Maps are easy. Map UIs are not.
Source: Dev.to
The Problem with Map UIs
Most map libraries solve rendering, but very few solve product UI.
I’ve used maps in dashboards, tools, and internal products — and every time, the pain wasn’t the map itself. It was everything around it:
- Markers that don’t match the design system
- Side panels that feel hacked together
- Filters, overlays, legends, states — all custom every time
- Styling conflicts between the map and UI components
The result? You rebuild the same map UI patterns again and again.
Why Existing Map Libraries Fall Short
The problem isn’t Leaflet, Mapbox, or Google Maps—they do their job well.
The issue is that they stop at “map primitives,” while real products need opinionated UI composition.
Introducing EasyMaps
After repeating this cycle a few times, I stopped rewriting the same code and started building a small, composable UI kit for maps — in the same spirit as shadcn/ui, but focused on map‑heavy products.
Goals
- Predictable map UIs
- Design‑system friendly components
- Fast to assemble
- Less painful to maintain
It’s still early, but the experience already feels different — more like assembling a product, less like fighting CSS and state.
Who Might Benefit
If you’ve built dashboards, logistics tools, real‑estate apps, or anything where maps are core, you probably know this pain.
Get Started
I’m calling it EasyMaps.
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Would love to hear how others are handling map UI complexity today.