A webmap is a kind of map which be browsed, made and used on the World-Wide-Web. Along with the popularization of Internet, a webmap, as a form of spatial information visualization, has been paid more and more attention to. A webmap has charac-teristics with dynamism, interactivity, hypermedia structure and faster distribution, and has functions with graphics operation, map query, interactive mapping, statistics and analysis, and hyperlink web page. Presently, most webmaps are made by program developers in computer company, and less cartographers participate in the mapping, so there are some problems exist on the display effects of webmaps from the angle of cartographic design and affect the information communication of webmaps. Based on the analysis of some cartographic web sites like http://www. go2map. com, http://www. chinaquest. com, http://www. map960. com, http://www. afmap. com, http://www. fhoo. com, http://www. mapquest. com and http://www. atlas, ccrs. nrcan. gc. ca, the authors summarize the characteristics and functions of webmap, then present the principles of webmap design including interface design, color and symbol design, and layer design according to the authors’ design experiences in the both paper maps and electronic maps. The authors believe that researches on webmap design are helpful to improve the display effects of webmaps and enhance efficiency of information communication. Farther researches on webmap design should be carried out from the viewpoint of cognitive science and user-centered.