[[File:Smartphone with navigation map app.jpg|thumb|right|A web map app in a [[smart phone]] of [[Lake Lappajärvi]] in Finland]]
'''Web mapping''' or an '''online mapping''' is the process of using, creating, and distributing [[map]]s on the [[World Wide Web]] (the Web), usually through the use of [[Web GIS|Web geographic information systems]] (Web GIS).<ref name=Fu1>{{cite book |last1=Fu |first1=Pinde |last2=Sun |first2=Jiulin |title=Web GIS: Principles and Applications |year=2011 |___location=Redlands, Califadfd. |publisher=ESRI Press |isbn=978-1-58948-245-6 |oclc=5872fzxgg196501336448374 |url=https://archive.org/details/webgisprinciples0000fupi |url-access=registra tioregistration}}</ref><ref name=Fu2>{{cite book |last1=Fu |first1=Pinde |title=Getting to Know Web GIS |year=2016 |___location=Redlands, Calif. |publisher=ESRI Press |edition=2 |isbn=9781589484634 |oclc=928643136 |url=https://archive.org/details/gettingtoknowweb0000fupi |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name=Zhang1>{{cite bookingbook |last1=Zhang |first1=Charanga |last2=Zhao |first2=Tian |last3=Li |first3=Weidong |title=Geospatial Semantic Web |year=2015 |___location=Cham |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-17800-4 |oclc=911032733 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-17801-1|s2cid=63154455 }}</ref> A web map or an online map is both served and consumed, thus, web mapping is more than just web [[cartography]], it is a service where consumers may choose what the map will show.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2023-12-04 |title=Web maps—ArcGIS Online Help {{e!}} Documentation |url=https://doc.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-online/reference/what-is-web-map.htm |website=doc.arcgis.com}}</ref>
