How To Add Charts And Graphs To WordPress

You’ve no doubt heard the old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words.” This certainly applies when you’re presenting and explaining data.

Graphs and charts can help to break up long and boring content, and make data more easily digestible.

You can use tables to present data, but if you want your audience to try and interpret complex information with figures, percentages or comparisons quickly, then charts and graphs are perfect for helping them interpret the information.

Graphs and charts help you explain complex data so people can more easily understand it!

Need to add charts and graphs to your WordPress posts? This tutorial shows you how to use the WP Visualizer plugin – a simple, easy to use and powerful tool that allows you to create, manage and insert great-looking and dynamic charts and graphs into your WordPress posts and pages with a few mouse clicks that:

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

If you are displaying visual data like pie charts, comparison charts 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 images and then simply add your image files to your pages or posts.

Use WordPress Chart & Graph Plugins

If you want to create dynamic bars and pie charts in WordPress pages with no coding skills required, the easiest way to do this is to use a plugin.

Fortunately, there is a great plugin for WordPress users that is simple to install, easy-to-use and allows you to not only create attractive and interactive graphs and charts, it also lets you populate your charts and graphs with dynamic information.

Visualizer

Visualizer URL

You can install the plugin from your WP dashboard (see further down the page), or download the Visualizer plugin from the link below:

http://wordpress.org/plugins/visualizer

Visualizer Description

WordPress Visualizer is a simple, easy to use and powerful plugin for WordPress that lets you create, manage and insert appealing and dynamic charts into your WordPress posts and pages in a few simple steps.

The plugin 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 plugins are needed.

WordPress Visualizer also contains a variety of built-in 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

The plugin 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. Several options are available for each chart that let you fully customize their look and feel.

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 web visitors can see your charts and graphs on their mobile web browsers without requiring the installation of any extra software.

How To Install Visualizer

From your WordPress administration area, select Plugins > Add New from the main sidebar menu …

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

Locate Visualizer in the search results screen and click Install Now …

Click OK to go ahead …

Activate the plugin after successfully installing it …

You can also activate the plugin in the Plugins area …

After the plugin has been activated, click on Library …

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

This takes you to the plugin’s Visualizer Library options page …

After installing the plugin, the library section will be empty.

Your next step is to add the charts and graphs to your library that you plan to publish to your pages or posts.

Visualizer Plugin Configuration

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

A visual gallery displaying all the types of charts available will load on your screen.

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

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

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

When creating your CSV data file, ensure that:

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

The screenshot below shows how to format your data as required …

If you are not sure how to format your CSV file, just use the sample that comes with the plugin.

Next, select your data source (‘From Computer’ or ‘From Web’) in the ‘Upload CSV File’ section.

Upload CSV File From Computer

To upload your CSV file and data from your computer select ‘From Computer‘ …

Locate and select your data file and click on ‘Open‘ …

The plugin imports your data from the CSV file and displays it using the graph/chart type chosen …

Upload CSV File From The Web

For a step-by-step tutorial that shows you how to create, save and publish data to a Visualizer chart or graph using Google Spreadsheet, see the article below:

• How To Populate Data Using Google Spreadsheet

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

Depending on the chart or graph type you have picked, the plugin will display a number of customization settings …

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

For example, the pie chart offers many configurable options, such as:

• 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 a 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’re happy with the look of your chart or graph, click Create Chart …

Your new graph or chart will now be added to your ‘Visualizer Library’ section …

Note that new elements are given a unique ID displayed as a shortcode. As you will see very soon, this lets you add graphs and charts to your WordPress posts and pages easily and quickly …

Charts and graphs added to the Visualizer Library can easily be accessed by type …

After adding a new graph or chart to the ‘Visualizer Library’, you can edit it, duplicate it, or trash it …

Plugin Usage

After creating a graph or chart and adding it to the Library, adding it to a post is really very simple.

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

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

Click on ‘Visualizations‘ …

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

This will add a shortcode into your content …

Once you have added your element, click on Publish to publish (or update) your post or page …

Once the page/post has been updated, click ‘View post’ to see the result …

Your page or post should display the graph in the location you specified …

As mentioned previously, the plugin also displays responsive charts for mobile viewers …

As you can see, Visualizer allows you to add and customize dynamic charts and graphs in your content. You can edit your data and the changes will automatically be reflected throughout your site. This is very convenient if you’re working with interactive graph data in WordPress.

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

For additional tutorials on editing, copying, deleting and adding data to your charts, visit the website below:

• WordPress Visualizer – Additional Tutorials

Congratulations! Now you know how to add attractive and dynamic bar charts and graphs to WordPress.

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