Getting Started: Creating and Hosting a Map Control
Note
Bing Maps Web Control SDK retirement
Bing Maps Web Control SDK is deprecated and will be retired. Free (Basic) account customers can continue to use Bing Maps Web Control SDK until June 30th, 2025. Enterprise account customers can continue to use Bing Maps Web Control SDK until June 30th, 2028. To avoid service disruptions, all implementations using Bing Maps Web Control SDK will need to be updated to use Azure Maps Web SDK by the retirement date that applies to your Bing Maps for Enterprise account type. For detailed migration guidance, see Migrate Bing Maps Enterprise applications to Azure Maps with GitHub Copilot.
Azure Maps is Microsoft's next-generation maps and geospatial services for developers. Azure Maps has many of the same features as Bing Maps for Enterprise, and more. To get started with Azure Maps, create a free Azure subscription and an Azure Maps account. For more information about azure Maps, see Azure Maps Documentation. For migration guidance, see Bing Maps Migration Overview.
The Bing Maps V8 Map Control SDK is a JavaScript control that contains the objects, methods, and events that allow you to display maps powered by Bing Maps on your Web site. The sections in this topic describe the steps you need to take to start using the Bing Maps V8 SDK.
Create a Bing Maps Account and Get a Key
Before you begin developing your application, you need to create a developer account on the Bing Maps Account Center. A Bing Maps Developer Account allows you to create a Bing Maps Key to use in your map application. Getting a key is described in Getting a Bing Maps Key.
Note
When the Bing Maps V8 control is loaded with a valid Bing Maps Key, Bing Maps counts sessions. A session begins when the V8 interactive map control is loaded in a user’s browser and includes all interactions with the Bing Maps V8 control (panning, zooming, adding data, search, directions...) until the browser is closed or the user moves to a different page. Detailed information about Bing Maps usage reports is found in Understanding Bing Maps Transactions.