Giorgos Sarigiannidis

<p>A map block for Gutenberg which uses <a href="https://www.openstreetmap.org" rel="nofollow ugc">OpenStreetMap</a> and <a href="https://leafletjs.com" rel="nofollow ugc">Leaflet.js</a>. It needs no API keys and works out of the box (or, out of the Block, if you prefer). Benefiting from Gutenberg’s potential, the plugin tries a different take on how to add your locations on the map and rethinks a few things, UX-wise.</p>
<p>Instead of manually adding coordinates for each one of your markers, just click-and-drop them directly on the map. You want to adjust their position? Just drag them wherever you want. And instead of filling-in custom fields to set each marker’s popup content, just open that popup and start writing in it, the Gutenberg way (it supports WYSIWYG editing, with links, images, and all). It even stores the map’s zoom level as you use it so that you don’t have to set it by hand.</p>
<span class="embed-youtube" style="text-align:center; display: block;"><iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="750" height="422" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FGe7zJnrIgo?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe></span>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://github.com/gsarig/ootb-openstreetmap" rel="nofollow ugc">Follow the project’s development on GitHub</a></li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/gsarig/ootb-openstreetmap/releases" rel="nofollow ugc">Release history</a></li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/users/gsarig/projects/1" rel="nofollow ugc">Roadmap</a></li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/gsarig/ootb-openstreetmap?tab=readme-ov-file#hooks" rel="nofollow ugc">Hooks🪝</a></li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/gsarig/ootb-openstreetmap?tab=readme-ov-file#shortcodes" rel="nofollow ugc">Shortcodes</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>Features</h4>
<ul>
<li>No need for API keys. Just install and use it.</li>
<li>Support for multiple markers.</li>
<li>Support for a different icon per marker.</li>
<li>Support for polygons and polylines.</li>
<li>Marker clustering: group nearby markers into clusters that expand as you zoom in.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.gsarigiannidis.gr/wordpress-gutenberg-map-block-openstreetmap/" rel="nofollow ugc">Dead-simple interface</a>. Don’t search for coordinates and don’t get overwhelmed by too many fields when using multiple markers. Just point and click on the map to add your marker where you want it and edit it’s popup content directly from there.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.gsarigiannidis.gr/openstreetmap-place-search/" rel="nofollow ugc">Place search</a>. Find locations by typing keywords.</li>
<li>Remembers the zoom that you set when adding the markers and stores it so that you don’t set it by hand (which you can do anyway if you prefer).</li>
<li>AI integration which allows you to add markers by using commands in natural language. Just say “please” to activate (e.g. “Please, show me where GOT was filmed”). Requires an API key from an AI Provider, or a site-level AI connector on WordPress 7.0+. <a href="https://www.gsarigiannidis.gr/openstreetmap-openai-integration/" rel="nofollow ugc">Read more</a>.</li>
<li>Query Maps: Supports creating a map out of maps added on other posts or post types. This can be quite powerful when, for example, you have a custom post type for “Places” with each place having its own map, and you want to dynamically gather-up all the places on a single map.</li>
<li>Shortcode support: You can use the shortcode <code>[ootb_query]</code> as an alternative way to use the aforementioned Query Maps feature (see the FAQ for more info).</li>
<li>Support for a location custom field, which can be used to store a post’s or post type’s location, following the <a href="https://codex.wordpress.org/Geodata" rel="nofollow ugc">Geodata guidelines</a>. Read more in the <a href="https://github.com/gsarig/ootb-openstreetmap/releases/tag/2.8.0" rel="nofollow ugc">v.2.8.0 release notes</a>.</li>
<li>Adjust the map height.</li>
<li>Change the default marker icon with a custom one.</li>
<li>Enable or disable map dragging.</li>
<li>Enable or disable touch zoom.</li>
<li>Enable or disable double-click zoom.</li>
<li>Enable or disable scroll wheel zoom.</li>
<li>Set a minimum and maximum limit that the user can zoom on the frontend. Setting the same value to both fields will lock the zoom at that level.</li>
<li>Support for other Layer Providers: MapBox (using your own API key) and Stamen.</li>
<li>Option to export locations in a JSON file</li>
<li>Option to import locations from a JSON file</li>
</ul>


Out of the Block: OpenStreetMap

Just because we don't need an API license key, and we can have multiple pins per map among other things, for me this is the best mapping block. And of course, the plugin works exactly as advertised.

Until now, I was using my own map block I had created with ACF Pro, but that was just simple Google Map embed, which again did not require an API key, but was restricted to one pin per map, and of course no live data like traffic and other visuals, along with no street view.

Well done, and thank you,
Nick.

The best map block


In 5 minutes I had a map with a marker. Easy!


Loved it!

A map block for Gutenberg using OpenStreetMap and Leaflet that needs no API keys and works out of the box. Or should we say, ...Out of the Block?

Norbert Preining

<p>A simple, intuitive Google Map / OpenStreetMap plugin that installs as a Gutenberg block and a shortcode. Packed with useful features — geo-mashup of posts, KML overlays, marker icons, address geocoding — and fully free and open source. No subscriptions, no SaaS, no telemetry.</p>
<p><strong>Slick Google Map lets you embed maps using either:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Google Maps</strong> — requires your own API key (configurable per-site).</li>
<li><strong>Leaflet / OpenStreetMap</strong> — no key required, free tile service.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Features:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Insert maps via the <strong>Slick Google Map</strong> Gutenberg block (with a multi-marker repeater) or the <code>[slick_map]</code> shortcode.</li>
<li>Classic Editor users get a <strong>Slick Map</strong> media button above the editor that opens a dialog with the same repeater.</li>
<li><strong>Marker geo-mashup</strong> — aggregate every post/page that has <code>lat</code>/<code>lng</code> custom fields onto a single map.</li>
<li><strong>KML and GPX overlays</strong> — drop a track or boundary onto any map. KML works on both providers; GPX is Leaflet-only.</li>
<li><strong>Address geocoding</strong> — write <code>address="Vienna, Austria"</code> instead of coordinates. Geocoded once per address and cached for 30 days. Uses your Google Geocoding API key if set, falls back to Nominatim/OSM otherwise.</li>
<li><strong>Coordinate formats</strong> — accepts decimal (<code>48.2082</code>) and DMS (<code>48°12'29.5"N</code>) in any marker.</li>
<li><strong>Marker icons</strong> — bundled set of 13 modern SVG pins (default, restaurant, lodging, cafe, bar, museum, airport, rail, shop, camera, mountain, castle, religious), plus your own URL. Legacy filenames from the 2014-era plugin are auto-aliased.</li>
<li><strong>Map controls</strong> — toggle the zoom / map-type / street-view / scroll-wheel / drag controls per map.</li>
<li><strong>Layers</strong> — Google bicycling and traffic overlays on demand.</li>
<li><strong>45° aerial tilt</strong> — passed through to Google as <code>tilt: 45</code>. Only takes visible effect on vector Map IDs, or on satellite/hybrid view over the specific cities where Google has 45° aerial imagery. No effect on raster maps or on Leaflet.</li>
<li><strong>Custom Google styles JSON</strong> — for branded maps without cloud-styled Map IDs.</li>
<li><strong>Wiki-style links</strong> in marker titles: <code>[[https://example.com|Display text]]</code> becomes a real link.</li>
<li><strong>Compatible with WordPress page caches</strong> — no per-visitor state in the rendered HTML, no AJAX side-effects.</li>
<li><strong>No fixed-cost dependencies</strong> — Leaflet / OSM is free; Google Maps is pay-as-you-go with a generous monthly free tier (≈28k map loads/month at no charge).</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>History:</strong></p>
<p>Slick Google Map 1.0 is a rewrite of the original plugin version 0.3, which was itself a fork of the <em>Comprehensive Google Map Plugin</em> by Alexander Zagniotov (2011–2014). Version 1.0.0 is a complete rewrite for WordPress 6.4+ and PHP 8.1+ — see the “Parity & rewrite” section below for what changed.</p>
<p>Insert a map via the <strong>Slick Google Map</strong> Gutenberg block, the <strong>Slick Map</strong> media button in the Classic Editor, or the <code>[slick_map]</code> shortcode. Optionally aggregate posts/pages that have <code>lat</code>/<code>lng</code> custom fields onto a single map (“geo-mashup”), and overlay a KML or GPX file.</p>
<h4>Shortcode</h4>
<pre><code>[slick_map lat="48.2082" lng="16.3738" zoom="13" height="400px" provider="leaflet"]
</code></pre>
<p>Geo-mashup of posts and pages:</p>
<pre><code>[slick_map mashup="post,page"]
</code></pre>
<p>KML or GPX overlay:</p>
<pre><code>[slick_map kml="https://example.com/track.kml"]
[slick_map provider="leaflet" gpx="https://example.com/hike.gpx"]
</code></pre>
<p>KML works with both providers; GPX requires the Leaflet provider (Google’s Maps JS API does not natively render GPX).</p>
<p>Markers with addresses and custom icons (nested <code>[marker]</code> children):</p>
<pre><code>[slick_map zoom="6"]
[marker address="Vienna, Austria" title="Home"]
[marker lat="52.5" lng="13.4" title="Berlin" icon="https://example.com/star.png"]
[/slick_map]
</code></pre>
<p>Each <code>[marker]</code> accepts <code>address</code> (geocoded once and cached) <strong>or</strong> explicit <code>lat</code>/<code>lng</code>, plus optional <code>title</code> and <code>icon</code>.</p>
<p>The <code>icon</code> attribute accepts either an <code>https://…</code> URL pointing to your own image, or one of the bundled short names: <code>default</code>, <code>restaurant</code>, <code>lodging</code>, <code>cafe</code>, <code>bar</code>, <code>museum</code>, <code>airport</code>, <code>rail</code>, <code>shop</code>, <code>camera</code>, <code>mountain</code>, <code>castle</code>, <code>religious</code>. Legacy filenames from the 2014-era plugin (<code>1-default.png</code>, <code>museum_naval.png</code>, <code>hotel_0star.png</code>, …) are auto-aliased to the nearest modern equivalent.</p>
<p>For geo-mashup markers, set a <code>marker_icon</code> custom field on each post to override the default pin for just that post.</p>
<h4>Map controls and layers</h4>
<p>Toggle Google’s built-in UI: <code>zoomcontrol</code>, <code>maptypecontrol</code>, <code>streetviewcontrol</code>, <code>scrollwheel</code>, <code>draggable</code> (all default <code>true</code>).</p>
<p>Google-only overlays: <code>showbike="true"</code>, <code>showtraffic="true"</code>.</p>
<p>45° aerial tilt: <code>tilt="45"</code>. Only takes visible effect on a Google vector Map ID, or in satellite/hybrid view over cities where Google has 45° imagery. Ignored elsewhere.</p>
<p>Custom Google map styles JSON: <code>styles='[{"featureType":"poi","stylers":[{"visibility":"off"}]}]'</code> (ignored when a Map ID is configured — cloud styling takes precedence).</p>
<h4>DMS coordinates</h4>
<p>Marker <code>lat</code> / <code>lng</code> values accept either decimal (<code>48.2082</code>) or DMS form (<code>48°12'29.5"N</code>).</p>
<h4>Wiki-style links</h4>
<p>Marker titles support <code>[[https://example.com|Display text]]</code> to embed real links, or <code>[[Plain Page]]</code> for unlinked highlighted text.</p>
<h4>Geocoding</h4>
<p>When a Google Maps API key is configured the plugin uses the Google Geocoding API (same Cloud project as Maps; enable <strong>Geocoding API</strong> alongside Maps JavaScript). Otherwise it falls back to Nominatim/OpenStreetMap. Results are cached in a 30-day transient per address, so each unique address is geocoded at most once.</p>
<h4>Privacy</h4>
<p>Using the Google provider loads scripts and tiles from <code>maps.googleapis.com</code>. Using the Leaflet/OSM provider loads tiles from <code>tile.openstreetmap.org</code> and the Leaflet library from <code>unpkg.com</code>. Choose the provider that matches your site’s privacy posture.</p>
<h3>Parity & rewrite</h3>
<p>Version 1.0.0 is a complete rewrite of the 2015 codebase. The old plugin’s PHP and JavaScript were written against WordPress 3.6 and PHP 5, used the long-retired Google JSAPI loader, geocoded addresses on every page view, shipped 300+ marker PNGs of mixed provenance, and had several unauthenticated AJAX write paths in <code>wp-admin</code>. Re-issuing it as-is on a modern stack was not viable, so the codebase was rewritten from scratch around the same shortcode vocabulary.</p>
<p><strong>What you keep.</strong> Posts written against the very old <code>[google-map-v3 ...]</code> shortcode still render. The plugin registers <code>google-map-v3</code> as a back-compatibility alias that maps the still-useful attributes (<code>width</code>, <code>height</code>, <code>zoom</code>, <code>kml</code>, <code>maptype</code>, <code>addmarkermashup</code>, <code>addmarkerlist</code>, <code>maptypecontrol</code>, <code>zoomcontrol</code>, <code>streetviewcontrol</code>, <code>scrollwheel</code>, <code>draggable</code>, <code>showbike</code>, <code>showtraffic</code>, <code>tiltfourtyfive</code>, <code>styles</code>) onto the new renderer. The Google provider is selected by default for these legacy shortcodes, the old <code>addmarkerlist="addr{}icon{}desc|..."</code> packed format is parsed transparently, and the most-used legacy icon filenames (<code>1-default.png</code>, <code>museum_naval.png</code>, <code>hotel_0star.png</code>, …) are aliased to the bundled modern SVG set.</p>
<p><strong>What’s gone for good.</strong> Some features can’t come back because the upstream services or APIs disappeared:</p>
<ul>
<li><code>panoramio</code> — Google shut Panoramio down in November 2016.</li>
<li><code>pancontrol</code> — Google removed <code>panControl</code> from the Maps API in 2017; there is no flag to set anymore.</li>
<li><code>google.maps.KmlLayer</code> — deprecated April 2026; replaced internally with a <code>fetch</code> + KML<span aria-hidden="true" class="wp-exclude-emoji">→</span>GeoJSON renderer.</li>
<li>The old <code>https://www.google.com/jsapi</code> loader — retired by Google in 2017; the modern loader requires a user-supplied API key.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>What’s not yet back.</strong> Marker clustering, directions/routing, geolocation marker, and marker drop/bounce animations are reachable from the rewrite but not yet wired up. See <a href="https://github.com/norbusan/slick-google-map-plugin/blob/master/PARITY.md" rel="nofollow ugc">PARITY.md</a> on GitHub for the full, categorised list (restored / new / missing-but-doable / deprecated-by-upstream / deliberately-dropped) plus a migration cheat-sheet.</p>
<p><strong>What was dropped on purpose.</strong> The sidebar widget (Classic Widgets is in long-term legacy mode), the saved-shortcodes admin library (it was the largest single security surface in the old plugin), and the 300+ marker PNG library (replaced with 13 modern SVGs plus a legacy-filename alias map) — see <code>PARITY.md</code> for the rationale on each.</p>
<h3>Contributors</h3>
<h4>Current maintainer</h4>
<ul>
<li>Norbert Preining</li>
</ul>
<h4>Original author of the upstream “Comprehensive Google Map Plugin” (2011–2014)</h4>
<ul>
<li>Alexander Zagniotov — thanks for the original work, released under GPL.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Additional contributors</h4>
<ul>
<li>Honza Rameš</li>
</ul>


Slick Google Map

Embed Google Maps (with your own API key) or OpenStreetMap/Leaflet maps via shortcode or Gutenberg block.

Out of the Block: OpenStreetMap vs Slick Google Map