The evolution of Carta Maps
by Franco ValdesAbout 4 years ago at my agency job, we had a client with a pretty complex requirement for their new website. They were a nation wide service-based company that offered commercial cleaning services. They wanted to dynamically show coverage areas based on a list of zip codes or counties onto a Google map. Although you can "google" a zip code and get a polygon on the map, there is no programmatic way to accomplishing that on your own map via the maps api. With some GIS knowledge from previous endeavors, I knew that I need geoJSON data and I knew where to get it. This was the beginning.
I downloaded .shp files from the census site and converted every postal code and county into geoJSON data. I stored the output in a Mongo DB and created a small api around it all. Whenever a new entry was saved in the CMS, it would ping the API with either a list of postal codes or a county and state combination and it would return the geoJSON data needed to load that boundary on a map. Goal completed.
I knew I was on to something. I figured other companies would want to display their footprint similarly so I bought a domain and planned on monetizing the API. As many other ideas I have had, this one too, fell short. Side tracked by many other things, I never really finished the project.
Fast forward to 2022, a friend of mine was asking me about how he could plot postal codes on a map. Took me a minute but then realized I had already built this! I showed him the dormant project and he re-energized me to create something out of it. I started the rebuild June 9th, have a screenshot to prove it. I knew just an API wasn't enough and set out to build a whole no code solution around building customized Google maps.
Approximately 18 days later, I purchased cartta.io and hit 🚀 launch. It's still in early access / beta mode as I gather customer feedback and address any left over bugs. I am very excited to see where this side project goes.
