Map Customization

Mapiry offers basic customization options to make your maps look different. This guide covers what's actually available today.

What You Can Customize

Currently, you can customize:

1. Base map style - Choose from 5 different Mapbox styles
2. Category colors - Set a color for each category

That's it. Most advanced customization features are not yet implemented.

Base Map Styles

Choose the background map style that best fits your map's purpose.

Available Styles

Mapiry supports these Mapbox style IDs:

streets-v12 (Default)

• Standard street map with labels
• Good all-purpose style
• Shows streets, buildings, landmarks

satellite-v9

• Aerial/satellite imagery
• No street labels
• Good for outdoor or geographic maps

light-v11

• Minimal light-colored style
• Subtle streets and labels
• Good when you want markers to stand out

dark-v11

• Dark background with light labels
• Modern aesthetic
• Reduces eye strain in dark environments

outdoors-v12

• Topographic style with terrain features
• Shows trails and contours
• Good for hiking or outdoor activities

Changing the Style

When creating or editing a map:

1. Look for the style dropdown field
2. Select one of the 5 styles listed above
3. Save your map

The style applies to the entire map. You can change it anytime without affecting your locations.

Category Colors

Each category can have a color, which affects how locations in that category appear on the map.

Setting Category Colors

1. Create or edit a category
2. Choose a color (color picker or hex code)
3. Save the category

All locations assigned to that category will use this color.

Color Guidelines

• Use contrasting colors so categories are distinguishable
• Test on different base map styles - a color that works on Streets may not work on Dark
• Limit yourself to 6-8 categories - too many colors becomes confusing
• Use consistent colors across related maps for brand recognition

What's NOT Available

To set accurate expectations, here's what Mapiry does not currently support:

Markers

• ❌ Custom marker icons or images
• ❌ Different marker shapes (pins, circles, squares, etc.)
• ❌ Marker size customization
• ❌ Marker animations
• ❌ Per-location custom markers
• ❌ Marker clustering

Markers are standard map pins colored by category. You cannot upload custom icons or change marker appearance beyond the color.

Popups

• ❌ Custom popup styles
• ❌ Popup layout configuration
• ❌ Background color customization
• ❌ Field reordering
• ❌ Custom popup HTML

Popups use a standard design showing location name, description, and image (if provided).

Map Controls

• ❌ Zoom control position/visibility customization
• ❌ Search box on map
• ❌ Category filter widget
• ❌ Fullscreen button
• ❌ Geolocation button
• ❌ Custom control placement

Map controls are standard Mapbox controls with default settings.

Advanced Styling

• ❌ Custom CSS injection
• ❌ Custom JavaScript
• ❌ Theme colors (primary/accent)
• ❌ Font customization
• ❌ Label styling
• ❌ Text color configuration

You cannot inject custom CSS or JavaScript into your maps.

Templates & Presets

• ❌ Style templates
• ❌ Saving custom templates
• ❌ Template marketplace
• ❌ Exporting/importing styles
• ❌ Style version history

Each map is configured individually. You cannot save or share style configurations.

Responsive Design

• ❌ Mobile-specific settings
• ❌ Touch gesture configuration
• ❌ Auto-scaling markers
• ❌ Mobile popup styles

Maps use standard responsive behavior provided by Mapbox.

What About Pro?

Pro users get access to white-label embeds (no Mapiry branding), but Pro does not unlock custom markers, icons, CSS/JS injection, or any of the features listed above as "not available."

The customization capabilities are the same for Free and Pro users. Pro just removes branding and increases limits.

Practical Tips

Choosing a Base Map Style

For city guides and business directories:

• Use streets-v12 (default)

For outdoor or nature maps:

• Use outdoors-v12 or satellite-v9

For modern aesthetic:

• Use dark-v11

For minimal style where markers are the focus:

• Use light-v11

Working with Category Colors

Since categories are your only color customization:

Plan your categories carefully:

• Group locations logically
• Each category should have a distinct purpose
• Use colors that make sense (e.g., red for restaurants, blue for hotels)

Test your color choices:

• View your map on different base styles
• Make sure colors are visible and distinguishable
• Use high-contrast colors for better visibility

Keep it simple:

• 3-6 categories is ideal for most maps
• More than 8-10 categories gets confusing
• Similar location types should share a category/color

Future Customization

Many customization features documented elsewhere (custom markers, templates, advanced styling) are not currently implemented. These may be added in future versions if there's demand.

For now, focus on:

1. Choosing the right base map style
2. Organizing locations into meaningful categories
3. Selecting distinct, visible category colors

What's Next?

• Categories - Learn about category management
• Creating Maps - Map creation basics
• Embedding Maps - Customize embed options