About this plugin
Maps by G allows you to easily embed interactive maps on your WordPress site without needing a Google Maps API key. Simply use a shortcode with an address, and the plugin will display a beautiful map with a marker at that location.
Features:
- No API key required – uses OpenStreetMap tiles
- Simple shortcode embedding
- Address geocoding via Nominatim
- Custom marker titles with popups
- Multiple tile providers (OpenStreetMap, CartoDB Light, CartoDB Dark)
- Responsive design for all devices
- Configurable zoom levels
- Enable/disable scroll wheel zoom
- Gutenberg block support
- Lightweight and fast loading
Usage
Basic Shortcode:
[mbyg_map address="1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC"]
With Custom Title:
[mbyg_map address="Eiffel Tower, Paris" title="Eiffel Tower" zoom="15"]
Using Coordinates:
1278" title="London" zoom="12"]
Available Attributes:
- address – The address to display on the map
- lat – Latitude coordinate (use instead of address)
- lng – Longitude coordinate (use instead of address)
- zoom – Zoom level from 1-19 (default: 13)
- height – Map height in pixels (default: 400)
- title – Text shown in marker popup
- provider – Tile provider: openstreetmap, cartodb-light, cartodb-dark (default: openstreetmap)
- zoomcontrol – Show zoom buttons: true/false (default: true)
- scrollzoom – Enable scroll wheel zoom: true/false (default: true)
External Services
This plugin relies on the following third-party services to provide map functionality:
OpenStreetMap Tile Servers
This plugin displays maps using tile images from OpenStreetMap’s tile servers. Map tiles are loaded when a map is displayed on your website.
- What it does: Provides the visual map tiles (the actual map images you see)
- When data is sent: Every time a map is displayed on your site
- What is sent: The geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude) and zoom level to determine which map tiles to load
- Service provider: OpenStreetMap Foundation
- Terms of Use: https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Terms_of_Use
- Privacy Policy: https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_Policy
- Tile Usage Policy: https://operations.osmfoundation.org/policies/tiles/
CartoDB/CARTO Tile Servers (Optional)
If you choose the CartoDB Light or CartoDB Dark tile providers, map tiles are loaded from CARTO’s servers instead.
- What it does: Provides alternative styled map tiles
- When data is sent: Only when CartoDB tile providers are selected
- What is sent: Geographic coordinates and zoom level
- Service provider: CARTO
- Terms of Service: https://carto.com/legal/
- Privacy Policy: https://carto.com/privacy/
Nominatim Geocoding Service
When you provide an address (instead of coordinates), this plugin uses the Nominatim geocoding service to convert the address to geographic coordinates.
- What it does: Converts street addresses to latitude/longitude coordinates
- When data is sent: Only when an address is provided in the shortcode (not when using lat/lng coordinates directly)
- What is sent: The address text you specify in the shortcode
- Data caching: Geocoded results are cached for 24 hours to reduce API calls
- Service provider: OpenStreetMap Foundation
- Terms of Use: https://operations.osmfoundation.org/policies/nominatim/
- Privacy Policy: https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_Policy
Note: If you prefer not to use the geocoding service, you can always provide latitude and longitude coordinates directly using the lat and lng shortcode attributes.