Posted by Tom Manshreck, Maps API Team
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you probably already use the Google Maps API and love it as much as we do! But you may find it not useful for certain cases: the Google Maps API requires JavaScript, can take a while to load over slow connections, and requires some overhead to maintain a dynamic website.
The Google Static Maps API provides a simpler way to add maps to your website. Rather than use JavaScript, the Google Static Maps API creates map images on the fly via simple requests to the Static Maps service with HTTP requests. No JavaScript, no overhead. Just create a special URL as the src attribute within an
To see how easy the Static Maps API is to use, note the image below:
This image was created using the following simple
(Note that you will need to replace the key parameter above with your own Maps API key. You can obtain a free key at http://code.google.com/apis/maps/signup.html)
When this blog post was displayed in your browser, the URL in the
The Static Maps API is especially useful for pages in which you want a map to load quickly. You can even replace the generated Static Map with a JavaScript Maps API map after the page loads, allowing a seamless transition from a quick-loading map to a fully dynamic implementation.
Because the map generated by the Static Maps API is an image, you can also send it to your friends as an email attachment (especially handy for planning your next party!) or display it on any cell phone browser, whether or not it supports JavaScript.
Full documentation on constructing maps with the Static Maps API is available at:
http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/staticmaps/index.html
As always, please post questions in the Maps API forum.
