How to Create Your First Interactive Map Story

Whether you just got back from a cross-country road trip or want to document your favourite hiking routes, ViaPlot makes it easy to turn a list of places into a living, interactive story. In this guide we'll walk through everything from dropping your first pin to sharing your finished map with the world.

What you'll need

A ViaPlot account (join the waitlist if you don't have one yet)
A rough idea of the journey you want to document — doesn't have to be perfect
A few photos from your trip (optional but highly recommended)

Step 1 — Create a new map

After signing in, click New map on your dashboard. Give your map a title and a short description — these appear when you share the link, so make them count.

Choose a starting map style. We recommend Outdoors for hiking and nature content, and Streets or Satellite for urban or architectural stories.

Step 2 — Add your first stop

Click anywhere on the map to drop a pin, or use the search bar to find a specific location. Each pin becomes a story point — the fundamental building block of a ViaPlot map.

Once you've placed a pin you can:

Give the stop a title (e.g. "Sunrise at the summit")
Write a rich-text description — use headings, lists, quotes, whatever feels right
Attach photos or videos uploaded directly from your device
Reorder the stop by dragging it in the sidebar

Step 3 — Build the narrative arc

A good map story has a beginning, middle, and end — just like any other story. Think about the order of your stops and whether the progression makes sense to someone who wasn't there.

Tips:

Use the first stop to set the scene — where are we, why does this place matter?
Let the middle stops carry the detail and drama
End with something that resonates — a reflection, a view, a meal

Step 4 — Add connecting paths (optional)

If your journey has a physical route, you can draw connecting lines between stops to show the actual path you took. Click Add route in the toolbar and trace the path on the map.

This works especially well for:

Multi-day hikes
Road trips with a clear sequence of stops
Walking tours of a city

Step 5 — Publish and share

When you're happy with your map, hit Publish. You'll get a shareable link that opens directly on the map view — no account required for viewers.

You can also embed the map on any website using the embed code found under Share → Embed.

That's it! Your first map story is live. If you want to go deeper, explore our guide on crafting compelling stop descriptions or check out some of the best map stories on the explore page.

Happy mapping.