From listing locations to revealing a unique product map only relevant to your brand, the growth of the online map industry continues its impressive run. As a WordPress user, you may want to find a WordPress map plugin to display routes from a road trip or to ensure retail locations from your furniture chain are mentioned on your site.
Many WordPress plugin categories lack popularity to the point where developers don’t spend time creating proper plugins with respectable feature sets. That’s not the case with map plugins, seeing as how so many companies require this type of functionality. Therefore, hundreds, if not thousands, of WordPress map plugins flood the internet.
That’s both good and bad.
We know plenty of excellent solutions exist, but we have to work our way through the clutter to identify the top ones.
Features to Seek out in a WordPress Map Plugin
Seeing as how a simple Google search, or browsing on CodeCanyon or the WordPress depository, delivers way too many WordPress map plugin options, we put together a list of the ideal features for you to look at for when completing your own search.
We used these feature guidelines to compile a list of the top WordPress plugins on the market, comparing them based on features, ratings, reviews, and user-interfaces.
So, what are those features to keep your eye on when compiling your own top contenders for map plugins?
- A standard geographical map builder with visual elements and options to adjust colors, labels, and locations.
- Potential tools for building unique maps, like maps of malls, restaurants, body parts, or product galleries.
- Responsive building blocks that make the map look presentable on all devices.
- Basic and customizable map markers to label what’s on the map and add interactivity to the presentation.
- Map themes that improve the design process and ensure that no one has to start their creation from scratch. We enjoy prebuilt geographical maps from popular countries, states, and cities.
- Support for quick geographical searches using coordinates or addresses. It shouldn’t be required to have the exact coordinates of a place when making a map since no one knows these and it takes a while to find them online. Mapmaking excels with rapid address search tools.
- Options to place your maps in other places besides pages. We like to see shortcodes and widgets for sidebars, posts, and footers.
- Although not everyone requires this feature, store locator functionality is one of the most common needs in a map plugin.
- Drawing, writing, and animation options to share information about a route or add visuals to the map. We like these for mapping road trips or adding images for landmarks on a map.
- Google Map translators which often pull information from places like Google or Bing Maps and adjust the styling or makes it look nicer.
- Full interactivity, with features for clicking to get directions and viewing more information like phone numbers and store hours.
- Upload tools for adding your own markers and other map elements. For instance, you may want to add a hamburger icon to identify restaurants on your map.
- Quick translation tools so that everyone can use the map plugin, regardless of what language you use or place you live.
- Options to draw your own custom shapes like rectangles or triangles or routes.
- FontAwesome support so that you don’t always have to upload your own icons.
We could keep listing off important features to consider from a WordPress map plugin, but now it’s time to evaluate the best available options.
Keep reading as we highlight the pros and cons like pricing, use cases, and features.
11 Top WordPress Map Plugins
Use this list to skip to different map plugins.
1. WP Google Maps
WP Google Maps achieves simplicity and cleanliness when it comes to launching maps and making them without any need for code. The developers understand that iframes are a thing of the past for maps, so you primarily receive themes, quick settings, and easy publication tools for seeing the maps on your website.
For instance, you can generate a contact page with maps or add routes to a map for your travel blog. Delivery areas work wonders for restaurants, and the shape-builders add fun and creativity to your maps as well.
As a high-rated, and free, map plugin, the WP Google Maps solution is one of our top choices to at least test and see if it does the trick for your organization. Not only does the plugin allow you to make a map within 30 seconds, but it includes a Google Maps and OpenLayers API for the ultimate customization and extendability.
WP Google Maps boasts advantages such as localization, multiple map types, and various themes to choose from. As for the map types, you’ll find a list of options such as terrains, satellite views, and road maps.
Take into consideration that you can also activate the store locator to give directions to retail shops. A premium version sells on the developer website, with options to make unlimited maps, export CSV files, and even mash several maps into one.
WP Google Maps improves on the basic store locator given by most map plugins, and it takes the advantages a step further with a myriad of other features to play around with.
Pricing
The core plugin is free. The Pro version has three plans, the first at $39.99 (one-time payment,) the second at $99.99, and the third at $199.99 for unlimited licenses.
Which Features Make This a Top WordPress Map Plugin?
- The WP Google Maps plugin includes a geographical map builder with visual settings to see your map prior to publishing.
- The customizations include options for height, width, alignment, and color. You can choose markers based on an address search as opposed to coordinates.
- Choose from templates such as the store locator, directional map, and maps with marker ratings.
- Get directional maps from services like Google Maps and OpenLayers. The plugin utilizes the search engines for the most detailed map information possible.
- Style your marker listings with icons and text-based descriptions.
- Integrate with WooCommerce to place products on a map or identify product features with markers.
- Add visual elements like heatmaps, videos, and custom fields, all of which come along with the premium version of the plugin.
- Use custom data sources like JSON, XML, and CSV files. You even have the option to schedule these imports to keep maps updated.
- Utilize polygons and polylines to separate parts of your map and identify places like regions or states. Pair these with icons to hone in on the spots your customers should be looking at.
- Incorporate directional waypoints to show directions, like for a long road trip or to visualize a city tour route.
- The filters offer options like categories, fields, and tags for people to filter based on the markers you have on your map.
- All maps are responsive for excellent viewing on mobile devices.
- The plugin has dozens of translations for use all over the world. Some languages include Croatian, Turkish, and Brazilian.
- Place maps in several areas of your site such as sidebars and footers. This is done with the help of quick codes and widgets.
Who Should Consider This Map Plugin?
WP Google Maps makes sense for the average company looking for an easy way to add a map to their WordPress site. It’s an all-around solution with location tools, markers, themes, and even importing.
Most geographical map needs are met with WP Google Maps. Unless you’re looking for a unique map builder – like for real estate or medicine – WP Google Maps does the trick.
2. MapPress Maps for WordPress
MapPress Maps for WordPress, or just MapPress, adds a touch of high-function design to your maps by using interactive Google and Leaflet maps. The plugin offers one of the quickest ways to get a map on your WordPress website, even though the designs aren’t exactly modern.
Having said that, the point of these maps is to look professional and to the point. You’re not installing the MapPress plugin if your main objective is to appear cute and whimsical for your travel blog.
As for the key features, expect a collection of supported views and directional settings, along with support for multiple maps, real-time traffic reports, and custom text. We enjoy the shortcode functionality for quickly placing maps on your site. It’s also good to see how placing a map in a post or page takes a few seconds.
Pricing
The core plugin is free. MapPress Pro has a basic license for $49.95. A developer license is listed at $79.95. These are yearly prices.
Which Features Make This a Top WordPress Map Plugin?
- The plugin allows for the creation of maps on all WordPress pages and posts.
- You receive a basic, professional design for maps, clearing out any extra elements that distract from the primary purpose of a map: the navigation.
- There’s a one-click directional button that sends users directly to Google Maps on all devices.
- The shortcodes come in handy for placing the maps in unique areas of your website, like in the middle of a blog post or in a widget.
- Create several maps and place them all on one page. If you want to have 50 maps on one page, that’s a possibility.
- The template tags help with organization and finding the right map templates in the future.
- Make a map with an address or latitude and longitude coordinates. This offers possibilities for adding quick addresses but also marking non-address locations for something like a National Park trail map.
- Make custom markers with custom design elements. The full HTML support enhances your options and expands the ability of advanced developers to do their jobs.
- Over 100 marker icons turn your maps into vibrant and visual experiences.
- The plugin lets you mashup maps, where you take two or three maps and combine them into one interactive tool.
- You can also mashup other elements like taxonomies, categories, and tags.
- The plugin integrates with TurboCSV, helping you with importing CSV data, like if you have a list of cities or addresses in one document.
- You’re able to make maps based on custom fields.
- Display table of contents information and map keys. This is done with the help of marker lists, which insert markers on the map and identify what each marker means on the map.
- Receive widgets for placing single maps and mashups in your sidebars and footer areas.
- Show real-time traffic information on designated maps.
Who Should Consider This Map Plugin?
MapPress designs resemble online directories or location finders, which is exactly why it works wonders for those purposes.
Due to the somewhat “plain” appearance, we don’t recommend MapPress for creative blogs/sites, but rather for those that need to get location information to customers fast. So, it looks like a winner for online directories, retail stores, and research companies.
3. Advanced Google Maps Plugin for WordPress
The Advanced Google Maps Plugin for WordPress imports from multiple sources and offers street views and custom icons for maps on WordPress. That all sounds fairly standard, but the reason this plugin is so popular is that all of the features work well, you receive quality customer support, and the developers have kept up with making the plugin as modern as possible.
The plugin boasts the highest number of five-star reviews for a WordPress map plugin. Part of the reason we expect this notoriety is because of the visual builder and the various tags and markers available to mapmakers.
This includes triangles, squares, and other shapes, along with fun and relevant icons to influence where people should go and inform them what to expect. Adjust colors for all maps and include information like addresses and coordinates.
It’s not necessary to type in the coordinates for a location, but that option remains for confusing locations or those hidden in the woods. Besides that, simply type in an address and use the autocomplete feature.
Another reason to consider the Advanced Google Maps plugin is for the route builder, where you pick a start and end location, then the route gets drawn without any work on your end. You can also complete tasks like these in bulk fashion, creating a whole list of routes or icons to add to maps.
Pricing
As a premium plugin, the Advanced Google Maps plugin sells for $59 and it doesn’t have a free version. Additional premium support is available after six months.
Which Features Make This a Top WordPress Map Plugin?
- Add customer itineraries for tour companies and vacation packages. This gets combined with built-in icons, routes, and other elements to provide superior maps for all users.
- Import data from JSON and other files to fill in the information on your maps within seconds.
- Several integrations come standard with the Advanced Google Maps plugin, some of which include BuddyPress, Gravity Forms, and AirTable.
- Frontend submissions are great for linking to real estate listings and accepting contact forms for specific homes.
- Turn an Excel sheet or a MySQL database into a Google Map within seconds.
- The various skin colors and viewpoint customizations turn your maps into colorful guides.
- Display several filters on all maps to ensure that users locate information within a reasonable amount of time.
- Display WordPress posts on Google Maps that relate to locations. We like this best for retail stores or travel blogs where you may want to expand on what the location means to your business.
- Insert routes on maps based on start and endpoints. Each map allows for multiple routes, so you’re able to get creative with it.
- Provide buttons on your maps for users to get directions and see advanced information about the locations.
- The plugin provides multiple skins to display based on the type of location and post listing.
- Use the drawing tools to create quick shapes and add colors. Highlight sections of the map, then adjust the sizes to highlight regions.
- Consolidate marker clusters by placing them under one marker. This shows the number of markers under the umbrella marker when a user zooms out of the map.
- Import and export data with the use of CSV files.
- The maps come with various skins and ready-made color schemes. You can also add an unlimited number of extra fields and add multilingual controls to each map.
- The street view sends users to the Google Street View for zooming in on items and locations like storefronts and monuments.
Who Should Consider This Map Plugin?
The Advanced Google Maps plugin appeals to those with unique needs. The variety of unusual features and addons ensure that niche functionality gets covered. For example, you can make a map for real estate listings, restaurants, or user locations.
Another integration we enjoy is for BuddyPress, where you can add user information from your database and show where your users reside.
4. Image Map Pro for WordPress – SVG Map Builder
Image Map Pro for WordPress takes distinctness to a new level with its options to develop any map you can imagine. By this we mean anything.
Do you have an idea for a biological map of the body that points out muscles or pain points? That’s entirely possible. Would you like to present a new product or invention by tagging each of its physical features with a map? Uploading images of those products and designing prototypes is all part of the plugin.
You’ll also enjoy the impressive tools for floorplans and the large collection of prebuilt maps for geographical locations.
As a summary, the Image Map Pro plugin includes image mapping and geographical interactive maps. So, you could generate a retail store location map or take a completely new home and upload images that outline your map.
The great part about Image Map Pro is the selection of custom image maps, SVG shapes, and pins. Getting creative is the whole point of this plugin.
Pricing
There’s no free version. The premium version sells for $39 on CodeCanyon, with an additional charge for extended customer support.
Which Features Make This a Top WordPress Map Plugin?
- You can make image-based maps for all sorts of items such as buildings, products, or even the human form.
- The style controls include options for polygon shapes, animations, and image backgrounds.
- Use JavaScript and the HTML API to extend upon the built-in features.
- The FontAwesome icons and custom actions add new elements to the visual nature of your maps.
- You can import images and data to construct a map within a matter of minutes.
- Each map is beautifully responsive for use on mobile devices.
- You receive over 50 pre-constructed maps from regions all over the world. For instance, you may want to utilize a map of countries in Europe or one that separates all states in the US.
- You have full control over your maps with the help of a drag-and-drop editor.
- Draw custom shapes with a precision tool for highlighting certain parts of the map and changing the dimensions and colors of the shapes.
- Use FontAwesome icons to improve map visuals.
Who Should Consider This Map Plugin?
The Image Map Pro plugin serves as a no-brainer for “peculiar” maps like for indoor floorplans and human body maps. We like it best for those who want to upload images and make maps out of them, especially when it comes to identifying features or specifications on new products.
The plugin also does the trick for geographical maps, considering you gain access to dozens of prebuilt maps with the regions already predefined. Add on the fact that you can draw on the maps and this is a rather solid choice for all uses.
5. Progress Map WordPress Plugin
The Progress Map WordPress Plugin concentrates on maps that show routed progress. It’s a locational map builder meant for inserting physical map locations, then guiding users to the spots using road drawings. In short, the Progress Map plugin sends people on their way to the destination.
They can view what the most efficient journey looks like, all without having to bring up a secondary app, like Google Maps, for directions. Of course, direction searching also comes standard with the Progress Map plugin, allowing for both a brief overview of the pathway and turn-by-turn navigation.
The listings get displayed as markings and in a carousel, so a user can switch between the locations and view more information on them without selecting one just yet.
The plugin utilizes post types and standard WordPress formatting techniques for adding listings and markings in your maps. This makes it easy for experienced WordPress users by combining the majority of the features in a format that we’re familiar with.
Overall, the maps turn out beautifully, with elegant designs, a user-friendly interface, and features added on a regular basis to help with expanding upon the already dense feature collection. The primary reason I like the plugin is for the visual icons and star ratings.
These maps function nicely for directories and location finders considering you can display small circular picture icons from the destinations and view user ratings as you move around a map.
Pricing
The plugin doesn’t have a free version. The premium plugin sells for $59. This is a one-time cost, but you can extend customer support for an additional fee.
Which Features Make This a Top WordPress Map Plugin?
- The Progress Map plugin features customizable elements for identifying locations and featuring pictures of those locations.
- You receive a search and filter tool to evaluate location descriptions and distances between markers.
- Add routes with the use of shapes and lines, linking listings, and showing the best options for driving or walking.
- Choose from over 70 map themes and styles, most of which look modern and user-friendly.
- Complement maps with an informational carousel. The map connects to the carousel, so you may include a larger picture of, say, a church, then state the name of the church and its significance. Users scroll to view the detailed information by clicking on markers or scrolling through the carousel.
- Make your own custom markers and add marker clusters when you have several location listings in a small area.
- Link to user reviews that pop up when someone clicks on a listing.
- Set unique design elements like ground overlays, image labels, and image opacities.
- The plugin features autocomplete settings for revealing addresses as people type. Another part of this feature involves restricting searches to specific locations such as countries or random boundaries.
- The vast majority of design areas include CSS modules for expanding on the built-in features and adding new unique designs.
- The carousel includes a long list of customization settings for things like scrolling wheels, wrap carousels, animations, and auto-scrolling. You can also allow automated zooming on the map when a user selects an item on the carousel.
- Choose from built-in marker icons or upload your own images to use as icons. There are even unusual icon options like heatmaps and nearby places.
Who Should Consider This Map Plugin?
The Progress Map plugin offers locational maps, so it’s best for placing items like landmarks and stores on a map. We like it most for creating a modern, listing-centric map with high interactivity. The standout feature lets you add shapes to the map to demonstrate routes to your users.
For instance, the plugin makes sense for hotel listings, real estate, restaurant chains, or online directories. It also may work nicely for travel sites if you’re trying to show routes from past travels.
6. Maps Widget for Google Maps
Maps Widget for Google Maps has much of the description in its title, telling us that you can create a map for WordPress and place it in a widget. Not only does that make for an easy way to incorporate a map in your website footer, header, or sidebar, but the lightweight nature of the map widget ensures that you won’t see any lagging when it comes to loading the maps.
The Maps Widget plugin provides a thumbnail of the map you create. After clicking on that thumbnail, a lightbox version reveals itself for further interaction.
Another component that makes the Maps Widget plugin so desirable involves the Gutenberg block. So, if you enjoy using the Gutenberg editor, you have the option to place the widget in the drag-and-drop builder. Or, you can stick with the basic widget that many people are used to with WordPress.
Simplicity seems like a trend with these developers, seeing as how there’s a short list of features, yet it’s still a powerful plugin with enough features to highlight the maps you require.
It’s also worth mentioning that several map demos are available to get the creative juices flowing, along with a premium version to add more features to your map-building process.
Pricing
The core version has a $0 price tag. Along with more features and premium support, the Pro version sells for $18.99 per year.
A lifetime personal license is listed at $39, while the agency version sells for $79. These are both one-time fees, making the lifetime offerings rather appealing compared to the yearly one.
Which Features Make This a Top WordPress Map Plugin?
- The Maps Widget plugin is one of the easiest options to use, with quick installation, rapid design settings, simple widgets, and Gutenberg modules.
- You can add an unlimited number of maps and stick as many pins as you want on each map. There’s no limit to the number of maps you have in one post or sidebar.
- As for locations, the Maps Widget plugin lets you insert maps just about anywhere on your website, from sidebars to menus and pages to posts. It’s a versatile solution considering much of the competition lacks widgets like this.
- Customization settings allow for matching your website’s design based on the colors, sizing aspects, and fonts.
- Each map offers a responsive design for viewing on all devices.
- Several options improve map browsing, such as the directions button, street view, and more.
- Choose from several map examples and themes, such as cities like New York and London.
- The plugin limits resources used by your server and cuts down on API calls, which are known to produce slow-loading maps and potential problems with your pages.
- If the Gutenberg module or widget isn’t right for you, consider the shortcode for inserting in areas like pages and posts.
- The plugin includes translations for about a dozen languages including Dutch, English, and Swedish.
- Insert pins all over your maps, and feature clusters that consolidate multiple listings in one area. Export or import data from your maps using CSVs or other files.
- Link to Google Analytics to learn more about who’s accessing your maps and how they’re getting to the maps.
- Take advantage of various Google Maps options like the map level zoom, header texts, and lightbox skins.
- To eliminate complexity, the Maps Widget only has two fields, one for the title of your map and the other for the actual address. That’s all you need to know in order to launch a map within seconds.
Who Should Consider This Map Plugin?
The Maps Widget plugin enhances the map-making process for those who crave widgets in addition to regular bits of code to insert maps. There’s also a Gutenberg module, so we believe the Maps Widget plugin is a solid solution for those who’re looking for the widget or the Gutenberg block.
It’s also respectable as a barebones map plugin, seeing as how it removes many of the complex features you’ll find from other competitors. This boosts potential site speeds, helps with getting a map published quickly, and speeds up the loading time for each individual map.
7. WP Store Locator
The WP Store Locator plugin devotes most features toward listing store locations, whether that’s for retail shops, real estate locations, or service-based businesses like law firms.
On the surface, the WP Store Locator plugin offers a rudimentary location management system with customization tools for adding maps and listings on that map.
However, the advantages begin surfacing as you take a look at the overall beauty and simplicity of the plugin, allowing you to publish map and location details within a matter of minutes.
Custom labels are possible, along with map appearance adjustments. You can add a search bar to reveal results based on specific radius limits. Not to mention, driving directions are available for all locations on the map.
Each store locater you make provides an interactive map, a details module for locating businesses and seeing directions, and several search fields, like for a zip code and how many results you’d like to see.
Directions pop up right when the Directions button is clicked, so there’s no redirect to another page. What’s interesting is that every setting is compiled into one long page on the WordPress backend. This makes it easy to locate the settings and adjust elements like search bar preferences, map starting points, and map dimensions.
Pricing
The majority of primary features are free with the core plugin. The developer makes money with a few addons, ranging from $19 to $99.
These addons include:
- A search widget.
- CSV manager.
- Statistics.
- Location directory.
Which Features Make This a Top WordPress Map Plugin?
- Options to generate an unlimited number of store locator maps with pins and search functions.
- You can add additional details about each listing, such as contact information, descriptions, and opening hours.
- Custom map styles improve on how the maps look with your current WordPress design. Change everything from colors to dimensions and fonts.
- Retina-ready marker icons provide graphics that highlight different business types. Select from nine icons in the plugin.
- Shortcodes allow for the adding of blank maps and other extra designs like maps with single markers.
- You can link the plugin to multilingual plugins to use it in a different language.
- The search results show up on the side or bottom, depending on your settings. These results are great for showing company location information and pictures.
- Filtering options include elements like categories and radius searches.
- A unique feature grabs the geolocation data from a user to present stores within their area.
- Create marker clusters to consolidate the areas with multiple listings.
- Developers can change the look of the store locator with help from filters and custom post types.
- Choose map starting regions with Google Maps API keys, region selections, or by simply typing in a city.
- The plugin has a preview tool to see exactly what your design looks like prior to publishing it for all to view.
- Activate the zoom and street view settings to make your maps as similar to Google Maps as possible.
- Access to paid addons such as a search widget, CSV manager, and stats module.
Who Should Consider This Map Plugin?
As a store locator, the WP Store Locator plugin facilitates a wonderful experience for companies with multiple stores. It’s a lightweight plugin with multiple implementation tools.
Overall, we recommend the plugin for those who want an uncomplicated store locator for a series of shops, without too many features that make things confusing.
8. MapSVG
When speaking about premium map plugins, the top solutions tend to offer bonus features that you typically wouldn’t find in a free plugin. MapSVG follows that trend with offerings like vector maps, image uploads, and unique markers that combine with the typical Google Maps functionality we’ve seen in other map plugins.
With image and vector maps, you have full control over the types of maps you make, considering the possibilities are endless. For instance, you may want to upload an image of your new product or a drawing that features a prototype or real estate property. Regardless of the image, MapSVG lets you turn it into a map with markers.
MapSVG features four primary map types: vector maps, Google Maps, image maps, and directories. The vectors are more for geographical, interactive solutions, and the Google Maps are, well, Google Maps.
The image maps provide the creative leverage you need to make anything with a picture, while the directory tool is great for logging people in an organization and tagging them with a location. All four are possible with MapSVG, making it an adaptable and multidimensional plugin for your mapping needs.
You can also add interactive overlays to most maps, Examples include taking an interactive airport design from Adobe Illustrator and placing it on top of a regular Google Map. This way, users move around the regular map, then have the opportunity to see terminals in rooms at the airport.
Nothing like this is available in Google Maps. The street view does the trick for seeing the outside of buildings, but now you have the chance to expand upon that and make stunning maps of indoor areas and other objects.
The visual designer looks somewhat like you’re working with a video game, with drag-and-drop elements and realistic design components for making things like towns and prototypes. With all this and more, you can’t beat the flexibility and price of MapSVG.
Pricing
$49 on CodeCanyon. There’s no free version. An additional cost is required to extend your customer support.
Which Features Make This a Top WordPress Map Plugin?
- You can turn any vector file into a map with interactive elements. All you have to do is draw a map of the United States, or a floorplan, for example. After that, the plugin allows you to break up the individual vector items and hone in on them, like for clicking a specific state on the United States map or a room on the floorplan.
- Combine Google Maps with vectors. This is done with the SnazzyMaps map styles or by generating your own vector overlays.
- Place interactive map designs on top of a JPEG or PNG image. These are great for real estate maps, where you take a picture of a block and draw shapes and highlights on the image. Then, make the shapes clickable.
- You have access to a large library of custom fields. Some of the fields include locations, events, and people. We like that you can import large datasets and use the CSS editor to manage each map as an individual entity.
- The plugin lets you show locations with pins and attach special objects to locations. An object may be a text block, image, or contact information.
- Make a virtual, interactive store locator within a matter of seconds. The store locator includes listings, search bars, and filters.
- Develop maps that visualize data. Complete this with help from heatmap colors and bar charts.
- Take advantage of advanced map editing tools ranging from actions to filters and database choices.
- The plugin comes with a few templates and it allows for the saving of your own templates.
Who Should Consider This Map Plugin?
With comprehensive image mapping features, the MapSVG plugin works wonders for those who require obscure maps. Uploading any type of image produces a potential map, and using vectors expands those possibilities even further.
Therefore, if you have real estate, ecommerce, medical, or retail clients, all of them can use this type of mapping product. It definitely requires a developer or graphic designer to conduct the advanced edits and structure maps with vectors images, so keep that in mind.
9. Google Maps Easy
Developers often seek out the easiest option when it comes to plugins. If that’s the case with your project, the Google Maps Easy plugin has promising and affordable offerings to design custom WordPress maps and place marker descriptions on those maps.
The plugin comes from the developers at Supsystic, a team with several plugins in their portfolio (like the photo gallery and data table builder plugins).
As for the Google Maps Easy plugin, this gem emboldens developers to make unlimited maps and spread them throughout a WordPress page without much time spent. Each marker you place on the map provides a media description, video, email, phone number field, and images – all of which you can turn off if not required.
It’s a fully responsive map builder with shortcodes and PHP code to insert the maps on WordPress. Combine that with custom themes and a heatmap layer for a beautiful introduction to location-based map building.
The Google Maps Easy designs have an extraordinary flair to them, using colorful skins and vivid pictures to define each location on the maps. There are also tools for incorporating overlays for the Google Maps, whether that’s for marking regions, highlighting stats from an area, or showing population densities.
Overall, the Google Maps Easy map combines utility, elegance, and fun designs into one splendid plugin.
Pricing
The core plugin is free. Supsystic lists three pricing plans for premium versions:
- Single License – $39.
- Dev License – $69.
- Unlimited License – $149.
It appears these are yearly prices that renew if you want updates and support.
Which Features Make This a Top WordPress Map Plugin?
- Google Maps Easy is fully responsive so the maps snap into place when viewed on smaller devices.
- Make unlimited maps and markers.
- Use the frontend editing tool to adjust elements of your map that don’t look right. This may also come in handy if you want your users to edit the map. A user directory comes to mind here, where businesses or individuals fill in their own contact information.
- Choose from a wide variety of map styles. The basic Google Maps themes are a good starting point, but the satellite, terrain, and road map alternatives add a hint of flavor to your maps.
- Use polygons and lines to mark routes and draw out borders. The visual design process helps with seeing changes when you adjust items like colors and shapes.
- Live preview all in-progress maps to visualize what the user sees.
- Utilize buttons for alternate routes and directions, guiding users to the right navigational elements.
- The KML import tool lets you utilize points, shapes, and lines and adjust them to your own sizes and shapes. Then, place them on top of an active Google Map for a combination of interactivity and real-time map results.
- You have options to reveal different layers of a map. A great example is showing traffic colors on the streets, but also including transit or bicycle routes.
- Cluster large pin collections to ensure the map isn’t too cluttered. Users only see the individuals in the cluster when they click on the cluster icon itself.
- You gain access to over 300 themes for an immediate starting point when thinking about your map design.
Who Should Consider This Map Plugin?
Our praise for the Google Maps Easy stems from its beautiful maps and sleek interactivity. It allows for colorful and lively maps. Not to mention, you can upload your own fun icons and generate clusters, sliders, and even treasure maps.
That’s why we’d stick to the “fun” aspect of the analysis. The maps have a whimsical appearance, so we like the plugin best for bloggers and those organizations that have entertainment as part of the brand image. Although it’s possible to make professional maps, I’d typically suggest competitors for clients like lawyers or doctors.
10. Mapplic
Mapplic, a premium map plugin on CodeCanyon, boasts a high rating and impressive sales history. The interactive map-making solution is yet another option for uploading your vectors and image files to overlay map markers and pins.
This plugin isn’t as flexible as the other vector-based mapping plugins, but it concentrates on two areas: geographical maps and floorplans.
The powerful WordPress plugin works on all devices and sets a standard for developing beautiful, detailed floorplans for prototyping and real estate purposes. We may also see something like Mapplic used for mall or event websites, where several rooms of a building must be highlighted.
The geographical maps include several built-in world and country maps, all of which have landmarks and unique pins to send users to the right places.
The responsive design and touch-optimized maps present a unique opportunity to create scrolling-oriented maps. I imagine these maps on tablets for conferences or trade shows, showing visitors where to go and which businesses are featured in each area. You can also add multiple floors in the floorplan version, showing us that Mapplic is an all-in-one solution for those with these types of needs.
The developers state that Google Maps plugins don’t always cut it. That’s typically the case for unusual maps that don’t only focus on what’s given to us by Google. You can even find maps for things like camps, ski resorts, and sailing vessels, which may provide certain developers with the tools they need to complete a job.
Pricing
The Mapplic plugin is priced at $46 on CodeCanyon. No free alternative exists. As with most CodeCanyon plugins, additional customer support requires another fee.
Which Features Make This a Top WordPress Map Plugin?
- The Mapplic plugin offers responsive and interactive maps to make floorplans and geographical guides.
- A few other mapping capabilities are available for things like airports, hospitals, and cruise ships. The plugin supports just about any type of map you can upload as a vector or image. However, it works best as a floorplan or country map builder.
- The responsive and touchscreen features help with zooming in, moving around the maps, and seeing the intricate details of each design.
- You have access to a built-in library of templates, including interactive maps from continents and countries. The developers consistently add new maps from regions around the globe.
- Customization tools include pins, icons, and landmarks for maps. The deep linking presents a valuable advantage as well, allowing for URL references on all pins.
Who Should Consider This Map Plugin?
Mapplic provides a basic alternative to the various vector map plugins on this list. It’s smoother from a user-experience perspective due to the streamlined image uploading methods. Therefore, we’d categorize Mapplic as a powerful image mapper with a clear picture of how to make your maps.
The clutter gets cleared out, but you still gain what’s needed for unrivaled maps, especially when we’re talking about peculiar designs for things like boats, festivals, and shopping centers. The developers even recommend Mapplic for video game maps and role-playing games.
11. Hero Maps Premium
Hero Maps Premium incorporates a drag-and-drop builder, a fully responsive design, and free marker packs for a beautiful design tool without too many bells and whistles. The paid WordPress map plugin runs as a Google Map solution, with easy and intuitive settings for making a professional website map.
The Marker Geo Mashup functions to aggregate all of your markers into one place. By this, we mean that you create, or import, a long list of markers (for cities, shops, or people,) then send them all to one big map for publication.
The dashboard and visual builder work hand-in-hand, offering extensive configuration options like markers, colors, and themes. Most designs use the drag-and-drop editor, but you can also work with a WYSIWYG builder.
The customization options stand out in Hero Maps Premium, with a wide variety of colors and markers. The markers identify specific locations, such as airports, restaurants, and lodging. You may also decide to switch between full screen or fixed maps depending on the size of your page.
Shapes come in handy as well, bringing about a sense of creativity and guidance. You can hand draw the shapes to make flight paths, region borders, and more. The options are endless considering the feature functions just like a pencil.
Pricing
The plugin sells for $20. The developers don’t offer a free version.
Which Features Make This a Top WordPress Map Plugin?
- Hero Maps Premium provides a drag-and-drop editor and a WYSIWYG editor, giving you multiple configuration options.
- The markers come in bundles, with different colors and icons, such as gas station or airport markings.
- Users receive filters on all maps to group together markings or only see certain elements, like if they wanted to view restaurants in town.
- The tabbed filtering looks like a portfolio that responds to quick clicks.
- Shapes come into play when you’d like to make a specific marking on a map. Draw squares, triangles, lines, and other shapes to simulate routes and designated regions.
- The flight path shape offers an automated curve as you’d see with a real flight path radar.
- Many color skins come with the plugin, including black and white, blue, colorful, and more.
- Select from Google Fonts to match the typography on a website.
- You have the option to upload your own markers if necessary. This opens up several possibilities, seeing as how you may have a funny or creative marker that goes with a location.
- It has a fully responsive design that moves the design items into place for perfect viewing on mobile devices.
- The plugin’s Developer tab offers CSS classes and JavaScript callback events.
- You can import and export full maps or individual markers to use elsewhere.
- Assign categories to markers. You manage these categories in the backend, giving your users a way to filter markers on the frontend.
- Add animations to maps ranging from drop delays to animation timers and click zooms to load zooms.
- Display a button for people to get directions from your map. This doesn’t redirect to something like Google Maps. Rather, it keeps users on your website.
Who Should Consider This Map Plugin?
The map drawing makes a great deal of sense for developers who need to outline regions and routes on their maps. Not too many other WordPress map plugins have the drawing option.
Overall, we mostly like the Hero Maps Premium plugin for its markers and shapes. The maps offer pretty interfaces, but the true motivation for utilizing this plugin comes from the bright and icon-centric markers and shape drawing options.
Which WordPress Map Plugin Makes the Most Sense for Your Organization?
With hundreds of options to choose from online, which WordPress map plugin does the trick for your business or client?
We narrowed it down to a smaller batch, but you may still have questions. If that’s the case, take a look at our final recommendations below:
- WP Google Maps – Consider this plugin as an all-around mapping solution. It’s primarily meant for geographical maps.
- MapPress Maps for WordPress – We like this one for a more professional appearance, especially if you’re making a location finder or an online directory.
- Advanced Google Maps Plugin for WordPress – Think about this plugin for unique maps like real estate listings or user location databases. The main feature is the database.
- Image Map Pro for WordPress – SVG Map Builder – We like this one if you’re designing a floorplan or image-based map for the human body or a product.
- Progress Map WordPress Plugin – Use the Progress Map plugin for inserting shapes over maps.
- Maps Widget for Google Maps – Consider this plugin as a lightweight option with a widget.
- WP Store Locator – The primary reason to use this solution is for making a quick store locator.
- MapSVG – This is a vector and image-oriented map builder. It works for just about anything, as long as you have an image for it.
- Google Maps Easy – Generate playful maps that link to Google Maps.
- Mapplic – Use a plugin like this to upload your own vector images and turn them into maps. As another vector-based mapmaker, the Mapplic plugin is for developing anything.
- Hero Maps Premium – This is by far the best map plugin for drawing shapes and routes.
If you have any questions about the best WordPress map plugin options, drop us a line in the comments section below! Also, share any thoughts you may have about map plugins that don’t appear on this list.
(Check out the Top 13 WordPress Project Management Plugins and Tools to Use).
HI, thank you so much for your review. But even now I’m still confused what plugin shoul I use.
I would like to create a map with golf courses with additional information behind the golf topics. Every pin/golf course should present a few information after click in the map and allow to open separate page on website.
What plugin do you reccomend?
Difficult to answer without seemingly being self-promotional, so I won’t link to any sites I own.
My plugin get-directions https://wordpress.org/plugins/get-directions/ pro version can do this fairly easily.
Alternatively – don’t search for map plugins but search for geo-directories as they provide maps that link to details.
Good list so far. I’d like to suggest having a look at Open User Map too.
This one is kind of unique as it lets your website visitors add their own markers to an interactive map. So it helps site owners to grow a community based on locations.
The map is based on LeafletJS (no hassle with Google API keys or limits) and comes with more than 60 awesome features and customization options.