How to Create Excel Charts and Graphs
Sara Davidson
Published: February 29, 2024
Excel charts and graphs are tried-and-true tools for visualizing data clearly and understandably. But for
those who are not native tech gurus, it can be a bit intimidating to poke around in Microsoft Excel.
I’m here to share the foundational information you need, helpful video tutorials, and stepby-step
instructions for anyone feeling like they are in over their heads.
Organizing a spreadsheet full of data into an accurate and attractive chart isn’t sorcery — you can do it!
Let’s go over the process from A to Z.
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What an Excel Chart or Graph is — and Why to Use Them
The rst thing to know is that you can create di erent types of charts and graphs in the software.
The unique information in your data set(s) and the audience you are communicating to are factors that
go into choosing the appropriate chart or graph for your project, so let’s chat charts.
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What is an Excel chart or graph?
An Excel chart or graph is a visual representation of a Microsoft Excel worksheet’s data.
These graphs and charts allow you to see trends, make comparisons, pinpoint patterns,
and glean insights from within the raw numbers. Excel includes countless options for
charts and graphs, including bar, line, and pie charts.
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But why use them? Do you need to visualize data when you can just explain it? The answer is
typically yes if you want to help an audience understand and retain the relevant ndings.
I’ll never forget a particular graph from a TED talk I saw on parenting taboos — and I’ve never seen
anything play out so accurately in my own life, either:
Image Source
This chart from Rufus Griscom + Alisa Volkman shows a mean line of happiness in blue and more of a
moment-by-moment breakdown in yellow of the data points that build the mean you see.
The highs and lows tend to be less erratic during single adulthood because you have more control over
your environment and circumstances, they explain, but once you have kids? Chaos.
They joked about Grand, explosive moments of love accompanied by mind-numbing, soul-punching lows
— usually around bedtime routines. (It’s no joke.)
From this, we can glean that it’s always a good idea to distill the information into something visually
digestible so you can communicate clearly and e ciently.
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The last thing you want is to lose your target’s attention in a sea of incomprehensible numbers.
Especially for large data sets, an Excel chart or graph gets to the heart of your ndings in a way that is
easy to see and understand at a single glance, especially when you incorporate comparisons.
If your data has more than one nding to communicate — such as a comparison or if you want to
illustrate changes taking place over time — Excel charts and graphs o er several options for creating
impactful visuals.
By the end, you’ll have some ideas about which charts could help you tell the stories contained within
your data.
The 18 Types of Charts in Excel (So Far)
Whew, Microsoft has been busy! Last I did a deep dive, there were only nine types of charts, so it has
doubled in the previous few years — which is excellent news for research communicators.
When you understand their uses, you can present material optimized to be highly valuable and
insightful for your team’s projects.
We’ll go over the best, tried-and-true options thoroughly. Then, at the end, I’ll brie y summarize the
advanced chart types and those that may not be as useful to marketers.
Excel Charts Most Useful to Marketers
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1. Area Chart
Image Source
Excel area charts allow you to see trends over time — or some other relevant variable. It’s essentially a
line graph with colored-in sections emphasizing progression and giving a sense of volume.
You can also use stacked area charts. This denser area chart allows you to show more information at
once, such as comparing trends in multiple categories or tracking changes across di erent variables.
Best for: Demonstrating the magnitude of a trend between two or more values over a given period.
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2. The New and Improved Bar Graph (Now Called a Clustered Bar Graph)
Image Source
An Excel bar graph represents information horizontally and compares di erent data series. You can
easily see the proportions between various categories or elements of your data.
For instance, you can use clustered bar graphs to compare the sales of di erent products, for example,
in other store locations over months or quarters.
This can help you understand which products sell well in di erent geographies during the same time
frame.
Best for: Comparing the frequency of similar values between di erent variables.
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3. Ditto for Column Charts (Renamed Clustered Column Charts)
Image Source
Column charts are similar to bar graphs, but they di er in one critical way: they’re vertical, not
horizontal. The vertical orientation lends itself to helping viewers rank di erent data elements.
Like bar graphs, column charts compare data, display trends, and show proportions.
For instance, if you want to rank your sales teams’ numbers in di erent states across a quarter, you can
visualize them in a clustered column chart and see which team in each state is in the lead — the tallest
in the cluster.
You can also see which team is leading among all states — the tallest among all clusters.
Best for: Displaying various data elements over some time to rank them visually.
Pro tip: I’ve personally learned that column charts displaying T-bars of statistical signi cance are
extremely useful in helping people in leadership dispel likely but ultimately untrue interpretations
of data.
4. Line Graph
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Sometimes, data showing meaningful change is still within normal parameters. Sometimes, what seems
like a slight di erence is signi cant.
Managers and directors may need help seeing these realities so they don’t oversteer at decision time.
Image Source
A line graph is a simple but highly e ective way to see trends over time at a glance — even without the
frills of bars, columns, or extra shading. You can also compare multiple data series.
For instance, the number of organic visits from Google versus Bing over a 12-month period.
You can also see the rate or speed at which the data set changes. In our Google vs. Bing example, a
steep incline would mean you had a sudden spike in organic tra c. A more gradual decline means that
your tra c is slowly decreasing.
Best for: Illustrating trends over time, such as spikes or drops in sales due to holidays, weather, or other
variables.
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5. Pie Chart
Image Source
A pie chart is a helpful way of seeing how di erent data elements proportionally compare to one
another. Curious what percentage of your organic tra c is from Google versus Bing?
Or how much market share do you have compared to competitors? A pie chart is a tting way to visualize
that information.
It’s also a great way to see and communicate progress toward a speci c goal.
For instance, if your goal is to sell a product every day for 30 days in a row, then you might create a pie
chart with 30 slices and shade a slice each day you sell the product.
Best for: Showing values as percentages of a whole and viewing data elements proportionately.
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6. Radar Chart
Image Source
A radar chart might look familiar to you if you’ve ever taken a personality test, but it’s also useful
outside of that industry. Radar charts display data in a closed, multi-pointed shape.
Each point is called a spoke, and multiple variables “pull” spokes of the shape. Then, shapes can be
stacked up for comparison.
This type of chart is well-designed for comparing di erent data elements, such as attributes, entities,
people, strengths, or weaknesses. It also helps you see the distribution of your data and understand if
it's overly skewed one way or another.
Best for: Comparing the aggregate values of multiple data series at once.
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7. Scatter Plot
Image Source
Scatter plots look similar to line graphs but with one critical di erence: They evaluate the relationship
between two variables, shown on the X- and Y-axes. This enables you to identify correlations and
patterns between them.
For instance, you might compare the amount of organic tra c (X-axis) with the number of leads
and signups (Y-axis).
If you see an upward trend in the dots where these two converge, then you’ll have an idea of how an
increase in organic trac a ects your leads and signups.
If you have a leads/signups goal, you can then create a more data-driven plan for increasing your
organic tra c.
You can even take it a step further to compare the number of leads and signups with daily sales or
conversions to keep more programs on data-driven paths.
Best for: Visualizing positive or negative relationships between two variables.
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8. Funnel Chart
Image Source
Funnel charts are extremely well-suited to marketers who want to optimize processes and pipelines.
In the image above, it’s clear that you drop the most candidates between Quali ed Prospects and Needs
Analysis, so that portion of your funnel may be interesting to look into more deeply to understand why.
Best for: Visually representing changes through processes helps to clarify where the biggest changes
occur along the way.
Pro tip: My experience has taught me that if you only use two levels — especially if there’s not a great
change between them, it’s easy to mistake this for a bar graph, which functions completely di erently.
You’ll de nitely want to use at least three levels so it’s more clearly distinguished as a funnel shape.
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9. Histogram Chart
Image Source
Histograms are a solid option when you want to explain data that occurs most usefully in ranges. Let’s
say that you want to show your clients the buying habits of various age demographics in your product
niche.
You may nd that your target audience has moved, possibly even jumped a range up or down.
If your client has sold baby products for the last 100 years, you’d de nitely see that the target audience
of rst-time parents is getting older as people wait longer to have children.
This may change your marketing strategies to meet the needs and issues of this older rst-time parent
demographic.
Best for: Demonstrating data ndings that are most noticeable and useful when the data is grouped in
ranges.
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Advanced Excel Charts
It’s smart for you to know that the following chart types exist, but they may not be the best place to
start if you arrived here today a bit overwhelmed.
They are more complicated and better suited to audiences who can already read advanced-level charts:
Box and whisker chart.
Pareto chart.
Surface chart.
The remaining Excel chart types don’t typically lend themselves to marketing. But, hey — if your niche
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calls for it, these charts are there to support you:
Sunburst chart.
Treemap chart.
How to create Box and Whisker Column Chart in Excel | Bo…
Industry-Speci c Excel Charts
Stock chart.
Waterfall chart.
Filled map chart.
Combo chart.
Make waterfall charts in Excel (the EASY way!)
Summarizing the Charts
That was a ton of information. If you’re still not sure which to choose, here’s a concise comparison of
the Excel charts I nd to be most useful to marketers:
TYPE OF CHART USE
Area Area charts demonstrate the
magnitude of a trend between two or
more values over a given period.
Clustered Clustered bar charts compare the
Bar frequency of values across di erent
levels or variables.
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If you’re looking for a deeper dive to help you gure out which type of chart/graph is
best for visualizing your data, check out our free ebook,DOWNLOAD NOW: FREE EXCEL GRAPH T How to Use
Data VisualizatioEMPLATES n
Clustered Clustered column charts display data
Column changes over a period of time to
make clear visualizations of rank among
data sets.
Line
Similar to bar charts, they illustrate trends
over time.
Pie
Pie charts show values as percentages of a
whole.
Radar
Radar charts compare the aggregate value of
multiple data series.
Scatter
Scatter charts show the positive or negative
relationship between two variables.
Funnel
Funnel charts excel at visualizing changes to
one data point over various processes.
Histogram
Histograms show variations in data that are
best represented as a range of values.
to Win Over Your Audience.
How to Create a Graph in Excel
The steps to build a chart or graph in Excel are relatively simple. I encourage you to follow the step-by-
step instructions below or download them as PDFs if that’s more ecient for you.
Most of the buttons and functions you'll see and read are very similar across all versions of Excel.
Download Demo Data | Download Instructions (Mac) | Download Instructions (PC)
How to Create a Graph in Excel
1. Enter your data into Excel.
2. Choose one of the graph and chart options to make.
3. Highlight your data and click 'Insert' your desired graph.
4. Switch the data on each axis, if necessary.
5. Adjust your data's layout and colors.
6. Change the size of your chart's legend and axis labels.
7. Change the Y-axis measurement options, if desired.
8. Reorder your data, if desired.
9. Title your graph.
10. Export your graph or chart.
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Featured Resource: Free Excel Graph Templates
Before we jump in, it’s time for another pro tip. You need not start from scratch. You are welcome to
use these free Excel Graph Generators. Just input your data and adjust as needed for a beautiful data
visualization.
It’s a great time-saver if you don’t need something as custom as building your Excel charts and graphs
up from zero.
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Free Excel Graph Templates
Tired of struggling with spreadsheets? These free Microsoft Excel Graph
Generator Templates can help.
Get Your Free Templates
Learn mor
e
When you do need to create and customize from the very start, here’s how to tackle it:
1. Enter your data into Excel.
First, you need to input your data into Excel. You might have exported the data from elsewhere, like a
piece of marketing software or a survey tool — or maybe you're inputting it manually from
spreadsheets. I don’t judge!
In the example below, in Column A, I have a list of responses to the question, “Did inbound marketing
demonstrate ROI?” and in Columns B, C, and D, I have the responses
to the question, “Does your company have a formal sales-marketing agreement?”
For example, Column C, Row 2 illustrates that 49% of people with a service level agreement (SLA) also
say that inbound marketing demonstrated ROI.
2. Choose from the graph and chart options.
I picked the rst two-dimensional column option because I prefer the at bar graphic over the three-
dimensional look. See the resulting bar graph below.DOWNLOAD NOW: FREE EXCEL GRAPH TEMPLATES
In Excel, your options for charts and graphs include column (or bar) graphs, line graphs, pie graphs,
scatter plots, and more. See how Excel identi es each one in the top navigation bar, as depicted below:
To nd the chart and graph options, select Insert.
3. Highlight your data and insert your desired graphinto the
spreadsheet.
In this example, a bar graph presents the data visually. To make a bar graph, highlight the data and
include the titles of the X- and Y-axis. Then, go to the Insert tab and click the column icon in the charts
section.
Choose the graph you wish from the dropdown window that appears.
However, if I were reporting statistics about skyscrapers to a builder’s union, I’d de nitely pick the three-
dimensional look to customize the chart to look like built structures.
There are optimization choices to make along the way to best t your data and audience.
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4. Switch the data on each axis, if necessary.
If you want to switch what appears on the X and Y axis, right-click on the bar graph, click Select Data,
and click Switch Row/Column. This will rearrange which axes carry which pieces of data in the list
shown below.
Sometimes, you’ll see that your information just presents better one way versus the other. In this case, I
think the rst X and Y orientation is easier and simpler to understand.
Keep in mind, though, that it’s not about me.
If the presentation focuses on SLAs and executive decisions on whether or not to secure one, a Yes/No
SLA con guration (the second XY orientation) is likely a better t for the audience and their needs. When
nished, click OK at the bottom.
The resulting graph would look like this:
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5. Adjust your data's layout and colors.
To change the labeling layout and legend, click on the bar graph, then click the Chart Design tab. Here,
you can choose which layout you prefer for the chart title, axis titles, and legend.
In my example below, I clicked on the option that displayed softer bar colors and legends below the
chart.
When you rst make a graph in Excel, the size of your axis and legend labels might be
small, depending on the graph or chart you choose (bar, pie, line, etc.) DOWNLOAD NOW: FREE EXCEL GRAPH
TEMPLATES
To further format the legend, click on it to reveal the Format Legend Entry sidebar, as shown below.
Here, you can change the ll color of the legend, which will change the color of the columns themselves.
To format other parts of your chart, click on them individually to reveal a corresponding Format
window.
6. Change the size of your chart's legend and axislabels.
Once you‘ve created your chart, you’ll want to size those labels up so they're legible.
To increase the size of your graph's labels, click on them individually and, instead of revealing a new
Format window, click back into the Home tab in the top navigation bar of Excel.
Then, use the font type and size dropdown elds to expand or shrink your chart's legend and axis labels
to your liking.
7. Change the Y-axis measurement options if desired
To change the type of measurement shown on the Y-axis, click on the Y-axis percentages in your chart.
This reveals the Format Axis window.
Here, you can decide if you want to display units located on the Axis Options tab. You can change
whether the Y-axis shows percentages to two decimal places or no decimal places.
your chart, click Data, and select Sort, as shown below.
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Because my graph automatically sets the Y axis' maximum percentage to 60%, you might want to
change it manually to 100% to represent data on a universal scale.
To do so, you can select the Maximum option — two elds down under Bounds in the Format Axis
window — and change the value from 0.6 to one.
The resulting graph will look like the one below (In this example, the font size of the Y-axis has been
increased via the Home tab so that you can see the di erence):
8. Reorder your data, if desired.
To sort the data so the respondents' answers appear in reverse order, right-click on your graph and click
Select Data to reveal the same options window you called up in Step 3 above.
This time, arrow up and down to reverse the order of your data on the chart.
If you have more than two lines of data to adjust, you can also rearrange them in ascending or
descending order. To do this, highlight all of your data in the cells above Depending on your preference,
you can choose to sort based on smallest to largest or vice versa.
The resulting graph would look like this, which is tremendously better. Why? Because it shows your
audience the progression of results and becomes visually persuasive.
9. Title your graph.
Now comes the fun and easy part: naming your graph. By now, you might have already gured out how
to do this. Here's a simple clari er.
Right after making your chart, the title that appears will likely be “Chart Title” or something similar,
depending on the version of Excel you‘re using. To change this label, click on "Chart Title" to reveal a
typing cursor.
You can then freely customize your chart’s title.
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When you have a title you like, click Home on the top navigation bar, and use the font formatting
options to give your title the emphasis it deserves. See these options and my nal graph below:
10. Export your graph or chart.
Once your Excel chart or graph is exactly the way you want it, you can save it as an image without
screenshotting it in the spreadsheet.
This method will give you a clean image of your chart that can be inserted into a PowerPoint
presentation, Canva document, or any other visual template.
To save your Excel graph as a photo, right-click on the graph and select Save as Picture.
In the dialogue box, name the photo of your graph, choose where to save it on your computer, and
choose the le type you’d like to save it as. In this example, it’s saved as a JPEG to a desktop folder.
Finally, click Save.
You’ll have a clear photo of your graph or chart that you can add to any visual design.
Ready for one nal step to make this whole process faster? You can now swap your data into various
graph types — like a pie chart or line graph — to quickly and more easily determine what format
best tells the story of your data.
Here’s how you do it:
Step 1. Select the chart.
Look at your Excel chart or graph to nd a blank spot within it. Click on a blank spot. Once the chart is
highlighted all around the border, you’ll know it’s selected.
Step 2. Right-click or go to the Chart Design tab.
Once the chart is selected, the ribbon above will show a Chart Design tab. You can go click on that or
simply right-click your selected chart to save time. Either way, you’ll see various chart options to
choose from.
Step 3. Change the chart type.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in June 2018 and has been updated for
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comprehensivenes s.
When the chart options pop up — either on the ribbon or under your cursor if you rightclicked — you’ll
next click Change Chart Type. A menu will pop up with a variety of chart type options on the left.
To the right will be a visual example of the chart type you click on.
Step 4. Shop for your chart.
The last bit is the most fun! You can click the Recommended Charts tab or the All Charts tab and start
clicking your way down the list of chart types. As you see ones that interest you, click the Okay button.
Your originally selected chart will change types before your eyes. Give it a look and make sure all the
data and labels make sense to you. Still curious?
Select your chart again and repeat the process to see your data on as many types of charts as you’d
like.
No sorcery, as promised. Keep these step-by-step tutorials handy. You’ll be able to create charts and
graphs that quickly, cleanly, and clearly visualize your data for presentation.
Free Excel Graph Templates
Tired of struggling with spreadsheets? These free Microsoft Excel Graph
Generator Templates can help.
Get Your Free Templates
Learn more
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