Add a Google Map with a Marker to Your Website

Introduction

This tutorial shows you how to add a simple Google map with a marker to a web page. It suits people with beginner or intermediate knowledge of HTML and CSS, and a little knowledge of JavaScript. For an advanced guide to creating maps, read the developer's guide.

Below is the map you'll create using this tutorial. The marker is positioned at Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock) in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.


TypeScript

// Initialize and add the map
let map;
async function initMap(): Promise<void> {
  // The location of Uluru
  const position = { lat: -25.344, lng: 131.031 };

  // Request needed libraries.
  //@ts-ignore
  const { Map } = await google.maps.importLibrary("maps") as google.maps.MapsLibrary;
  const { AdvancedMarkerElement } = await google.maps.importLibrary("marker") as google.maps.MarkerLibrary;

  // The map, centered at Uluru
  map = new Map(
    document.getElementById('map') as HTMLElement,
    {
      zoom: 4,
      center: position,
      mapId: 'DEMO_MAP_ID',
    }
  );

  // The marker, positioned at Uluru
  const marker = new AdvancedMarkerElement({
    map: map,
    position: position,
    title: 'Uluru'
  });
}

initMap();
index.ts

JavaScript

// Initialize and add the map
let map;

async function initMap() {
  // The location of Uluru
  const position = { lat: -25.344, lng: 131.031 };
  // Request needed libraries.
  //@ts-ignore
  const { Map } = await google.maps.importLibrary("maps");
  const { AdvancedMarkerElement } = await google.maps.importLibrary("marker");

  // The map, centered at Uluru
  map = new Map(document.getElementById("map"), {
    zoom: 4,
    center: position,
    mapId: "DEMO_MAP_ID",
  });

  // The marker, positioned at Uluru
  const marker = new AdvancedMarkerElement({
    map: map,
    position: position,
    title: "Uluru",
  });
}

initMap();
index.js

CSS

/* 
 * Always set the map height explicitly to define the size of the div element
 * that contains the map. 
 */
#map {
  height: 100%;
}

/* 
 * Optional: Makes the sample page fill the window. 
 */
html,
body {
  height: 100%;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}

style.css

HTML

<html>
  <head>
    <title>Add Map</title>
    <script src="https://polyfill.io/v3/polyfill.min.js?features=default"></script>

    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="./style.css" />
    <script type="module" src="./index.js"></script>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h3>My Google Maps Demo</h3>
    <!--The div element for the map -->
    <div id="map"></div>

    <!-- prettier-ignore -->
    <script>(g=>{var h,a,k,p="The Google Maps JavaScript API",c="google",l="importLibrary",q="__ib__",m=document,b=window;b=b[c]||(b[c]={});var d=b.maps||(b.maps={}),r=new Set,e=new URLSearchParams,u=()=>h||(h=new Promise(async(f,n)=>{await (a=m.createElement("script"));e.set("libraries",[...r]+"");for(k in g)e.set(k.replace(/[A-Z]/g,t=>"_"+t[0].toLowerCase()),g[k]);e.set("callback",c+".maps."+q);a.src=`https://maps.${c}apis.com/maps/api/js?`+e;d[q]=f;a.onerror=()=>h=n(Error(p+" could not load."));a.nonce=m.querySelector("script[nonce]")?.nonce||"";m.head.append(a)}));d[l]?console.warn(p+" only loads once. Ignoring:",g):d[l]=(f,...n)=>r.add(f)&&u().then(()=>d[l](f,...n))})
        ({key: "AIzaSyB41DRUbKWJHPxaFjMAwdrzWzbVKartNGg", v: "beta"});</script>
  </body>
</html>
index.html

Try Sample

Getting started

There are three steps to creating a Google map with a marker on your web page:

  1. Create an HTML page
  2. Add a map with a marker
  3. Get an API key

You need a web browser. Choose a well-known one like Google Chrome (recommended), Firefox, Safari or Edge, based on your platform from the list of supported browsers.

Step 1: Create an HTML page

Here's the code for a basic HTML web page:

<!doctype html>
<!--
 @license
 Copyright 2019 Google LLC. All Rights Reserved.
 SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
-->
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Add Map</title>
    <script src="https://polyfill.io/v3/polyfill.min.js?features=default"></script>

    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="./style.css" />
    <script type="module" src="./index.js"></script>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h3>My Google Maps Demo</h3>
    <!--The div element for the map -->
    <div id="map"></div>

    <!-- prettier-ignore -->
    <script>(g=>{var h,a,k,p="The Google Maps JavaScript API",c="google",l="importLibrary",q="__ib__",m=document,b=window;b=b[c]||(b[c]={});var d=b.maps||(b.maps={}),r=new Set,e=new URLSearchParams,u=()=>h||(h=new Promise(async(f,n)=>{await (a=m.createElement("script"));e.set("libraries",[...r]+"");for(k in g)e.set(k.replace(/[A-Z]/g,t=>"_"+t[0].toLowerCase()),g[k]);e.set("callback",c+".maps."+q);a.src=`https://maps.${c}apis.com/maps/api/js?`+e;d[q]=f;a.onerror=()=>h=n(Error(p+" could not load."));a.nonce=m.querySelector("script[nonce]")?.nonce||"";m.head.append(a)}));d[l]?console.warn(p+" only loads once. Ignoring:",g):d[l]=(f,...n)=>r.add(f)&&u().then(()=>d[l](f,...n))})
        ({key: "AIzaSyB41DRUbKWJHPxaFjMAwdrzWzbVKartNGg", v: "beta"});</script>
  </body>
</html>

index.html

Note that this is a very basic page with a heading level three (h3) and a single div element. You can add any content you like to the web page.

Understanding the code

The code below creates an HTML page consisting of a head and a body. 

<html>
 <head>
 </head>
 <body>
 </body>
</html>

You can add a heading level three above the map using the code below.

<h3>My Google Maps Demo</h3>

The code below defines an area of the page for your Google map.

<!--The div element for the map -->
<div id="map"></div>

At this stage of the tutorial, the div appears as just a grey block, because you have not yet added a map. The code below describes the CSS that sets the size and color of the div.

/* Set the size of the div element that contains the map */
#map {
    height: 400px; /* The height is 400 pixels */
    width: 100%; /* The width is the width of the web page */
}

In the above code, the style element sets the div size for your map. Set the div width and height to greater than 0px for the map to be visible. In this case, the div is set to a height of 400 pixels, and width of 100% to display the across the width of your web page.

The bootstrap loader prepares the Maps JavaScript API for loading (no libraries are loaded until importLibrary() is called).

<script>
  (g=>{var h,a,k,p="The Google Maps JavaScript API",c="google",l="importLibrary",q="__ib__",m=document,b=window;b=b[c]||(b[c]={});var d=b.maps||(b.maps={}),r=new Set,e=new URLSearchParams,u=()=>h||(h=new Promise(async(f,n)=>{await (a=m.createElement("script"));e.set("libraries",[...r]+"");for(k in g)e.set(k.replace(/[A-Z]/g,t=>"_"+t[0].toLowerCase()),g[k]);e.set("callback",c+".maps."+q);a.src=`https://maps.${c}apis.com/maps/api/js?`+e;d[q]=f;a.onerror=()=>h=n(Error(p+" could not load."));a.nonce=m.querySelector("script[nonce]")?.nonce||"";m.head.append(a)}));d[l]?console.warn(p+" only loads once. Ignoring:",g):d[l]=(f,...n)=>r.add(f)&&u().then(()=>d[l](f,...n))})({
    key: "YOUR_API_KEY",
    v: "weekly",
    // Use the 'v' parameter to indicate the version to use (weekly, beta, alpha, etc.).
    // Add other bootstrap parameters as needed, using camel case.
  });
</script>

See Step 3: Get an API key for instructions on getting your own API key.

Step 2: Add a map with a marker

This section shows you how to load the Maps JavaScript API into your web page, and how to write your own JavaScript that uses the API to add a map with a marker on it.

TypeScript

// Initialize and add the map
let map;
async function initMap(): Promise<void> {
  // The location of Uluru
  const position = { lat: -25.344, lng: 131.031 };

  // Request needed libraries.
  //@ts-ignore
  const { Map } = await google.maps.importLibrary("maps") as google.maps.MapsLibrary;
  const { AdvancedMarkerElement } = await google.maps.importLibrary("marker") as google.maps.MarkerLibrary;

  // The map, centered at Uluru
  map = new Map(
    document.getElementById('map') as HTMLElement,
    {
      zoom: 4,
      center: position,
      mapId: 'DEMO_MAP_ID',
    }
  );

  // The marker, positioned at Uluru
  const marker = new AdvancedMarkerElement({
    map: map,
    position: position,
    title: 'Uluru'
  });
}

initMap();
index.ts

JavaScript

// Initialize and add the map
let map;

async function initMap() {
  // The location of Uluru
  const position = { lat: -25.344, lng: 131.031 };
  // Request needed libraries.
  //@ts-ignore
  const { Map } = await google.maps.importLibrary("maps");
  const { AdvancedMarkerElement } = await google.maps.importLibrary("marker");

  // The map, centered at Uluru
  map = new Map(document.getElementById("map"), {
    zoom: 4,
    center: position,
    mapId: "DEMO_MAP_ID",
  });

  // The marker, positioned at Uluru
  const marker = new AdvancedMarkerElement({
    map: map,
    position: position,
    title: "Uluru",
  });
}

initMap();
index.js

In the above code, the Map and AdvancedMarkerView libraries are loaded when the initMap() function is called.

Understanding the code

The code below constructs a new Google maps object, and adds properties to the map including the center and zoom level. See the documentation for other property options.

TypeScript

// The location of Uluru
const position = { lat: -25.344, lng: 131.031 };

// Request needed libraries.
//@ts-ignore
const { Map } = await google.maps.importLibrary("maps") as google.maps.MapsLibrary;
const { AdvancedMarkerElement } = await google.maps.importLibrary("marker") as google.maps.MarkerLibrary;

// The map, centered at Uluru
map = new Map(
  document.getElementById('map') as HTMLElement,
  {
    zoom: 4,
    center: position,
    mapId: 'DEMO_MAP_ID',
  }
);
index.ts

JavaScript

// The location of Uluru
const position = { lat: -25.344, lng: 131.031 };
// Request needed libraries.
//@ts-ignore
const { Map } = await google.maps.importLibrary("maps");
const { AdvancedMarkerElement } = await google.maps.importLibrary("marker");

// The map, centered at Uluru
map = new Map(document.getElementById("map"), {
  zoom: 4,
  center: position,
  mapId: "DEMO_MAP_ID",
});

index.js

In the above code, new Map() creates a new Google maps object. The center property tells the API where to center the map.

Learn more about getting latitude/longitude coordinates, or converting an address into geographical coordinates.

The zoom property specifies the zoom level for the map. Zoom: 0 is the lowest zoom, and displays the entire Earth. Set the zoom value higher to zoom in to the Earth at higher resolutions.

The code below puts a marker on the map. The position property sets the position of the marker.

TypeScript

// The marker, positioned at Uluru
const marker = new AdvancedMarkerElement({
  map: map,
  position: position,
  title: 'Uluru'
});
index.ts

JavaScript

// The marker, positioned at Uluru
const marker = new AdvancedMarkerElement({
  map: map,
  position: position,
  title: "Uluru",
});
index.js

Learn more about markers:

Step 3: Get an API key

This section explains how to authenticate your app to the Maps JavaScript API using your own API key.

Follow these steps to get an API key:

  1. Go to the Google Cloud Console.

  2. Create or select a project.

  3. Click Continue to enable the API and any related services.

  4. On the Credentials page, get an API key (and set the API key restrictions). Note: If you have an existing unrestricted API key, or a key with browser restrictions, you may use that key.

  5. To prevent quota theft and secure your API key, see Using API Keys.

  6. Enable billing. See Usage and Billing for more information.

  7. Copy the entire code of this tutorial from this page, to your text editor.

  8. Replace the value of the key parameter in the URL with your own API key (that's the API key that you've just obtained).

    <script>
  (g=>{var h,a,k,p="The Google Maps JavaScript API",c="google",l="importLibrary",q="__ib__",m=document,b=window;b=b[c]||(b[c]={});var d=b.maps||(b.maps={}),r=new Set,e=new URLSearchParams,u=()=>h||(h=new Promise(async(f,n)=>{await (a=m.createElement("script"));e.set("libraries",[...r]+"");for(k in g)e.set(k.replace(/[A-Z]/g,t=>"_"+t[0].toLowerCase()),g[k]);e.set("callback",c+".maps."+q);a.src=`https://maps.${c}apis.com/maps/api/js?`+e;d[q]=f;a.onerror=()=>h=n(Error(p+" could not load."));a.nonce=m.querySelector("script[nonce]")?.nonce||"";m.head.append(a)}));d[l]?console.warn(p+" only loads once. Ignoring:",g):d[l]=(f,...n)=>r.add(f)&&u().then(()=>d[l](f,...n))})({
    key: "YOUR_API_KEY",
    v: "weekly",
    // Use the 'v' parameter to indicate the version to use (weekly, beta, alpha, etc.).
    // Add other bootstrap parameters as needed, using camel case.
  });
</script>

  9. Save this file with a name that ends with .html, like index.html.

  10. Load the HTML file in a web browser by dragging it from your desktop onto your browser. Alternatively, double-clicking the file works on most operating systems.

Tips and troubleshooting

  • You can tweak options like style and properties to customize the map. For more information on customizing maps, read the guides to styling, and drawing on the map.
  • Use the Developer Tools Console in your web browser to test and run your code, read error reports and solve problems with your code.
  • Use the following keyboard shortcuts to open the console in Chrome:
    Command+Option+J (on Mac), or Control+Shift+J (on Windows).

  • Follow the steps below to get the latitude and longitude coordinates for a location on Google Maps.

    1. Open Google Maps in a browser.
    2. Right-click the exact location on the map for which you require coordinates.
    3. Select What's here from the context menu that appears. The map displays a card at the bottom of the screen. Find the latitude and longitude coordinates in the last row of the card.

  • You can convert an address into latitude and longitude coordinates using the Geocoding service. The developer guides provide detailed information on getting started with the Geocoding service.