Several questions about Google Maps Engine. Which version of engine? API?

Question

I have a customer who wants a site with a map included. The requirements are as follows:

• The map needs to be easily edited by the customer(which is why i ended up with Google maps).
• The map needs to have markers with info about stores(which is why i think i need maps engine business, since its possibly money involved).
• The site I'm making needs to have a search field, which should navigate to the correct location when a option (lets say New York) is selected(which i why i probably need to use the API).

Am i correct in the consumption's above? I'm very confused by all the developer guides, and different map options(lite, pro, engine, not engine etc). I keep opening new links, and they tell different things.

If i make my map public(which i can), will i still have to use OAuth 2.0? The guides i found said i didn't have to, but i still cant get info from the API. The response says i need to add the bearer.

More questions: - Why can't i add markers when i use the "standard" maps engine, but only the lite one? I'm guessing the lite version wont be suffice for my project. The icons for adding marker is grey, and it gives me warning icon when hovering with my mouse. - If i navigate to my map with the lite version i can't see my map-id in the url(this might be because it cant be used for API?). It seems i can get my map-id from the "real" maps engine.

Answer 1

Google has three products in this field: Maps Engine Lite, Maps Engine Pro, and just plain Maps Engine. This page explains the differences, but it sounds like you would be best off with Maps Engine Pro.

• Both Lite and Pro let you embed your map easily into another webpage. No programming, OAuth etc needed, just copy and paste the pregenerated code.
• Pro lets you add up to 2,000 points per layer onto a map, with full custom styling. (Lite is limited to 100 per layer and a set of default icons.)
• Lite is free, but Pro costs only US$5/month, so it's not going to break the bank.

The only issue is going to be that search box. Maps Engine Lite & Pro maps in the default standalone viewer have a search box that does what you want, but the embedded iframe version only has a list of points. Might be good enough if you don't have too many?