ensure venue suitability.

For hotels and hospitality venues, virtual tours are vital for  venue marketing  and showcasing facilities and ambiance to potential clients. They help attract bookings by offering a virtual experience of the property, which is particularly beneficial for venues in scenic locations or with unique features.

3D Rendering of Venue

Brick and Mortar Businesses

Many physical businesses, such as retail stores, restaurants, hotels, and museums, use virtual tours to provide potential customers with an interactive and immersive experience of their premises. This allows customers to "visit" these places virtually even before making an actual trip.

Real Estate

Real estate agents often create virtual tours for properties to offer potential buyers a more comprehensive and convenient way to view listings. Virtual tours can include 360-degree views of different rooms, providing a better understanding of the space and layout than static images alone.

Real estate developers also use virtual tours to showcase off-plan or unfinished properties to potential buyers. This lets buyers visualize the finished project and make more informed purchasing decisions.

Tourism and Travel

The tourism industry widely uses virtual tours to promote destinations, hotels, and attractions. Virtual tours enable potential travelers to get a glimpse of a location's beauty, culture, and amenities before planning their actual trip.

Art and Culture

Art galleries, museums, and historical sites often create virtual tours to provide access to their collections and exhibitions to a broader audience. Virtual tours can include interactive features, such as zooming capabilities and audio guides, to offer an immersive and informative experience.

Automotive Industry

Automotive companies use virtual tours to showcase the interior features and designs of their vehicles. It gives customers a more interactive and engaging experience than traditional static images or videos.

What Are the Main Advantages of Virtual Tours?

Virtual tours offer significant advantages for businesses looking to attract clients, including:

1. Expanding Customer Reach and Access

With virtual tours, businesses can market spaces and offerings to a nearly unlimited global audience online – far broader than feasible via in-person tours alone. The expanded access and visibility also aid Search Engine Optimization, helping drive more organic traffic.

2. Empowering Informed Decision Making

By navigating location renderings, clients can evaluate layouts, capacity, amenities, etc., in detail before committing to customizing spaces in their mind's eye. It empowers selection based on precise needs and preferences versus relying solely on imagination.

making virtual reality tour

3. Enhancing Visualization

Virtual tours allow clients to tour sample event setups and decor rather than just empty space. This visual evidence lends confidence by demonstrating venues successfully hosting relevant events with suitable arrangements and amenities.

4. Improving Sales Efficiency

Exploring options virtually expedites decision-making by enabling rapid, self-guided tours of shortlisted spaces instead of lengthy in-person visits. This pre-qualification yields more qualified booking leads.

5. Increasing Bookings

With more informed clients focused on preferred options, virtual tours ultimately convert interest into more booked events. They set accurate expectations while expanding visibility to more potential booking leads.

How to Create a Virtual Tour

Creating a virtual tour involves capturing 360-degree images of a space and stitching them together using appropriate software. This can be achieved by following a few simple steps:

Select Your Equipment

You don’t need to invest in an expensive setup to start creating virtual tours. It’s even possible to buy an affordable fisheye lens adapter for your phone to create the wide-resolution photos you need. However, if you’re looking for the best quality, you may want to upgrade to a full DSLR camera (for a hefty price, of course).

After you pick your camera, you’ll also want to ensure you have a tripod that can rotate on an axis so you can capture all aspects of a room in a steady, controlled way.

Choose Your Virtual Tour Software

After you find a camera that can capture your images, you’ll want to decide what type of virtual tour software you’ll use to stitch them all together. You have several options with benefits and trade-offs for various event design needs and budgets.

Plan Out Your Photos 

Before recording your footage, you must plan your walk-through and know where to place the camera in every room. Ideally, you’ll want to go to the center of the room to capture it in its entirety. However, in rooms that aren’t symmetrical, you may need to find a different location, so test it out.

Because the virtual tour mimics walking through the site, you must also plan your route. For example, you can’t start from the stage and then jump down to the lobby – the connection simply won’t make sense. Try to shoot your footage logically, and do not skip any important spaces. Use an  event design software  to plan the layout, if required.

Test Your Equipment and Lighting 

When it’s finally photo day, test your camera, equipment, and angles for a final time. Make sure your tripod is level to prevent crooked or warped photos.

Next, go to each meeting room and see what the photos look like. Is the lighting too dark? Try the overhead light. Still too dark? You may want to have extra lighting on hand to illuminate the room.

Also, ensure you and the camera aren’t reflected in mirrors or windows. If you do notice a reflection, adjust your angle.

Hybrid event design should consider camera equipment

Take Your Photos and Upload Them to Your Software 

Finally, the most important part – taking the photos! Follow your shoot checklist, and don’t be afraid to take multiple pictures in each room, just in case. After you have all your photos captured, it’s time to upload them to the software you’ve chosen.

Once your tour is created, add music, room descriptions, interactive links, and more. To create engaging and interactive 3D virtual tours, consider using  3D virtual tour software  to create immersive experiences.

10 Ways to Maximize the Reach of Virtual Tours

The key to maximizing the reach of your virtual tour is to adopt a multifaceted and creative approach to marketing and promotion. Continuously seek new opportunities, adapt to changing trends, and engage with your audience to build momentum and sustain interest in your virtual tour experience.

Here are some tactics you can use to maximize the reach and impact of your virtual tours.

1. Optimize for Search Engines:  Utilize relevant keywords, meta tags, and descriptions to make your virtual tour and its dedicated web page discoverable through search engines. This increases the chances of your target audience finding your tour organically while looking for related content.

2. Collaborate with Influencers and Industry Experts:  Partner with influencers or industry experts with a substantial following or engagement in your target niche. Having them promote or endorse your virtual tour can expand its reach to a wider audience and boost credibility.

3. Host Virtual Tours for Influencers and Media:  Invite influencers, media representatives, or other relevant individuals to experience your virtual tour first-hand. Providing exclusive access can encourage them to feature or share your tour with their audiences, which can be a powerful form of social proof and organic promotion.

4. Leverage Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) and Listing Platforms:  List your virtual tour on online travel agencies (OTAs) or listing platforms specific to your industry. This allows individuals searching for virtual tour experiences to discover your tour directly, expanding your reach to a targeted audience.

5. Encourage User-Generated Content (UGC):  Empower visitors of your virtual tour to create and share their experiences through user-generated content. This can include sharing photos or videos of their virtual tour experience on social media with branded hashtags, which helps generate organic word-of-mouth marketing and expands your reach.

6. Run Contests and Promotions:  Launch contests or promotions around your virtual tour experience. Encourage participants to engage with your tour and share their experiences on social media, with the chance to win prizes or discounts. It creates a buzz around your tour and attracts a wider audience.

7. Utilize Paid Advertising:  Consider investing in paid advertising on social media platforms or search engines to promote your virtual tour. Targeted ads can help reach a wider audience and drive more immediate traffic to your tour, especially when combined with compelling visuals and copy.

8. Create a Virtual Tour Trailer or Sneak Peek: Produce a short trailer or sneak peek video showcasing your virtual tour's highlights. Distribute this video across social media platforms to generate excitement and interest among potential visitors.

9. Cross-Promote with Other Local Businesses:  Collaborate with local businesses or establishments related to your virtual tour theme. Cross-promote each other's content or offer joint discounts or packages to attract a combined audience and boost visibility for both parties.

10. Engage with Visitors and Respond to Feedback:  Monitor visitor interactions with your virtual tour and engage with them by responding to comments, reviews, or social media posts. Leverage positive feedback and use constructive feedback to improve your tour and overall user experience.

5 Tips to Create Effective Virtual Tours 

making virtual reality tour

To create an effective virtual tour, focus on engaging your audience and providing them with an immersive experience that showcases your brand's unique value. Here are some tips to create an impressive virtual tour:

1. Set Clear Goals:  Begin by defining your marketing objectives. Determine why you want to create a virtual tour and what you want to achieve. Having well-defined goals will help measure the tour's success and align your efforts.

2. Incorporate Brand Storytelling:  Use the virtual tour to tell your brand's story. Create a narrative communicating your brand message and showcasing what makes your offering unique. This will help in creating a memorable experience for your audience.

3. Keep It User-Centric:  Just as you wouldn't hand out a pamphlet and walk away when hosting clients in person, your virtual tour should be designed with your audience's interests in mind. Consider what they want to see and create a tailored experience that resonates with them.

4. Ensure Technical Functionality:  A virtual tour should be more than just an experience; it should have strategic functionality that guides users toward your desired outcomes. Consider including interactive elements, audio guides, or other features that enhance the user's experience and align with your key messaging.

5. Focus on High-Quality Visuals:  Pay close attention to lighting and visual elements to create a high-quality virtual tour. Ensure indoor spaces are well-lit and that any outdoor tours are conducted on days with favorable weather conditions. Consider additional elements that can enhance the visual appeal of the tour and capture your audience's attention.

Stepping Into the Future with Virtual Tours

Virtual tours are the future of how we experience spaces. Whether checking out an event venue or touring a dream house, these tours are changing the game. And with tools like 3D virtual tour software , we're not just talking about looking at pictures – it's about stepping into a new world.

Hope Swedeen

Hope Salvatori

Hope is a Senior Content Marketing Associate who has been with Cvent for more than two years. She has 8 years of experience producing content for corporations, small businesses, associations, nonprofits, and universities. As a content professional, she has created content for a wide range of industries, including meetings and events, government and defense, education, health, and more.

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The 5 Best Websites to Create Virtual Tours

If you want to showcase your space, you can use these powerful websites to quickly and easily create virtual tours.

If you’re looking for virtual reality tools to showcase your space, there are many websites to choose from.

Virtual tours have made a considerable impact in creating a real life element to spaces online. Instead of merely using a group of gallery photos, you’re able to get a realistic feel of a place without having to physically be there.

Here are five websites you can use to create virtual tours.

If you're looking for an easy way to create a virtual tour, this is a great place to start. Kuula allows you to provide an experience of your space. Instead of a boring slide show, Kuula helps you create a 360-degree tour.

Creating a virtual tour on Kuula is simple. All you have to do is create an account, and you're good to go. You can upload and arrange your panoramic shots and have your virtual tour ready in minutes.

Kuula offers a free plan where you can share up to 100 uploads per month. If you’ll need unlimited uploads or advanced features, you can opt for the Pro plan for $16/month.

Related: Outdoor Virtual Tours to Get Back to Nature With Hikes, Dives, and Spelunking

2. Matterport

Matterport is one of the largest 3D platforms for virtual tours. This tool can be used by anyone, whether you want to share your space with friends and family or you might want to create a tour of your professional property. This tool doesn’t only capture a 360 view, it captures the depth of your space by combining a 360 view with 3D data.

Matterport can help you capture your space professionally through a 3D capture technician, starting at $129. But, you don't have to use an advanced technician to create your virtual tour. You can also do it yourself using your iPhone.

Matterport offers a free plan, a starter plan for $9.99/month, and a Pro plan for $69/month.

3. Metareal Stage

With Metareal Stage, you can use 360 images to create your virtual tour. Metareal Stage lets you create more than a 3D tour, you can also create a 3D model and model view.

A unique feature on Metareal Stage is “Build It For Me”, which basically does the job for you. All you have to do is upload your panorama shots and your virtual tour is created. This feature costs $4 per panorama.

Metareal Stage works well with a 360 camera, a DSLR, or if you have a rotator, you can use your phone camera. You can build your virtual tours for free. However, if you're looking for more features, you'll pay between $9.95 to $39 per month.

4. CloudPano

While CloudPano is used by multiple brands across industries, it’s not restricted to marketers and business owners. CloudPano is an easy to use 360 virtual tour software that can be used by anyone.

To use this tool, you simply have to sign up for an account. You can upload an unlimited amount of 360 photos under a free plan. However, your tours will expire after 120 days. If you're using this tool for your business and need additional features, you can pay $10 per tour or choose the Pro Plus plan for $33 per month.

If you want to create aerial virtual tours for large spaces such as a golf course, Roundme is the tool for you.

With Roundme, you can use portals to allow people to easily navigate across your panoramic tour. You can also get inspired by a community of 360 photographers and contributors on the website.

Roundme offers a free account with up to 15 uploads per week. If you want access to unlimited uploads, the Pro account costs $8.25/month.

Related: The Best Free Virtual Travel Experiences Worth Checking Out

Use Virtual Tours to See the World

The above websites are all amazing and will surely help you create virtual tours. But, virtual tours aren't only useful for showcasing your space.

With virtual tours, you don't have to worry about distance. If you want to view some of the world’s most desired places, you can use virtual tours to do that.

Eid Mubarak

  • By: C S Sultan Last updated on: April 19, 2024 51 mins read

How To Create Virtual Tour – A Complete Guide [2024]

Technology has excelled to a great extent today. Several new inventions and advanced technologies such as virtual reality, machine learning, artificial intelligence, etc are booming in world influence every day.

Today we will focus on a single form of virtual reality, known as the virtual tour.

Throughout this guide you will learn all about the following:

What Is Virtual Reality?

What is a virtual tour.

  • List Of Businesses That Can Benefit From Using Virtual Tour .
  • Tools And Activities Required To Create A Virtual Tour .
  • How To Create A Virtual Tour On Your Own?
  • How To Capture 360 Panoramic Images .
  • How Your Business Can Benefit From Virtual Tours .

Once you complete this guide, you won’t rely on anyone for creating virtual tours.

You’ll be able to create complete virtual tours on your own, at the lowest cost.

So let’s dive into it.

Virtual Reality is a computerized environment or projection that you can experience visually.

You can observe, listen to, and interact with this environment.

What Is Virtual Reality

Over the years, virtual reality has increased its influence in tons of businesses to create better interactions with their customers.

By the year 2025, the total size of the global Virtual Reality market will be valued at more than 22 billion US dollars .

Businesses such as Real Estate, Hotels & Resorts, Restaurants, Universities, Schools & Colleges, Super shops, Antique shops, Art Galleries, Showrooms, Museums, etc can engage with more prospects using virtual tours.

Read along to learn about how businesses can benefit from virtual tours (your business might be one of them).

Along with VR technology many VR devices such as VR boxes, Virtual Game Spaces, Virtual Simulation and training devices, and many more devices are being created day by day.

IDtechEx estimates that, in 2023, the revenue from only the VR headset sales will be more than $9 billion .

**To learn more about types of VR in detail click here .

Since you got an idea about virtual reality and its different formats, we’ll move to our main objective today – virtual tours.

A virtual tour is a form of semi-immersive VR technology that allows you to experience a certain location remotely.

The concept is, representing a real place in a virtual platform.

It allows you to explore that place as if you are actually there.

Virtual Tour Experience

Usually, a virtual tour is created by transforming a 360 seamless panoramic image into a realistic Equirectangular 3D space.

You will be able to rotate the screen 360 degrees in all directions. Plus you will be able to move from one panoramic image to another.

**There are other forms of panorama images used to create virtual tours such as Cube Map, little planet, or Fish Eye. But we will be discussing the most efficient one, the Equirectangular virtual tour.

Recently, virtual tours gained huge popularity in several businesses due to the high engagement potential with prospects.

The latest forms of virtual tours are more advanced and attractive. You will find a scene gallery, click-to-view information tags, background music , Gyroscope support, some even support VR boxes, and many more. Proper platform development can also significantly enhance these virtual tours.

As you read along, you will learn how you can create virtual tours on your own.

Let us look at the advantages of using a virtual tour for most businesses.

Advantages Of Using A Virtual Tour On Your Website

Now, virtual tours are more beneficial to businesses that rely on highlighting their location to attract prospects.

So, seemingly, Real Estate Firms, Hotels, Museums, Universities, Schools and Colleges, Amusement Parks, Fancy Restaurants, and most other such businesses can use virtual tours to attract more potential prospects.

Yes, using high-quality images is not a bad idea, but a virtual tour can have a greater connection with the viewer since they feel personalized and engaged as they take the tour.

Here are some of the benefits you can expect for your business using a virtual tour.

1. Instant Engagement

The use of a virtual tour is still very new and people visiting your site will be instantly hooked.

Engage with prospects through virtual tours

The fact is, people are already well-accustomed to looking at flat images or videos. A virtual tour will be something new and interesting to all viewers.

The main reason a virtual tour is more effective is because the viewers are in full control of the tour.

Flat images can only create an imaginative visual which might not be accurate. And videos can only be watched with no control. We have to watch the place from the angle of the cameraman.

In a virtual tour, viewers can move and look around from any angle or direction. They can go from one scene to another easily and can take their time to inspect the location.

Once they take the tour, they will have a more accurate visual of the actual location.

Thus, even if someone was not willing to make a purchase during a website visit, a virtual tour might grab his attention and possibly turn him into a potential buyer.

Realtors and hotel owners will be benefited the most in this case, compared to most other businesses.

However, anything unique, that’s interesting and exciting, can always get you better results no matter what business you run.

2. Give A Better Visual To Prospects

The main concept of a virtual tour is to give a realistic vision of a place. And almost any business can use virtual tours to give a more informed visual to the prospects.

Better visual using virtual tours

Previously, the most advanced remote tours were video tours.

However, the problem with video tours is that you can only watch from the point of view or angle of the cameraman.

You have no way to inspect from another angle.

Also, as I mentioned earlier, flat images can create an imaginative visual which might not be accurate.

So here’s the main issue. Through videos or images, people can visualize in their minds and this creates a certain assumptive expectation of how the place will look when visited in person.

Now, when a person visits, if it does not match his imagination, he will lose interest almost immediately.

A virtual tour rather creates a near-perfect visual of the place.

A person taking a virtual tour will develop an expectation that very much matches the place in reality.

Thus creating more potential prospects.

So whether it is a hotel, an amusement park, a school, or any form of business, a virtual tour can generate more potential prospects.

3. Help Prospects To Take A Decision

As we just read, a virtual tour gives a better visual of the location.

Almost every detail can be inspected through a virtual tour and the close resemblance to the actual location makes it a great instrument of choice.

Help home buyers make a decision easily

Let me explain.

Let’s say you’re searching online for good restaurants in your area. You found three restaurants that have good reviews based on the taste of their food.

But which one you’ll choose to visit?

Let’s assume all three of these restaurants have virtual tours on their site. Once you take a virtual tour of each of them, you will be able to understand which one has the environment that you were looking for.

The decorations and the seating arrangements would be more clear and you could choose your preferred restaurant.

Similarly, on a real estate website, people will be able to take tours of various houses in a location. This will let them choose the ones that they feel are suitable.

Almost all businesses can use virtual tours to influence prospects’ choices.

4. Avoid Unnecessary Visits And Rejection

Avoid Unnecessary Visits And Rejection

Using a huge number of photos is a common practice for realtors.

However, no matter how many images you use, it’s not possible to have a clear idea of the property structure and planning.

You may see each individual room and each important location clearly but don’t know how the spots are connected and how to move around inside the property.

Plus the latest photo editors can even transform a dull place to look stunning.

There is a high possibility that most people, willing to visit the location, might end up being disappointed since they had better or lower expectations.

At the same time, if you are giving a live tour to people during every visit, then you will be wasting a lot of time and effort since there is a high rejection rate.

The main reason is, as I explained earlier, failure to meet expectations.

A virtual tour will allow viewers to carefully inspect the property and decide if it’s suitable for them.

As a result, calls to visit will mostly come from prospects who are already interested and satisfied with the location, i.e., more potential prospects and fewer rejections.

According to a report, using 360-degree virtual tours in the real estate industry will reduce the number of wasted viewings by 40% .

That’s a substantial amount of time and money you can save.

5. Technological Advantage Over Competitors

Even though virtual tour is a relatively new term for a lot of people, it already has become a key marketing strategy for industries like real estate, hospitality business, museums, etc.

However, almost every business has the scope to utilize virtual tours as a part of its marketing strategy.

This is actually an advantage for your business if you have not used virtual tours on a large scale.

Technological Advantage of Virtual Tours

For example, if you own a super shop, you can create a virtual tour that will let visitors get a tour of the shop remotely.

They will be able to see the various sections and types of goods you have. Plus, they will notice how organized and clean your super shop is.

Many viewers might choose to take a visit after noticing a certain section on your super shop, expecting to meet the quality they require.

Other super shops that don’t have a virtual tour on their site will not get this added advantage to convert an online visitor to a live prospect.

Similarly, if you own a hotel, then a virtual tour will give you an added advantage over other hotels in your area.

People visiting your site will be able to get a virtual experience remotely, compared to other hotels that rely on just images and videos.

If your hotel is well-decorated and affordable, most people will probably prefer your hotel to others after taking a virtual tour.

As you can see, every business can be ahead of its competitors through a virtual tour. You will achieve more trust from prospects, and gain a good reputation for reliability and up-to-date technology.

These are 5 major advantages that almost all businesses can enjoy despite the niche.

There could be more advantages such as being more cost-effective compared to creating virtual video tours (due to hiring expert camera crews), and more efficient and effective towards prospects.

List Of Businesses That Can Benefit From Virtual Tours

Here’s a list of business that can benefit from using virtual tours:

  • Real Estate
  • Hotels & Resorts
  • Restaurants
  • Art Gallery
  • Fashion House
  • Wedding Venues
  • Conference Halls
  • Car Showrooms
  • Aquarium Shops
  • Antique Shops
  • Shopping Malls
  • Super Shops
  • Movie Theatres
  • Home/Interior Decors
  • Historic Locations
  • Travel/Tourism Industry
  • Gym/Fitness Centers
  • Universities, Schools & Colleges
  • Virtual Learning Centers
  • Research Facilities
  • Production House
  • Corporate Office
  • Virtual Gaming Zones
  • Indoor Gaming Zones/Clubs
  • Handcraft/Furniture Shops
  • Theme/Amusement Park
  • Airports & Airlines
  • Orchids & Flower Gardens
  • Natural/Safari Parks

Later in this article, we will also learn how each of these businesses can take advantage of using virtual tours. You will get niche-specific information on how you can use virtual tours to get more prospects.

If your business is on this list, then you will find this guide very helpful. And if you didn’t use virtual tours yet, then it’s time you start thinking about using them.

How To Create Virtual Tour

To create a virtual tour we will need two specific things. In the case of an Equirectangular virtual tour, the main ingredients are:

  • Seamless 360 panoramic images, and
  • A Virtual Tour Creator Tool.

What Is A Panoramic Image?

A panoramic image is different from the usual photographs. They are usually very wide and the pictures are taken in different ways for different types of panoramic images.

However, the specialty of a panoramic image is that it has metadata injected which includes directions, dimensions, and pitch and yaw coordinates. That’s what makes them special and can be manipulated into great virtual outputs.

Seamless 360 Panoramic Image

A seamless panoramic image is taken in a special way. The idea is to take several images from different angles, and then stitch them into a seamless panoramic image.

A seamless 360 panoramic image looks different from your ordinary flat image. Once processed using a virtual tour creator , it becomes an Equirectangular virtual tour.

Here is an example:

A 360-Degree Panorama Image

A 360-Degree Panorama Image

Converted To A Basic Virtual Tour

Once you have seamless 360 panoramic images, you can now easily create amazing virtual tours using a virtual tour creator. In the example above, we used WPVR which is currently the best virtual tour creator for WordPress.

A Virtual Tour Creator – WPVR

Create virtual tour using the right tool

Creating a virtual tour sounds like a difficult task, but in reality, it is pretty simple as long as you are using the right tool.

**Careful with production companies. Many will claim that video tours are virtual tours, but that’s not true. Yes, there are virtual video tours, but they are not ideal for complete control and inspections. Plus they cost more to produce.

There are many tools and services that can help you convert your 360 panoramic images into a virtual tour.

However, today we will give a guide on how to create a virtual tour for your WordPress site.

WPVR

WPVR  is currently the best virtual tour creator available in WordPress due to its simple and easy interface and quality output.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how you can generate a quality virtual tour using WPVR easily, on your own.

Step-by-Step Guide To Create Virtual Tour Using WPVR

You can get the free version of  WPVR from the WordPress repository .

You can get  WPVR Pro from our website.

First, let us look at how you can create a virtual tour using the free version. Then we will discuss some of its Pro features that you can use to make the virtual tour more attractive.

To create a 360° virtual tour from your WordPress dashboard, follow 9 simple steps:

  • Step 1 – Install and Activate WPVR
  • Step 2 – Create a Virtual Tour
  • Step 3 – Configure General Settings
  • Step 4 – Set Up Scenes
  • Step 5 – Use Hotspot Efficiently

Step 6 – Publish The Tour and Collect Tour ID

Step 7 – place the virtual tour on your website, step 8 – enjoy the benefits of using a virtual tour.

Now let us get a detailed guide for every step.

Step 1 – Install And Activate WPVR

Go to your WordPress Dashboard > Plugin > Add New .

Search for WPVR and you will find a blue icon of the plugin as shown in the image below:

Activate WPVR

Click on “ Install ” and then “ Activate ” the plugin.

Once the plugin is activated, you will see on your Dashboard that a new menu called “ WP VR ” is added.

WPVR Installed

Under WP VR, you will get these options:

  • Get Started : Which provides you with all documents and tutorials you require.
  • Tours : Which will contain the virtual tours you already created.
  • Add New Tour : This will let you create a new tour.

Step 2 – Create A Virtual Tour

Go to Dashboard > WP VR > Add New Tour .

Create New Virtual Tour

A new blank tour will be created for you. Name the tour under Title.

WPVR Dashboard

For a virtual tour, you will need to set the proper settings of the first three tabs.

Step 3 – Configure General Settings

Go to the General > Basic Settings tab and you will see the following options:

Basic Settings Section

Set A Tour Preview Image: When you keep Autoload option “Off”, there is a netted placeholder visible. However. you can replace that by uploading a Preview image.

Simply click on the “UPLOAD” button and add a media image. (You should use a flat image for this, rather than a 360 panoramic image)

Or you can provide a link to the image. (Make sure if your site is SSL certified i.e. “https”, then the image link should also have “https”.)

Tour Preview Image

Once you upload the image, a thumbnail will appear above the upload button.

This means the preview image was uploaded successfully.

Now once you Preview the tour (or view the tour on a live page), if the Autoload option is “Off”, you will see that this image is in place of the tour until you click on it.

And if the Autoload option is “On”, then this image will be there until the tour loads.

Preview Image Added

Now, the tour preview image won’t appear on the tour, if you’ve turned on the Autoload option.

Tour Autoload: If the autoload is turned on, the panorama you upload will load automatically. Otherwise, it will load on-click.

Virtual Tour Autoload

Basic Control Buttons: Turning it “On” will view the on-screen control button, such as zoom in/out and full-screen mode.

Basic Control Buttons

Scene Fade Duration: The scene fade duration can be added in milliseconds for the transition between two scenes.

Scene Fade Duration

According to this image, the scene fade duration is set to 1000 milliseconds i.e. 1 second. Hence there will be a 1-second fading effect to transit from one scene to another.

Auto Rotation: Turning it “On” will show three more fields for you to add an auto-rotation feature to your virtual tour.

  • Rotation Speed and Direction .
  • Resume Auto Rotation After .
  • Stop Auto Rotation After .

Scene Auto Rotation

The  Rotation Speed and Direction  are to set the speed of auto rotation on your tour.

We suggest you keep this speed within the range of -20 to 20, or else the rotation will probably be too fast.

A negative number will rotate the tour anti-clockwise and a positive number will make it rotate clockwise.

The  Resume Auto Rotation After  lets you set a time, in milliseconds, so that if you stop the rotation, then after this amount of time, it will start rotating again.

According to the image above, it is set to 2000 milliseconds, i.e., 2 seconds.

The  Stop Auto Rotation After  lets you set a time after which the tour will stop auto-rotating.

However, this will not work if you input the value on Auto Rotation Inactive Delay. According to the image above, it is set to 2000 milliseconds, i.e., 2 seconds.

These are all the options in the General settings. Configure the settings as you require.

Now to set up a scene.

Step 4 – Set Up Scenes

Basically, every single panorama you want to include in your Virtual tour is a scene. Go to the Scenes tab and you get the following options:

Scenes Section

Set as default: If you select “Yes” then the current scene will be the default scene to be viewed at first when the virtual tour is loaded. (FYI: The first scene is considered the default scene naturally.

If you want another scene to be the default scene, then mark that scene as “Yes” for Set as default.

Set Default Scene

Scene ID: Scene ID is the initialization of a scene. You need to assign a unique scene ID to every scene you wish to upload.

Set Scene ID

You can later use this Scene ID to assign a scene as the Target Scene under Hotspot, i.e. clicking on the hotspot will take you to this scene. You will get a guide to this under the “HotSpot” section. 

Scene Type: The scene type is set as ‘equirectangular’ by default. It means that it will view the Equirectangular format of the scene.

Scene Upload: Here, click on the “ UPLOAD ” button and upload a 360-degree panoramic image to use it as your current scene.

Upload Scene

This will mean that the image is uploaded as the current scene image.

FYI: Most mobile devices have restrictions on the resolution; they can support a maximum of 4096 px by 2048 px.

Hence, we suggest you use a panoramic image within these dimensions for the virtual tour to be responsive on all devices. (However, the plugin works with any resolution. You can upload high resolution images if you just want to view the tour on PC).

Preview: Once you have uploaded the image, you can now click on the  Preview button.

Click to Preview Tour

You will get a  Tour Preview  of the tour just beside the Scene Settings .

Scene Preview

Every time you make changes to any settings, you can click on the  Preview  button to see the changes taking effect on the tour preview.

**The Tour Preview has a scene gallery below. You can double-click on a thumbnail there to go to any scene in the tour preview.

To add a second scene, on top, click on the “+” button.

Add New Scene

And a new blank scene will be added.

New Scene Added

To switch between scenes, click on the icons above. The currently viewed scene will be marked blue.

To delete a scene, you can simply go to the scene, then click on the “Trash Bin” icon and the scene will be deleted.

Delete Scene

That’s it with the basics of Scene Settings .

Now, add Hotspots to make the tour more meaningful and engaging.

Step 5 – Use Hotspot Efficiently 

For an active scene, you can add multiple hotspots. With this option, you can link any of your scenes with other scenes.

Also, you can add images, links, or video information via this option.

While on a Scene , go to the HotSpot tab and you get the hotspots you added for that particular Scene.

To add a hotspot for another scene, first, go to the Scene tab, select the desired Scene , then go to the Hotspot tab to view its respective Hotspots.

For a hotspot of a scene, initially, you will get the following options:

Hotspot Section

HotSpot ID: You have to provide a unique Hotspot ID for every hotspot you create in a scene.

Hotspot ID

Pitch And Yaw: The Pitch and Yaw are the coordinates required to define the point where the Hotspot will be placed.

Pitch and Yaw

You will be able to collect these from the Preview Tour .

Previously you set up the scene and clicked on Preview. The Preview Tour will be still there.

Scroll down to the Preview Tour and click on the point on the tour, where you want to place the Hotspot. You will see that the pitch and yaw coordinates will appear below the Preview Tour.

Pitch and Yaw From Preview

You can copy the Pitch and Yaw and input them in the required fields.

Or, you can click on the arrow button (beside the Pitch and Paw coordinates under the Tour preview) to automatically collect and place Pitch and Yaw values in the Pitch and Yaw fields for a Hotspot.

Once you are done setting up the hotspot, click on the  Preview  button, and a hotspot icon will appear in the current scene on the spot from where you collected the coordinates of the Pitch and Yaw.

Hotspot Added

HotSpot Type : There are two types of hotspots available:

Hotspot Type

It comes as “ Info ” by default and you will view these fields:

  • On Click Content.
  • On Hover Content.

Info Type Hotspot

URL: Provide the URL of a website, so clicking on the hotspot will take you to that website on a new tab. 

On Click Content: Here you can add content to your hotspot so that clicking on the hotspot will display a pop-up window over the tour with the content you entered. (You can use HTML tags to make it more compelling.)

Here’s an example:

On Click Content

You can also add images using the <img src> tag or add a video using the <iframe> snippet of the video to display them when the hotspot is clicked.

On Hover Content: Here you can add content to your hotspot so that if you just hover your mouse on the hotspot, the content will appear.

On Hover Content

You can also add images using the <img src> tag or add a video using the <iframe> snippet of the video to display them when you hover the mouse on the hotspot.

Now, let’s look at the Scene type hotspot.

A scene-type hotspot is used to connect two scenes, i.e., clicking on the hotspot will transmit you to another scene (assigned here).

If you change the hotspot style to Scene , then you will view these fields:

  • On Hover Content.
  • Select Target Scene from the List .
  • Target Scene ID .

Scene Type Hotspot

Select Target Scene from the List: For every Scene you create, their Scene IDs get listed here for you to choose from. Whichever you choose will be the scene where the hotspot will take you.

Select Scene for Hotspot

Target Scene ID: 

This field shows you the Id of the Scene that you selected from the Target Scene from the List .

Scene Target Set

**When you choose a hotspot to be Scene type , the hotspot icon on the tour will change to a small Arrow.

Hotspot Scene Type

Hotspot Custom Icon Class: This field is there to allow you to implement customizations of the hotspot content.

Custom Hotspot Icon

Here you can apply customization to the hotspot icon. You may use any icon of your own choice. Let me give you an example.

To customize your hotspot icon, go to your  Appearance > Editor . Choose the style sheet of your current theme, or you may go to  Appearance > Customize > Additional CSS .

Here, create a class and under the class, add your custom style CSS code for customization. Click Save. For example:

Here I set the class name as “custom-icon” but you can give any name you want. Then set the height and width of the image (ideally 26px by 26px for icons). Then provide the image URL. You can add a border radius if you want the icon to be circular.

Here’s how my one looks:

Paste code in Additional CSS

Then Publish.

Now go to your tour and input the class name “custom-icon” on the “Hotspot custom icon class” field for the hotspot you wish this icon to apply on.

Icon class used

Then update the tour. This icon won’t show at the back end, but it will appear on the front-end. Hence, embed the tour on a page and preview it to see the result.

Custom icon class used on a virtual tour

To add a second hotspot, click on the “+” button above and a new blank hotspot will be added.

Add New Hotspot

To remove a hotspot, simply click on the trash icon and the hotspot will be deleted.

Delete Hotspot

That’s it, that’s all you need to know about setting up a hotspot for now.

Now utilize Steps 3, 4, and 5 to add more scenes and set up a virtual tour. Once done, move to the next step.

Publish The Tour: Once you have successfully set the settings for General settings, Scene settings, and Hotspots settings, click on the Publish button on the top right side of the page.

Publish Tour

Once you publish, that button will change to Update.

Published Tour

Collect Tour ID: On the tour setting pages, you will see a box named Using This Tour where the shortcode and the Tour ID is provided. You will need the Tour ID to embed your virtual tour on the website.

Tour ID

You can also get the Tour ID from the tours section.

All the tours you have created will be stored under Dashboard > WPVR > Tours .

Saved Tours

From here you can collect the Shortcode or tour ID.

Placing the virtual tour on your website depends on the page editor you use.

Gutenberg block editor: For the Gutenberg block editor, the plugin creates a WPVR block under the common blocks of Gutenberg.

WPVR Gutenberg Block

Go to a post or a page and click on add block icon (the + icon) and select block type as “WPVR”. And a block will be added as shown in the following image:

WPVR block added

Once Block is added, click on the Settings icon on the top-right corner of the page and select the Block menu for the toolbar of the WPVR block.

WPVR block settings

Here, you can see that you need to provide “Id”, “Width”, “Height”, and “Radius”.

For the ID, click on None, and you will get a list of all the published virtual tours you have created.

ID Tour

Identify your desired page. You can see it is there in the form “Tour Name: Tour ID.” So if I have named the tour Demo1 and its ID was “508”, then I will have to choose “Demo1: 808”.

Then input your desired width, height, and radius and you will see that the block has been updated.

WPVR Block updated

Now, you can preview or publish the page and you will see that the virtual tour is presented on your page for your audience.

Elementor page builder: If you use the Elementor Page builder, the plugin creates a Wpvr widget under the general widgets of Elementor.

WPVR Elementor widget added

Edit a post or page using Elementor. Drag and drop the Wpvr widget to whichever section you want. It will add the widget and you will be required to provide “Id”, “Width”, “Height” and “Radius”.

Elementor WPVR Block added

Input the tour ID of the virtual tour you created. Then set the height, width, and radius as you desire ( and remember to add “px” after the dimensions).

Then you will get a live preview of the tour.

Elementor virtual tour preview

Now, you can publish the page, and you will see that a virtual tour has been added to the page for your audience to take a tour.

Classic editor: For Classic Editor, copy and paste the shortcode of your virtual tour. You can add height, width, radius, or any designs you want within the shortcode.

Preview or Publish the page to find the virtual tour added.

Other page editors (such as Visual Composer): For page builders such as Beaver Builder, Visual Composer, etc, you need to use an “HTML” block (such as Raw HTML block) and input the shortcode there.

Now that you know how to create, set up, and present the virtual tour on your website. The next thing to do is to sit and see your audience getting excited, visitors becoming dedicated prospects, and prospects turning into customers.

As you can see, it is super easy to create a virtual tour for your WordPress site. Go ahead and start using virtual tours ASAP.

In a later section, I will discuss how many business niches can use and benefit from using virtual tours . You will definitely be able to relate.

Anyways, now most of us are not familiar with panoramic images since they cannot be taken without a few equipment and methods. And as you saw in the last section, in order to create a virtual tour, you will need to use a Seamless 360 Panoramic Image.

Now, let us look at how you can capture 360 panoramic images on your own.

Capturing A Seamless 360 Panoramic Image

Capturing A Seamless 360 Panoramic Image 

  • Using Digital 360 Degree Camera (Recommended)
  • Using Standard DSLR
  • Using A Smart Phone

Digital 360 Degree Cameras are the best for this case. They are easy to use, less hassle, and cost-effective.

However, I will give you a proper guide to follow all the 3 methods with suggestions on the equipment required, and tips and directions to successfully create 360 Panoramic Images.

1. Using Digital 360 Degree Cameras

There are certain cameras available just for 360-degree photography. These are digital cameras that usually have multiple built-in Fisheye lenses that cover a complete 360 degrees in one go.

Here is a list of some of the  best 360 Degree Digital Cameras .

Here, we will give a brief guide on using the Ricoh Theta V to take seamless 360 panoramic images.

Let us look at the tools required.

Equipment Required:

1. ricoh theta v.

A  Ricoh Theta V is a slim camera with two Fisheye lenses in opposite directions. Each lens captures a complete 180 degrees both horizontally and vertically.

Ricoh Theta V

The main advantage of this camera is that it has an auto-stitching function, i.e., once you take a photo, the output will automatically be a 360 panoramic image. You do not need to do any manual stitching or take multiple images.

A Monopod is a camera that has 1 extendable leg, fixable at specific heights. Since the Ricoh Theta covers a complete 360 degrees, a tripod would be obstructive with its 3 legs. A Monopod will not appear in the image at all.

Sirui P 326 Carbon Fiber Monopod

Here’s a list of monopods you can check out.

However, you will need a 3-leg locking base to be attached at the bottom for it to stand tall.

Benro VT2

It is a small 3-legged stand that lays flat, while the Monopod is connected on top. Its 3 legs give the support required for the Monopod to stand.

3. Ricoh Theta V App

Whether you call it an advantage or not, you can control the Ricoh Theta capture using your smartphone through the Ricoh Theta V App .

Ricoh Theta V App

Simply connect the camera to your phone through Bluetooth and then you can get the image preview on your phone through the Ricoh Theta V app. Hence, you can carefully analyze if you have placed the camera in the right spot for the best light and location exposure.

The app gives you features to control white balance, ISO, bracketing, and shutter timer.

The main reason to use the app is to be able to take photos remotely. Since the 360 camera covers all directions in one go, you clicking manually would mean that you would be on the image.

With the help of the app, you can set the devices up, go to the next room and use the app to capture the image.

Tips And Directions To Use

  • Place the Monopod on the stand and attach the camera to it. Place the devices at a point near the center of the room.
  • Toggle the Monopod to place the camera at a height similar to the height of an average person’s eyes or shoulder. This will create a more realistic effect when creating a virtual tour.
  • Connect the phone app to the camera , and go on live view mode. Here, it will show the image in a 360 Equirectangular format, to see if you have adjusted all the settings correctly and if the image looks good.
  • During the day, it is advised to keep the ISO between 200-400 based on the surrounding light. At night you should lower the ISO to 100 or below to get less noise in the image.
  • Enable the “noise reduction” option from the app to improve image quality.
  • Go outside the room and prepare to shoot the image.
  • Turn the live view mode “off” since it can causes a shutter lag if turned “on”.
  • Capture the photo which will be saved either on your phone’s photo gallery or in the memory card of the camera.

The device automatically does the stitching and processing so you do not have to do any extra hard work.

That’s it! You now have a seamless 360 panoramic image. You can upload this image to WPVR and create a stunning virtual tour.

2. Using DSLR To Capture 360 Panoramic Images

DSLRs are usually used for professional photography and can capture high-quality images. However, it is quite difficult to capture 360 panoramic images using a DSLR.

You will need to capture several images to cover complete 360 degrees in all directions, and then do some editing to achieve a proper 360 panoramic image.

Here’s a brief guide to help you out.

1. A Quality DSLR Body

Use a DSLR body with high dpi that has a bracketing feature.

Nikon D810

**Bracketing refers to taking a certain photo multiple times at different exposures and then merging them together to form a photo with a balanced exposure.

You can take a look at  Nikon D810 ,  Canon EOS 5d Mark IV ,  Sony Alpha A7R2 , or  Panasonic Lumix G6 when considering buying a DSLR body.

2. A Fisheye Lens

You will need a Fisheye lens to capture wider images, in order to complete the process with fewer photographs taken.

Sigma 15mm f/2.8

Here’s a  list of Canon Fisheye lens you can take a look at.

3. A Panohead

A Panohead/Nodalhead is a piece of equipment to that you attach your camera to. You can then can set the camera to rotate at fixed horizontal angles using the Panohead rings. This will ensure you cover a complete 360 degrees horizontally, without overlapping.

Nodal Ninja M2

You can learn more about Panoheads here .

4. A Ball head (optional)

If you are willing to capture images on an uneven or unbalanced ground location, then you may use a Ball head to balance your camera on a proper horizontal axis.

Novo CBH-40

Here’s a  list of good ball heads you can look at.

5. A Tripod

A tripod is a camera stand with 3 legs that are extendable and fixable to specific heights. It has a horizontal 360 spinnable top section, with a handle, on which the ball head or the Panohead (in case you don’t use a ball head) is attached.

The Panohead ring will help to control the angles you can spin the camera.

Manfrotto 190 Go!

Here are some of the  best tripods out there .

  • Chose a time of the day when there is suitable light from all directions to take photographs. If you’re shooting at night, make sure you have proper lighting all around.
  • Set up the equipment and place it in the center of the room.
  • Make sure to create a no Parallex point. Here’s a video to help you understand .
  • Toggle the tripod to place the camera at a height similar to the height of an average person’s eyes or shoulder.
  • Put the camera in full manual mode
  • Keep a decent shutter speed; 1/10th or 1/20th is ideal at daytime
  • Set apparture to about F11, and ISO to around 640 or more
  • Set manual white balance to 4000Kelvin
  • Set bracketing to 3 exposure levels at a difference of 2 levels between them.
  • Apply auto timer to capture these bracketing images, maybe within 3-5seconds.

FYI: Photography completely depends on the light, and these settings might not give the best output at different light exposures. Hence, you need to toggle settings based on the amount of light available.

Now to take pictures.

Capturing Necessary Images Using DSLR

Capturing Necessary Images Using DSLR

Now, you need to take a number of photographs depending on the width your Fisheye lens can cover.

Let’s take an example:

  • Set your Panohead to rotate 60 degrees.
  • Take 6 bracketed photographs by rotating the camera to 60 degrees after each capture.
  • Set the camera upwards and take 2 photographs by rotating the camera 180 degrees after the 1st shot.
  • Set the camera downwards and take 2 photographs by rotating the camera 180 degrees after the 1st shot.
  • Separate the DSLR body from rest of the equipment and take a handheld photo of the center of the room where the tripod was placed earlier.

Stitching The Photos

Stitching The Photos

Now that you have the required images, you have to stitch them into a seamless 360 panoramic image.

You can manually do it using Photoshop.  Here’s a beginner’s tutorial .

Once you do it, you need to make sure you inject metadata to make it into a complete 360 degree panorama. You can use the tool  Xifer to do it.

However, this is not necessary to have metadata when you use WPVR since the plugin does not need metadata to work.

You may also use tools such as PhotoMerge , PhotoStitcher , Stitcher V4 , etc.

Once stitched, a seamless 360 panoramic image is created. You can then upload it to WPVR to convert it into a Virtual Tour.

3. 360-Degree Photos With Your Smartphone

360 Photo With Smartphone

Even if you don’t have any DSLR, Lenses, or specialized 360 cameras, you can take a 360 seamless panorama picture with your smartphone.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to using a smartphone to take 360 panoramic images .

Four Steps Guide To Capture 360 Panoramas With Smartphone

Whether you use an Android device or an IOS device, the process is the same.

Step 1 – Download The App

The Google Street View app lets you easily take 360 photos with your Android smartphone. It is the most stable 360-degree photography app for smartphones to date.

Download the  Google Street View For Android or  Google Street View For IOS and the  Google Camera app from the Playstore/Appstore.

Step 2 – Set Up The App

The app will give you some welcome tips and then take you to the homepage. In the bottom-right corner, there is a camera option. 

Choose the camera option, and a menu will appear. You have to choose the third option to take 360 photos.

Step 3 – Take The Pictures

You will be taken to the camera screen and the app will give you guidance for the capture process. Hold the phone close to you, choose a suitable position, and stand up still.

Once you click on the start button, you will have a hollow circle in the center of your screen. And some orange circles will start appearing in different directions.

Move the phone, match the center circle with an orange circle, and click the snap button. That orange circle will turn blue/green and will disappear, while a photo is captured.

Another orange circle will appear in a different direction. Move the phone to the next orange circle to do the same. Keep doing it until all the orange spots are captured.

The app is designed so that once you have snapped all the orange circles, a full 360 view was captured.

Once done, the app will take you to the homepage again.

Step 4 – Image Output

At this point, the app is already stitching the photos together to make a 360 image. You will be able to see the progress of stitching on a loading bar.

After stitching is complete, you will find the 360-degree image saved in your photo gallery. You can then use this photo to upload it on WPVR and create a virtual tour.

**Please note that the latest update of the Google Camera App has some major back-end changes, due to which it might not be compatible with many Android devices.

There you go, now you know what is virtual reality, what is a virtual tour , how to create a virtual tour, what a seamless 360 panoramic image is, and how to capture 360 panoramic images on your own.

Now, you can simply choose a method to take a 360 panoramic image, upload it on the virtual tour creator ( WPVR ) and present it on your website to engage with your audience with more authority and opportunity for conversion.

How Your Business Can Benefit From Virtual Tours

Previously, I have listed a number of businesses that can benefit from using virtual tours on their websites.

If your business was part of that list, then you already know that virtual tours are ideal for your business.

Around 67% of the people online want virtual tours to be implemented on more businesses.

Every business can have a virtual tour on its website. However, some businesses can dramatically increase revenue by implementing a virtual tour on their site.

Now let us look at the major benefits of using a virtual tour on your site, focusing on the major niches.

Find out how a virtual tour can positively impact your business.

1. Real Estate

VR for Real Estate

People visiting real estate sites are mostly looking to buy properties or houses within the next 2-3 months. However, the main issue is indecisiveness.

Though prospects mostly look for houses in specific locations and within a suitable price range, they find it difficult to choose among multiple properties that match their requirements.

One of the reasons for this is that they are visualizing how the house looks based on flat images. They are not able to understand if the structure of the house is suitable for them since they are visualizing in their imagination.

End result? They tend to physically visit several properties before choosing one that resembles their imagination and requirements.

Here, you are losing a lot of time while giving them the live tour, and effort by pitching to prospects who might end up buying from other realtors (yes, people will talk with several realtors when searching for a house).

A virtual tour can ensure that the prospects you are dealing with are already interested to buy.

The visit is just for credibility. People will be able to remotely visit the place and explore.

They will be able to view the place from every angle and eventually develop a genuine interest in a property that suits their requirements .

Hence, they will call you for a visit, with the intent to buy.

Rather than taking several live tours of many properties , they will only wish to visit a few which they might end up purchasing, thanks to the remote virtual tour.

2. Hotel & Resorts

VR for Hotel & Resorts

Tourists, travelers, or international businessmen tend to look for suitable hotels to lodge at when going to distant locations. So, it is natural for them to browse through the websites of hotels available at the location they are visiting.

You can take steps to attract as many prospects as possible through your website. A simple virtual tour can take you a long way.

Here’s the idea. People always look for hotels that are both affordable and comfortable to stay at. Most people tend to browse through photos of rooms when choosing. Why not give them a better visual with a virtual tour?

Create virtual tours for each room available for lodging and place them on your website. Try to add a virtual tour of your reception, hall room, bar, and dining area on your home page.

These will act as big attractions, especially for foreigners. A quality virtual tour will mean that people will be able to understand the quality and beauty of your hotel, and will probably consider calling in for reservations immediately, rather than looking into more hotels.

For Resorts, you should create a broad virtual tour, highlighting all of your special facilities such as swimming pools, beach areas, parks, ballrooms, spas, and other specialties besides the lodging and basic entertainment.

Virtual tours will definitely get prospects excited and influence more site visitors to convert into interested prospects.

3. Restaurants

VR for Restaurants

Having a restaurant means a lot of competition since currently, it is among to top business niches. 

People love to try out restaurants with good food, as well as well interior design.

Whether it’s a fancy restaurant or a classic restaurant, they have their own set of admirers.

Now, food quality is the most important thing. If you get good ratings about your food from customers, more people will probably take a visit soon. 

However, the second most important aspect is the interior.

Nowadays, prospects tend to visit the websites of several restaurants before choosing to visit one.

There, they not only look at the menus but also look at the gallery of your restaurant photos to understand if it is a suitable place to visit.

A better way to catch their attention is by allowing them to take a virtual tour of your restaurant from home.

They will be able to see the seating arrangement, spaciousness, decoration, quality, and overall interior arrangement. This will inspire them to choose your restaurant over others.

Let’s say you are a burger joint. A group of teenagers is willing to eat burgers in your area. So they will visit the websites of several burger joints in your area before choosing one.

You can stand out by displaying your amazing interior decorations besides your delicious food, through a virtual tour.

Through this remote tour, they might realize that the seating arrangements are comfortable and the decorations are great for taking selfies with friends.

Thus, they will end up visiting your place. Your next task is to impress them with the food.

For a fancy or theme-based restaurant, a virtual tour is more lucrative since you will be able to highlight your specialty to remote prospects on your website.

This will raise more awareness and influence more people to visit your restaurant.

4. Wedding Venues

VR for Wedding Venues

A wedding is among the most important milestones that a person achieves in life. And it is natural for anyone to wish to have a wedding ceremony like no other. The wedding venue plays an important role in making the wedding a memorable one.

Usually, fiances choose the wedding venue together. They tend to browse through the websites of several wedding venues and shortlist a few that they feel are perfect for their wedding.

A virtual tour can make your wedding venue the ideal one. Let the couple take a remote visit and experience how grand the venue is.

The venue entrance, the stage, the dining halls, the chandeliers, the photo session room, and all the specialties of your venue can be highlighted easily through a virtual tour.

Send the couple into a world of imagination so that they can feel their walk in the venue, and the bride walking down the carpet towards the priest and her fiance, ready to get married; the tossing of the bouquet and toasts from friends and family.

This little journey within the venue will help them set their future and choose your venue to be the ideal venue that will mark their togetherness in days to come.

Hence, a virtual tour on your website is only the right thing to do.

5. Universities, Schools & Colleges

VR for Universities, Schools & Colleges

Though newly implemented in many, a lot of universities, schools, and colleges achieved greater student reach by creating virtual tours of their institutions.

Whether you run a large institution or a small one, students and their parents are more concerned about quality dorms and attractive campuses, after quality education.

While they visit your website to find out about the courses you offer, you can also present a virtual tour of your campus to give them a remote experience of being part of the institution.

Let them take a stroll around your faculty buildings, sports facilities, dorms, research labs, fitness centers, etc, and understand the quality you offer besides education.

This is very important for international students. They will be moving to a new location, therefore, the quality environment and surroundings are among their main concerns and priorities.

Plus, the virtual tour will act as a symbol of credibility, highlighting your ability to accommodate students with high quality, while within your premises.

6. Travel/Tourism Industry

VR in Travel and Tourism Industry

If you are promoting holiday or travel packages, then getting more prospects depends a lot on the locations you are taking them to, besides the price.

People are often reluctant to purchase travel packages since they have doubts about the quality of their journey. You may easily gain their trust by using a virtual tour.

You can include virtual tours for several iconic locations that your travel package will cover. You may also highlight great tourist resorts or historic places that your travel package will take travelers to.

The idea is to give viewers a glimpse of the attractive zones that the tour will include remotely through a virtual tour. Let them inspect, in full control, the amazing locations they will be able to visit.

This will not only create more excitement but also influence onlookers into interested prospects.

7. Gym / Fitness Centers

VR for Gym and Fitness Centers

People tend to choose a gym or fitness center based on the various types of equipment and fitness machines available there. Plus, it also depends on the quality of the Equipment.

You can use virtual tours to attract people online and gain credibility for your fitness center. Create a quality virtual tour, covering every section of your center. And on each section, leave click bubbles beside the machines which will give information about the machine model and quality.

At the same time, create short videos of the fitness trainer of the center, training and demonstrating the use of every piece of fitness equipment.

Leave a hotspot on each piece of fitness equipment available within the virtual tour, to be clicked to watch the relevant video.

This will not only highlight the equipment but also demonstrate the expertise of the fitness trainer, thus inspiring more people to join your fitness center.

8. Shopping Mall

VR for Shopping Mall

Shopping is among the favorite activities of most women and some men. However, it often gets difficult to find the right shops in an ideal shopping mall.

There are tons of shops selling various products and services. Although every shopping mall provides a directions map on every floor, it often gets difficult to look for any desired shop only by interpreting the map.

For a large mall, people often run around in circles while messing up the directions. This is frustrating to customers and often limits them to purchase items.

Whether you are part of the ownership of a shopping mall or a shop owner at a mall, you could guide more prospects in the right direction through a virtual tour on your site.

On the tour, a person will be able to follow directions as if in person and eventually reach their desired shops.

Since it’s a realistic visualization, the directions will be much easier to remember. Then when the prospect visits the mall, it will not take long to find his/her desired shop.

As a shop owner, this could help you drive more customers and not lose potential ones to competitors.

People with the internet on their phones can access your website while in the mall, hence they won’t need to use the flat map, rather they can get a realistic guide on their mobile.

As you can see, it is really beneficial to add a virtual tour on the website of either the shopping mall or any particular shop, to provide better navigation for prospects.

VR for Museums

People often love to visit museums due to the incredible historical display of various tools, items, and reminisces of the past.

But the problem is, due to visual entertainment available on mobile phones or computers, most people do not try to seek out how great a visit to a museum might be.

Most museums are facing  a decline in visitors over time. However, this can be changed by using virtual tours.

Create a virtual tour for a certain section of your museum. Let’s assume this section contains items from World War II. Within the virtual tour, you can place clickable information bubbles for people to get historic information about any particular item.

This will create a good amount of interest among site visitors. The key is to create curiosity among viewers so that they feel like they need to visit other sections of your museum to learn more.  

You can also offer a paid virtual tour for the rest of the sections. This will allow people overseas to take a tour of your museum remotely.

You will see a rise in visitors and also let people from overseas appreciate your museum.

10. Art Gallery

VR for Art Gallery

Do you draw and contribute to exhibit art galleries? Or do you have an art gallery of your own?

Then you probably know how excited people are about art when they visit an art gallery. Not only that, several collectors tend to visit and often purchase works of art with great value. 

However, when it comes to online business, art galleries are often underrated. Why not? Most art galleries do not make much out of their website.

Let me tell you why. It’s because owners tend to flood their websites with individual pictures of their art. With so much art to look at, how long will a person browse through the collection?

Eventually, people only check the first few and then leave if nothing amazes them among the early collection.

But this means that they are avoiding pictures that are in a later queue. It is possible that one of those photos could have been the one to connect with them.

This can be drastically changed with a virtual tour. Create a virtual tour of your gallery and let art enthusiasts take a remote tour. This will be similar to a live visit and viewers will be able to walk around the gallery while observing your artwork.

You can leave little click bubbles beside every piece of art so that viewers can click to view the piece of art as a pop-up image, or on a new tab.

Provide a unique ID for every piece of art so that prospects can order online or request a visit to view the piece of art.

That’s how effective a virtual tour can be. Go ahead and attract more prospects to buy your art online.

So far, I’ve explained the benefits of using virtual tours in 10 different business niches. If your business niche was not among these 10 businesses, then don’t get disappointed.

Read the following article to learn about the benefits of virtual tours for all 32 niches mentioned in this article.

So, after reading this article, you should have a good knowledge of virtual reality, virtual tours and their benefits, and what you need to create virtual tours .

You have also learned how you can create a virtual tour and include it on your WordPress site using WPVR.

And you got a detailed guide on how to take 360 panoramic images on your own and use them to create virtual tours .

Finally, we discussed how different businesses can benefit from virtual tours.

Now, you should be able to create your own virtual tours without any expert assistance. Hence, why waste any more time?

Go ahead and start using virtual tours to take your business to the next level. Engage and connect with your prospects from your website, and see them turn into valuable customers.

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About author.

C S Sultan

A professional in digital marketing with a passion for WordPress. Loves to discuss about marketing tactics and advanced business strategies. Follow him on twitter @SultanRoyal1

11 Comments

Virtual Reality has been used in different industries nowadays. As the power of technology arises, VR has become a trend in the Real Estate Industry, Gaming, Concerts, Hospitality and more! I won’t be surprised if it’s going to be used in the Educational Institutions in the future!

Excellent sharing and very nicely explain – How To Create Virtual Tour. Keep it up!!

Thanks. I am glad if this article was helpful.

Sultan, thanks a lot for this guide it´s very helpful.

Thanks. I am glad you found it helpful.

awesome piece

Wow, thɑt’s ᴡhat Ӏ was searching for, wһat a stuff! existing heгe at thіѕ web site, thanks admin of this web page.

We’re glad that you found this guide helpful.

Dear Sultan, thanks so much for this guide, it was very helpful. i need more about “virtual tour making” in term of museums> thanks in advance

Hi, I am glad you found it useful. We will try to create sample Museum tours to let you view how it could be. Thanks.

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360° Virtual Tour Creator

Create & publish your virtual tours online. start for free., a powerful application for unlimited creativity.

Theasys builds the most powerful and flexible tools for anyone to create and publish a 360° Virtual Tour. Whether your are a Real Estate Agent, 360° photographer, web designer, hotelier or travel agency, Theasys' Application with its unmatched functionality, ease of use and professional approach helps you create the most beautiful & elegant panoramic tours for your users. Thousands of individuals, amateurs & professionals, from around the world are more creative and selling faster by building their Virtual Tours on Theasys.

vr editor features

VR Editor Features

  • Unlimited Panoramas & Virtual Tours
  • Sophisticated Linking Module
  • Live Panorama Enhancing
  • Powerful Hotspot Editor
  • Hotspot Transitions & Effects
  • Font icons, custom images, 3D text & more
  • Polygon Drawing Tool
  • Object Presets & Enhancement Recipes
  • Maps, Floor Plans & Orientation Indicator
  • Nadir & Zenith Patch
  • Background Sounds
  • Projection & Behavior Adjustments
  • Unlimited Hotspot Views
  • Device Preview
  • Full Spherical & Cropped Panoramas Support
  • Keyboard Shortcuts

embed and customization options

Embed & Customization Options

  • Unlimited Embeds
  • Custom Branding
  • Panorama Thumbnail Stack
  • Custom Look & Feel
  • Virtual Tour Share Links
  • Specific Point of View Share Links
  • Hotspots Options per Embed
  • Download & Self-host Tours
  • Floating Arrows Navigation
  • Cookies Consent Popup

Advanced Embed Options

  • Multiple Embeds
  • Google Analytics Tracking
  • Password Protection
  • Domain Specific
  • SEO Options
  • Wordpress Plugin

security and performance

Security & Performance

  • Amazon Cloud Unlimited & Secure Storage
  • Max Delivery Speed through Global CDN
  • Automatic Updates for All
  • Advanced Caching Technology
  • Lightweight VR Viewer

Featured picture of post "How to Make an Interactive Virtual Tour"

How to Make an Interactive Virtual Tour

Are you looking to create Virtual Tours and Expeditions? Do you need to view tours in Virtual Reality mode? ThingLink is the perfect solution for the task. This post provides you with an overview of ThingLink’s virtual tour creator.  We provide some helpful tips and tricks to create your own immersive experiences.

ThingLink has become one of the world’s most popular rich media tech tools for creating visual learning materials and experiences. Over 8 million people have registered a creator account, and over 350 million people learn with ThingLink every year. In 2016, ThingLink was the first company to make it accessible and affordable for teachers and students to create virtual tours and expeditions.

Start creating with ThingLink

Start creating straight away with a free ThingLink trial account!

The popularity of the platform’s success is down to ever-improving functionality and simplicity. As digital media usage becomes more sophisticated, ThingLink has responded with rich media tags, in-tag controls, enhanced VR technology player controls, accessibility features and improvements to tour transitions .

Since the start of the Covid19 pandemic we saw soaring demand in education for both virtual environment visits and online learning, from K12, through higher education and beyond to professional development. Educators are using ThingLink to create some outstanding examples which show how interactive virtual experiences and tours can help meet and go beyond the challenges.

Putting content into context in virtual tours

At every level, context visualization is key when creating content that keeps your learners engaged. Using ThingLink with 360 degree images to create Virtual Tours and Expeditions immediately creates an immersive experience which enhances and reinforces the learning journey. This is all the more important when students are joining the classroom from diverse locations. Adding in their ‘social presence’ to tours, educators have been able to remain connected to their learners.

Lessons from Lockdown: In-context learning with the University of Central Lancashire

When Covid-19 canceled a medical school’s in-person workshop, ThingLink provided the solution for a realistic scenario to immerse students in the experience. Students then pieced together individual data within the simulation to diagnose and create a patient management plan.

Read more about this fantastic example of interactive teaching material – which enabled students to relate to the realistic content but also developed their observational skills within standalone virtual environments.

The built-in security, sharing and simple functionality of ThingLink means that it can also become a collaborative tool for your learners. Students can create their own ThingLink content as a way to present research and information. The clone function easily allows them to edit your example with their own content.

See below and hear how Stirling High School’s pupil-led team introduced students to the school’s new one way system, part of their response to Covid-19.

Where you could use a virtual tour

  • Realtors and other real estate professionals can use them to provide a walkthrough of a home, retail or office space to potential buyers, tenants or investors.
  • Museums and galleries can create a brand new tour between displays or items that wouldn’t normally be linked, or even taken out of the archives. These two case studies from the Petofi Museum in Budapest and the Highland Folk Museum in Scotland are great examples of this in practice. 
  • In any sector you can use virtual tours to introduce and guide new starters around a new environment, or a familiar environment where routes or protocols have changed. You can h ear directly from Student Leader Emily how Stirling High School’s pupil-led team introduced students to the school’s new one way system during Covid-19. 
  • Multidisciplinary teams working on large projects can create virtual tours and virtual staging of buildings or rooms even when in the design stage. ThingLink’s Unity plugin is the ideal tool for this function.

What extra functionality does ThingLink bring?

  • Collaborate on ThingLink creations with shared folders in your organizational account
  • Increase accessibility – text in hotspots can be opened in Microsoft’s Immersive Reader
  • Explore and use high quality royalty-free panoramic photos with our library of 360 images from around the world 
  • Embed a huge variety of content types in tags – including videos, GIFS and carousels of images, as well as external apps such as Google Maps, Forms, Flipgrid, and YouTube
  • Add virtual 3d objects to your immersive experience with tools such as Sketchfab
  • Share to your Google for Education Google Classrooms or Microsoft Teams seamlessly
  • Add your own custom icons for branded or personalized tours
  • Add your voice or other audio directly to other content in the tags in the browser – no need to record on another app
  • Check comprehension or add an additional level of security with conditional transitions between scenes – users can only progress through the tour with the correct answer or password
  • Select your tours to be Private or Unlisted tours – keep sensitive content private or share it with your group, class or organization or make it public and searchable
  • Use your 360-degree tours with Virtual Reality VR Headsets such as Google Cardboard, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Gear VR.
  • Share to your Google Classrooms for VR viewing with Google Cardboard with our designated feature.

Using virtual reality can be easy! How to go Further with ThingLink

One of the challenges with Virtual Tours and Trips is the viewer’s understanding of the layout. The solution is to use a combination of images and 360 media to take the viewer on a virtual walkthrough , from start to finish. 

For example start with a video, floor plan or map with a legend as your introduction to the tour – helping users to visualize their location and journey. Below is a great example of this in action at the Royal Ontario Museum.

ThingLink creations can be made from flat images (jpg. and png.), video, 360 images and even 360 video. With the Tour Tag you can link any combination of ThingLinks, no matter what base media you use. This means that unlike other virtual tour platforms, you can also include video tours for your viewers.

You can now also add a floorplan to your Virtual Tour, with no additional virtual tour software required. Read this article for more information on this great new feature.

Select a scene within the virtual tour

All virtual trips in ThingLink also enable the viewer to hop from scene to scene as they wish, as well as following the linear tour. Clicking on the square icons bottom right of screen brings up the scene selection from where users can move about the scenes freely. Example here from Midlothian Council in Scotland .

How to Create a ThingLink

Go to thinglink.com and create your free trial account. Watch this 11 minute video for a complete introduction tutorial to the creation process from uploading your first media to sharing it with your customers, learners or colleagues.

Capturing 360 images for ThingLink

You can read about how to convert your photos taken with 360 cameras such as Insta360, Ricoh theta v or theta z1 here . 

NEW! The easy way to create 360 images: Pano to 360

Creating virtual tours, exhibitions, escape rooms and other immersive content just got even easier! ThingLink has now launched Pano to 360 by ThingLink : an easy way to create a 360 photosphere from a panoramic image using any smartphone. For more information, including step-by-step instructions see this helpful support article. 

Try the free Pano to 360 converter

The Pano to 360 photosphere converter is free to use for anyone, no ThingLink account required! Upload a panoramic image to see it in action.

For a fully immersive sensory experience – ThingLink and Virtual reality headsets (VR)

As well as viewing ThingLinks across devices such as Chromebooks, PCs, mobile devices and iPads, ThingLink 360 degree images and videos can be viewed in Virtual Reality (VR) mode for a different type of sensory experience. This article provides an overview of virtual technology controls, limitations and certain specifics of creating and viewing ThingLink with a VR Headset such as Oculus, HTC Vive and Google Cardboard (with Mobile devices with an accelerometer).

Further questions about Virtual Tours or ThingLink in general?

Get in touch with us at [email protected]. As well as contacting us if you have any questions, please join our communities on social media to connect with ThingLinkers. We are incredibly proud of our groups, how they embrace ideas and share their demos, they will only be too pleased to welcome you.

Facebook: ThingLink Education || Twitter: ThingLink , ThingLink Education || LinkedIn: ThingLink Community

View our Past Webinars on our YouTube Channel or click below to view:

  • K12 – Return to Learn Lessons from lockdown
  • Higher Education – Creating engaging content
  • ThingLink on Tour! Creating Tours and Expeditions – creating and exploring the virtual reality experience with ThingLink
  • Read more about CEO and Founder Ulla Koivula’s ThingLink Journey from inception to 10 years old
  • Featured Image from Penybont Primary School Transition Tours, read more and watch demos in our Microsoft Blog Post
  • Read more about our ThingLink Certifications for Educators and eLearning Specialists

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7 Great Virtual Reality Travel Experiences

Try VR travel to fulfill your bucket list without leaving the couch

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Who says you can't see the world if you stay home? Virtual reality (VR) tourism experiences let you see places all over the world without ever leaving your couch. These aren't games; they're experiences, so the pace may be slower than you expect, but they are worth your patience. Here are some of the best VR tourist destinations to help you decide on your next virtual adventure.

Make sure your computer is beefy enough to handle the demands of virtual reality technology.

The Grand Canyon VR Experience

Very relaxing experience.

Excellent visual and sound quality.

Impressive attention to detail.

Predefined with little control.

Requires powerful hardware.

Short experience.

In The Grand Canyon VR Experience ($2.99 by Immersive Entertainment), you sit in a virtual motorized kayak ride through the Grand Canyon. Tailor the tour to your preferences by selecting either a sunlit or moonlit experience and controlling the ride's speed.

While you cruise along, you'll enjoy the sights and sounds of procedurally generated, artificially intelligent wildlife. Attract and feed the virtual fish as you navigate the waterways.

The ride is on rails, so you can't steer the kayak. However, you can stop at various points and enjoy the scenery by using the throttle speed controls of your motorized kayak or by exiting at scenic rest stops.

The tour is short, and there's no historical background information for history buffs. Still, it is a fun ride perfect for someone new to VR.

This tour requires one of the following virtual reality headsets: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift , or Valve Index .

Explore amazing places.

Impressively detailed.

More locations are added to the library regularly.

Not updated recently.

Realities (free from Realities.io ) is a VR travel app that allows you to explore scanned and modeled real-world environments. The environments aren't just 360-degree photos; these locations were captured with specialized scanning equipment, allowing for immersive rendering in virtual reality.

The user interface is a giant globe you rotate with your VR controllers. Once you decide on the place you want to visit, tap the area on the virtual globe, and you are instantly whisked away to the exotic locale.

One interesting destination is a cell in the infamous Alcatraz prison. When you arrive, you're greeted by an unseen narrator, presumably a former prisoner in the cell next to you, who recalls their experiences. It's museum-like and an educational adventure worth having.

There are other destinations of varying size and complexity, and the experience is updated with new realities regularly.

This experience is compatible with the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Valve Index, and Windows Mixed Reality .

Titans of Space PLUS

Great soundtrack.

Detailed 3D visuals.

Impressive sense of scale.

Flying through space makes some users feel nauseated.

No improvements since late 2019.

Do you like planetariums? Have you always wished they were more realistic? If you've ever dreamed of riding in a spaceship and exploring the solar system and beyond, Titans of Space PLUS ($9.99 by DrashVR LLC) helps make this a reality—at least a virtual one).

The original Titans of Space was one of the first polished virtual reality experiences available; it created a lot of buzz about all the potential VR had to offer.

This app provides a theme park-style ride through the solar system and beyond, allowing you to control the pace of the experience. Factoids about the planets and moons are provided throughout your journey, as are distances and other measurements of interest.

The sense of scale of the planets and moons is truly awe-inspiring and gives a unique perspective only astronauts usually get to have.

This title runs in both standard and VR modes. It does not require a VR headset. It is compatible with HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Valve Index, and Windows Mixed Reality.

Impressive rendering technology.

Auto-tunes for your GPU.

Stunning visuals.

Can feel slow.

Mostly narration with little hands-on time.

Everest VR ($9.99 from Sólfar Studios ) is an interactive Mount Everest VR tourism experience.

You'll experience Mount Everest in five iconic scenes. Prepare for your expedition at Basecamp, traverse the terrifying Khumbu Icefalls, spend the night at Camp 4, ascend the perilous Hillary Step, and finally conquer the summit of Everest.

After completing your first summit attempt, unlock God Mode to reach a unique vantage point of the Himalayas that's only possible in VR. Towering over the mountain range, this is a stunning VR diorama.

EVEREST VR is a must if you're into mountain climbing but don't like its possible death and frostbite aspects.

Requires one of the following virtual reality headsets: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, or Valve Index.

The VR Museum of Fine Art

Lots of content.

Educational experience.

Hasn't been updated since its initial release.

No voice narration.

Only takes about 20 minutes to experience.

If you've ever wanted to peruse a museum at your own pace with no limits on how close you can get to the artwork, then The VR Museum of Fine Art (free from Finn Sinclair) is for you.

This free app holds amazing educational value with incredibly detailed scans of some of the world's most famous paintings and sculptures. Look at the brushstrokes of Monet's Water Lilies or take a 360-degree tour of Michelangelo's David. This is an art lover's delight.  

The experience makes you feel as if you're visiting a museum, complete with a pamphlet map to help you navigate your way around the exhibits.

Great VR experience.

Incredibly realistic.

Contains three episodes.

theBlu ($9.99 from Wevr INC .) is a collection of virtual reality-based underwater experiences that make you feel as if you're literally in the tank of a huge aquarium exhibit.

Stand on the deck of a sunken ship while a gargantuan whale swims by and looks you straight in the eye or swim in a sea of bioluminescent jellyfish. There's no need for expensive scuba equipment or diving classes, or even to leave your living room, for that matter.

The level of detail in this app is amazing, and the sense of scale (especially during the whale encounter in the first episode) is jaw-dropping.

Compatible with HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Valve Index, and Windows Mixed Reality.

Google Earth VR

Amazing street view VR.

Travel the world virtually.

Impressive, vast experience.

Can be slow to load.

Lacks a search feature.

May cause motion sickness.

When Google Earth was released many years ago, everyone marveled at the novelty of finding and viewing their house from satellite imagery. Now, Google Earth VR (free from Google) lets you see your house from space and virtually fly to it and stand in your front yard or on your rooftop.

Change the sun's position, scale objects to any size you like, and fly around the world. The detail levels depend on what you're trying to view. For example, tourist destinations are likely to have more detailed geospatial imagery than rural areas. There is so much to see, and Google offers virtual tours to help you get started.

Google has even added several comfort features to prevent virtual travel sickness in this must-see virtual reality app.

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Whether you’re working on a single gigapixel panorama or a virtual tour with thousands of scenes, VToura can help you create an immersive experience for any modern browser. Finished projects can be seamlessly integrated with existing websites and viewed on desktops and mobile or VR devices.

Upload Your Panoramic Photos

Compatible with any smartphones photos, panoramic photos and all 360° cameras photos(JPG, PNG, WEBP)

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Make 360° VR tours, add hotspots, menu selection, map with other advanced features

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Simply embed with your website or link to your portfolio page

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Start working with VToura cloud based 360° virtual tour creator offers the most advanced VT features in the market.

When you publish a 360 virtual tour on VToura.com, you will automatically receive a code based link. You can embed your tour right onto your website. We host the tour, you show it off to the world.

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Online Virtual Tours: The 69 BEST to Explore in 2024

You found our list of the best online virtual tours !

Virtual tours are online experiences that enable visitors to experience museums, zoos, national parks, landmarks, and attractions. These tours use methods such as 360 pictures, satellite imagery, virtual reality, or video conferencing to bring famous sites into living rooms or classrooms. The purpose of these tours is to inspire, entertain and educate audiences. These experiences are also called “online tours.”

These tours are popular virtual field trips and can be fun online classroom activities .

This post includes:

  • virtual museum tours
  • online tours of national parks
  • virtual zoo tours

So, here is the list!

List of virtual museum tours

Here is a list of online museum tours that are perfect for both adults and kids. We also have a list of virtual museum scavenger hunt templates for you to use.

People in a virtual museum gallery

1. Smithsonian

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History offers a self-guided virtual tour of current and past museum exhibits. This experience includes narrated components, accessible via computer or smartphone. The Smithsonian also offers virtual experiences for its other institutions such as the National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the National Museum of the American Indian.

Visit the Smithsonian .

2. British Museum

The British Museum hosts an online “Museum of the World” that enables visitors to browse exhibits by area of origin, era, and subject matter. For example, you can search the collection by themes like “power and identity” or “art and design.” Each digital exhibit includes a picture, description, audio file, and links to related artifacts.

Visit British Museum .

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3. Auschwitz

This virtual tour of Auschwitz offers a panoramic birds eye view of the camps, Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II Birkenau, along with clickable descriptions of each area. Online visitors can also switch to an illustrated map of the grounds to better understand the scope of the concentration camps. The online tour is available in both English and Polish.

Visit Auschwitz .

4. Anne Frank House

The Anne Frank House welcomes visitors from around the world with digital experiences such as video, virtual reality, 360° photos of the Frank home, and translations of the diary in over 20 languages. Virtual visitors can also browse a pocket gallery by downloading the app.

Visit Anne Frank House .

5. 9/11 Memorial & Museum

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum website has a learn and explore feature which includes live, guide-led panoramic virtual tours of the rebuilt center, interactive videos, and webinar stories. The site also recommends activities to do at home with children to simulate the museum’s activity stations.

Visit 9/11 Memorial & Museum .

6. Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums provides an online experience consisting of 360° high resolution photos of over a dozen features such as the Sistine Chapel and Raphael’s Rooms. The website also grants web access to archaeological areas, various departments, and a searchable online catalogue.

Visit Vatican Museums .

7. Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien

Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien in Austria hosts a digital museum consisting of an online collection, artist talks and lectures, podcasts and Spotify series, and high resolution images of works and galleries. The museum also has its own app that enables online walk-throughs, including specialty tours for children.

Visit the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien .

8. National Museum (New Delhi)

New Delhi’s National Museum, often called the National Museum of India, displays the largest collection of art and artifacts in the country. The institution’s Museum at Home web portal consists of dozens of videos depicting sculptures, artifacts, and customs, with accompanying cultural analysis from curators. The site also links to several 360° and 3-D virtual galleries that enable online walk-throughs of the building.

Visit the National Museum (New Delhi) .

9. National Palace Museum & the Forbidden City (Beijing)

The National Palace Museum sits in the heart of Beijing and houses centuries worth of art and history. The museum building is a monument to classic Chinese architecture, as is the surrounding palace complex, the Forbidden City. Virtual visitors can tour works inside the museum and stroll through the outer courtyards by indulging in interactive and immersive virtual and VR tours. Both options give viewers the opportunity to explore the grounds up close without navigating the crowds.

Visit National Palace Museum and the Forbidden City .

10. Pergamonmuseum

Pergamonmuseum in Berlin contains a wealth of art and archaeological treasures, and curators give home viewers a glimpse into the collections through several online exhibits on Google Arts & Culture. The collection includes over 1,000 images of objects made of clay, metal, copper, and gemstone, originating in regions such as Iran, Spain, Turkey, and Germany.

Visit Pergamonmuseum .

11. National Museum of Australia

The National Museum of Australia offers free one hour digital excursions to schools that cannot visit the museum in person. The tours are available on weekdays between 9:30-10:30 am or at other times by request, and accommodate groups of 10 to 30 students. Classes meet with museum staff via Zoom and complete missions based around themes like the fight for indigenous rights. Virtual exhibition gallery tours are also available on occasion.

Visit the National Museum of Australia and check out these Indigenous Peoples Day ideas .

The Louvre virtual tour consists of 360° panoramic views of exhibit halls such as Egyptian Antiquities and the ruins of the Louvre Moat. By downloading a special app, visitors can also experience Mona Lisa in virtual reality. The museum website hosts multimedia online exhibitions of famous works such as Portrait of the Marquise de Pompadour and Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss.

Visit the Louvre .

13. Guggenheim

The Guggenheim museum offers staff facilitated online tours for students ranging from kindergarten to grade 12. Educators can book interactive, real-time tours for classes that engage students and enable question and answer sessions. Tours are no cost for New York City public schools. For other districts the tours are less than $100, and discounted rates are available. Tours have a maximum of 30 participants, meaning groups are sure to receive an intimate experience.

Visit Guggenheim .

14. Musée d’Orsay

The Google Arts tour of the Musée d’Orsay includes background and history on the museum building, as well as images, descriptions, and details of some of the museum’s most famous works. For example, the collection includes Van Gogh’s Self Portrait , James McNeill Whistler’s Whistler’s Mother , and Bartholdi’s Liberty .

Visit Musée d’Orsay .

15. Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is a Dutch National Museum that hosts an impressive array of art and history. Rijksmuseum’s virtual tour, which includes a Rijksmuseum from home series, consists of high definition pictures, videos, and audio narration that details seminal works inside the museum. The experience also includes interactive components such as a “find the key” challenge and creative tutorials.

Visit Rijksmuseum .

16. Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City launched a virtual views series which enables website visitors to browse rotating online exhibits. As part of the series, the MoMA site also hosts virtual events with components such as live Q&A sessions with artists and curators, readings and theatrical performances, 3-D renderings, and interactive games.

Visit MoMA .

17. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met 360° Project is a collection of six wide-lens videos compatible with both virtual reality systems, or regular computer screens or smartphones. Virtual viewers take a point-of-view tour of museum areas such as the Great Hall, the Met Cloisters, and the Arms and Armor Gallery, set to a soundtrack of instrumental music. The Met website also hosts an Art at Home series that offers up close virtual access and analysis to famous works, as well as videos of conservation projects and instructions for art projects.

Visit the MET .

18. Paul J. Getty Museum

The Google Arts & Culture online tour of the Getty Museum spans dozens of exhibits with thousands of digital artifacts. Pieces span as far back as the eighth century until modern times, with notable pieces including The Virgin Mary with Saints Thomas Aquinas and Paul , Rembrandt Laughing , and Irises .

Visit the Getty Museum .

19. Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago facilitates online visits consisting of virtual video and audio tours, searchable online collections, digital publications, as well as online lesson plans and art projects. There is even an “Ask an Educator” form that enables parents or teachers to communicate with museum staff who hand-pick resources to assist with lessons planning.

Visit the Art Institute of Chicago .

20. National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C.)

The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. website hosts digital perspectives, virtual exhibitions, and digital collections. The online experience also includes streamable films visitors can watch online.

Visit the National Gallery of Art .

21. The National Gallery (London)

The National Gallery of London offers immersive virtual tours accessible via smartphone, computer, or virtual reality headset. Through three different remote tours, virtual visitors can explore multiple wings of the museum, 18+ rooms, and 300+ paintings. The Gallery’s robust social media presence promotes further interaction with online art.

Visit The National Gallery .

22. Uffizi Gallery

The Google Arts & Culture Tour of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence explores four online exhibitions and hundreds of pieces of arts and artifacts, many in the Renaissance style. Notable pieces include Birth of Venus by Botecelli, Portraits of the Duke & Duchess of Urbino by Piero Della Francesca, and Madonna of the Goldfinch by Raphael.

Visit Uffizi Gallery .

23. Frida Kahlo Museum

The virtual tour of the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City is one of the most colorful museum tours online. Virtual visitors tour various areas of the grounds in a 360°, up close experience. The colors of the architecture and artifacts are works of art in themselves, and are sure to brighten viewers’ days. The website offers additional resources including downloadable photos, videos, quotes, and even recipes.

Visit Frida Kahlo Museum .

24. Russian Museum

The Virtual Russian Museum is a web portal consisting of several digital resources such as online lectures, virtual 3-D walk through tours of the museum complex with accompanying audio, and a multimedia center. The multimedia component of the virtual branch includes digital content and displays, broadcasts and video conferencing, and interactive web workshops.

Visit Russian Museum .

25. Tokyo National Museum

The Tokyo National Museum contains artworks and antiquities dating back several centuries, and displays over 100 digital images of textiles, clay-ware, ceramics, and similar artifacts on its Google Arts & Culture tour. During this remote museum tour, virtual visitors peruse Asian art and conduct Google Earth walk-throughs of museum galleries.

Visit Tokyo National Museum .

26. National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

This online tour of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea enables web visitors to explore the country’s unique culture and heritage. The tour includes multiple online exhibits, hundreds of pieces of modern artwork, and several floors of the building, including sections of the outdoor sculpture garden.

Visit the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art .

27. MASP – Museu de Arte de São Paulo

The Museu de Arte de São Paulo has an impressive online presence with over 1,000 images of paintings, photographs, and objects in its Google Arts & Culture collection. Online visitors can delve into South American art and culture by exploring online exhibits and browsing through digital collections. The Google App also enables virtual reality tours of the museum via smartphone.

Visit MASP – Museu de Arte de São Paulo .

28. Space Center Houston

Space Center Houston offers free interactive virtual learning experiences like an online Apollo 13 exhibit, video series, and an app that offers mobile tours plus augmented reality and virtual reality experiences. The center also occasionally hosts virtual stargazing camp-outs and suggests at home science experiments and games. Plus, the website is a wealth of online outer space resources.

Visit Space Center Houston .

29. American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History suggests several options for virtual visits. These options include virtual field trips, an “inside the museum” high resolution picture tour, guided tours on Facebook live, and an expedition app experience that includes quizzes and exhibit highlights.

Visit American Museum of Natural History .

30. Oxford University’s History of Science Museum

The Oxford History of Science Museum website displays past exhibits so virtual visitors can learn more about concepts such as antibiotics, the human brain, and the Transit of Venus. The format of each online exhibit varies, but most contain, at minimum, sample images and descriptions.

Visit Oxford University’s History of Science Museum .

31. The National Museum of the United States Air Force

The National Museum of the United States Air Force provides digital resources such as 360° photo cockpit tours, podcasts, and videos. The site also supplies lesson plans broken down by grade level, with extras like aircraft coloring pages and word searches.

Visit The National Museum of the United States Air Force .

32. The National Museum of Computing

The National Museum of Computing offers a comprehensive 3D virtual tour of the entire museum, with multiple touch-points explaining the significance of fixtures. The online walk-through enables a point-of-view, clickable dollhouse tour of the entire building, with a wealth of supplemental materials like videos, audio files, and documents. For a fee, the museum also arranges curated virtual tours that form a more personalized experience.

Visit The National Museum of Computing .

33. Boston Museum of Science

Boston’s premier science museum presents a Museum of Science at Home experience consisting of virtual exhibits, daily live streams, podcasts, town halls, and family STEM activities. The museum provides digital programs for both adults and children, with highlights including live social events, an ant colony webcam, and stimulating multimedia content.

Visit the Boston Museum of Science .

34. Glazer Children’s Museum

The Glazer Children’s Museum website hosts virtual experiences such as digital field trips and weekly facilitated live Zoom play sessions. These sessions have educational themes like music and movement or STEM. The site also publishes content designed for anytime learning, such as instructional videos and blog posts that lead visitors through at-home art projects, science experiments, and story-time.

Visit Glazer Children’s Museum .

35. Children’s Museum Houston

The Children’s Museum Houston advertises an ongoing all-time access program. This program provides regular content such as 3-D digital field trips, virtual adventure camps, daily broadcasted project tutorials, webinar workshops, and video call-in shows. The museum also has a free smartphone app for additional at-home adventures.

Visit Children’s Museum Houston .

36. Children’s Museum Indianapolis

Children’s Museum Indianapolis provides a museum at home experience including ongoing virtual events, digital museum programs, follow-along hands-on activities, and virtual birthday parties. The museum also creates holiday-themed downloadable activity bundles and resources for teachers.

Visit Children’s Museum Indianapolis .

37. The Strong National Museum of Play

The Strong museum in Rochester, NY, examines the history of playtime throughout recent history. Its online exhibits follow fun themes such as “Pinball in America”, “The History of Valentines”, and the Oregon Trail computer games. The online collection hosts a staggering 77,000+ images, many of which are designs for games throughout the decades.

Visit The Strong National Museum of Play .

38. Boston Children’s Museum

The Boston Children’s Museum website provides learning resources including weekly activitiy emails, Mad Libs, and links to mini digital museums and interactive apps. This section of the museum’s website has many tools to keep kids occupied for hours.

Visit Boston Children’s Museum .

List of online national park tours

Here is a list of national parks to visit online.

A simple interface for a virtual national park tour

39. Joshua Tree

A virtual tour to Joshua Tree includes video, readable web content, photos and other multimedia. To captivate younger visitors, the park posts digital scavenger hunts, a junior ranger program, and guest speaker series. Educators can schedule virtual field trips with park rangers centered around topics such as plants and animals, rocks and minerals, and weather and erosion.

Visit Joshua Tree .

40. Zion National Park

An online visit to Zion National Park includes virtual hikes and shuttle tours, along with a free app that launches a historical exploration of the region. Web visitors explore the canyons in virtual reality from multiple vantage points, exploring the terrain from the comfort of the couch.

Visit Zion National Park .

41. Yosemite

Virtual Yosemite provides an aerial view of the park with zoomable scenic spots. The remote park tour also features a panoramic index for easy navigation to various locales within the preservation, but visitors can also click through and rotate the views to explore more organically. Virtual Yosemite presents high resolution images of a variety of landscapes, highlighting the geographical diversity of the land.

Visit Yosemite .

42. Bryce Canyon

While not an immersive experience, the Bryce Canyon virtual tour provides pictures and descriptions of locations along the trail so that virtual visitors can imagine hikes and plan future trips. The points of the online tour outline the landscape variety of the canyon, describing sights like Mossy Cave, Swamp Canyon, and Natural Bridge.

Visit Bryce Canyon .

43. Death Valley

This 360° online tour of California’s Death Valley National Park allows visitors to pan around the attraction’s various landscapes, from dunes to craters to canyons. Each spot contains a short description of the geography. The high resolution images create a virtual reality experience that immerses viewers in the environment.

Visit Death Valley .

44. Grand Canyon

This virtual tour of the Grand Canyon consists of 3D satellite images via Google Earth. Virtual visitors can rotate or click through trails, view the canyon from above, and navigate to photos of notable landmarks like Yavapai Point and The Abyss. High resolution pictures enable cyber sightseers to take in the views without the fear of falling.

Visit the Grand Canyon .

45. Redwood National Forest

Redwood National Forest facilitates virtual reality experiences via smartphone or computer, where online visitors take in 360° canopy tours for a panoramic view of the forest. The site also hosts multimedia presentations that include narrated videos, documentaries, songs, and other educational materials.

Visit Redwood National Forest .

46. Hot Springs National Park

Exploring Arkansas’ Hot Springs National Park from home is possible thanks to a collection of photography, suggested readings, and an aerial digital map. The latter presents a birds eye view of the bath house district with clickable panoramic views inside the buildings. These resources enable virtual visitors to learn about the region’s rich cultural past and recent scientific research.

Visit Hot Springs National Park.

47. Gateway Arch

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis provides a series of short pre-recorded videos exploring the history of the region and the exhibitions within the park, along with livestream webcam views from the top of the arch. The park website features historical analysis and photo galleries too, along with a virtual stamp for visitor’s National Park Passport books.

Visit the Gateway Arch.

48. Niagara Falls

This panoramic tour of Niagara Falls presents rotating 360° photos of park vistas such as the Cave of the Winds, Prospect Point, and the river rapids. A short description accompanies each photograph, outlining background information about the scenic spots.

Visit Niagara Falls .

49. Everglades National Park

The Everglades National Park provides a robust selection of virtual experiences. The options include a 24/7 live wildlife webcam, short documentaries and educational videos, audio narrated virtual tours, and an official digital photography collection. The park website offers a free curriculum for distance learning programs as well.

Visit the Everglades .

50. Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park

This online multimedia presentation guides virtual viewers through the islands and volcanoes of Hawaii. The experience includes audio, video, and panoramic photography of volcanic cliffs, caverns, and rainforests. Web visitors can also explore an active volcano by joining a digital helicopter flyover and watching an eruption from the 1950s.

Visit Hawai’i Volcanoes .

51. Table Mountain and Kruger National Park

South Africa has stunning national parks. Discover Africa enables visitors to explore the sights of South Africa via immersive video and interactive panoramic photography accompanied by narration. Virtual visitors choose from five attractions, including Cape Town’s Table Mountain and Northern South Africa’s epic Kruger nature preserve. The digital experience constitutes a virtual safari that lets viewers experience the country’s diverse landscapes.

Visit Table Mountain and Kruger National Park .

52. Mount Everest

This digital rendering allows website visitors to scale the peaks of Mount Everest from behind a screen. The website is a 3D geographic model of the mountain with clickable descriptions for key peaks. While many folks will never climb Everest in person, they can explore the range through this immersive cyber expedition.

Visit Mount Everest .

53. Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

Phong Nha-Ke Bang in Vietnam contains one of the world’s largest caves alongside lush rainforests. Digital visitors trek through caves, viewing high resolution images and listening to realistic background sounds. The result is an immersive experience that simulates the sensation of navigating the caves in person.

Visit Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park .

54. Zhāngjiājiè National Forest Park

For much of the world, Zhāngjiājiè National Forest Park in China is more recognizable by sight than by name. The park’s steep, wooded cliffs appear in movies like Avatar, and the landscape looks more like a film set than a natural occurrence. Website visitors navigate between explorable panoramic views to the sounds of instrumental music for a simultaneously captivating and calming web experience.

Visit Zhāngjiājiè National Forest Park .

55. Namib Desert

This digital tour of the Namib Desert in Southern Africa gives viewers birds eye perspectives of dunes, parched plains, and rolling mist, plus vast starry skies. The high quality, panoramic images constitute virtual hikes through the vast landscape, without the scorching heat of day or the freezing chill of night.

Visit Namib Desert .

56. Banff National Park

A remote tour of Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada consists of dozens of 360* videos showing scenes like snowy canyons, serene lakes at sunset, and mountainous trails. Though short, the videos enable you to pause and take in the scenery, and watching the playlist gives online visitors the benefit of viewing the park during multiple seasons.

Visit Banff National Park .

57. Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre is a coastal region of Italy renowned for its colorful hillside houses. In this experience, online visitors take a panoramic photo tour of the coastline at various angles and times of days, set to a backdrop of calming music. The site also includes educational descriptions and an additional photo gallery.

Visit Cinque Terre .

List of virtual zoo tours

Here is a list of virtual zoos and aquariums that enable up-close online animal encounters.

Three girafes representing an online zoo tour

58. San Diego Zoo

The San Diego Zoo streams live cams of animals including polar bears, tigers, penguins, baboons, and koalas, and as well as hosting highlight archive footage of past panda cams. For a fee, the zoo also offers virtual programs that enable private online encounters with animals. The website also hosts an online directory of zoo animals and plants so that virtual visitors can learn more about the zoo’s exhibits from home.

Visit the San Diego Zoo .

59. San Antonio Zoo

The San Antonio Zoo arranges online meetings between virtual visitors and animals like hippos, giraffes, and rhinos for $100. For an additional $50 fee, guests can add a question and answer session with a zookeeper. Experiences are available Tuesday through Saturday. The zoo also offers online educational workshops.

Visit the San Antonio Zoo .

60. Houston Zoo

The Houston Zoo website includes a variety of live webcams with stars such as rhinos, gorillas, flamingos, and elephants. Cameras are live between 7AM and 7PM CT. The zoo also advertises live virtual experiences including web conference meet and greets with animals and virtual scavenger hunts. Notable digital offerings include an animal painting experience where guests watch a creature create art and receive a copy in the mail afterwards, and a Cameo video greeting to send to a friend.

Visit the Houston Zoo .

61. Cincinnati Zoo

The Cincinnati Zoo offers a home safari consisting of videos recorded during Facebook Live streams. Website visitors can browse through over 50 animal encounters and learn facts about creatures like red pandas, parrots, zebras, and orangutans. Online modules also include activities such as homemade birdfeeders and balancing exercises so kids can participate more fully in the virtual experience.

Visit the Cincinnati Zoo .

62. Bronx Zoo

The Bronx Zoo streams live between 10AM and 4PM ET, showing off visitor favorites such as sea lions and lemurs. The zoo also books out virtual wild encounters with creatures like cheetahs, alpacas, sloths, and warthogs, for prices ranging from $80 to $150. Each session takes place over Zoom and allows virtual visitors to get up close to animals while asking caretakers questions.

Visit the Bronx Zoo .

63. Alaska Zoo

The Alaska Zoo presents a distance learning experience through its virtual animal encounters and arctic discovery programs. Each session lasts approximately 45 minutes and costs $150. These experiences include interactive presentations and virtual visits with animals such as tigers, gray wolves, polar bears, or seals. A scheduled visit ensures the animals are unlikely to be camera-shy, creating a memorable and intimate online experience for students.

Visit the Alaska Zoo .

64. Singapore Zoo

The Singapore Zoo proposes a variety of e-learning options designed to enrich virtual classrooms. The website modules sort experiences by grade level, making it easy to choose an experience appropriate for your classroom. Students can explore topics such as zoology careers, reptile habitats, and African wildlife.

Visit the Singapore Zoo .

65. Oregon Zoo

The Oregon Zoo offers virtual encounters on platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and GoToMeeting. During these sessions, caregivers and animals such as armadillos, giraffes, elephants, sloths, and lemurs join virtual visitors for a 15 minute meet and greet. The two available daily time slots are at 10AM and 2PM PT.

Visit the Oregon Zoo .

66. Monterey Bay Aquarium

The Monterey Bay Aquarium hosts ten live webcams featuring critters such as penguins, jellyfish, sharks, and sea otters. The variety of exhibits means that teachers can switch between streams when a particular camera is not live. The aquarium also facilitates narrated feeding times on certain webcams during weekdays, with the feeding schedule posted on the site.

Visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium .

67. National Aquarium (Baltimore)

The National Aquarium in Baltimore offers an interactive virtual map folks can navigate for an online tour. Virtual visitors can follow the arrows for a walk-through experience, or can click a menu of creatures like dolphins and sharks to instantly view anticipated animals. The aquarium website also hosts three 24/7 webcam livestreams , and offers guided virtual programs too.

Visit the National Aquarium .

68. Georgia Virtual Aquarium

The Georgia Virtual Aquarium allows visitors to book a 10 to 20 minute guided online tour. Participants select a tour, receive viewing instructions via email, then enjoy up-close views of animals with educational insight. Participants get to view oceans, rivers, or sea creatures within an immersive virtual environment.

Visit Georgia Virtual Aquarium .

You may not be able to jet around the world at a moment’s notice. However, you can still visit famous parks, zoos, or museums by taking an engaging, interactive online virtual tour.

These online experiences enable you to stare as long as you like, avoid crowds, learn more about a subject or piece instantly, and enjoy other benefits. Not to mention, at home experiences are a great way to educate and teach children, coworkers, and yourself!

Next, check out our list of virtual family reunion activities and this one with online volunteering ideas .

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FAQ: Virtual Tours

Here are some of the common questions we see about virtual tours of museums, zoos and parks.

What are virtual tours?

Virtual tours are online galleries of famous attractions such as zoos, national parks, and museums. These experiences often consist of online exhibitions, videos, 360 degree and satellite photography, and virtual reality elements. Some tours may also include a facilitated live experience with a guide.

What are the best virtual tours?

The best virtual tours tend to include an interactive element. For example, the tour could be a live experience led by a guide and include trivia, polls, or other forms of engagement. These online tours are the best because they focus on the visitor experience.

How much do virtual tours cost?

Virtual tours are available at a variety of costs, ranging from free to $5 per person, $50 per person and upwards. We recommend starting with some of the free tours to see what your group likes and benefits most from. Then, you can invest in one of the paid options.

How do virtual tours work?

Virtual tours take place on online platforms such as Zoom, Google Street View, or custom software. Users login solo or as a group, and follow along with either a live or automated guide to learn about the tour stops.

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Author: Angela Robinson

Marketing Coordinator at teambuilding.com. Team building content expert. Angela has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and worked as a community manager with Yelp to plan events for businesses.

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20 Free Resources To Help You Create An Interactive VR Project

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Creating an interactive Virtual Reality (VR) project from scratch is much easier than you think. Especially because nowadays there are no coding skills required to do so. Additionally, there are more quality free resources available today than ever before to help you hit the ground running with your new VR project.

To save you time and put you right ahead of the pack we created this resource guide with only the best free resources available in the Virtual Reality world today.

Please still be aware that even though something is free, it might not automatically mean that you can use it for your purposes. Our advice is to always check licensing rights (especially for commercial use) and attribution regulations.

Step 1: Idea generation

If you want to get started with VR and VRdirect but have no idea what kind of experience you want to create in the first place, you can always get some inspiration from existing projects and content. The following two resources offer you an enormous collection of material that you can work through to generate the perfect idea for your Virtual Reality approach.

1. Virtual Showroom by VRdirect

VRdirect Showroom - Virtual Reality Projects

Virtual Reality has great potential to be used profitably in all industries. VRdirect enables business scenarios ranging from virtual tours to training & education, marketing & sales and product visualization. Explore our VR showroom and learn how you can leverage Virtual Reality for various use cases in your business.

2. Youtube/Facebook 360° Video search

20 Free Resources To Help You Create An Interactive VR Experience

If you want to take it one step further and want to see what is possible in terms of 360° video , you can use the Youtube and Facebook search to find 360° video content and watch them for free in your browser.

For Facebook, just add “360” to your search term – if you are looking for 360° skydiving videos for example just search for “Skydiving 360” and you will find multiple 360° videos.

On Youtube, the search for 360° content works even better. Input your search term and afterwards use the “Filter”-tab of the Youtube search to display 360° videos. You can also apply multiple filters in order to, for example, show videos with the most views first.

Please note that these 360° videos are not interactive experiences but merely nice 360° videos that users consume passively.

Step 2: Wireframing and Storyboard

Every great Virtual Reality experience starts off first with a plan of action, even if that plan is rudimentary and minimalist at first. All you need to get started is a simple storyboard (physical paper or digital paper, it makes no difference) to act as the foundation that the rest of your VR world will be built upon.

3. Adobe XD CC

After you’re done sketching your user experience it’s now time to create your storyboard. A storyboard is a shot-by-shot visual plan that shows what a film will look like before the film is shot. Working with a storyboard is very important so you don’t miss out on any important shots when filming your footage. If you are producing your Virtual Reality project for someone else, you should definitely consult your client about the storyboard first before you start producing.

If you’ve never worked with storyboards and don’t know how to make one, head to the ACMI website for a free crash course

Step 3: Footage and content

You should now have a clear idea of what kind of story you want to tell and what media and content you need for that. For Virtual Reality projects, the basis will always be 360° photo or video content or something that was rendered out in 3D.

360° Photo or Video Content:

5. google street view for 360° photos.

The Street View App lets you create 360° photos directly with your smartphone – for free and without any additional hardware. Just open the app on your iOS or Android device and click on “Create” and take a series of photos. The photos are taken automatically and once you’re done, the app does all the stitching work for you. After the stitching is done, the 360° photo will be automatically saved to your smartphone and can then be integrated into your Virtual Reality project.

iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-street-view/id904418768

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.street&hl=en

Stitching Software If you already have a 360° camera, the stitching often comes with it for free, e.g. the THETA stitching app (for Ricoh Theta cameras) or the Insta360 Pro STITCHER (for Insta cameras).

Editing 360° Content:

GIMP is a free software for photo editing. With the open source image editor, you are able to use a wide range of photo editing tools. By adjusting the contrast, color saturation, brightness or other parameters, you can make your 360° photos look more professional.

While 360° photo content can be edited with many free image editing tools, this is not the case for 360° video and it’s not too easy to find a good solution even for basic editing such as trimming.

V360

3D Animations and Models:

Although you don’t need any fancy looking 3D-animations to create a stunning and interactive VR experience, some people still want to use them or even have to. With 3D-animation, computer graphics are used to give the impression of objects moving and being in a three-dimensional space.

At the same time, using 3D models of rooms or halls can give you just the look you’re searching for when taking 360° photos yourself is not an option.

20 Free Resources To Help You Create An Interactive VR Experience

Blender is a free and open-source 3D creation software. If you don’t have access to 360° footage or need parts of your experience to be created in 3D, blender is an ideal way to get started and create your first 3D models. There are thousands of tutorials online that can help you create exactly the 3D models that you need.

Other software tools might offer more advanced features for creating 3D models, but if you’ve never used a 3D modeling tool, you can probably do everything you need to do without the more advanced ones. Also, other and more advanced software tools aren’t free most of the time.

Blender is more than suited to create your very first 3D models for your VR experience and we would definitely recommend taking a look at it. Sure – it might take you some time to really get started, but that’s the case for almost any software.

20 Free Resources To Help You Create An Interactive VR Experience

Mixamo is an Adobe tool for 3D character creation and animation. It contains a free library of rigged and animated characters that can easily be imported to your 3D software (e.g. Blender). Using this tool is completely free – all you need is an Adobe ID. A Creative Cloud subscription is not required. If you ask us, Mixamo is a great way to work with pre-designed characters and animations.

Please note, however, that the current version of VRdirect Studio does not allow insertion of 3D objects. You’ll have to render them out as MP4, PNG or JPEG or integrate them directly into the background, which you’ll then be able to import as a video or an image.

10. Sketchfab

20 Free Resources To Help You Create An Interactive VR Experience

11. Turbosquid

20 Free Resources To Help You Create An Interactive VR Experience

Just like Sketchfab, Turbosquid offers a library with 3D models, but focuses on full rooms and 3D-modelled places next to characters. A lot of models are available for free and can be downloaded as an .fbx file that can be rendered in any 3D software before importing it to VRdirect Studio. If you want to know more about the VRdirect Studio schedule a free demo with us.

Step 4: 2D-Elements and Graphics

12. iconmonstr.com.

20 Free Resources To Help You Create An Interactive VR Experience

A great place to get access to such icons that you can freely use in your projects is iconmonstr.com. The website hosts over 4237+ free icons that you can download as .png graphics in your preferred resolution and color or as .ai to use it as a vector graphic. The license of iconmonstr.com grants you every right you need to have: use the downloaded icons in non-commercial and commercial projects, services or products without attribution in any media.

After you’ve downloaded your .png icon you can just import it to VRdirect Studio and use it for your interactive elements.

13. Freepik

Freepik

14. Flaticon

20 Free Resources To Help You Create An Interactive VR Experience

15. Pixabay

20 Free Resources To Help You Create An Interactive VR Experience

Lastly, Pixabay is a great source for free photos, illustrations as well as videos and music. Here you can also find full-body shots of people that you can cut out in order to integrate them into your Virtual Reality project – for example as a staff member at the front desk with a speech bubble who greets users. Most of Pixabay’s assets are licensed for commercial use and require no attribution of the creator.

Step 5: Audio

16. bensound.

20 Free Resources To Help You Create An Interactive VR Experience

Sound effects:

17. youtube search.

20 Free Resources To Help You Create An Interactive VR Experience

The answer might be simpler then you’d expect, but using YouTube’s search function to find royalty free sound effects works pretty well. Just search for your desired sound (e.g. “punch”) and add the term “sfx royalty free”.

You will find many videos including download links. Again: make sure to read the whole video description or visit the website of the creator (if one is declared) to make sure under what conditions the effect is free to use in your project.

18. FreeSFX

20 Free Resources To Help You Create An Interactive VR Experience

FreeSFX offers a huge library of free sound effects and even some entire music tracks that you can use for your Virtual Reality experience. All you need is a free account – then you can download the needed tricks as MP3 files that can be directly imported to VRdirect Studio.

19. Audacity

Audacity

Step 6: Putting it all together & Publishing

So you’ve worked yourself all the way through and have got everything ready that you need to create an immersive interactive Virtual Reality project? Then it’s time to put it all together. And that’s where VRdirect Studio comes into play.

20. VRdirect Studio

VRdirect Studio is a vr software that lets you create and publish your own professional interactive 360°/VR projects. VRdirect Studio is available for Windows and Mac. It is an easy-to-use drag & drop editor that lets you create interactive 360° projects within minutes. We have created a complete user guide on how to use our Studio so you can convince yourself:

Full VRdirect User Guide

Create an account and use the VRdirect Studio for free within our free trial period. During that time you may create and preview as many projects as you like and even publish a project for demo purposes.

And this is it. You have just created an interactive VR project that you can show to your audience, just by using free resources. Isn’t that amazing? We think so too. 

If you have any questions regarding your Virtual Reality projects,  feel free to contact us anytime!

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The VRdirect platform is the easiest solution to create and publish Virtual Reality projects. There are no expert skills needed. Moreover, Virtual Reality projects created with VRdirect can be published instantly via any VR enabled device, smartphone or web-browser and you can update them easily and in real-time.

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Experience the magic of virtual reality tours

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This service offers a behind-the-scenes look at how products are manufactured in various factories around the world. It uses 360-degree video technology to take visitors on a virtual tour of the production facilities, showcasing the manufacturing process, and the various stages involved in producing a particular product. This type of tour is ideal for anyone interested in manufacturing or those who want to learn more about how products are made.

This service provides an immersive experience of visiting a sports stadium from the comfort of your home. It uses 3D technology to create a virtual tour of the stadium, allowing visitors to explore various areas of the facility, including the field, locker rooms, VIP areas, and other parts of the stadium. It is ideal for sports enthusiasts who cannot visit the stadium in person or want to relive their stadium experiences.

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This service offers an immersive experience that takes visitors on a journey through virtual environments using Virtual Reality (VR) technology. This type of tour allows visitors to explore virtual worlds, interact with objects and other elements, and learn about various topics. Virtual Reality Tours are ideal for those who want to experience unique and interactive environments, including museums, historical sites, and cultural landmarks, without leaving their homes.

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How VR Tourism is Revolutionizing Travel Experiences

How VR Tourism is Revolutionizing Travel Experiences

  • Key Takeaways

In 2024, Statista reported a 30% increase in VR tourism adoption, highlighting its growing popularity.

Gartner predicts that by 2025, 50% of global travel agencies will use VR for showcasing destinations.

According to SEMrush, searches for VR travel experiences rose by 40% in the past year, indicating rising consumer interest.

Sustainable travel is promoted through virtual experiences, reducing environmental impacts.

VR tourism is like a magic carpet for travel. It uses fancy technology to take us to cool places and famous landmarks without leaving home. This new way of traveling, thanks to virtual reality, opens up a whole new world for us to explore. Now, we can climb Everest or walk around Tokyo from our sofas, without worrying about money, distance, or harming the environment. As we step into this exciting new world, we wonder: How will VR change the way we travel in the future?

Introduction to VR Tourism

Virtual Reality (VR) tourism changes how we travel by letting us explore the world digitally in 3D. It’s like going on a trip using special goggles that show you different places. With VR, you can see cities, nature, and cool spots as if you’re really there. Lots of people are getting into this new way of traveling, especially those who want new adventures or can’t travel easily.

  • Concept of VR Tourism

VR tourism uses virtual reality tech to make fake worlds for people to play in. In travel, it lets you visit fake versions of real places, like Egypt’s pyramids or New York City streets, without leaving your home. It’s not just looking around; you can also do things like take tours, learn stuff, and even go on adventures, which makes it super fun and interesting.

  • Impact on the Travel Industry
  • Market expansion: Opens up travel experiences to a wider audience, including those unable to travel physically.
  • Marketing tool: Provides a “try before you buy” experience for potential tourists.
  • Future potential: Continues to evolve, offering more advanced and interactive travel experiences.

Immersive Destination Experiences

  • Virtual tours of famous landmarks
  • Highly Detailed Visuals : VR tours provide high-resolution imagery and 360-degree views, offering a lifelike experience of visiting famous landmarks like the Eiffel Tower or the Grand Canyon.
  • Interactive Elements : Users can often interact with the environment, such as clicking on specific points to learn more about the history or significance of the site.
  • Global Access : People from anywhere in the world can visit these landmarks virtually, eliminating the need for travel and making global landmarks accessible to a wider audience.
  • Cultural and educational experiences
  • Learning and Engagement : VR allows for immersive educational experiences, teaching users about the history, art, and culture of different locations without the need for physical presence.
  • Language and Customs : Virtual tours can include language lessons and cultural etiquette, preparing visitors for future physical trips or simply enriching their knowledge.
  • Museum and Gallery Tours : Many museums and galleries now offer VR tours, allowing users to explore exhibits and collections in detail, often with expert commentary.
  • Adventure and exploration in VR
  • Simulated Adventures: Users can try out cool virtual adventures like going on safaris, diving deep into the sea, or climbing mountains. They get to feel the excitement of these activities from home, all safe and easy.
  • Interactive Exploration: Adventure VR games let you do fun stuff like solving puzzles and exploring virtual worlds. This makes the games more exciting and keeps you hooked.
  • Realistic Experiences: VR tech is getting better, making these adventures feel super real. You’ll feel like you’re really there, having a blast just like in real life.

Technology Behind VR Tourism 

  • VR Headsets and Equipment
  • Variety of Devices : VR tourism is powered by various headsets like Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR. Each offers unique features suited for different VR experiences.
  • Sensory Immersion : These headsets come with advanced sensors and tracking capabilities to provide a fully immersive experience. They track head movements, allowing users to look around a virtual environment as if they were physically there.
  • Enhanced Visuals and Audio : High-resolution displays and spatial audio technology create a realistic and engaging virtual environment, making virtual tours more lifelike.
  • Integration with AR and AI
  • Augmented Reality (AR) Enhancements : AR adds layers of information to the real world, enhancing VR tours with interactive elements like historical facts, directional cues, or storytelling.
  • AI Personalization : Artificial Intelligence (AI) tailors the VR experience to individual preferences, adjusting the content based on user behavior and interests. This makes virtual tours more relevant and engaging.
  • Combined AR and AI : Integrating AR and AI with VR can create dynamic and interactive experiences that adapt in real-time, providing personalized guidance and information during virtual tours.
  • Future Technological Advancements
  • More Realistic VR: VR tech is getting better at making virtual worlds look and feel more real, with nicer graphics and easier ways to interact.
  • Wearable Tech in VR: VR is teaming up with wearable gadgets to make things even cooler, like feeling stuff in the virtual world or making it feel like you’re really in different weather.
  • Easier to Get into VR: As VR gets fancier, it’s also becoming cheaper and easier to use, so more people can try out virtual tourism. XR Experiences: There’s a new thing called XR that mixes VR, AR, and MR. It’s making virtual trips even cooler by blending real and digital worlds.

Marketing and Business Impact

  • Reinventing Marketing Strategies in Tourism
  • VR technology is transforming tourism marketing by enabling immersive storytelling and interactive experiences. This approach captivates potential travelers more effectively than traditional media.
  • Companies like Thomas Cook have used VR to offer “try before you buy” experiences, leading to a significant increase in bookings. For instance, after introducing a VR experience of New York, the company reported a 190% rise in bookings for the city.
  • Destination marketing organizations are also adopting VR to showcase attractions, landscapes, and experiences in a compelling way, enhancing their promotional efforts and attracting more tourists.
  • Economic Benefits and Revenue Generation
  • VR tourism creates new revenue streams for travel companies by offering virtual experiences that can be monetized. These experiences appeal to a broad audience, including those unable to travel physically.
  • It reduces marketing costs and increases efficiency. Instead of spending on physical brochures and displays, companies invest in VR content that can be used repeatedly across various platforms.
  • VR experiences can drive actual visits and bookings, as potential travelers are more likely to book a trip after experiencing a destination virtually.
  • Case Studies of Successful VR Tourism Projects
  • Marriott International launched the “VRoom Service,” allowing guests to order virtual travel experiences to their hotel rooms, enhancing guest satisfaction and positioning Marriott as an innovative leader in the hotel industry.
  • The British Museum partnered with Samsung to create a virtual reality tour of the museum, attracting a global audience and enhancing educational outreach.
  • Tourism Australia launched a VR campaign to showcase the country’s unique landscapes and wildlife, resulting in increased interest and tourism from international markets. This campaign leveraged VR to present Australia’s diverse attractions in an engaging and immersive manner.

Sustainable and Accessible Travel

  • Reducing carbon footprint and environmental impact
  • Virtual Exploration: VR tourism allows travelers to explore destinations virtually, reducing the need for physical travel and thus lowering carbon emissions associated with transportation, especially air travel.
  • Educational Impact: By simulating real-world environments, VR can raise awareness about the environmental impacts of tourism, educating users on sustainability and conservation.
  • Event Alternatives: VR can host virtual events and conferences, reducing the need for physical attendance and the associated environmental footprint of large gatherings.
  • Making travel accessible to all
  • Overcoming Physical Limitations: VR tourism opens up travel experiences to people with mobility issues, financial constraints, or other barriers that prevent physical travel.
  • Economic Inclusivity: By providing a cost-effective way to experience new places, VR helps democratize travel, making it possible for a broader audience to explore the world.
  • Cultural Accessibility: VR can bring cultural experiences and heritage sites to users worldwide, ensuring that even remote or restricted areas are accessible to all, preserving cultural heritage and promoting global understanding.
  • Preserving natural sites and heritage
  • Virtual Conservation: VR can help in the preservation of natural sites and heritage by providing an alternative to physical visitation, which can lead to over-tourism and degradation of sensitive environments.
  • Awareness and Education: Through immersive experiences, VR can educate visitors about the importance of conservation and the challenges faced by natural and historical sites.
  • Support for Conservation Efforts: Revenue generated from VR tourism can be channeled back into conservation and preservation efforts, supporting the maintenance and protection of natural and cultural heritage sites.

Personalization and Customer Experience

  • Tailored travel experiences through VR
  • VR allows travel companies to create customized experiences based on user preferences and past behavior.
  • Travelers can explore destinations, activities, and accommodations virtually before making decisions, ensuring their travel plan aligns with their interests and desires.
  • VR can simulate different scenarios within a travel destination, such as weather conditions, crowd sizes, and time of day, giving a comprehensive preview of what to expect.
  • Enhancing customer engagement and satisfaction
  • Interactive VR experiences engage customers more deeply than traditional travel brochures or websites.
  • Users can virtually visit locations, leading to increased excitement and anticipation for the actual trip, enhancing overall satisfaction with the travel planning process.
  • Feedback mechanisms within VR platforms can help companies improve offerings and customize user experiences, leading to higher levels of customer satisfaction and engagement.
  • Building brand loyalty and trust
  • By providing immersive and personalized VR experiences, travel companies can create memorable interactions that foster brand loyalty.
  • Transparent previews of travel services and destinations build trust, as customers feel more confident in their travel choices and the authenticity of what is being offered.
  • Regular updates and new VR content can keep customers engaged with the brand, encouraging repeat business and referrals to others, thus strengthening brand loyalty and trust over time.

Future of VR Tourism

  • Emerging Trends and Potential Growth Areas

The future of VR tourism looks bright! As technology gets better, VR experiences feel more real, pulling in more people. New trends include super-realistic simulations that let you feel, touch, and even smell places you visit.

VR might also branch out into education, offering fun ways to learn about history and nature. And when VR teams up with AI, it can suggest trips and activities tailored just for you, based on what you like and have done before.

  • Challenges and Considerations for the Future

Despite the promising prospects of VR tourism, several challenges and considerations need addressing. Digital divide is a big problem. Not everyone can use VR because it costs a lot and needs good tech. VR should not replace real travel, just make it better. We need diverse VR content about different places. This needs a lot of money for making content and better tech.

  • The Role of VR in Post-Pandemic Travel Recovery

Virtual reality (VR) travel has helped the travel industry bounce back after the pandemic. It gives people a safe way to explore new places without actually traveling. When international travel was restricted, VR let tourists visit destinations from their homes, keeping interest in travel alive and helping the industry stay afloat.

Virtual reality (VR) tourism is like going on trips without leaving your home. You use special tech to see and feel like you’re really there. It’s good for the environment because it cuts down on pollution from traveling. VR teams up with augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) to make the experience more personal and fun. As this tech improves, it will change how we travel, making it simpler for everyone to explore while also being kinder to the planet.

Q. What is VR tourism?  

VR tourism uses virtual reality technology to create immersive travel experiences, allowing users to explore destinations virtually without physical travel.

Q. How does VR tourism benefit the travel industry?  

VR tourism offers innovative marketing tools, generates new revenue streams, and enhances customer engagement by providing immersive previews of destinations.

Q. Can VR tourism contribute to sustainable travel?  

Yes, VR tourism promotes sustainability by reducing the need for physical travel, thus lowering carbon emissions and preserving natural and cultural sites.

State of Technology 2024

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Explore 'State of Technology 2024' for strategic insights into 7 emerging technologies reshaping 10 critical industries. Dive into sector-wide transformations and global tech dynamics, offering critical analysis for tech leaders and enthusiasts alike, on how to navigate the future's technology landscape.

  • Data and AI Services

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Q. What technologies are integrated with VR in tourism?  

VR in tourism is often integrated with augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) to create more interactive and personalized travel experiences.

Q. What is the future of VR tourism?  

The future of VR tourism looks promising with advancements in technology, leading to more realistic and engaging virtual travel experiences.

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  • Q. What is VR tourism? 
  • Q. How does VR tourism benefit the travel industry? 
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IMAGES

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COMMENTS

  1. How to Make a Virtual Tour (with Pictures)

    Enter your email address and password, then click login. 4. Click CREATE NEW TOUR. You'll find this option on the left side of the page. 5. Enter a name for your tour. In the "Name Your Tour" text box, type in whatever you want to name your virtual tour, then click Rename to the right of the text box. 6.

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    Plan Out Your Photos. 4. Clean and Stage the Home—or Consider Virtual Staging. 5. Test Out Your Equipment and Lighting. 6. Take Your Photos and Upload Them to Your Software. Benefits of Creating ...

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    Unlock the potential of 360 virtual tours with this in-depth guide. Learn the benefits, staging techniques, and step-by-step instructions for creating engaging virtual experiences. Discover CloudPano's innovative features that elevate your virtual tours, from 360 photos to interactive elements. Create captivating virtual journeys with CloudPano's user-friendly platform. Visit CloudPano.com to ...

  5. A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Virtual Home Tour

    Step 5: Publish and Market the Tour on Multiple Channels. Platforms such as realtor.com®, many MLSs, and social media are ideal places for publishing your virtual home tour. You can embed the tour link in email campaigns and text messages or drop it straight into Facebook, says Schravemade. Once the images and 3D model have been created, Frank ...

  6. How To Create A Virtual Tour For Real Estate in 2024

    Click on the green box, then select the options to share or save your creation. Step 2: Upload the 360-degree Images to Your Virtual Tour Software. In this step, you'll use another mobile app to create your virtual tour called My360. After signing up, create a new tour profile before clicking "+ Spheres.".

  7. Virtual tour

    The #1 Tool For Virtual Tour. Create , edit , and share your virtual tours. Klapty is an online tool and platform for creating and sharing virtual tours. It's the first social network for virtual tours, and it's trusted by over 50,000 users worldwide. Real estate agents, photographers, dronists, hotel owners, companies, and creatives all ...

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  11. The 5 Best Websites to Create Virtual Tours

    Here are five websites you can use to create virtual tours. 1. Kuula. If you're looking for an easy way to create a virtual tour, this is a great place to start. Kuula allows you to provide an experience of your space. Instead of a boring slide show, Kuula helps you create a 360-degree tour. Creating a virtual tour on Kuula is simple.

  12. How To Create Virtual Tour

    Types of Virtual Reality. There are many type of VR technologies. The 5 most popular ones are listed below. Non-immersive virtual reality Non-immersive virtual reality refers to a computerized virtual experience where you can control some characters or activities within the software, but the environment is not directly interacting with you.

  13. Theasys

    A powerful application for unlimited creativity. Theasys builds the most powerful and flexible tools for anyone to create and publish a 360° Virtual Tour. Whether your are a Real Estate Agent, 360° photographer, web designer, hotelier or travel agency, Theasys' Application with its unmatched functionality, ease of use and professional ...

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    If you're creating a virtual tour with an iPhone, follow these nine steps. Download the Zillow 3D Home app to your iPhone®. Open the app and tap "Start capture". Choose the iPhone setting. Select the room type in the app. Capture the first panorama. Hold the iPhone vertically in front of your chest.

  15. How to Make an Interactive Virtual Tour

    ThingLink creations can be made from flat images (jpg. and png.), video, 360 images and even 360 video. With the Tour Tag you can link any combination of ThingLinks, no matter what base media you use. This means that unlike other virtual tour platforms, you can also include video tours for your viewers.

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    Create Your First Virtual Tour FOR FREE! Virtual Tours Easy is a 360 virtual tour online software to create virtual tours for real estate, hospitality, retails and more. Try our Tour Creator today!

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    theBlu ($9.99 from Wevr INC .) is a collection of virtual reality-based underwater experiences that make you feel as if you're literally in the tank of a huge aquarium exhibit. Stand on the deck of a sunken ship while a gargantuan whale swims by and looks you straight in the eye or swim in a sea of bioluminescent jellyfish.

  18. VToura

    Create beautiful Virtual Tours. Whether you're working on a single gigapixel panorama or a virtual tour with thousands of scenes, VToura can help you create an immersive experience for any modern browser. Finished projects can be seamlessly integrated with existing websites and viewed on desktops and mobile or VR devices.

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    The British Museum partnered with Samsung to create a virtual reality tour of the museum, attracting a global audience and enhancing educational outreach. Tourism Australia launched a VR campaign to showcase the country's unique landscapes and wildlife, resulting in increased interest and tourism from international markets.