I'm putting together a web mapping app in ArcGIS Online to support a class I'm planning - it essentially shows two choropleths of deprivation levels over the Topographic basemap. I am using a web mapping app so as to access both the Moving Window facility and bookmarked locations with explanatory text.
At a given point in the class, I want the students to think more about the geographic areas being used and how they can include different types of demographic areas and even land uses. The Topographic basemap is ideal for most of the exercise due to its clarity, but it would be great to switch the basemap to World Imagery at this point, since that gives a better sense of housing type and land use.
Can this switch be offered in a web mapping app, or only from the web map itself?
Are you building the web mapping application yourself - maybe using the ArcGIS API for JavaScript? If so then there's a basemap gallery widget you can use to allow users to switch basemaps while viewing the map.
Here's an example:
For now I am just using the basic capabilities, i.e. publishing a web map to an app via the builder - but thank you for the pointer, the API is something to explore in future.
There are differences in functionality between the standard web map and using a web application. You get the ability to change basemaps, or even add multiple basemaps as layers in the web maps by default. If you use one of the ESRI app templates, most of them do not have the widget tool embedded to change basemaps.
But some of them do, you may have to hunt through the gallery to find one. I did the one below. If you are building your own web app, you'll have to download the correct template and then snatch the code for embedding the widget.