---
path: docs/getting-started/create-your-first-map
title: "Create Your First Map"
desc: "Build your first interactive GISOwl map in under 5 minutes."
date: "Apr 2, 2026"
---

# Create Your First Map

Build your first interactive map in just a few minutes. This guide covers uploading data, styling layers, and sharing your completed map.

> **Tip:** Want to follow along? Use a dataset of your own or download our [sample dataset](https://gisowl.com/samples/store-locations.csv) of store locations across the US.

## Step 1: Create a New Map

Click the **New Map** button from your workspace dashboard. GISOwl opens a blank map canvas centered on your current location. You can pan, zoom, and search for any place using the search bar at the top.

## Step 2: Upload Your Data

Click the **Upload** button in the toolbar and choose your preferred method:

- **File upload** — Drag and drop or browse for files. Supported formats include GeoJSON, Shapefile (.shp + sidecar files in a .zip), CSV with lat/lon columns, KML/KMZ, GPX, and GeoTIFF.
- **URL import** — Paste a link to a GeoJSON file, WMS/WFS/WMTS endpoint, ArcGIS REST service, or XYZ tile layer.
- **Cloud source** — Connect directly to PostGIS, Snowflake, BigQuery, or Databricks.

GISOwl auto-detects geometry types and coordinate reference systems. Your data appears on the map within seconds.

## Step 3: Style Your Layer

Click on the layer name in the **Layers** panel to open the style editor. You can:

- Change fill and stroke colors
- Apply a color ramp based on a numeric or categorical field
- Adjust point size, line width, and opacity
- Switch between point, heatmap, and cluster visualizations
- Set label fields and label styles

## Step 4: Add Context

Use the **Annotations** tool to draw markers, lines, polygons, and text labels directly on the map. Group and style annotations to create visual narratives.

## Step 5: Share Your Map

Click **Share** in the top right corner. Choose who can access your map:

- **Private** — Only invited workspace members
- **Anyone with the link** — View-only or editable
- **Public** — Discoverable and visible to everyone

You can also generate an embed code for websites or export to GeoJSON, CSV, PNG, or PDF.

## Next Steps

- [Tour the Interface](/docs/getting-started/tour-the-interface) — Learn the layout in detail.
- [Upload Anything](/docs/upload-anything/files) — Explore all supported file formats.
- [Styling](/docs/layers/styling) — Master layer styling options.