Web mapping has brought many geographical datasets, including free ones generated by [[OpenStreetMap]] and proprietary datasets owned by [[Here (company)|HERE]], [[Petal Maps|Huawei]], [[Google]], [[Tencent]], [[TomTom]], and others. A range of [[:category:Free GIS software|free software to generate maps]] has also been conceived and implemented alongside proprietary tools like [[ArcGIS]]. As a result, the [[barrier to entry]] for serving maps on the web has been lowered.
The terms ''[[web GIS]]'' and ''web mapping'' are often used interchangeably, but the terms are distinct.<ref name=Fu1/><ref name=Fu2/><ref name=Zhang1/><ref name=Peterson1>{{cite book |last1=Peterson |first1=Michael P. |title=Mapping in the Cloud |year=2014 |publisher=The Guiford Press |___location=New York |isbn=978-1-4625-1041-2 |oclc=855580732 |url=https://archive.org/details/mappingincloud0000pete |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Web GIS, Simply |url=https://www.esri.com/about/newsroom/insider/web-gis-simply/ |website=ESRI Newsroom Insider |publisher=ESRI |access-date=21 December 2022}}</ref><ref name=Ezekiel1>{{cite journal |last1=Ezekiel |first1=Kuria |last2=Kimani |first2=Stephen |last3=Mindila |first3=Agnes |title=A Framework for Web GIS Development: A Review |journal=InternationalJournalInternational Journal of Computer Applications |date=June 2019 |volume=178 |issue=16 |doi=10.5120/ijca2019918863}}</ref><ref name= Rowland1>{{cite journal |last1=Rowland |first1=Alexandra |last2=Folmer |first2=Erwin |last3=Beek |first3=Wouter |title=Towards Self-Service GIS—Combining the Best of the Semantic Web and Web GIS |journal=ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information |date=2020 |volume=9 |issue=12 |page=753 |doi=10.3390/ijgi9120753}}</ref> Web GIS uses and enables web maps, and end users who are ''web mapping'' are gaining analytical capabilities from Web GIS, however Web GIS has more applications then web mapping, and web mapping can be accomplished without Web GIS. Web GIS emphasizes [[geodata]] processing aspects more involved with design aspects such as data acquisition and server software architecture such as data storage and algorithms, than it does the end-user reports themselves.<ref name="KraakSettingsAndNeeds"/> The term ''[[___location-based service]]s'' refers to ''web mapping'' consumer goods and services.<ref>Parker, C.J., May, A., Mitchell, V. and Burrows, A. (2013), “[https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/dspace-jspui/bitstream/2134/11589/15/Parker%20et%20al.%20(Capturing%20VGI%20For%20Inclusive%20Service_Design).pdf Capturing Volunteered Information for Inclusive Service Design: Potential Benefits and Challenges]”, The Design Journal, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 197–218.</ref> Web mapping usually involves a [[web browser]] or other user agent capable of client-server interactions.<ref name="web_hist"/> Questions of quality, usability, social benefits, and legal constraints are driving its evolution.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Brown|first1=M.|last2=Sharples|first2=Sarah|last3=Harding|first3=Jenny|last4=Parker|first4=Christopher J.|last5=Bearman|first5=N.|last6=Maguire|first6=M.|last7=Forrest|first7=D.|last8=Haklay|first8=M.|last9=Jackson|first9=M.|title=Usability of Geographic Information: Current challenges and future directions|journal=Applied Ergonomics|date=2013|volume=44|issue=6|pages=855–865|doi=10.1016/j.apergo.2012.10.013|pmid=23177775|s2cid=26412254 |url=http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2809/1/Brown_et_al_2013_Usabilty_of_Geographic_Information.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Parker|first1=Christopher J.|title=User-centred design of neogeography: the impact of volunteered geographic information on users' perceptions of online map 'mashups'|journal=Ergonomics|date=2014|volume=57|issue=7|pages=987–997|doi=10.1080/00140139.2014.909950|pmid=24827070|s2cid=13458260|url=https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/23845}}</ref>
