Preparing for the #30DayMapChallenge

Are you ready for the #30DayMapChallenge? It starts this Saturday!

If you’re new to it, the idea of the #30DayMapChallenge is very simple: create a map every day for 30 days, following a different theme each day. You can use any data, any tools, and any style you like. It’s a great way to experiment, learn new techniques, and connect with the global mapping community.

Despite spending most of my days tinkering with online maps, my bookmarks folder is surprisingly short. These are the tools I rely on most often:

🗺Maplibre - an open-source library for creating interactive web maps
🌍OpenFreeMap - free global map tiles powered by OpenStreetMap data
🎨Maputnik - a user-friendly visual editor for designing custom map styles
✏️geojson.io - an online tool for drawing, editing, and exporting GeoJSON files
🧩Mapshaper - a browser-based app for simplifying and editing geospatial vector data

And today I have added another!

GeoUtil.com

GeoUtil.com is a new suite of tools “for working with maps, coordinates, and geographic data!” It includes a wide range of utilities for editing and manipulating GeoJSON data, organized into four main categories:

• Minifiers
• Convertors
• Mergers
• Splitter

There’s also a “Heavy Tools” category, which includes various other GIS utilities not necessarily focused on GeoJSON - such as distance and area measurement tools.

I have to admit, I’ve only tried one of the tools so far - but it proved so useful that GeoUtil has already earned a place in my browser bookmarks.

The tool I've used is GeoJSON Minifier - a simple but powerful utility that reduces the size of large GeoJSON files by removing unnecessary properties, lowering coordinate precision, and eliminating whitespace.  

I am currently developing a world map using data downloaded from GeoJSON Maps of the World. As you might imagine, it’s a pretty large file, and the raw data contains many properties that aren’t needed for my project. By using GeoJSON Minifier to strip out unwanted properties and whitespace, I was able to reduce the file size of my world countries GeoJSON by a whopping 74.3% - without losing any precision in the country borders!

If you’re gearing up for the #30DayMapChallenge and looking to streamline your workflow, I highly recommend checking out GeoUtil.com. It’s simple, fast, and surprisingly powerful - a perfect addition to your #30DayMapChallenge toolkit.