The Best Features Of Different Mapping Sites

I learned some time ago not to use one mapping web site exclusively due to the fact that no one site does everything correctly. Instead I use whatever suits what I’m trying to do on a map. Some do things better than others. This is a list of the best features of the more popular mapping web sites.

Best Color Coding – Yahoo! Maps

The reason Yahoo! has the best color coding is because you can instantly tell what you see just by the color. Toll roads are green. Interstates are dark red. Major routes are orange. Visually speaking this makes the most sense, and Yahoo! nails this perfectly.

All other mapping sites use color coding also, but none is as easy to see as the way Y! does it.

Most useful naming information – Bing Maps

Bing (formerly MSN) does something no other mapping site does correctly, that being showing you county names. In the dead center of the screen shot above, you can see "HILLSBOROUGH". And you can even see a border of where Hillsborough county ends on the left (the dotted yellow line on the water).

Things like county information are important because it gives you a better idea of where you actually are on the map.

Note: On Bing maps, to see county information you ordinarily have to zoom into within a six-mile view. Look to the bottom right of the map while using Bing, then use the zoom buttons to zoom in until you see the information appear.

Best Aerial Photography – Bing Maps

Bing scores another point for having the absolute best aerial shots, period. This is accessible via the "Bird’s Eye" button when zoomed in close another to just about anywhere.

If you can’t see it with Google Maps Street Views, you’ll see it with Bing Maps Bird’s Eye View.

You will marvel at how good Bird’s Eye view looks.

Best Street Views – Google Maps

I guess it should be noted that Google is the only mapping site that even offers this; there isn’t any other choice.

Fortunately Google has made notable improvements to their mapping site over the years. Street Views at first was very clunky in its operation, and while it still has a few bugs it’s still a good tool to use.

Most useful interface – MapQuest

MapQuest above and beyond has the most useful buttons. They are the easiest to read, easiest to understand (important), and the symbols on the right have things available that give you useful information, such as the locations of school, gas stations and a whole lot more. Note the up and down arrows on that menu. There’s a lot of good stuff in there.

Best way to contribute to the map yourself – OpenStreetMap

You probably never heard of this before reading this article, but yes, it exists. It’s the "Wikipedia of Maps" whereas anybody can contribute to it. If you’re the type who is a mapping geek that likes to make corrections and so on, this is basically the only place you can do it. Signing up is free, so if you’re a hardcore mapper, this is the best it gets as far as putting you in control.