ArcGIS Online¶

Goal: Get comfortable with ArcGIS Online (AGOL) — publishing layers, building web maps, dashboards, and apps.

What is ArcGIS Online?¶

ArcGIS Online is Esri's Software-as-a-Service GIS. You upload data, build maps, and share them — all in the browser.

It pairs perfectly with ArcGIS Pro: you can do the heavy analysis on the desktop and publish results to AGOL with one click.

The AGOL stack¶

flowchart TD
    Data[Your data<br/>shapefile, CSV, geodatabase] --> HL[Hosted Feature Layer]
    HL --> WM[Web Map]
    WM --> WA[Web App]
    WM --> DB[Dashboard]
    WM --> SM[Story Map]
    WM --> SA[Survey123 / Field Maps]

    classDef d fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#f59e0b,color:#92400e
    classDef s fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#1e40af,color:#1e3a8a
    classDef o fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#10b981,color:#065f46
    class Data d
    class HL,WM s
    class WA,DB,SM,SA o

Hosted Feature Layer¶

Your raw vector data, served via REST API. Stylable, queryable, often editable.

Web Map¶

A saved configuration: layers + style + extent + popups + bookmarks. Reusable across many apps.

Apps¶

Built on top of a web map:

Publishing from ArcGIS Pro¶

The cleanest workflow:

1. In Pro: Share → Web Layer → Publish Web Layer
2. Pick Hosted (creates a feature service in AGOL)
3. Choose folder, sharing, tags
4. Click Analyze to fix any issues
5. Click Publish

Now your data is in AGOL. Open the Item Details page to manage it.

Sharing & permissions¶

Map Viewer¶

The new Map Viewer is the modern AGOL map UI. Key features:

• Effects — drop shadow, blur, on-the-fly basemap blending
• Smart Mapping — automatic styling based on data type
• Filter — definition queries in the browser
• Pop-ups — rich, configurable click panels
• Charts — embed bar/line/pie inside popups

Dashboards (worth a deep dive)¶

A dashboard turns spatial data into a monitoring view:

• KPI numbers
• Charts (bar, pie, line, gauge)
• Lists and tables
• Maps with selection links
• Filters across panels

Use cases:

• Real-time fleet monitoring
• COVID dashboards
• Election results
• Field crew progress

Story Maps¶

A story map tells a narrative: scrolling text + maps + photos + videos. Built with the ArcGIS StoryMaps product.

Use cases:

• Trip / expedition write-ups
• Annual reports
• Educational explainers (climate change, history)

→ Adding a Story Map to your portfolio is a great signal.

Credits and pricing¶

AGOL uses credits for storage, geocoding, network analysis, etc. A free public account has very few; an organizational subscription comes with credit packs.

Watch for:

• Geocoding (~ 0.04 credit per address)
• Network analysis (1 credit per route)
• Hosted feature storage (per GB / month)

Living Atlas¶

The ArcGIS Living Atlas is Esri's curated catalog of authoritative layers — Census, Sentinel-2, USGS, weather, traffic, demographics. Always look there first before downloading anything yourself.

→ Living Atlas resources.

Practice¶

You built and shared a real web GIS app.

Next up¶

→ ArcGIS Pro — the desktop powerhouse.