When to use them
Image maps are great to use when you want a single image to link to multiple URL's.

Client Side Image Map
This type of map uses the visitor's browser to function; therefore the map needs no server involvement and runs much quicker.

Server Side Image Map
Using a server side map is more complicated than using a client side map. The map is located on the web server, therefore requiring CGI scripts as well as definition files and information about service providers and web servers.

Hot Spots
Hot spots are the areas on an image map that trigger a link, sending the visitor to another page. The different hot spots on the maps must not overlap; otherwise the browser won't know which link to activate.

Making an image map
Creating client side image maps can be quite easy through the use of software such as Macromedia Dreamweaver or Adobe Image Ready.