Create Web Maps from PostGIS Data in Minutes

The most effective spatial data workflow combines the power of PostGIS databases with the accessibility of interactive web maps. Your spatial data deserves to be seen, shared, and explored—not locked away in database tables that only technical users can query.

If your PostGIS workflow ends at SQL queries and database exports, you're missing the visualization and collaboration capabilities that transform raw spatial data into actionable insights. Traditional web mapping from PostGIS requires setting up GeoServer or MapServer, configuring tile layers, building custom applications, and managing infrastructure. That's why database administrators and GIS professionals ask: can we publish our PostGIS data as web maps without becoming full-stack developers?

With Atlas, PostGIS data becomes interactive web maps in minutes. Connect directly to your PostgreSQL database, visualize spatial tables instantly, and share live maps with anyone—no server configuration, no custom development, no infrastructure management. Here's how to set it up step by step.

Why PostGIS Web Mapping Matters for Data Accessibility

Publishing PostGIS data as web maps transforms spatial databases from technical infrastructure into organizational assets that everyone can access and understand.

Web-accessible spatial data accelerates decision-making by putting geographic insights in front of the people who need them, when they need them.

Traditional PostGIS Web Mapping Stack

Before exploring the modern approach, understanding the traditional architecture helps appreciate how much simpler things have become.

The Classic Approach

Traditional PostGIS web mapping typically requires:

This stack works—organizations have built impressive geoportals with it—but it requires:

• DevOps expertise to deploy and maintain servers
• GIS server knowledge to configure layers and styles
• Frontend development to build user interfaces
• Ongoing maintenance for security patches, updates, and scaling

The Modern Alternative

Cloud-native GIS platforms like Atlas eliminate this complexity by providing the entire stack as a service. Connect to PostGIS, style your layers, and share—the infrastructure is handled automatically.

Step 1: Prepare Your PostGIS Database

Atlas makes connecting to PostGIS straightforward, but a few preparation steps ensure smooth data import:

• Verify PostGIS installation by running SELECT PostGIS_Version();—you need PostGIS 2.0 or higher
• Check spatial reference systems and ensure your geometries use standard SRIDs (4326 for WGS84 is most compatible)
• Create spatial indexes on geometry columns with CREATE INDEX idx_geom ON table USING GIST (geom); for faster rendering
• Define appropriate views if you want to filter or join data before visualization
• Configure database access to allow connections from Atlas IP addresses

Once your database is accessible, Atlas can query and visualize any table with PostGIS geometry columns.

Step 2: Connect PostGIS to Atlas

Next, establish the database connection that powers your web maps:

1. Click Add Data in the Layers panel
2. Select the Connections tab to access external data sources
3. Choose PostgreSQL from the connection options
4. Enter your connection details:
   • Host: Database server address
   • Port: PostgreSQL port (default 5432)
   • Database: Name of your database
   • Username and Password: Database credentials
5. Enable SSL if your database requires encrypted connections
6. Click Create Connection to establish the link

You can display different data from your PostGIS database:

• Point layers for locations, assets, and events
• Line layers for networks, routes, and boundaries
• Polygon layers for zones, parcels, and regions
• Complex geometries including multi-part features and geometry collections
• Views and queries that combine or filter underlying tables

Step 3: Style Your Spatial Data

To help users understand patterns and relationships in your data:

1. Select a layer to open its styling options
2. Choose visualization type based on your data (simple, categorized, or graduated)
3. Configure symbology with appropriate colors, sizes, and opacity
4. Add labels to display key attributes directly on the map
5. Set zoom-dependent styling for data that should appear differently at various scales

Styling transforms raw database geometries into meaningful visualizations that communicate spatial patterns at a glance.

Step 4: Configure Interactive Features

To support exploration and discovery of your spatial data:

• Enable popups showing attribute information when users click features
• Configure hover effects for quick identification of features
• Add filtering controls so users can focus on specific subsets of data
• Create custom popups with formatted attribute display, images, or links
• Set up layer controls allowing users to toggle visibility of different datasets

Interactive features transform static maps into exploration tools where users can investigate patterns and access detailed information.

Step 5: Share and Publish Your Web Map

To use your PostGIS-powered map for collaborative analysis and stakeholder engagement:

• Share with team members by inviting collaborators to your Atlas workspace
• Generate public links for maps that should be accessible to anyone
• Embed in websites using iframe embed codes for integration with existing platforms
• Set permissions to control who can view, edit, or manage each map
• Enable password protection for sensitive data that needs restricted access

Also read: What is PostGIS? Complete Guide to Spatial Databases

Sharing transforms your PostGIS database from an internal resource into a communication tool for stakeholders across your organization.

Step 6: Keep Data Synchronized

Now that your web map is published:

• Refresh connections to pull the latest data from your PostGIS database
• Set up automatic syncs for regularly updated datasets (coming soon)
• Monitor layer status to ensure database connectivity remains active
• Update styling as your data evolves or new categories emerge
• Manage multiple maps from the same PostGIS connection for different audiences

Live database connections mean your web maps always reflect current data without manual export and reimport cycles.

Use Cases

PostGIS web mapping is useful for:

• City planners publishing zoning maps, permit data, and infrastructure inventories as interactive public portals that citizens can explore
• Environmental agencies sharing monitoring station data, watershed boundaries, and conservation areas with researchers and the public
• Utility companies visualizing network infrastructure for operations teams, with live updates as assets are inspected or modified
• Real estate developers presenting site analysis, parcel data, and demographic overlays to investors and stakeholders
• Transportation departments displaying route networks, traffic data, and construction zones for public information and internal planning

It's essential for any organization where PostGIS stores critical spatial data that needs to be accessible beyond the database team.

Tips

• Use database views for complex maps by creating views that join tables, filter data, or calculate derived columns—Atlas imports views just like tables, letting you keep business logic in the database
• Optimize geometry for web display using ST_Simplify() to reduce vertex counts for large polygons, dramatically improving rendering performance without losing visual fidelity at typical map scales
• Leverage SRID 4326 for compatibility by storing or transforming data to WGS84 (EPSG:4326), which works seamlessly with web mapping and avoids projection issues
• Index your geometry columns as spatial queries without GiST indexes can be extremely slow—always create indexes on columns you'll visualize or filter
• Test with representative data volumes before publishing maps with large datasets to ensure acceptable performance; consider aggregation or filtering for very large tables

These practices ensure PostGIS web maps remain responsive and useful as data volumes grow.

Web Mapping Without the Infrastructure

Building web maps from PostGIS traditionally meant assembling a complex stack of servers, caches, and custom applications. Modern cloud platforms eliminate that complexity entirely.

Transform Database Tables into Shareable Maps

You can:

• Connect directly to PostGIS without intermediate export or conversion steps
• Visualize spatial data instantly with styling tools designed for web mapping
• Share interactive maps via links, embeds, or team workspaces

Also read: Top 12 Esri Competitors and Alternatives in 2026

Build Maps That Stay Current

Atlas lets you:

• Maintain live connections that reflect real-time database state
• Update visualizations without republishing or regenerating tiles
• Manage access with team workspaces and sharing controls

That means no more stale exports, and no more disconnection between your database and your published maps.

Publish Smarter with Cloud-Native GIS

PostGIS provides enterprise-grade spatial data management. Atlas provides the visualization and sharing layer that makes that data accessible to everyone who needs it. It's web mapping infrastructure—designed for teams that want to publish data, not manage servers.

Publish Your PostGIS Data Online

Web mapping from PostGIS doesn't need to be complicated. The days of configuring GeoServer instances, managing tile caches, and building custom JavaScript applications are behind us.

Atlas gives you both the database connection power and the web publishing simplicity your team needs.

Connect your PostGIS database and publish interactive web maps. Import spatial tables, style your data, and share with stakeholders—all from your browser, with no infrastructure to manage.

So whether you're publishing a public-facing data portal or an internal operations dashboard, Atlas helps you move from 'data in PostgreSQL' to 'maps in everyone's hands' faster.

Ready to publish your PostGIS data? Sign up for Atlas or book a walkthrough to see database connections in action.