Story Map Maker — Scrollytelling for Your Data
Tell a geographic story the way it deserves: one continuous map that flies between locations as the reader scrolls, with your text and images alongside.
Free to start. No credit card required.
A slideshow throws away the reader's sense of place every time it cuts. A story map keeps one map underneath the whole narrative and moves it, so readers watch the journey between chapters — how far, which direction, what lay in between. That spatial continuity is information a sequence of static images simply cannot carry.
Write your chapters in Markdown, give each one a location and a camera position, and Mapji handles the scroll-triggered flights. Add images, enable 3D terrain for mountainous ground, and publish to your own domain or embed the story inside an existing article.
Chapters in Markdown
Write each chapter with headings, lists, links, and emphasis — no HTML required.
Full camera control
Per-chapter zoom, bearing, and pitch, with adjustable flight duration between locations.
Images & animations
Illustrate chapters with photos, and choose from several entrance animations.
Themed to match your site
Style the text panel with your own colors, fonts, corner radius, and panel width.
How it works
Create a story map
Start a new site and choose the Story Map type.
Write your chapters
One location and one idea per chapter, written in Markdown.
Set each camera
Choose the zoom, bearing, and tilt the map should fly to for each chapter.
Publish or embed
Go live on your domain, or embed the story in an existing article.
Related map types
Story Map
Create narrative-driven maps that guide viewers through locations with scroll-based storytelling. Combine text, images, and fly-to animations.
Draw Map
Draw markers, lines, and polygons directly on your map with an intuitive editing interface. Import an existing file or create from scratch.
Time Slider Map
Animate data over time with an interactive timeline. Watch patterns emerge as you scrub through dates.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a story map be?
Six to twelve chapters is a comfortable range. Fewer than four and the format isn't earning its keep; past fifteen, scroll fatigue sets in. Keep each chapter short enough that the reader doesn't have to scroll twice within it, or the map sits still and the effect dies.
Can I add photos to each chapter?
Yes. Images sit alongside the chapter text, and a photograph of the place the map is flying to anchors it far better than prose alone.
Can the map tilt and rotate between chapters?
Yes. Each chapter stores its own bearing (0–360°) and pitch (0–85°) as well as zoom, so you can rotate a valley to run up the screen or tilt into terrain. Combined with 3D terrain this is the biggest upgrade available for outdoor stories.
Is a story map the right choice for a directory?
No. Story maps set the pace deliberately, which is right for narrative and wrong for browsing. If readers need to search or look themselves up, build a store locator or cluster map instead.
Ready to build your map?
Join creators, businesses, and researchers building beautiful interactive maps. Free to start, no credit card required.
- No code required
- 10 map types
- Custom domains