Make Google Maps without any code
Want to create an interactive map? There’s the hard way, which includes learning a bunch of JavaScript and potentially other complex programming languages. And there’s the easy way, which only requires you to copy and paste data from your Excel or other spreadsheet.
Even if you’re already capable of writing some code, you’ll likely spend multiple hours creating your map. You’ll be looking up syntax and debugging interactivity issues. We’ve created BatchGeo to save you time and help you make beautiful, useful maps with your data.
There’s a place for hand-crafted maps, but we think most people would prefer the easy way.
The easy way to make a map
You want to see your data on a map without having to take Computer Science courses. You have a list of addresses (or other locations), stored somewhere like a spreadsheet, and want the fastest way to visualize them on a map. You have found it.
- Go to batchgeo.com
- Paste your data into the field
- Click "Map Now"
- Save your map, give a it a title and description.
- You now have a custom interactive map!
Honestly, we could probably fit BatchGeo’s process into three words: Copy, Paste, Map.
The hard way to make a map
You’ll find plenty of online resources to get started with the code-it-yourself method, including dozens of books. If you specifically want to learn a new skill, or if your map needs require specific interactions, the hard way might be for you.
- Put your address data into a database such as MySQL.
- Manually geocode all of the coordinates, or write a script to walk through each record in the database and use an online geocoder such as the Google Geocoding API.
- Your geocoder will need to update the coordinates into the database.
- You are also going to need to write some JavaScript to call up the Google Maps API and start to draw your address points.
- Ever want to update your map? You will probably need to code an editing interface for your data.
Those steps will get you a basic map, created from the locations stored in your own database. If you want to filter by certain data, display other information related to each location, or change the way the map or markers look, that will require additional code. If you’re building a new service around a map view, it probably makes sense to write your own map. If you want complex interaction between a website and your map, you may need to break out the code.
If you want to upload your location data, immediately explore it on an interactive map, and optionally share it with others, you’re best off using the easy map creation tool from BatchGeo.
