Online maps have capabilities for deep zooming and to contain far more information than you could ever hope to fit onto a printed map – plus search, route planning and many other functions. The drawback is that bespoke web maps are usually difficult to set up, requiring specialist GIS software and coding skills. Even experienced designers, developers and cartographers can struggle to set up an online map with anything more complex than a few marker pins overlaying a Google map.
However, Maproom now offers a great service for clients who want a bespoke online map without the hassle. You simply send us your location data and wishlist. We then build the map on our server and give you a URL and optional embed code. You will pay a very reasonably priced one-off fee for setup and a monthly map hosting fee based on volume of views. There is no complicated contract or tie-in period, and you can cancel at any time without penalty.
Below are some demos, plus FAQs and a quote form at the bottom.
DEMO 1: Multiple locations on a map with deep zoom capabilities
Demo 2: Shaded map zones superimposed over a road network
A corporate client needed a road map showing the London Congestion Charge and Ultra Low Emission Zone to plan their delivery routes. In this demo, we have created layers over London roads showing this and the broader road zones. Try using your mouse scroll or touch rather than the buttons to zoom quickly and deeply into this map to see which roads fall within the zones.
We can create maps like this tailored for business intelligence. You might also want a map like this on your website to show pricing zones to your customers. Your users might really appreciate the predictive Search function that we can put on a map like this.
This two maps above are built with tilesets of vector image map data. Notice that the labels are sharp at all zoom levels – essential for reading street names and other details online.
The cost of building an interactive online map like this is often lower than building a map destined for print, with build costs starting from only £80 and a hosting fee based on volume of views. This type of interactive web map is often the best solution for both business intelligence and public facing websites.
DEMO 3: Map of postcode districts with pop-up info boxes showing coverage
Many businesses use postcode districts when working out their coverage. In some cases, the map is for internal company use, for calculating sales rep zones or where customers live or where target customers are clustered by postcode. In other cases it can help to have a postcode map published on the company website to display postcode information for the public. The map below was built for a driving school which is in the process of expanding its coverage across southeast England.
DEMO 4: Selecting areas of a map
The counties map is built using interactive SVG files with a function for selecting areas as well as showing pop-ups. Notice that the labels are sharp at all zoom levels, but they don’t resize themselves, and there are no extra layers of detail that show up with zooming. As this kind of interactivity has separate hover and click functions, it is best viewed on a desktop computer or laptop rather than touch device because there is no hover function on a touch device. Try using your mouse wheel or slide to zoom in and out rather than the + – buttons.
You can also view it in a full window here.
An interactive SVG map is one of the most laborious types of interactive map to create and therefore a typical build will cost several hundred pounds. However, SVG is a format preferred by some of our technical clients.
DEMO 5: 3d map of urban area
Try right-clicking whilst dragging to change the bearing of this 3d map of Bristol. This can be a good solution for deep-zoom exploratory urban maps. We can add labels to buildings of significance to you, route lines and other bespoke features. Use a map like this for either public display or business intelligence and planning.
View map in full windowDEMO 6: Highlight and link parts of a web map to other web pages
Regions on an interactive web map can be highlighted and linked to other web pages. On this map, hover highlights an area, whilst click or tap opens other web pages – in this case Wikipedia pages about the postcode areas.
Highlight linking to other pages is a good solution if you have a few areas with lots of information. But if you have scores of locations with only a few lines of information for each location, then pop-up boxes may be better on hover, tap or click.
FAQs about web maps
What is a Maproom map hosting account?
Interactive web maps are a mixture of coding and image tilesets which need to be hosted on the Maproom server in order to view. You pay us a map hosting fee from £5 per month. The number of views are tracked, and you will pay up to about £25 per 50,000 views per month. There is no tie-in period and you can cancel the hosting at any time when you no longer need the online map. We give you a clear guide to the monthly map hosting costs in a quote.
Can I host the interactive web map on my own server instead of having a Maproom map hosting account?
You would need geospatial developer skills to install and host this kind of map yourself. And we would not be able to support you with installation or updating the map in the future. Even frontend developers with CSS and Javascript skills can struggle to install and update interactive maps. So the answer is probably no unless you are a geospatial developer looking to collaborate.
So how do I put this sort of map on my website?
We will give you a link and a few lines of embed code. You can either link directly to the map in its own browser window, or you can embed it as an iframe within your page content. It’s like embedding a YouTube video or Twitter feed on your site. All the demos above are embeds.
Will I be able to edit the interactive map myself?
We are working on ways to make it possible for customers to edit the data on an interactive web map from within their map hosting account, but at the moment you will have to ask us to make changes on your behalf. Our rates for updating maps are very reasonable to the nearest half hour.
Can I have my corporate colours and logo on the map?
Absolutely yes. Just send us your logo and colour branding scheme.
Can artwork for a poster be created from an interactive web map, or vice versa?
It may be possible for us to fork base map artwork to build both an interactive web map and a PDF. However, they are often separate builds. You can get a quote for both below.
Can I not just have a simple image file of a map to upload to my website?
Possibly! If your map isn’t too detailed then we may be able to create a bespoke static image such as a JPEG or PNG, or even a PDF formatted for upload to your website without you needing a map hosting account. Please complete the quote form below, and we’ll advise you on the best solution.