Why is image-mapping bad?

Question

I'm trying to convince my current place of employment that image mapping is outdated and that we should be using all HTML/CSS instead. I need some compelling arguments against image mapping. Could you guys please help me out?

Answer 1

Image maps aren't necessarily "outdated" (and indeed the functionality is still present in the latest HTML5 specs). They provide functionality in a pretty specific niche right now: the ability to detect mouse motion over irregularly shaped areas in browsers that don't support svg (scaleable vector graphics). If you need to support IE6-8, and you need this kind of functionality, there's not really an alternative.

You can use JavaSript to create mouseover and other effects, for example like the ImageMapster jQuery plugin, to deal with the "mystery meat" navigation concern.

In modern browsers SVG can natively support this kind of effect through CSS. If older browser support isn't an issue, then I would probably use SVG instead of an imagemap. A robust implementation might be use SVG, and fall back on an imagemaps for older browsers.

Answer 2

I have found that image maps are difficult, given the image being used, to convey to the user that it's something they can click on. It's easier to do roll over effects in CSS and provide feedback to the user in this way.

Other than that they should be fine for actual use.

Check out Mystery meat navigation for a nice example.