How to Make a Chart

Making a chart to visualize your data doesn't have to be a complicated process that ends with you staring at a confusing spreadsheet. Whether you're tracking sales figures, website traffic, or project progress, the right chart can turn rows of numbers into a clear, compelling story. This guide will walk you through choosing the right type of chart for your data and provide step-by-step instructions for creating one in Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, and Canva.

Graphed

Still Building Reports Manually?

Watch how growth teams are getting answers in seconds — not days.

Watch the Demo

First, Choose the Right Chart for Your Data

Before you even open a spreadsheet, the most important step is deciding which chart type will best represent your information. Choosing the wrong one can confuse your audience or, worse, lead to incorrect conclusions. Here's a breakdown of the most common chart types and when to use them.

Bar Charts (or Column Charts)

What it is: A chart that uses rectangular bars - either horizontal or vertical - to show comparisons between different categories.

When to use it: When you want to compare distinct items. Bar charts are one of the most common and easily understood visualizations.

• Comparing sales figures across different products or regions.
• Showing website traffic from various sources (e.g., Google, Facebook, Direct).
• Visualizing survey responses (e.g., number of people who chose Option A, B, or C).

Line Charts

What it is: A chart that connects a series of data points with a continuous line.

When to use it: When you want to show a trend or progress over a period of time. Line charts are perfect for highlighting changes, acceleration, or deceleration.

• Tracking monthly revenue or expenses over a year.
• Monitoring daily website users or social media followers.
• Showing stock price fluctuations over time.

Graphed

Still Building Reports Manually?

Watch how growth teams are getting answers in seconds — not days.

Watch the Demo

Pie Charts

What it is: A circular chart divided into slices to illustrate numerical proportion.

When to use it: When you want to show the composition of a single whole - how individual parts make up 100%. A word of caution: pie charts become hard to read with more than five or six slices. If you have many categories, a bar chart is often a better choice.

• Displaying the percentage breakdown of a marketing budget by channel.
• Showing market share among competitors.
• Visualizing the sources of your website's traffic as a percentage.

Scatter Plots

What it is: A chart that uses dots to represent the values of two different numeric variables.

When to use it: When you want to see the relationship or correlation between two sets of data. It helps you spot potential trends or outliers.

• Comparing ad spend against conversion rates to see if there's a connection.
• Analyzing the relationship between a customer's age and their average order value.
• Plotting hours of study vs. test scores.

How to Make a Chart in Google Sheets

Google Sheets makes it incredibly simple to create a basic chart from your data. In just a few clicks, you can generate a professional-looking visualization.

Step 1: Organize Your Data in an Easy-to-Read Format

Clean data is the foundation of a good chart. Arrange your information in columns and rows, using the top row for your headers. Make sure your headers are clear and descriptive. For example:

Month   | Sales | Ad Spend
----------------------------
January | $10,000 | $1,500
February| $12,500 | $1,800
March   | $15,000 | $2,200

Step 2: Select Your Data

Click and drag your mouse to highlight all the cells you want to include in your chart, including the headers. In our example above, you would select the cells from "Month" down to "$2,200."

Graphed

Still Building Reports Manually?

Watch how growth teams are getting answers in seconds — not days.

Watch the Demo

Step 3: Go to Insert > Chart

Once your data is selected, navigate to the menu bar at the top of the screen and click Insert, then select Chart from the dropdown menu. Google Sheets will automatically analyze your data and create a suggested chart type for you. Often, its recommendation is spot-on.

Step 4: Customize Your Chart in the Chart Editor

A "Chart editor" pane will appear on the right side of your screen. This is where you can fine-tune your visualization.

• Setup tab: Here, you can change the fundamental chart type (e.g., from a line chart to a column chart), adjust the data range, or switch rows and columns. This is the first place to go if Sheets suggested a chart type you don't like.
• Customize tab: This tab gives you granular control over the look and feel of your chart. You can:

Once you are happy with your chart, you can click and drag it to place it anywhere in your sheet, or click the three dots in the corner to copy it, publish it, or save it as an image.

How to Make a Chart in Microsoft Excel

The process in Excel is very similar to Google Sheets, though the interface for customization is slightly different.

Step 1: Enter Your Data into an Excel Worksheet

Just like with Google Sheets, start with neatly organized data. Use columns for your categories and data series, and use the first row for headers.

Step 2: Select the Data for Your Chart

Highlight the cells containing the data you wish to visualize. Be sure to include the row and column headers in your selection, as Excel uses them to label your axes and create a legend automatically.

Step 3: Choose a Chart from the Insert Tab

Go to the Insert tab at the top of the Excel ribbon. In the "Charts" section, you'll see icons for different chart types (column, line, pie, etc.). Click on the icon for the type of chart you want to create. Hovering over an icon will show you a preview of how your data will look with that chart type.

Graphed

Still Building Reports Manually?

Watch how growth teams are getting answers in seconds — not days.

Watch the Demo

Step 4: Customize and Format Your Chart

Once you insert a chart, two new tabs will appear on the ribbon whenever the chart is selected: Chart Design and Format.

• Chart Design: Make broad changes:
• Format: Provides detailed control over individual elements like titles and data bars. You can select a specific component and change fill colors, outlines, and text effects.

Bonus: A Quick Guide to Making Charts in Canva

Sometimes you need a chart for a presentation or marketing material, where visual appeal is just as important as the data itself. Canva is an excellent tool for this.

1. Open a Canva Design: Start with a presentation, infographic, or custom-sized design.
2. Navigate to Elements > Charts: In the editor's left-side panel, click on "Elements" and scroll down to the "Charts" section. You can choose from bar, line, pie, and other types.
3. Add Your Data: Once you add a chart, a table will appear where you can type or paste your data directly from a spreadsheet. The chart will update in real-time as you enter the numbers.
4. Customize the Design: Click on the chart to bring up the editing options. You can change the colors of each bar or slice to match your brand, adjust fonts and sizes, and toggle labels and grids on or off.

Quick Tips for Awesome Charts

No matter which tool you use, following a few design principles will make your charts more effective.

• Keep It Simple: Avoid overwhelming your audience. Each chart should convey one main idea. Don't add unnecessary effects like 3D or distracting backgrounds.
• Label Clearly: Always give your chart a descriptive title and axes labels. If someone can’t understand your chart in five seconds, it’s too complicated.
• Use Color Strategically: Use colors to add meaning, not just decoration. Contrasting shades can highlight key points while being mindful of colorblindness.
• Start Your Vertical Axis at 0: For bar charts, starting the Y-axis at zero ensures accurate data representation and avoids misleading exaggerations.

Final Thoughts

Creating an informative chart is a straightforward process when you break it down into a few key steps: choose the right chart type, organize your data neatly, and use a tool like Google Sheets or Excel to build and customize your visualization. Applying simple design principles will make your charts not only accurate but also easy to understand.

While individual charts are useful, reporting often involves creating dashboards that update automatically. This usually requires repetitive manual work. We built Graphed to simplify this — just ask in plain language, like "Show me a line chart of Shopify revenue over the last 90 days," and the chart is generated instantly from live data, ready for dashboards.