Classic Esri Story Maps will be retired from ArcGIS Online in Q1 2026 and was retired with ArcGIS Enterprise 11.0. For more details, review the most recent announcement: Classic Esri Story Maps Roadmap for Retirement
The article below contains essential information to help you and your organization manage the retirement of classic Esri Story Maps and successfully transition to ArcGIS StoryMaps.
What should my organization do?
To prepare for the retirement of classic Esri Story Maps, your organization can follow this three-step process:
- Identify and evaluate: Identify all classic stories in your organization and place them in two categories: 1) those that are still valuable, and 2) those that are no longer valuable. Organizations will have different criteria for establishing the value of each classic story, but it’s likely that it will involve a combination of current usage and overall impact.
- Plan and prioritize: Plan what should be done for each classic story. Review the most valuable stories and prioritize which ones should be remade using ArcGIS StoryMaps or another Esri app builder. You also may want to, or be required to, create an archived copy of classic stories whether or not they will be remade. For more information about archiving or remaking a classic story, see below.
- Implement your plan: Recreate and/or archive classic stories as outlined in your plan.
How can I help?
Identify members of your organization that can contribute and collaborate on efforts to identify, evaluate, prioritize, archive, and remake classic Esri Story Maps stories.
Administrators have visibility into the entire organization and play an important role in preparing for retirement. Administrators can help identify classic stories within the organization with a significant number of recent views by generating an item view report. Administrators can establish archiving standards and other guidance to shape the transition process.
Authors can provide context about the value of their stories to inform the public or help colleagues make decisions. This will help your organization determine which stories should be prioritized to be remade. Authors should also become familiar with the capabilities of ArcGIS StoryMaps and other current ArcGIS apps so you can help remake classic stories using modern capabilities and make them even more engaging with the latest design elements and storytelling features.
How can I create an archive of a classic story?
There are several ways to preserve a classic story by making an archival version of it. The method you choose will depend on the length, level of interactivity, and significance of the story as well as your organizational requirements.
Some ways to create an archival version of a classic story are to:
- Capture annotated screenshots
- Create a narrated video walk-through
- Use the printing capability, if available, to generate a hard copy or PDF
- Download the story content with ArcGIS Assistant or the ArcGIS API for Python
How do I recreate a classic story?
If you have identified a classic story that continues to be useful to your organization or the public, you can recreate it using ArcGIS StoryMaps or another current ArcGIS app builder.
To learn about the features and capabilities of ArcGIS StoryMaps, review these resources:
For guidance on recreating classic stories using ArcGIS StoryMaps or other app builders, view these articles:
What else do I need to know?
You may find these additional tips and resources helpful for managing the retirement of classic Esri Story Maps.
How can I tell the difference between a classic Esri Story Map and a modern one created with ArcGIS StoryMaps?
You can look at a story's item type (on its ArcGIS item details page) or its URL to determine the type of story.
Classic stories are stored in ArcGIS as Web Mapping Application items. They have a URL that contains “/apps/” and the name of the classic template that was used to create it. For example,
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Casacde/index.html?appid=. ..
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=.. .
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=.. .
etc...
Modern stories created with ArcGIS StoryMaps are stored as StoryMap items. They have a URL that begins with storymaps.arcgis.com.
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/ ...
How do I find classic stories in ArcGIS?
To find all classic stories in your account or your organization, execute the search below.
type:"Web Mapping Application" AND typekeywords:"Story Map"
To find stories created with a specific classic template, add the template name to the search.
type:"Web Mapping Application" AND typekeywords:"Story Map",”Cascade”
The individual app name keywords are (note lack of spaces): Cascade, MapJournal, MapSeries, MapTour, Shortlist, and SwipeSpyglass.
Can I view classic Esri Story Maps after retirement?
Yes, but only if you are already self-hosting the classic app code or you start hosting your own copy of it. You’ll need a web hosting environment, or you can run the apps on your computer by setting up a local web server.
For more information, see How to view your classic Esri Story Maps after retirement.
Where can I get more help?
If you need help archiving or migrating classic stories, you can work with an Esri Business Partner or Esri Professional Services. Please contact your local Esri account manager for details and advice.
