How to Get a Google Maps API Key

First things first. You might not even need an API key.

Instead you might be able to use Atlist to build your custom Google Map.

Atlist is a no-code tool for creating custom maps. It’s very easy to use and doesn’t require you to have a Google API key.

You can use Atlist create maps that can be shared or embedded on any website.

Here’s a quick video explainer:

But if that doesn’t work for you, read on for how to get your API key!

Sign into the Google Cloud Platform. If you don’t have a Google account, create one.

Next we need to create a Project.

So click Select a Project…

… then choose New Project …

… give your project a name and then hit Create.

Next choose Keys & Credentials from the sidebar:

From there you may be asked for some personal information and billing info (though you won’t be charged anything unless you manually upgrade to a paid account).

Once you fill that out you will get your API key!

One important note: you should restrict your API key.

I’d suggest choosing HTTP referrers…

… Which allows you to specific which domain names your API key can be used on.

I've restricted my API key so it can only be used on lovethehumanities.com

… and that’s it — thanks for reading!