How to Map Multiple Locations at Once (2025 Tutorial)

Mapping Multiple Locations at Once: Batch Processing vs. The Easy Way

Need to plot dozens or hundreds of locations on a map simultaneously? The challenge isn’t finding a mapping tool—it’s finding one that handles **batch processing** efficiently. This guide explores the programmatic approach and why it’s more complex than it seems, then reveals a simpler solution.

Method 1: The Programmatic Batch Approach with Python & Folium

For developers, the logical way to map multiple locations at once is through code. Here’s how to use Python with the Folium library to batch-process a CSV file and generate an HTML map.

Step 1: Environment Setup & Installation

First, you need Python installed. Then, install the required libraries via your terminal:

bash

pip install pandas folium geopy

• pandas: For reading and processing your CSV/Excel data
• folium: For generating the interactive Leaflet map
• geopy: For geocoding addresses (converting them to latitude/longitude)

Step 2: Prepare Your Data File

Create a CSV file named `locations.csv` with your data. The first row should contain headers.

csv

name,address,category
Central Cafe,123 Main St, New York, NY 10001,Cafe
Downtown Office,456 Broadway, New York, NY 10007,Office
Riverside Park,79th St & Riverside Dr, New York, NY 10024,Park
Westside Warehouse,555 11th Ave, New York, NY 10001,Warehouse
// Add hundreds more rows as needed
Code language: PHP (php)

Step 3: Write the Batch Processing Script

Create a Python script (`batch_map.py`) with the following code. This script reads the CSV, geocodes all addresses, and creates a map with markers.

python

import pandas as pd
import folium
from folium.plugins import MarkerCluster
from geopy.geocoders import Nominatim
from geopy.extra.rate_limiter import RateLimiter
import time
# 1. Initialize geocoder (Nominatim is free but has strict usage limits)
geolocator = Nominatim(user_agent="my_batch_mapping_app")
geocode = RateLimiter(geolocator.geocode, min_delay=1.1)  # Delay to respect terms

# 2. Load your batch data
print("📂 Loading CSV file...")
df = pd.read_csv('locations.csv')

# 3. Geocode addresses (This is SLOW and may fail for large batches)
print("🌍 Geocoding addresses (this may take several minutes)...")
coordinates = []
failed_addresses = []

for address in df['address']:
    try:
        location = geocode(address)
        if location:
            coordinates.append((location.latitude, location.longitude))
        else:
            coordinates.append((None, None))
            failed_addresses.append(address)
    except Exception as e:
        coordinates.append((None, None))
        failed_addresses.append(address)
        print(f"Failed for {address}: {e}")
    time.sleep(1.1)  # Required delay for free Nominatim service

df['lat'] = [c[0] for c in coordinates]
df['lng'] = [c[1] for c in coordinates]

# Report failures
if failed_addresses:
    print(f"❌ Failed to geocode {len(failed_addresses)} addresses")

# 4. Create the map with clustering for better performance
print("🗺️ Generating map...")
map_center = [df['lat'].mean(), df['lng'].mean()]
m = folium.Map(location=map_center, zoom_start=12)

# Add marker cluster to handle multiple locations
marker_cluster = MarkerCluster().add_to(m)

# 5. Add all markers at once in a batch
for idx, row in df.dropna(subset=['lat', 'lng']).iterrows():
    folium.Marker(
        location=[row['lat'], row['lng']],
        popup=f"<b>{row['name']}</b><br>{row['address']}<br>Type: {row['category']}",
        tooltip=row['name']
    ).add_to(marker_cluster)

# 6. Save the map
m.save('batch_generated_map.html')
print("✅ Map saved as 'batch_generated_map.html'")
print(f"📊 Successfully mapped {len(df) - len(failed_addresses)} locations")

Code language: PHP (php)

Step 4: Run the Script and Face the Reality

Execute the script in your terminal:

bash

python batch_map.py
Code language: CSS (css)

The Immediate Problems You’ll Encounter:

• 1.  Extremely Slow Geocoding: Nominatim’s free service allows only 1 request per second. 100 addresses = 1.8 minutes. 1,000 addresses = 18+ minutes. And it frequently fails or returns incorrect coordinates.
• 2.  Manual Error Handling: The script above shows how you must handle failed geocoding attempts manually. You’ll need to clean your data and re-run.
• 3.  Static Output: The generated `batch_generated_map.html` is a static file. To update locations, you must re-run the entire script and re-upload the file to your server.
• 4.  No Live Updates: If your data changes, there’s no connection between your source (Google Sheets, database) and the map.
• 5.  Limited Customization: While Folium offers some styling, creating a truly professional, branded map requires extensive additional CSS and JavaScript work.

The Broken Promise of “Batch Processing”

What starts as a simple idea—”I’ll write a script to map them all at once”—quickly becomes a maintenance nightmare:

• – Geocoding bottlenecks that slow down your workflow
• – No real-time updates to your live map
• – Manual error correction for failed addresses
• – Zero collaboration – only technical users can update the map

For a business, this “batch” approach creates more problems than it solves.

Method 2: True Batch Mapping That Actually Works

What if you could achieve true batch mapping—uploading hundreds of locations at once—without writing code, managing servers, or waiting for slow geocoding?

MapsFun.com is built specifically for mapping multiple locations at once, with a workflow designed for efficiency, not experimentation.

How Real Batch Mapping Should Work:

• 1.  Instant Bulk Upload: Drag and drop your CSV or Excel file. The system processes all locations simultaneously using high-performance geocoding servers.
• 2.  Smart Error Handling & Validation: The system identifies problematic addresses immediately, suggests corrections, and shows you exactly which rows need attention—before anything is plotted.
• 3.  Live Connection to Your Data: Connect directly to Google Sheets or update via CSV anytime. Changes sync automatically to your live map—no regenerating files or re-uploading to servers.
• 4.  Professional Results Immediately: Your batch upload automatically creates a clean, clustered, mobile-responsive map with filtering and search capabilities. No extra coding needed.
• 5.  Collaborative Management: Team members can update locations through a simple dashboard—no Python scripts or terminal commands required.

Stop writing batch scripts that become maintenance burdens. True batch mapping isn’t about processing data offline once; it’s about creating a living, updatable map from your batch data. With MapsFun.com, you can map hundreds of locations at once and have a professional, always-current interactive map live in under 2 minutes. No coding, no geocoding delays, no manual updates. Just your locations, mapped.