THIS VIOLATES GOOGLE MAPS ToS AND IS A PROOF OF CONCEPT ONLY

CleanMaps

Google Maps are great, but since we've started using them as design features, they've been getting more and more cluttered. There’s a big "View on Google Maps" button that takes up most of the map at smaller sizes, there’s a profile image if you're signed in, along with the satellite toggle and zoom buttons.

Before and After

Usage

CleanMaps automatically cleans up all the Google Maps <iframes> on a page. Simply include the CSS and JS and call CleanMaps.init(). Width and height are determined from the width and height attributes of the iframe, so be sure to include them.

<link href="clean-maps.css" type="text/css" />
<script src="clean-maps.js"></script>

<iframe width="300" height="300" src="https://maps.google.com/..."></iframe>

<script>
    $(document).ready(function() {
        CleanMaps.init();
    });
</script>

You can also disable map interaction (panning, zooming, scrolling) by passing true to the init function. This adds a transparent <div> over the iframe.

CleanMaps.init(true);

How does it work?

CleanMaps wraps each <iframe> in two divs with a negative margin on top. This covers up the buttons, but keeps the map centered on the same location.

Requires jQuery.

Don't want the Javascript?

Just include the css file, add these wrappers around your <iframe> and set the appropriate heights (don't set the height in the iframe). If your iframe was initially 300px tall:

clean-maps-outer {
	height: 300px;
}

clean-maps-inner {
	height: 300px + offset;
	margin-top: -(offset / 2);
}

<div class="clean-maps-outer" style="height: 300px">
    <div class="clean-maps-inner" style="height: (300 + offset); margin-top: -(offset / 2);">
        <iframe src="https://maps.google.com/..."></iframe>
    </div>
</div>

Calculate offset with this function:

function calculateOffset(height) {
    var offset = 150;

    if (height < 200) {
        offset = 145;
    } else if (height < 400) {
        offset = 110;
    }
    
    return offset;
}

calculateOffset(300);

To disable map interaction, add a second div with the clean-maps-cover class:

<div class="clean-maps-outer">
	<div class="clean-maps-cover"></div>
    <div class="clean-maps-inner">
        <iframe src="https://maps.google.com/..."></iframe>
    </div>
</div>