# Your first map in ten minutes

> Create a project, add a few places on the map, give them the fields you need, publish them and see the API result, all without code in about ten minutes.

This walkthrough takes you through the whole Spatibase loop once, in about ten minutes: you create a project, put a few places on the map, give them the details you need, publish them and see the result a website or app would get. You don't need to write code.

The example is a small store locator, but the same steps work for trails, events or anything else with a place on a map.

## Before you start

You need a Spatibase account and a few addresses to put on the map. If you have not signed in yet, open [app.spatibase.com/signup](https://app.spatibase.com/signup), enter your email address and click **Send me a sign-in link**. The link in the email signs you in and creates your account. See [Create a project](https://spatibase.com/docs/get-started/create-a-project/#how-do-i-sign-in) for details.

> **Tip:** In a hurry? Choose the **Store locator** template in step 1 instead of an **Empty project**. It sets up steps 2 and 3 for you with sample stores, and you can jump to step 4.

## Step 1: Create a project

A project is the home of one map and everything on it.

1. Click **New project** at the top of the side panel. The **New project** screen opens, with a map beside it.
2. Under **Start with**, choose **Empty project**.
3. Enter a **Project name**, for example "My stores".
4. Click **Create project**.

The new project opens on **Entries**: the map on the right, and on the left an empty list that says **Click the map to add your first place**. A **Getting started** checklist is one click away at the bottom of the side panel; it ticks itself off as you complete the next steps.

## Step 2: Add your first place

Each store is an **entry**. You don't have to set anything up first: the project learns what a store looks like as you add them.

1. Find the store on the map (type its address into **Find an address…** on the map and pick the result to zoom there), then click the map at the store's spot. The entry editor opens with a point where you clicked.
2. Replace "Untitled entry" with the store's name, for example "Main Street".
3. That's it: the entry saves as a draft by itself while you type (**Saved** shows next to **Ready to publish**).

When this first entry is saved, Spatibase creates a **type** for it called "Place". A type says what kind of thing an entry is and which details it has; for now, a place has a title and a location (a point, a line or an area).

> **Note:** A draft is private. Saving never changes what visitors see, so you can save half-finished work at any time.

## Step 3: Add the details you need

A store needs more than a name. Add fields to it right in the entry editor:

1. Below the fields, click **Add field** and choose **Description**. The field appears, and a short line says it was **Added to every Place**.
2. Click **Add field** again and choose **Opening hours**.
3. Fill in **Description** and **Opening hours** for "Main Street".

**Add field** also offers **Photos**, **Address**, **Website**, **Contact details**, **Date and time** and **Category**, and **Custom field…** for anything else (give it a **Name** and pick its **Kind**). Every field you add is on all your places, so each new one has the same form.

Now add two or three more stores: click **New** above the list, choose **Place**, then click **Place a point** in the editor and click the map, or find the address. Each store shows on the map and in the list with the status **Draft**.

If you'd like the type to be called "Store" instead of "Place", or want to change what the fields allow, open **Content model**: see [Types](https://spatibase.com/docs/model/types/) and [Elements](https://spatibase.com/docs/model/elements/). Only Owners can add fields and change the content model.

## Step 4: Publish

Publishing copies your drafts to the live version that websites and apps can read. It has two steps: you say which entries are ready, then you publish them together.

1. Click **Publish** in the side panel. The dialog lists your drafts. Because none is marked ready yet, the main button reads **Mark all ready and publish**: click it. This marks every draft that passes the checks as ready and publishes them in one go.
2. Spatibase confirms "Published as version 1". If some could not be published, for example because a required field is empty, a list shows each one with the reason. Fix them and publish again.

To mark one entry ready by itself, open it and click **Ready to publish** in the entry editor; it goes live with the next **Publish**. In the list, the **Draft** label disappears once the entry is published, and every publish is saved as a numbered version you can go back to (see [Versions and going back](https://spatibase.com/docs/publish/versions/)).

## Step 5: See your content through the API

Every project has an address, the Content Delivery API, that serves its published content to websites and apps.

1. Open **API**.
2. The **Overview** page shows the address under **API address of this project**. Click **Copy API address** to copy it for your website or app.
3. Open **Endpoints** in the side panel for ready-made links: all entries, map data (GeoJSON) for map libraries, groups and types.
4. Open **Try it**. Choose the **Endpoint** "Entries (JSON)" and click **Send request**. The result shows your published stores, each with its title, location and fields, exactly as an app would receive them.

New projects are public: anyone with the address can read the published entries, but never the drafts. After you publish, websites may take a few minutes to show the change.

That is the whole loop: model, add, publish, deliver. The **Getting started** checklist now shows every step done except the last, **Create your first API key**, which is ticked once you create a key under **API** > **Access & keys**. A public project like this one doesn't need a key to be read, so create one when you want to give a website or app its own.

## What to do next

- Add photos: open a store, click **Add field**, choose **Photos** and upload pictures. See [Media](https://spatibase.com/docs/content/media/).
- Bring in many places at once from a spreadsheet or a GeoJSON file. See [Import](https://spatibase.com/docs/content/import/).
- Make a hand-picked list such as "Featured stores". See [Groups](https://spatibase.com/docs/content/groups/).
- Invite your team. See [Members and roles](https://spatibase.com/docs/team/members-and-roles/).
- Show the map on your website or in your app. Follow the [Quickstart](https://spatibase.com/docs/build/quickstart/).
- Let an AI assistant help with the content. See [Connect an AI assistant](https://spatibase.com/docs/ai/connect-an-assistant/).

## Related

- [What is Spatibase?](https://spatibase.com/docs/get-started/what-is-spatibase/)
- [Entries](https://spatibase.com/docs/content/entries/)
- [Drafts and publishing](https://spatibase.com/docs/publish/draft-and-published/)
- [Access and API keys](https://spatibase.com/docs/publish/access-and-keys/)