API Keys just not worth the bother

Hello @philbertdog,

I appreciate your comments and your frustration with obtaining the necessary Google APIs to make CongressLookup work. I wish there were a simpler way to do this. We are always open to suggestions that would make this easier for everyone.

We do have the plugin live on our site: https://CongressLookup.com if you what to direct people there.

Best of luck to you, also.

Thanks for your constructive reply to my, um, whining. I’ve probably been spending too much time on my site and a break is likely the solution here. Getting a tad cranky apparently.

I don’t want to make any demands regarding free software, but if it interests you a video tutorial might help cranky people find their way through Google’s API interface.

I have a site about nuclear weapons activism, so your plugin is obviously very relevant to that. Thanks for making it available! I’ll cool off and try again in a bit.

So I tried again. Still stumped, nothing works.

Best I can tell Maps is the issue, as it can’t find any address I enter. Here’s the page where I’m testing if that helps:

https://tanny.com/dbtest/

Your docs said, “5. IMPORTANT: Make sure you agree to their billing agreement or your key will not work.”

I can’t find anything about a billing agreement anywhere in Google’s interface. Can you provide further guidance?

I’ve enabled civics, and have both keys inserted in your interface.

Hello @philbertdog,

Here is the page that shows you the terms and how to sign up: https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/pricing As you can see, you get $200 free usage a month and that’s more than most people using our plugin ever need.

If it still does not work, please work though the Troubleshooting steps on the main plugin page to rule out common problems: https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/congresslookup/

Also, if you are using just one API key then make sure you turn on Google Map API AND Google Civics for it. Then enter the same API Key in both fields on the plugin admin page: WP Admin > Settings > CongressLookup

Please report back your progress.

Thank you for your reply.

If I understand, I have to sign up for billing with Google, even though I’ll likely never reach the limit. I have very little faith in Google’s implementation of these services and so will not be giving them any billing information.

Does that kill this for me? Should I walk away now and move on to something else?

Thanks much for your good intentions and free service!

Google will not allow you to use their service without entering your payment information. I’m sorry this will not work for you.

Thank you for your kind words. Good luck.

Thanks for clarifying that, very helpful. Ok, I’ll let this one go and move on. Happy to have arrived at a clear decision.