How to make a custom map
A custom map on this site is a colored picture of a place, not a GIS project. You pick a prepared set of shapes (countries, states, counties, districts, a historical year), paint them, write a legend, and download the result. There is no shapefile to import and no account to create before you can export.
1. Pick the map that matches the question
The question decides the region set. "Which countries have I visited" wants the world map or the visited countries page. "Which states would I live in" wants the US states map. Election and representation questions want congressional districts. A history essay about 1914 wants the 1914 world map, not the modern one with a note in the corner.
Country pages exist for provinces and states of one country (France, Japan, India, and the rest of the country set). County-level work inside the United States is the US county map.
2. Paint the shapes
Click a region to fill it in the armed color. Drag across a run of them to paint several in one stroke. Switch colors in the legend when the category changes. Hide regions that are not part of the story rather than leaving them a confusing empty color, and isolate a theatre if you only want to talk about one continent or one state.
Patterns (stripes, dots, checkers) are there for a second category on the same shape: contested ground, "I have been there but would not go back", a coalition. Use them sparingly or the picture stops reading at thumbnail size.
3. Write the legend
The legend is part of the exported image. Name each color in words a stranger would understand a week later: "visited", "lived here", "would live", "never", not "blue" and "green". Drag the legend to a corner of sea or a margin so it does not sit on the place the map is about.
4. Export the picture
Download PNG for posting, SVG or PDF if you need a sharp print. Nothing is drawn across the map. The site address sits in small type in a corner of the file. You can also publish the map here for a link and a preview card; that is the step that needs an account.
If you are not sure which map to open, start at the map maker hub and pick from the list. Every region page names the shapes you can color, so you can check the set before you start painting.
Common questions
Do I need GIS software?
No. This is a coloring tool over prepared maps, not a geography workstation. You pick a region set, paint the shapes, write a legend, and export a picture.
Which map should I start with?
The world map if you are coloring countries, the US states map or the county map if you are staying inside the United States, and a country page if you need provinces or states of one country. Historical, hex, and district maps have their own pages.
Can I add my own outlines?
No. The maps are prepared region sets. You color the shapes that are already there, hide the ones you do not need, and write labels. Drawing a new coastline is a different product.
Does the export need an account?
No. Painting and downloading a PNG, JPEG, SVG, or PDF never asks you to sign in. Publishing the map at a public link is the one step that needs an account.
Are the maps free to use in a post or a video?
The picture you export is yours to post. The only mark on the file is the site address in small type in the bottom corner. The underlying map data is credited on the credits page, because some of it is published under licenses that ask for a source list.