A map image needs enough resolution to stay crisp when visitors zoom in, but not so much that it's slow to load. The sweet spot depends on whether it's a level image or a small landmark picture — and Mapvera handles those two very differently.
Level images: you set the size
The main image for a level is stored at the full resolution you upload — Mapvera doesn't shrink it, because visitors can zoom right in and you want detail to hold up. That means the file size is in your hands.
A good starting point for a raster level image (JPG or PNG)
| Map type | Longest edge | Rough file size to aim for |
|---|---|---|
| A single room or small floor | ≈ 2000–3000 px | Under 1 MB |
| A large floor or detailed site plan | ≈ 3000–5000 px | 1–3 MB |
| A whole campus or precinct with fine detail | ≈ 4000–6000 px | 2–5 MB |
Landmark pictures: shrunk for you
Photos, logos and thumbnails you attach to individual landmarks (and category icons) don't need to be huge — they're only ever shown a few hundred pixels wide. When one of these is larger than about 1200 px wide, Mapvera automatically scales it down on upload, keeping the aspect ratio and re-saving it at high quality. A giant 4000 px photo becomes a light ~1200 px file with no visible loss.
So you can drop in a big photo straight off a phone or camera without worrying — it'll be optimised for you. (SVGs are left untouched, as they're already resolution-independent.)
Don't upscale a small image
Blowing a small image up in an editor doesn't add real detail — it just makes a bigger, blurrier file. Mapvera won't upscale for you either: shrinking only ever makes an over-large image smaller, never stretches a small one bigger. Always start from the highest-quality original you have.
Rules of thumb
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Prefer SVG for drawn maps
It sidesteps the whole resolution question — sharp at every zoom, and small.
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For raster level images, right-size before uploading
Export at a resolution that stays crisp at full zoom, then save at a sensible quality. There's no need to go beyond what a visitor could ever see.
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Trim empty margins
Large blank borders add pixels and file size while shrinking the useful part of your map on screen.
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Don't sweat landmark photos
Those are optimised automatically — just avoid anything absurdly large to keep the upload quick.