When we released Gravity Geolocation 3.5 Beta 1, we introduced a complete rebuild on top of the new WPGeo Framework.
Now, at Beta 13, the platform has grown significantly since the first beta, with new fields, powerful search capabilities, major framework improvements, and the foundation for future expansion.
What’s New Since Beta 1
Since the first beta, Gravity Geolocation has expanded with major additions and refinements:
- New Distance & Duration field
- New Nearest Locations field
- New Address Validation field
- Introducing Gravity Search, a powerful entry search and directory framework that transforms Gravity Forms into a searchable application platform.
- Significant runtime and architecture refinements on top of the WPGeo Framework
This phase has focused on turning the new architecture into practical, production-ready workflows.
Gravity Search: Dedicated Deep Dive
One of the biggest additions in the 3.5 beta cycle is Gravity Search, a powerful entry search and directory framework built into Gravity Geolocation.
Gravity Search transforms Gravity Forms into a searchable application platform, making it possible to build directories, listings, customer portals, administration tools, location finders, and map-integrated search experiences powered entirely by Gravity Forms entries.
We’ve published a dedicated article covering Gravity Search in detail, including its architecture, capabilities, use cases, and configuration options.
Read the full Gravity Search announcement or explore the live demo.
New Fields Added in the 3.5 Beta Cycle
Distance & Duration Field
The new Distance & Duration field is focused specifically on calculating travel distance and travel time between points.
While the Directions field can also calculate distance and duration, it is designed for full route experiences, including route rendering, map display controls, and turn-by-turn panel output. The Distance & Duration field strips that down to a calculation-focused workflow with fewer moving parts and simpler settings.
- Purpose-built for calculations – Focuses on travel distance/time output without route UI overhead.
- Cleaner configuration – Minimal settings when your goal is pricing, eligibility, or rule logic.
- Conditional logic friendly – Use distance/time values directly in Gravity Forms logic.
- Flexible output formats – Supports
html,text,json, and raw value variants in merge tags and exports.
This makes it a better fit when you only need distance/time data and want a lighter, faster workflow for that purpose.
View the Distance & Duration demo.
Nearest Locations Field
The new Nearest Locations field finds the closest location(s) relative to the user’s address or coordinates.
Locations can be sourced in two ways:
- Predefined locations entered directly in the field settings (textarea-based configuration).
- Database-driven locations loaded from a specific database table for dynamic or larger datasets.
This gives you flexibility to start simple with static location lists or scale to data-driven location management, while still using the same nearest-location workflow in the form.
- Automatic or manual trigger modes
- Optional Get/Clear buttons
- Structured output for merge tags, entry views, and exports
It is well suited for “find nearest branch/provider/location and choose the best match” scenarios.
Licensing note: The Nearest Locations field will be included in the Agency plan as part of the official Gravity Geolocation 3.5 release.
View the Nearest Locations demo.
Address Validation Field
The new Address Validation field adds an interactive validation flow that helps users confirm or correct addresses before submission.
- Validation feedback in real time – Shows clear messaging when an address is valid, needs review, or cannot be verified.
- Original vs suggested address selection – Presents what the user entered alongside the recommended address so they can choose the final one.
- Configurable validation behavior – Supports policy/strictness options and optional auto-apply of suggested addresses.
- Optional geocoder sync – Can push the confirmed/selected address into a configured geocoder field.
- Workflow-ready outputs – Exposes selected address, validation status, and delivery status for conditional logic, merge tags, and automation.
This helps improve address quality at submission time while giving you reliable data for downstream workflows.
View the Address Validation demo.
Framework Progress Since Beta 1
Beyond new fields, a major focus of this beta cycle has been platform hardening:
- Better consistency across runtime components
- Cleaner internal structure for future extensibility
- Faster iteration and bug-fix turnaround during beta testing
- Reduced technical debt through the new WPGeo Framework
- A shared foundation that allows new features to be developed faster and more consistently across products
Each beta release has improved stability while keeping the 3.5 architecture scalable for future features.
Licensing and Plan Updates
As we move closer to the official Gravity Geolocation 3.5 release, we have also finalized the feature allocation for several of the new features introduced during the beta cycle, including Gravity Search, Distance & Duration, Address Validation, and Nearest Locations.
- Pro – Includes Gravity Search, the new Distance & Duration field, and Address Validation field.
- Agency – Includes everything in Pro, plus the Nearest Locations field, Drawing Tools field, and future advanced functionality as it becomes available.
Existing customers will retain their current site allowances. The licensing changes affect feature access only and do not modify the number of sites supported by existing licenses.
For the complete plan breakdown and legacy migration details, see our original Gravity Geolocation 3.5 Beta 1 announcement.
See It in Action
Want to test these features live? Explore the demos:
- Distance & Duration Demo
- Address Validation Demo
- Nearest Locations Demo
- Gravity Search Demo
- Gravity Search Overview
Important API Reminder
Gravity Geolocation 3.5 requires updated Google services:
- Places API (new)
- Routes API (instead of legacy Directions API)
Please make sure both services are enabled in your Google Cloud Console. For setup instructions, follow our
API setup guide.
Important Notes
As always during beta:
- Test on a development or staging site before updating production.
- Back up your site before installing beta builds.
- If you use custom code or third-party integrations, test compatibility before going live.
- Please share bug reports and edge cases to help finalize a solid stable release.
Get the Latest Beta
Existing customers can download the latest beta from their account page under File Downloads.
Not a Gravity Geolocation user yet? You can purchase a license here.
Your feedback continues to play a key role in shaping the final Gravity Geolocation 3.5 release. We look forward to hearing your thoughts as we move toward a stable launch.