July 6, 2026 · Guides

Satellite, Terrain, and Zoom: Customize Your WordPress Google Map

The Quick Maps shortcode does more than drop a pin on a road map. With one attribute you can switch to a satellite, hybrid, or terrain view, and with another you can set exactly how far the map is zoomed in. None of this needs a Google Maps API key.

Switch the map style with type

Add the type attribute to choose how the map looks. The default is the standard road map, so you only add type when you want something else:

  • satellite — aerial imagery with no labels
  • hybrid — aerial imagery with road and place labels on top
  • terrain — a topographic map showing hills and elevation
[quick-maps type="satellite"]Grand Canyon[/quick-maps]
[quick-maps type="hybrid"]Golden Gate Bridge[/quick-maps]
[quick-maps type="terrain"]Aspen, CO[/quick-maps]

Here is a live satellite view, rendered by the shortcode above:

Set the zoom level with zoom

The zoom attribute takes a number from 0 to 21. A low number shows a wide region, and a high number zooms in to street level. Zoom 0 is the whole world, zoom 15 is roughly a neighborhood, and zoom 18 and up is individual buildings.

[quick-maps zoom="8"]Orlando, FL[/quick-maps]   ← wide, regional
[quick-maps zoom="17"]Times Square, NYC[/quick-maps]  ← tight, street level

Control the size with width and height

Maps are responsive by default and fill their container at 100% width and 300px tall. Override either one when you need a taller map or a fixed width:

[quick-maps type="hybrid" zoom="14" height="500px" width="80%"]Miami Beach, FL[/quick-maps]

Combine them

Every attribute stacks, so you can pick a style, a zoom, and a size in a single shortcode. Because Quick Maps uses the standard Google Maps embed, all of this stays fast and keyless.

New to the plugin? Start with adding a Google Map to WordPress, or read why you do not need a Google Maps API key. Next, learn how to embed driving directions.

Built by Renzo Johnson