TileMill

Creating maps can be a very time-consuming task and not many beginners have the courage to undertake such an endeavor.
But if you are not satisfied with the available online solutions and want to personalize your maps down the tiniest details, there are ways to achieve that.

From raw code to images

TileMill manages to introduce a user-friendly environment to the world of map design, by using a simple and easy-to-learn code syntax derived from CSS, called CartoCSS.
The difference between the two is only a matter of purpose, since CartoCSS contains many new custom attributes and classes specially designed for the creation of maps.

Import geographical datasets

The geographical data can be added to TileMill using the built-in CSV importer, that automatically reads the included coordinates and locations. You can use files from the MapBox GeoData Library in your projects, since the application was designed to fully integrate its format.
The imported package is added as a new layer to the project and all the available annotations and locations are visible and editable on your map.

Choose what features to show

Since the maps are usually extremely large, they are viewed from many different perspectives and zoom levels. TileMill outputs millions of 256x256 images packed into Mbtiles documents, which can be used into interactive maps or various web application, thanks to their small size and procedural loading process.
This allows you to choose the level of detail visible at certain zoom levels, and what parts to hide or show as you navigate through it.

Closing arguments

TileMill is a great solution for map designers all over the world, since it includes a wide array of editing features and makes them easily accessible to almost everyone interested in the field of geospatial data manipulation.
Its intuitive code syntax delivers powerful results with minimal effort involved, and the ability to export the maps to PDF or PNG files makes it extremely versatile.