How To Add Charts And Graphs To WordPress

You’re probably familiar with the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words.” This certainly applies when you’re presenting or explaining complex data.

Using charts and graphs is a great way to make data more easily digestible.

You can present information with tables, but if you want your audience to try and interpret complex information with numbers, percentages or relationships easily, then charts and graphs are perfect for helping them understand the information.

Charts and graphs help you present complex information so people can more easily understand it!

Need to add charts or graphs to WordPress? This step-by-step tutorial shows you how to use WP Visualizer – a simple, easy to use and powerful tool that allows you to create, manage and insert stunning charts into your WordPress posts and pages in just a few mouse clicks that:

• Your visitors can engage with
• Allows you to upload data from your computer or a web-based data source
• Is fully responsive for mobile browsers

If you are displaying visual data like pie charts, comparison bars or trending graphs that contain static information (e.g. historical data), an easier option is to create the graphs or charts using a desktop application, convert these into jpg or png files and then simply add the images to your site content.

Use WordPress Chart & Graph Plugins

If you want to easily add interactive bars and pie graphs to your WordPress pages and posts with no coding skills required, the easiest way to do this is to use a plugin.

Fortunately, there is a plugin for WordPress users that is simple to install, easy-to-use and allows you to not only create eye-catching and mobile-responsive graphs and charts, it also lets you populate your charts and graphs with updatable information.

WP Plugin: Visualizer

Visualizer URL

You can install the plugin in your WP dashboard (explained further down the page), or download Visualizer the WordPress plugin directory using the link below:

http://wordpress.org/plugins/visualizer

Visualizer Description

WP Visualizer is a simple, easy to use and powerful tool that lets you create, manage and insert interactive graphs and charts into your WordPress posts and pages with just a few mouse clicks.

WordPress Visualizer uses Google Visualization API to render charts, which support cross-browser compatibility (adopting VML for older IE versions) and cross-platform portability to iOS and new Android releases, and are based on pure HTML5/SVG technology (adopting VML for old IE versions), so no additional addons are required.

The plugin also comes with a variety of charts optimized for all your data visualization needs, including:

• Line chart
• Area chart
• Bar chart
• Column chart
• Pie chart
• Geo chart
• Gauge chart
• Candlestick chart
• Scatter chart

Visualizer is also flexible and customizable, allowing you to use Google Chart Tools with their default setting, or configure an extensive set of options to match your site’s design. A number of options are available for each chart that let you customize their look.

Additionally, charts are rendered using HTML5/SVG technology to provide cross-browser compatibility (including VML for older IE versions) and cross-platform portability to iPhones, iPads and Android devices. Your site visitors can see your charts and graphs on their mobile device browsers without requiring the installation of any extra software.

Plugin Installation

From your WordPress dashboard, select Plugins > Add New from the main menu …

In the Add Plugins page type “visualizer” into the search field and click enter …

Locate Visualizer in the search results section and click the “Install Now” button …

Click OK to proceed …

Activate the plugin after installation is successful …

You can also activate the plugin in the Plugins area …

After the plugin has been activated, click on Library …

You can also get to the plugin’s ‘library’ screen by choosing Media > Visualizer Library in the dashboard menu …

This takes you to the plugin’s Visualizer Library section …

After installing the plugin, this section will be empty.

Your next step is to add add charts and graphs to your library.

Visualizer Configuration

To add a chart or graph to the Visualizer library, click on ‘Add New’ …

A page will appear on your browser with all of the types of graphs available.

Select the graph or chart type you would like to create and click on the ‘Next’ button …

Your selected graph/chart type will pop up in a new window.

The next step is to upload a CSV file containing the data you would like your chart or graph to be populated with …

When creating your CSV data file, ensure that:

• The first row includes your column headings.
• The second row contains the series type (e.g. boolean, date, etc.)

The screenshot below shows how to format your data as explained above …

If you are not sure how to format your data CSV, simply use the sample CSV file supplied with the plugin.

Once you have done this, select your data source (‘From Computer’ or ‘From Web’) in the ‘Upload CSV File’ section.

Upload CSV File From Computer

To upload a CSV file from your hard drive select ‘From Computer‘ …

Use the browser to locate and select your file and click on ‘Open‘ …

The plugin will now import your data from the CSV file and display it using the graph/chart type you have previously chosen …

Upload CSV File From The Web

To learn how to create, save and publish data to a Visualizer chart or graph using Google Spreadsheet, go here:

• How To Populate Data Using Google Spreadsheet

After importing your data, check that all of the information is correct (if not, click on the ‘Back’ button and reupload a new data file containing the right data), and click ‘Next‘ …

Depending on the chart or graph type you have chosen, the plugin will display a range of customization options and settings …

The WordPress Visualizer plugin gives you full control of your chart or graph, and updates your display in real time …

For example, the pie chart offers various configurable options, including:

• General Settings – Configure chart title settings, font styles, tooltip, and legend.
• Pie Settings – Create 3D pie charts, draw slices counterclockwise, set the text content displayed on the slice, create a “donut” pie chart, rotate the chart’s “start” angle and set the slice border color.
• Residue Settings – Set the ‘Visibility Threshold’ (the slice relative part, below which a slice will not show individually.), ‘Residual Slice Label’ (the label for the combination slice that holds all slices below slice visibility threshold, e.g. “Other”), and ‘Residue Slice Color’.
• Slice Settings – Customize the ‘Slice Offset’ (how far to separate the slice from the rest of the pie), and ‘Slice Color’.
• Layout & Chart Area – Configure the layout (total size of chart) including the width and height of the chart as a number of percentage, background color for the main area of the chart and the chart border width and color, and the placement and size of the chart area (where the chart itself is drawn, excluding axis and legends).

Once you are satisfied with the way your graph or chart looks, click Create Chart …

Your chart or graph will be added to the Visualizer ‘Library’ …

Note that every new element is given a unique ID displayed as a shortcode. As you will see very soon, this lets you add graphs and charts to your pages very easily …

Graphs and charts added to the Visualizer Library can be accessed by type …

After an element has been added to the ‘Visualizer Library’, you can edit its details, clone it, or trash it …

Visualizer Plugin Usage

After creating a chart or graph and adding it to Visualizer, adding it to a page is really simple.

First, create a new post or page (or open an existing one) …

Next, place your mouse cursor where you would like to insert your visual element into the content and click on Add Media …

Click on ‘Visualizations‘ …

Select the graph or chart to be inserted into your content and click on the “insert” icon …

This will place a shortcode for the element into your content …

Once you have finished adding the item, click on Publish to publish (or update) your page or post …

After updating the post, click ‘View post’ to see it …

You will see your item in the content …

As mentioned earlier, the plugin also displays responsive graphs for mobile device browsing …

As you can see, Visualizer allows you to insert and customize dynamic charts and graphs in your content. You can change your data and your changes will automatically be reflected throughout your site. This makes managing dynamic graph information in WordPress really efficient.

The developers of this plugin have created a series of step-by-step tutorials you can use to learn how to edit, customize and use the plugin.

For additional tutorials on editing, cloning, deleting and adding data to your charts, go to the site below:

• WordPress Visualizer – Additional Tutorials

Congratulations! Now you know how to easily insert eye-catching charts and graphs into WordPress.

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