If you want to display a map on your website, Google Maps is probably the first name on your mind. And while it is easy enough to embed a simple map using the included embed code, the best WordPress Google Maps plugins give you a lot more functionality.
For starters, the best WordPress Google maps plugins help you add markers to locations, filters to the frontend, custom icons, layers, directions, and much more. Beyond that, they allow you to customize your maps to match the requirements of your website. And then, using shortcodes, you can display your maps wherever you want.
If you are just interested in embedding a basic map straight from Google Maps, you might want to check out our guide on how to add Google Maps to WordPress.
Otherwise, please check out our list of the six best WordPress Google Maps plugins in 2023:
The six best WordPress Google Maps plugins in 2023
1. Maps Gutenberg Block by Otter Blocks
To kick off this list of the best WordPress Google Maps plugins, we want to introduce you to none other than our very own Otter Blocks. To be clear, Otter Blocks is much more than simply a Google Maps plugin. It’s like a Swiss Army knife of tools for your WordPress site.
It just so happens that one of those tools is a maps integration feature. You can use it to embed a Google Map on your website and create markers for the locations you wish to highlight for your visitors.
The Otter Blocks maps integration allows you customize the map experience in a multitude of ways, including some of the following:
- Adjust the color and description of the markers
- Add and remove map controls
- Change the size and style of the maps with a few clicks
- Search for places by name or coordinates
To summarize, if you want your blog, website, or online store to be successful, you’re going to need to use a variety of tools. Rather than downloading a website builder and a bunch of separate plugins for every single thing you want on your site, why not get it all in one place?
Otter Blocks is going to give you the Google Maps integration you’re looking for, but it’ll also replace your need for an external website builder that might break over time as new iterations of WordPress get rolled out. This is because Otter Blocks is designed to work with the native WordPress (Gutenberg) editor, rather than be installed on top of it.
Check out how easy it is to tweak the Google Maps block using Otter Blocks below:
2. Maps Widget for Google Maps
The second option on our list of the best WordPress Google Maps plugins is Maps Widgets. Maps Widget for Google Maps helps you get a perfect map with a thumbnail & lightbox in minutes.
The neat UI simplifies map creation and customization. Not only that, but you’ll also be able to store the maps in a maps library with specific settings, and then retrieve them later for reuse, with or without editing. Also, if you use Gutenberg, they offer an additional Map Block Gutenberg plugin for free.
There’s a lot you can do while creating maps. For instance, you can set up the position and zoom level of the maps, add multiple locations and markers, and customize for color and dimensions. Or, go with the predefined map styles on offer. If you wish, style the maps using your own CSS.
Other features include:
- Fully customize Google Map sizing
- Get 1500+ map pins library (paid version)
- Plenty of Google Map color schemes
- Multiple map views – street, satellite, terrain, or hybrid
- Custom icons for markers
- Shortcode integration to display maps wherever you want (paid version)
In short, Maps Widget for Google Maps is a great plugin to create personalized maps displaying multiple locations, while sharing loads of details in a concise way.
3. WP Google Map
Want to add style to your existing Google Maps embeds? Take a look at WP Google Map. It offers hundreds of map styles to choose via Snazzy Maps and will quickly apply the styles to all the Google Maps embeds on your website.
You can use this plugin to add unlimited map markers. WP Google Map offers 500+ pre-designed markers. The pro version will even display multiple routes along with distance (miles/km). It is fully draggable and re-shapable.
Other features include:
- Display custom filters on the frontend for accurate searches
- Beautiful and responsive info-window templates
- Show locations listing with filters & pagination
- Create a map with both satellite and normal view
- Marker Animation on click or hover
- Multiple map layers – display traffic, bicycle and transit
Get started with this plugin if you want to create a highly customizable and easy to use Google Map.
4. WP Google Maps
WP Google Maps is a highly popular plugin with 400,000 active installations. To create a map, all you’ve got to do is move between tabs on the single screen interface.
With no advertising or links, the free version lets you share a load of information with users, using as many markers (Google’s standard pin) as you want.
A right-click lets you add or edit markers and then drag them around to your precise locations. You’ll be able to add animations, polygons, and polylines. The plugin supports Google Maps autocomplete, localization, four map types (roadmap, terrain, satellite, and hybrid), as well as Transport layers (traffic, bicycle and public transport).
Other features, many of them Pro, include:
- Multiple maps that expand to fill your screen
- Markers are filterable by categories, custom fields, and more
- Markers can contain descriptions, links, images, videos, locations, directions, and categories
- Visitors can use their location as start/ end point for directions and add their own markers to maps
- Advanced store locator functionality that allows search by category and utilizes user location
- Marker data can be quickly edited by importing or exporting to a CSV file. At the same time, import from URI (REST API), XML, CSV, JSON, GPX is also possible
Paid licenses start at $39.99.
5. Maps Marker Pro
The impressive features and popularity of Maps Marker Pro ensure this plugin a place in this list of the best WordPress Google Maps plugins. You can use it to plot any spot or share any route or track, customizing each marker as you go along. Licenses start at $39.
Creating a map using the 600+ settings may seem intimidating at first. But once you put your nose to it, you’ll see that it simply involves fixing dimensions of the map, creating markers and choosing layers. What can be a clincher is that you can pull in data from different sources such as Bing, HERE, Open Street Map, or Google Maps.
Other features include:
- Share maps offline using QR codes
- Share real-time location and motion
- Augmented reality to create any scenario
- Multiple markers for each layer with marker clustering option
- Marker animations and popups
- Bulk updates to markers by importing exporting / data using JSON (default) as well as CSV/XLS/XLSX/ODS
A free version of the plugin, Leaflet Maps Marker with limited feature access is also popular in the WordPress.org repository.
6. Simple Google Maps Shortcode
Last on this list of the best WordPress Google Maps plugins, we suggest a plugin for users who want to keep it real simple – Simple Google Maps Shortcode. It does exactly what the name suggests, supplies an easy-to-use mapping shortcode that you can insert anywhere on your site.
There’s really no settings involved, though you can adjust the map dimensions and disable scrolling. The maps are typically cached for three months, but changing the address automatically refreshes the cache.
While the flip side is that there’s no customization offered, it’s perfect if you want to add a map to your website in less than five minutes. And it’s great that you can add more than one map. Just in case you want more features, check out their Pro plugin, Google Maps Widget Pro. It supports multiple pins, clustering, widget cloning, a Google Analytics integration, and more.
Those are the best WordPress Google Maps plugins
There’s a whole lot of quality map plugins out there, but we hope that this condensed list of the best WordPress Google Maps plugins helped you in your search to narrow down the one that will best fit your needs.
Final recommendations:
📍 If your goal is to put a Google Map onto your website as quickly as possible and you don’t care about customizing any details, then Simple Google Maps Shortcode is your solution.
📍 If you’re looking for a tool that will take care of all your website building needs, including the ability to embed a Google Map and customize it in various ways, then Otter Blocks is what you need.
Do you have any questions about any of the Google Maps plugins on this list? Ask away in the comments!
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