Thematic maps
Bring your data to life on a custom map. Show how things are related to each other like patterns, and trends.
Stories
Create interesting stories that captivate readers as they scroll
Multimedia: Go beyond words
Tell your story how it’s meant to be told using a variety of visuals
Learn about multimediaImages
Bring your own images; StoryMaps supports the most popular formats
Video
Upload your own files or link to a third-party provider like YouTube
Audio
Add sound to your story as click-to-play elements or on-demand in the background
Embeds
Bring live web content, like social posts or other websites, directly into your story
Maps: Give context with places
Take your readers on a journey where your story happens. You only need a few minutes to make a map.
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Express maps
Highlight places or areas of interest. Enhance your maps with pop-ups, images, labels, arrows and other elements.
Immersives: Provide engaging experiences
Create dynamic experiences for readers with ready-to-use interactive elements
Sidecar
Pair descriptive text with large, dynamic media to draw readers deep into your narrative
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Explorer Tour
Curate a set of places your audience can peruse in whatever order they choose
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Guided Tour
Navigate your readers to locations one-by-one in an intentional and revealing order
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Frames
Frames are short, engaging stories with photos and maps that are optimized for on-the-go creation and viewing in a way that brings the art of storytelling right to your fingertips. Frame templates distill the very best elements of StoryMaps into the mobile app where the time and place set the stage for your stories.
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Timelines
Share your experiences step-by-step with the timeline template and make connections over time with pictures and dates. You can use the timeline template to recap a recent trip, document the progress of your latest project, or record the growth of your new puppy.
Journeys
The journey template makes mapping your story easy with automatic location tagging for each picture and simple captions that add your personal perspective to each place. Create journeys to bring people along to explore meaningful places, landmarks, and points of interest, like a tour of your city, a survey of the best local restaurants, or a rundown of your favorite beaches.
Themes
Change the color scheme, font and design of your content with a single click. Choose from a range of options provided or create your own easily.
Learn about themesCustomize the look
The right appearance sets the tone of your story. With custom themes, you can give your story a look of its own.
Colors
Specify up to three accent colors to use throughout your content
Text
Choose from our font selection or the thousands available from Google Fonts
Map
Specify the basemap and symbology that best suit your subject
Components
Adjust other elements—buttons, quote styles, etc.—to complement your story’s tone
Share stories anywhere
No matter where your audience is, you can use StoryMaps to connect with them
See your sharing optionsPreview
Compare your story’s appearance across devices quickly and easily
Edit
Revise content after you’ve shared it, then push changes live when you’re ready
StoryMaps profile
Build a following with a customizable portfolio of your work
Search
Content is automatically optimized making it easily discoverable by popular search engines
Curate collections of content
Combine a group of related stories, files and other web content into a collection and give your audience a single link to view everything
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Files
Upload images, PDFs, and more to further enhance the story you’re telling
URL
If it lives on the web, you can include it in a collection, all you need is the link
Layouts
Showcase your collection content in a variety of layout options
Design
Apply standard and custom themes consistently to stories and collections