So I have been looking at Google Maps and they have the feature of "making" your own map and adding in markers and things of that nature through their own interface. The way they have you embedding it on your web site is through the use of an iframe.

I have been reading the documentation for Google Maps and the examples shown are when the map is created on page load using either by static input or dynamically built using a database. This is the documentation I am looking at right now... Documentation

So what I am wondering is whether there is a way to customize the map built using Google's interface in the same way as building it upon page load?

Levi

edit: From reading more about it I came to the conclusion that there are essentially two versions of Google Maps? One for developers and one for someone who just wants a map and doesn't care how it looks or how it is made? Can anyone confirm this?

So I have been looking at Google Maps and they have the feature of "making" your own map and adding in markers and things of that nature through their own interface. The way they have you embedding it on your web site is through the use of an iframe.

I have been reading the documentation for Google Maps and the examples shown are when the map is created on page load using either by static input or dynamically built using a database. This is the documentation I am looking at right now... Documentation

So what I am wondering is whether there is a way to customize the map built using Google's interface in the same way as building it upon page load?

Levi

edit: From reading more about it I came to the conclusion that there are essentially two versions of Google Maps? One for developers and one for someone who just wants a map and doesn't care how it looks or how it is made? Can anyone confirm this?

• javascript
• google-maps

2 Answers 2

That's correct. An iframe map is just a link to your map on maps.google.com. If you want to have more control over the map, you'll need to create it with the API

• JS API v2
• JS API v3 (new)

I know this is an old post, but I'm sure it's still getting a lot of views.

If you don't want to bother with the API scripts and just want to go really basic you can put the iframe style google map inside of a div, then make a parent for that div with overflow: hidden. You can then use it's size versus the size and margins of the child holding the iframe to control which portions of the map people can view ie: top right and left controls, lower info, scale, etc.

If you don't want to totally style a map through the API and need a quick effective solution it's not a terrible route.