Introducing the PolicyMap "Widget"!

PolicyMap now offers its subscribers an exciting new tool: the ability to embed fully interactive maps on your own websites.

What is a widget? Widgets are customizable instances of PolicyMap maps with dynamic features such as the ability to zoom into or pan across a map, click on an area to view the underlying data or toggle between additional data layers and points of data. Communicate with visitors to your website with a powerful interactive display of data relevant to your organization's work.

PolicyMap has the unique ability to display data at a variety of geographies like block groups, census tracts, zip codes, congressional districts, cities, counties, MSAs, school districts and, of course, addresses. As you know, PolicyMap maps are clickable – giving you both the visualization of a heat map as well as the underlying data and information for any place you click on the map. Now, you can experience these maps right on your own website.

Check Out These Widgets:


How can I create one? It's simple. You decide what datasets and geography you want your website visitors to explore and we'll build your widget and send you the HTML you need to embed it. Just follow these steps.

  1. Choose a location – You can have your map set to any location in the country. Have your visitors start at a map of a census tract, zip code, city, county, MSA or any pre-defined location in PolicyMap.
  2. Select up to 15 datasets – What data you want to show your visitors? Choose up to 15 data layers for your website from the hundreds available on PolicyMap (www.policymap.com/our-data.html). (Note: Only public data can be made available on your public website. Proprietary data must be on a password-protected site.)
  3. Pick a default data layer – From the data layers you have chosen, select the default data layer that your visitors will initially view. Customize the layer as needed.
    1. Set the default Year or Variable – If the data layer has multiple time periods, you can choose which period to show as the default. You can also show the number (#) or count related to a data layer, the median ($) value, or the percent (%) of the data layer as the default variable.
    2. Set the number of ranges or color ramp – Choose from the three (3) different color ramps to use in the widget, and select the number of ranges the default data layer can display.
    3. Show what geography the data is shaded by – Depending on the location and data layer you've selected as default, the data will shade automatically at a pre-defined geography. You can change this and select a different "shade-by".
    4. Make custom ranges for each data layer – Customize data layers on the widget by creating custom ranges. Custom ranges will be locked for all zoom levels of the data layer.
  4. Select up to five (5) point datasets. Add point data (addresses) from Add Sites and give your visitors a chance to see address level data on top of thematic maps. Choose from any of our publicly available points (www.policymap.com/our-data.html) and set filters just like on PolicyMap. Premium subscribers can also send us their data for upload. One of these point datasets can appear on your widget by default.
  5. Opt to add one (1) pre-defined boundary layer – Boundary layers include zip codes, congressional districts, etc. and depending on what you want to show your visitors, can give your maps more relevance and meaning.

How much does it cost? Premium Subscribers to PolicyMap can have as many as 3 widgets on their website at no additional charge. Widgets are now a part of all Premium Subscriber packages. Annual standard subscribers can also have as many as 3 widgets on their website for an additional $500/ year. If you are not a subscriber and don't have the need to subscribe, but want to bring this kind of interactive mapping to your website through the widget, you can do so for $1,000 per year.

What are the next steps? Call us at 1-866-923-MAPS (6277) or email us. At some point, we'll have a "widget builder" where you can simply fill in a form online and create a widget for yourself. Until then, call us, tell us what you want and we'll build it for you. It will generally take just a day or two.