Narrative mapping is a catch-all term used here to mean any method that incorporates a mixture of digital and interactive map content with images, text, video, sound etc..
These are a few options for simple interactive web maps that don't directly support mixed media often found in narrative maps.
Google My Maps is a free and easy to use tool for creating very basic interactive maps that can be shared publicly or embed into a website. My Maps allows users to add custom markers for locations along with routes and other shapes to help fill out map content.
How to Master Google My Maps (tutorial) - Steve Benjamins.
Easy to learn collaborative web mapping tool with free tier. Add images, shapes, text, GIS data.
Sample Felt Projects - Oakland Building Use - Gray Whales - Sea Surface Temps
Tools for creating self navigating map based tours and slide shows incorporating small amounts of text and mixed media.
Google Earth Web is a 3d globe visualizer with satellite imagery. Create map tours from the Projects page and incorporate text, images, and video. For stories that span large portions of the globe, the smooth animations as you fly between locations is helpful.
Open source tool for slideshow style narrative and mixed media mapping.
Example slideshow maps.
A very simple iiif image annotation and navigation app. Upload a jpg image or link to a iiif manifest and then add text slides and movement based around that image.
Georeference any map from any institution that supports IIIF. No GIS tools required, no image uploads or downloads.
Crop, transform, and share map images directly from any IIIF manifest