How To Add Charts And Graphs To WordPress
You’re probably familiar with the old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words.” This is certainly true when you are trying to present or explain complex data.
Using graphs and charts is great for breaking up long text passages, and making technical data a whole lot easier to digest.
You can use tables to present data, but if you want your audience to try and make sense of complex information with numbers, percentages and relationships more easily, then charts and graphs let you present the data in an intelligent and meaningful way that can be quickly and easily understood.
Graphs and charts help you present complex data so your audience can more easily interpret it!
If you need to display dynamic visual content on your WordPress site like charts and graphs, this step-by-step tutorial will show you exactly how to create eye-catching and updatable charts to your pages that:
- Your web visitors can engage with
- Lets you upload data from your computer or an online source of data
- Is dynamically responsive for mobile devices
If you are displaying visual data like pie charts, comparison graphs or trending graphs that contain static information (e.g. historical data), a simple method you can use is to create the graphs or charts using a desktop application, convert these into images and then simply insert your image files into your site content.
Use WordPress Chart & Graph Plugins
If you want to insert interactive bars and pie graphs into your WordPress pages with no coding skills required, the easiest way to do this is to use a plugin.
Fortunately, there is a great WordPress plugin that is simple to install, easy-to-use and allows you to not only create stunning and dynamic charts and graphs, it also lets you populate your charts and graphs with updatable information.
WordPress Plugin: Visualizer
Visualizer URL
You can install the plugin in your WP dashboard (see a little further down the page), or access and download Visualizer here:
http://wordpress.org/plugins/visualizer
Visualizer Description
The Visualizer plugin is a simple, easy to use and powerful tool that lets you create, manage and embed appealing charts and graphs 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 extra components are required.
The plugin also contains a variety of built-in optimized for 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 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 allow you to 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 visitors can see your charts and graphs on their mobile device browsers without requiring the installation of additional software.
How To Install The Visualizer Plugin
Inside your WordPress dashboard, select Plugins > Add New from the main menu …
In the Add Plugins screen type search for “visualizer” and click enter …
Locate the plugin in the search results area and click Install Now …
Click OK to proceed …
Activate the plugin …
You can also activate the plugin in the Plugins page …
After your plugin has been activated, click on Library …
You can also get to the plugin’s ‘library’ screen by selecting Media > Visualizer Library from the main menu …
This takes you to the plugin’s Visualizer Library screen …
After installing the plugin, the library will contain no charts.
The next step is to add add charts and graphs to your library.
Plugin Configuration
To add a chart or graph to the Visualizer library, click on the Add New button …
An image gallery displaying all of the default types of graphs and charts available will load on your screen.
Select the type of graph or chart you would like to create and click on the ‘Next’ button …
Your graph/chart type will open up in a new window.
The next step is to upload a CSV file with your data …
When creating your CSV data file, ensure that:
- Your first row contains your column headings.
- Your second row contains the series type (e.g. string, datetime, etc.)
The screenshot below shows how to format your data as explained above …
If you are not sure how to format your CSV file, just study the sample that comes with the plugin.
Once you have completed this step, 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 from your hard drive select ‘From Computer‘ …
Use the browser to locate and select your data file and click on ‘Open‘ …
The plugin imports the data from the CSV file and displays it using the graph/chart type you have chosen …
Upload CSV File From The Web
For a tutorial that explains how to create, save and publish data to a Visualizer chart or graph using Google Spreadsheet, go here:
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 then click ‘Next‘ …
Depending on the chart or graph type you’ve selected, the plugin will display a number of customization settings and options …
The plugin gives you complete control over 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 look of your chart or graph, click Create Chart …
The new chart or graph will be added to the ‘Visualizer Library’ section …
Note that new visual elements are given a unique ID displayed as a shortcode. As you will see very soon, this lets you easily embed graphs and charts into your content …
Charts and graphs added to the Visualizer Library can be accessed by type …
After a new element has been added to the ‘Visualizer Library’, you can edit its details, clone it, or delete it …
Visualizer Plugin Usage
After you have created a new element and added it to Visualizer, adding it to pages or posts is quite 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‘ …
Find the graph or chart to be added to your content and click on the “insert” icon …
This will place a shortcode for the element into your content …
Once you have added your item, click on Publish to publish (or update) your content …
After updating the post/page, click ‘View post’ to see the end result …
Your post or page displays the graph in the location where you placed the shortcode …
As mentioned earlier, the plugin also displays responsive graphs for mobile viewing …
As you can see, Visualizer allows you to add and customize dynamic charts and graphs in your content. You can update your data and your changes will automatically be reflected throughout your site. This is a real time-saving benefit of the plugin if you’re working with interactive graph data in WordPress.
The developers of this plugin have created a number of tutorials you can refer to for ways to edit, customize and use WordPress Visualizer.
For tutorials on editing, copying, deleting and adding data to your charts, go to the site below:
Congratulations! Now you know how to easily create appealing and mobile-responsive pie charts and graphs in WordPress.
***
"This is an awesome training series. I have a pretty good understanding of WordPress already, but this is helping me to move somewhere from intermediate to advanced user!" - Kim Lednum
***