Ever had a difficult time describing a location to your friend? How do you describe your trip and holiday travels to your family? Online map applications can help you achieve this and much more. You need not worry anymore about direction mapping when you can simply punch in a few addresses and let some online tools generate the best directions from point A to point B. Aside from just explaining directions, some online tools for creating maps and directions bring fun to direction mapping by letting you animate them and add more useful information.
Online maps can help you achieve a lot of things. You can create an annotated map to your friend’s wedding venue or simply display a map showing the testimonials of your customers in different parts of the world. The possibilities are endless with online mapping tools. In this article, we’ve listed some of the best one’s available today.
Tools for Creating Maps and Marking Directions
Depending on your need, there are several tools for creating maps and directions. If you are creating maps for business purposes, you will want to select a tool that appears professional. Alternatively, if you are creating a map for your friend or family, you should look for a tool that adds a personal touch to the map.
1. Google Maps
Everyone know this one. Even the Apple CEO feels sorry for removing this service from iOS 6. Google Maps is a powerful web-based application for mapping locations. In fact, many other mapping applications are powered by Google Maps. Google Maps shows aerial view of photos as well as traffic.
With My Places feature, you can customize a map by changing the style of individual pins, adding rich-text descriptions, photos, and videos.
2. MapQuest
MapQuest is one of the oldest and most powerful mapping applications you will find on the web. It enables users to find directions; discover local businesses and much more. To find directions, you simply need to enter your starting and ending addresses. It develops easy-to-follow directions that are of high accuracy.
MapQuest also estimates your driving time. The generated directions can be printed, shared on Facebook, emailed etc.
3. Travellerspoint
Travellerspoint is great for making directions for international or local trips. You simply need to enter your destinations in the order of the trip. The generated map will help you link the various destinations you specified accordingly.
Travellerspoint also lets you book hotels right on the site.
4. · Crowdmap
Crowdmap helps you visualize information via a map. Simply choose a location, plot your map and add more information or data. You can filter your map by time.
5. Yahoo Maps
Yahoo Maps shows you driving directions, aerial view, and real-time traffic report.
6. Ask Maps and Directions
Ask Maps and Directions shows walking directions as well as driving directions plus aerial view of different locations.
7. Bing Maps
Bing Maps is the mapping application from Microsoft. It provides driving directions, business locations, and real-time traffic report. The app layout is neat and quite easy to use. It provides aerial view, and navigational tips using landmarks.
8. Rand McNally Online Driving Directions
Rand McNally is great for planning vacations that involve visiting several places. You can track the total distance for every segment of your trip. It lets you find hotels, restaurants, gas stations and so on very easily.
You can also search for videos that relate to your trip.
9. Animaps
Animap is a great direction mapping web app for describing a past trip or creating directions for events. It lets you first create a map and then add markers and images to the map. The markers move along a specified route over the map. You can control the speed of the markers. You can also animate the map and send to friends.
10. Quikmaps
This app lets you create maps quickly. It provides tools for drawing lines as well as placing texts and markers on the map. You can also add a title description to your map, which can be embedded on your site.
11. TripGeo
TripGeo map creation tool lets you create the map of specified locations and add Google Street view if necessary.
12. PlaniGlobe
Looking for interactive maps? PlaniGlobe lets other users interact with your map, which can be downloaded as ps or ai version and used in programs like PostScript and Illustrator. This enables your map to be “zoomable”, unlike JPEG, PNG or GIF formats.
13. ZeeMaps
ZeeMaps also provides interactive map experience for viewers. It lets you add notes and markers to your map and save as PDF or JPEG.
14. MapMyRun
This map creation app is recommended for runners. It lets you mark elevated places on your path. Other athletes like cyclists or hikers will also love this app.
15. ViaMente
For simple mapping to show office locations on the website, you can use ViaMente. It is simple and professional.
16. Tripline
Tripline lets you plan trips and vacation and share your movement with friends and family. You can also use Tripline to show people your past trips using a map.
17. Build a Map
Build a Map will help you create awesome interactive online maps that are very interesting. Though Build a Map is powered by Google Map, it pulls more data from other sources to help you have a satisfactory experience.
It also lets you embed your maps on your website and also share with friends.
18. Scribble Map
Ever had to scribble notes and reminders on a paper map? Scribble Map lets you do that and much more. You can make notes, leave reminders, add images, create custom widgets and export your map to Google Earth and Google Map.
19. Open Street Map
Open Street Map lets you edit the map of the world and add other information.
Conclusion
You can’t be wrong using online tools to create maps and mark directions for friends, families, and associates. They offer much more features than you can ever get on paper. Simply find one that suits your need.
We’ll keep a lookout for more online tools for creating maps and directions in the future. If we’ve missed out any service, do let us know in the comments section.
