Building charts and graphs is i of the best ways to visualize information in a clear, piece of cake-to-sympathize way. (Check out this guide for making meliorate charts to acquire more.) However, it'due south no surprise that some people get a footling intimidated past the prospect of poking effectually in Microsoft Excel. (I absolutely adore Excel, but I piece of work in Marketing Operations, and so it'south pretty much a requirement that I like the tool).

Download 10 Excel Templates for Marketers [Free Kit]

I thought I'd share a helpful video tutorial as well as some step-by-stride instructions for anyone out there who cringes at the thought of organizing a spreadsheet total of data into a nautical chart that actually, yous know, means something.

Here are the uncomplicated steps you lot need to build a chart or graph in Excel.

Keep in mind there are many dissimilar versions of Excel, and so what y'all see in the video above might not e'er match upwardly exactly with what you'll see in your version. In the video, I used Excel 2022 version sixteen.49 for Max Os X.

To get the most updated instructions, I encourage y'all to follow the written instructions beneath (or download them every bit PDFs). Most of the buttons and functions yous'll see and read are very similar beyond all versions of Excel.

Download Demo Data | Download Instructions (Mac) | Download Instructions (PC)


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.

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 visitor have a formal sales-marketing agreement?" For example, Column C, Row 2 illustrates that 49% of people who have an SLA (service level agreement) also say that inbound marketing demonstrated ROI.

How to enter data into an excel spreadsheet

2. Cull from the graph and chart options.

In Excel, your options for charts and graphs include column (or bar) graphs, line graphs, pie graphs, scatter plots, and more than. Encounter how Excel identifies each one in the pinnacle navigation bar, equally depicted below:

The types of graphs and charts in excel

To find the nautical chart and graph options, select Insert.

(For help figuring out which type of chart/graph is best for visualizing your data, check out our free ebook, How to Use Data Visualization to Win Over Your Audience.)

3. Highlight your data and insert your desired graph into the spreadsheet.

In this example, I'll use a bar graph to visually nowadays the data. To make a bar graph, highlight the information and include the titles of the X and Y-axis. Then, get to the Insert tab, and in the charts section, click the column icon. Choose the graph you wish from the dropdown window that appears.

How to highlight your data and insert your desired graph into the spreadsheet

In this case, I picked the first two-dimensional column option — simply because I prefer the flat bar graphic over the iii-D await. See the resulting bar graph below.

A 2-dimensional chart of data in an excel spreadsheet

4. Switch the data on each axis, if necessary.

If you desire 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 volition rearrange which axes carry which pieces of data in the list shown below. When you lot're finished, click OK at the bottom.

how to switch chart and graph data on an x or y-axis in excel

The resulting graph would wait like this:

A chart with swapped data on the x and y-axis

5. Adjust your data'south layout and colors.

To change the layout of the labeling 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, centrality titles, and legend. In my example shown beneath, I clicked on the selection that displayed softer bar colors and legends below the chart.

To further format the fable, click on it to reveal the Format Legend Entry sidebar, as shown below. Here, y'all can change the fill colour of the fable, which will in turn change the colour of the columns themselves. To format other parts of your chart, click on them individually to reveal a corresponding Format window.

How to use the format legend entry tool to format the legend of an excel chart or graph

6. Modify the size of your chart'south legend and axis labels.

When y'all commencement brand a graph in Excel, the size of your axis and legend labels might be a bit small, depending on the blazon of graph or nautical chart you choose (bar, pie, line, etc.) Once you've created your chart, y'all'll want to beefiness up those labels and 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 meridian navigation bar of Excel. Then, use the font blazon and size dropdown fields to expand or compress your chart'due south legend and axis labels to your liking.

How to change the size of a chart or graph's legend and axis labels in an excel spreadsheet

7. Change the Y-axis measurement options, if desired.

To change the blazon of measurement shown on the Y axis, click on the Y-centrality percentages in your chart to reveal the Format Axis window. Hither, yous can make up one's mind if you want to display units located on the Axis Options tab, or if you want to change whether the Y-axis shows percentages to 2 decimal places or to 0 decimal places.

How to change the Y-axis measurements in an excel spreadsheet

Considering my graph automatically sets the Y axis's maximum pct to sixty%, I might want to alter information technology manually to 100% to represent my data on a more than universal scale. To practice so, I can select the Maximum option — 2 fields down nether Premises in the Format Axis window — and change the value from 0.6 to 1.

The resulting graph would exist changed to look like the one below (I increased the font size of the Y-axis via the Home tab, so you lot can see the difference):

How to change the Y-axis measurements in an excel spreadsheet in the minor field

8. Reorder your data, if desired.

To sort the information so the respondents' answers appear in opposite club, right-click on your graph and click Select Data to reveal the same options window you lot called upwardly in Pace 3 in a higher place. This time, click the up and down arrows, every bit shown below, to opposite the gild of your data on the chart.

How to reorder data for a chart or graph in an excel spreadsheet

If yous have more than two lines of data to arrange, you lot can also rearrange them in ascending or descending club. To exercise this, highlight all of your data in the cells in a higher place your nautical chart, click Information and select Sort, equally shown below. You can cull to sort based on smallest to largest or largest to smallest, depending on your preference.

How to reorder data from smallest to largest for a chart or graph in an excel spreadsheet

The resulting graph would await like this:

The final result of reordering data from smallest to largest for a chart or graph in an excel spreadsheet

9. Championship your graph.

Now comes the fun and easy role: naming your graph. By now, you might have already figured out how to do this. Hither'south a simple clarifier.

Right later on making your chart, the championship that appears will likely be "Nautical 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. Y'all tin then freely customize your chart's championship.

When you have a title you similar, click Home on the summit navigation bar, and employ the font formatting options to give your title the emphasis information technology deserves. See these options and my concluding graph beneath:

How to title a graph or chart in an excel spreadsheet

10. Export your graph or chart.

One time your chart or graph is exactly the manner yous want it, y'all tin save information technology equally an image without screenshotting it in the spreadsheet. This method will give you lot a clean image of your chart that can exist inserted into a PowerPoint presentation, Canva document, or whatever other visual template.

To save your excel graph as a photo, right-click on the graph and select Save as Moving picture….

How to export a graph or chart from an excel spreadsheet

In the dialogue box, proper noun the photo of your graph, cull where to save information technology to on your computer, and choose the file type you'd like to save it every bit. In this case, I'm saving it as a JPEG to my desktop folder. Finally, click Save. How to name a graph or chart in excel using the dialogue box

You'll have a clear photograph of your graph or nautical chart that you lot can add to whatever visual design.

The final result of a graph or chart in excel that has been exported as a PNG

Visualize Data Like A Pro

That was pretty easy, right? With this step-past-step tutorial, you'll be able to quickly create charts and graphs that visualize the most complicated data. Endeavor using this same tutorial with different graph types like a pie chart or line graph to see what format tells the story of your data best. You tin can even practice customizing more data-heavy graphs and charts using the free excel templates for marketers below.

Editor'southward note: This mail was originally published in June 2022 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

excel marketing templates

excel templates

Originally published Jul 14, 2022 1:xv:00 PM, updated February 14 2022