General Support - Troubleshooting - API - Google Maps "For development purposes only" Message

Google Maps "For development purposes only" Message

Summary

This issue is connected with Google's API. For a step by step tutorial on this, read the article Adding API Keys (Google Maps and OpenWeatherMap)

Starting from July 2018, Google Maps, Routes, and Places require billing information, such as an associated credit card.
The pricing system also changed, but in practice, the services are still free for limited use.

What Is It

When the Google Maps embed is loaded, it may be inaccessible and have the watermark "For development purposes only" all over the map. Example:

What Causes It

The main possible causes are:

There is a problem with the provided API key.
There is a problem with billing (either it has not been enabled on your account or the billing method is invalid)
The usage limit has been exceeded

1) Solving API Key Issues

Read the specific guidelines about fetching and adding API keys
For additional troubleshooting, Google offers a free Chrome extension that tests the Google Maps API integration. You can download it here.

2) Solving Billing Issues

Google Maps, Routes, and Places introduced a new pricing system starting July 16th, 2018. Before this date, the service worked with a daily access quota and didn't require billing information before a certain usage level.

Under the new system:

All projects need to present billing information, for instance associating a credit card to it
The service is now paid following a pay-as-you-go model
Google grants $200 credit every month for the combined use of the account's API

That means that, if you don't use the services extensively, chances are you won't have to pay for them because you won't reach the $200 threshold. However, it's still necessary to provide a payment option.

References:

Current Pricing Table (effective July 16th, 2018)

3) Exceeded Usage Limit

If you exceed your usage limit and there is a problem with the billing (for instance, the credit card was rejected), it necessary to adjust the billing information as mentioned in item 2.

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