{"id":71661,"date":"2016-04-14T14:25:39","date_gmt":"2016-04-14T14:25:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/product\/uncategorized\/best-practices-for-embedding-apps-and-web-content-in-story-maps\/"},"modified":"2021-04-29T08:36:04","modified_gmt":"2021-04-29T15:36:04","slug":"best-practices-for-embedding-apps-and-web-content-in-story-maps","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/story-maps\/sharing-collaboration\/best-practices-for-embedding-apps-and-web-content-in-story-maps","title":{"rendered":"Best practices for embedding apps and web content in Story Maps"},"author":5441,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[37131,37511],"tags":[24861,27501,29261],"industry":[],"product":[36821,36551,36611],"class_list":["post-71661","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-constituent-engagement","category-sharing-collaboration","tag-story-map-journal","tag-story-map-series","tag-story-map-tips","product-configurable-apps","product-arcgis-online","product-story-maps"],"acf":{"short_description":"Recommendations for using web content effectively in Story Maps.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Note<\/strong>: This blog covers the classic Esri Story Maps. Story authors are encouraged to use the new\u00a0ArcGIS StoryMaps<\/a> to create stories; however, Esri will continue to maintain the classic templates for your use. For more information, see the Product road map<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Story Maps<\/a>\u00a0have become a very useful and engaging communication tool for many organizations. One of the reasons for this is that Story Maps can contain many types of rich, interactive content like web maps and 3D scenes, videos, web pages, other ArcGIS web apps<\/a>, and even other story maps<\/a>. While this is a great feature, overusing it can detract from an otherwise great story map.<\/p>\n

This post has recommendations for using web content effectively in the\u00a0Story Map Journal<\/a>,\u00a0Story Map Series<\/a>, and Story Map Cascade<\/a> apps.<\/p>\n

Is embedding right for your story?<\/h2>\n

First and foremost, it’s best to be selective about embeddin<\/strong>g<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>apps and websites\u00a0in your stories.\u00a0In general only embed something when you need readers to interact with it\u00a0without leaving your story. Otherwise, it can be much more effective to:<\/p>\n

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  1. explain the app or website and why it’s important in your narrative,<\/li>\n
  2. provide a screenshot of it in the main stage or side panel (optional), and<\/li>\n
  3. include a hyperlink to it in your story text.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Using this technique, your audience will be able to focus on the main ideas of your story rather than what to click or where to navigate. They can choose when or whether to visit a site to explore on their own.\u00a0The idea here is that it’s often better to treat apps and websites as\u00a0supporting material<\/strong>\u00a0in your story rather than part of the story experience.<\/p>\n

    One exception to this is when you are using your story map as a presentation tool rather than designing it for your audience to read through on their own. In this case, embedding websites or GIS apps may be an effective way to demonstrate them during your presentation without leaving the story map.<\/p>\n

    When linking to a website or app (as described in #3, above) you can use a regular hyperlink that opens in a new browser tab, or — if you’re using Story Map Journal — you can configure a story action<\/a> so the content opens inside your story map.<\/p>\n

    Know your audience<\/h2>\n

    Having your audience in mind is storytelling 101<\/a>. For example, if you’re creating a story for geospatial analysts then including a GIS-style app is probably ok; however, if you are targeting a general audience or a non-technical group then GIS apps can introduce unnecessary complexity that detracts from your story’s ability to communicate.<\/p>\n

    Regardless of your specific audience, all readers appreciate simplicity<\/strong>, so do your best to make your story easy to use and read. This does not<\/em> mean you shouldn’t use interactive content like web maps and apps; nor does it mean that you need to dilute the content in your story so that it’s no longer compelling. Rather, look to use interactive content when it best supports your ideas, and find ways to compose your story to simplify the interaction required by readers.<\/p>\n

    A great way to keep things simple for your audience is to use a Journal with\u00a0story actions<\/a><\/strong>. This helps you as the author use maps to tell your story in a very deliberate way rather than turning your audience lose with generic GIS tools or widgets. Here are some examples of good use of story actions to tell a story:<\/p>\n