Create a map online and share it: four tools, four uses

Sharing a map: what do you need?

Behind the same request, a map with a link, lie very different needs. Three questions are enough to guide the choice.

• Where does the data come from? A few points entered by hand, a spreadsheet, or GIS layers updated by a team.
• Who should see what? Everyone, a few people, or different audiences depending on the layer.
• What should people be able to do on the map? Just look, or also measure, filter, query the attribute table, print.

An example helps decide. A nonprofit that wants to show its twenty drop-in centers answers a spreadsheet, everyone, just look: a simple tool is enough. A public works department that wants to show the progress of a field inventory answers layers updated daily, elected officials and a few partners, filter and query: it needs a tool that reads its data directly.

Four tools to create a map online

Facts checked on 11/09/2026 on support.google.com (Google My Maps help), umap-project.org and felt.com/pricing. Third-party terms change: check them before choosing.

One shared point not to forget: when a map uses an OpenStreetMap background, as uMap does, OpenStreetMap data must be credited. Tools usually show this automatically; do not hide it when embedding the map in a site. Likewise, check that you have the right to publish the layers you add, especially data received from partners.

When to choose each one

• Google My Maps for a one-off map: a route, a list of addresses from a spreadsheet, an event map. It is the fastest if you have a Google account.
• uMap for a public information map on OpenStreetMap, without depending on a tech giant: community map, neighborhood map, tourist map.
• Felt for a team that wants a polished collaborative interface and accepts a subscription for data upload and analysis.
• LizPack Viewer when the data comes from your GIS projects, especially field data collected with QField, and the map must stay current and show only what you choose.

To publish a full QGIS project, with its layout, editing forms and print layouts, none of these four tools replaces a Lizmap portal: see publish a QGIS project online.

Create a map online in ten minutes with My Maps or uMap

For a simple map, the process is the same in Google My Maps and in uMap. It takes a few steps, provided your data is ready.

1. Prepare a spreadsheet with one row per place: a name, a short description, and either an address or two latitude and longitude columns.
2. Create a new map in the chosen tool and give it a clear title.
3. Import the file: My Maps accepts CSV, XLSX, KML and GPX among others; uMap also imports common geographic data files.
4. Choose the column used as the label, then set colors or symbols by category.
5. Check a dozen random points: a badly geocoded address puts a place at the other end of the country.
6. Set the map's visibility, then copy its link or embed code.

The most often neglected step is the fifth. Automatic address geocoding works well in cities and much less well for rural places or incomplete addresses. When possible, provide coordinates directly.

These tools show their limits as soon as data changes often: you must reimport the file at each update, and the shared map shows the state of the last import. If your data is updated by a field team, a chain that reads the database directly is a better fit.

Create a map online and share it with LizPack Viewer

LizPack Viewer starts from an empty map in the browser. You add a layer or an entire project from those you can access in LizPack Field, and online services by their address.

1. Open LizPack Viewer from the LizPack or LizPack Field app launcher: an empty map opens.
2. Add layers from your projects, or a WMS, WMTS, WFS service or an online GeoJSON.
3. Style it: styles, labels, popups, bookmarks and sketches.
4. Save the map: it is stored in your maps, with its styling.
5. Choose who can open it and what it shows, then copy its link or embed code.

Sharing is under your control: only you, LizPack Field accounts that have the link, or everyone. You also choose the layers, the visible fields and the header. It is the map that is shared, not the data: everyone sees only the layers of projects they have access to, and without an account only layers from public projects appear.

On the map, the tools cover identify, select, measure, attribute table, statistics, buffers, swipe comparison and time slider. The map prints to PDF or PNG, exports to GeoJSON, and a map open to anyone with the link can be embedded in a web page, without a header.

Each saved map remains editable: you can add a layer, change a style or restrict sharing afterwards, and the link already shared shows the new version. You thus keep a single link per map, even as its content changes over successive campaigns.

Embedding a shared map in a website

All four tools provide embed code, usually an HTML frame to paste into a page. A few settings make the difference between a pleasant map and one that gets in the way of reading.

• Height. Give the frame enough height for the map to be usable, and check rendering on a phone, where a map that is too tall prevents scrolling the page.
• Frame title. Add a descriptive title to the frame: screen readers announce it, and it helps keyboard users understand what it contains.
• An alternative to the map. For accessibility, accompany the map with a short text or a link to the data as a list or table.
• Visibility. A map embedded in a public page must be open to everyone; with LizPack Viewer, it is the map open to anyone with the link that provides the embed code.
• What is shown. Check visible layers and fields before embedding: what your site's visitors see is exactly what the shared map shows.

With LizPack Viewer, the embedded map displays without a header, which blends it into the host page. Since it reads the layers of your projects, it follows their updates without you having to copy the code again.

LizPack Viewer or a LizPack Map portal?

LizPack offers two ways to put a map online, based on different approaches. Confusing them leads to choosing a tool that is too heavy or too light.

In short, LizPack Viewer suits quickly assembling a map from existing layers and sharing it. LizPack Map suits publishing a polished, long-lived QGIS project with the full power of QGIS symbology. The two complement each other: the same PostGIS layer can feed a LizPack Map portal and a map built in LizPack Viewer.

Best practices for a shared map

Whatever the tool, a map shared by link is read by people who know neither your data nor your field, often on a phone. A few rules make it useful from the first visit.

• One message per map. A map that shows everything shows nothing. Three focused maps, each with its own link, are better than a single map with twenty layers.
• Few visible layers at first. Show the two or three essential layers on opening; keep the others available but hidden.
• Readable popups. Show only the fields useful to the reader, with understandable names. Technical IDs and internal fields have no place on a public map.
• A clear title and header. The reader should understand in one sentence what the map shows, where the data comes from and how recent it is.
• Check on a phone. Open the link on a small screen before sharing it: legend, labels and popups must remain readable.

Personal data also deserves a check before any public sharing. Names, exact addresses of private individuals or photos of people should not appear on a map open to everyone without a legal basis. With LizPack Viewer, the visible layers and fields are chosen when sharing, and a map can stay restricted to LizPack Field accounts that have the link.

Finally, think about lifespan. A map based on a file imported once is out of date the next day; a map that reads layers updated by field collection stays accurate with no effort. That criterion, more than the interface, is often what makes people choose one tool over another.

Common mistakes when sharing a map

• Sharing the edit link instead of the view link. Depending on the tool, this can give anyone the right to change the map. Always check the rights attached to the link before sharing it.
• Leaving out the source and date. A map with no source or update date loses credibility; state them in the title, header or description.
• Choosing a basemap that overwhelms the data. A very colorful or detailed basemap makes symbols unreadable; a light, plain basemap highlights the data.
• Leaving misplaced points. A few geocoding errors are enough to cast doubt on the whole map.
• Multiplying copies. Duplicating a map for each audience creates versions that drift apart; prefer one map per message, fed by the same layers.

Most of these mistakes are spotted by opening the map as the reader will: from another device, signed out, asking yourself what it says in ten seconds.

How much it costs

LizPack Viewer is included with your LizPack Field account, on all plans. Storage and project quotas are those of your LizPack Field plan: the Free plan includes 200 MB and one project, the Pro plan unlocks unlimited projects and up to 5 collaborators. See pricing and, for an overview, the cost of an open source web GIS.

LizPack Field Pro plan: 15 USD per month at the time of writing. LizPack is an open source geospatial infrastructure, not the publisher of QField or QGIS: it hosts and connects this open source software, as explained in what LizPack does.

If your layers come from the field, the full chain is described in sync QField with PostGIS and Lizmap.

For Google My Maps and uMap, everyday use is free; for Felt, data upload and analysis features belong to the paid plans, whose prices are listed on its website. Compare them with your actual needs rather than the full feature list.

Frequently asked questions