9 Inspiring Examples Of Interactive Maps On The Web

Interactive maps are a great way to bring content to life. We pulled together 9 examples to help inspire your next big idea.

September 24, 2022

Melinda Haughey

Melinda Haughey

CTO, Co-Founder

Interactive maps for websites are a fantastic way to keep visitors engaged and encourage them to explore your site further by providing them with helpful information about a specific area. Here are some excellent examples of interactive maps:

Showing Where the Food is From

There has been a recent surge in interest in organic food and tracing its origins. Chartogne-Taillet took the extra step of showing wine connoisseurs where they cultivated the grapes for their label. 

Ah, what would you give to walk through a French or Italian vineyard at least once in your lifetime - to pluck and taste a grape straight from the vine before it was ever Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc? But alas, it's the local vineyards for you for now. While you wait to cross the Atlantic, get lost in Chartogne-Taillet's interactive web map

Reminiscent of the Marauder's map view in Harry Potter, it's a true feast for the senses and one of our favorite examples. When you click on a plot of land, the screen changes into this seemingly vivid watercolor painting of the vineyard, complete with a symphony in the background. The only thing missing is actually touching the soil and roots and tasting the vigneron's fruits of labor.

Walk Through Historical Sites

Suppose you're a history professor and your upcoming lecture is about the "Switzerland of the Middle East: Jordan." What new angle should you use apart from highlighting where the Dead Sea is or its nearby countries such as Israel, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia? Good thing you can show your students the actual street view and go on a trek through Petra thanks to Google Maps' interactive map. Pro tip: you can use movie scenes filmed in Petra, Jordan, as an ice-breaker. 

Connecting A Global Audience

Take a leaf from the band Bastille's book and look at their interactive map. Following their cue, you can put an interactive map on your web design showing (only) visits from the United States and the rest of the world in place of song streams. Inspire new visitors through data visualization of your reach and the lives touched by your mission.  

Protecting Communities

One of our first responses to the pandemic was to create an interactive map of areas affected by COVID-19. This type of map was essential in assessing the risk levels in our communities. We could replicate and improve this further for our brewing war with the monkeypox outbreak.

Showing Our Changing Planet

Perhaps you're an advocate for the environment and would like to fight the widespread apathy to our planet's plight. You might want to produce a type of interactive map similar to NASA'S Global Maps. People need to see how much has changed for the worse over the years, like the disappearing snow in our polar regions. However, there's also good news to go around, such as worldwide growth in vegetation.  

Showcasing Your Community

Forget the usual list of winners; literally, put the best of your community on the map with a cool interactive map, identical to what West Washington did with theirs. No need to go through a whole inventory. Is someone looking for food ideas for their husband's upcoming birthday? They only need to click on interactive elements such as food icons to see the best bakery or vegetarian cafe. 

Managing Disruptions To Service

You're returning from a business trip only to find your area without power. You could really use some rest and cannot do so without air conditioning. Does the hotel in the next town have electricity? If only you could check without calling.

Duke Energy in North Carolina uses an interactive outage map to communicate to customers where there are power outages and the repair status. Possibly one of the best interactive maps out there. Now, if only water and internet service providers can follow suit...

Highlighting Black-Owned Businesses

One of the best ways to make a difference in the world is to direct your purchasing decisions toward organizations and companies that share your beliefs and ideals. Consider this interactive map idea - Black Owned Cincinnati. It allows buyers to see put their purchasing power towards companies that support their communities. We would also love to see where the women-owned or LGBTQIA-owned enterprises are! 

Understanding Migration

Maybe you have planned to build your custom home this year. But there's talk of construction materials being more expensive than ever because of choke points in the supply chain. 

Shipmap.org's interactive map website design shows the movement of goods and materials so consumers like you can make the right decision. Other interactive map website examples to look up are the migration of people and animals.

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