Rich data points are incredibly powerful when appropriately used in conjunction with the right web design. However, website visitors aren’t going to sort through boring spreadsheets or bulky paragraphs to find the information they need. Instead, they prefer to see clean, organized charts and graphs. Well, thankfully you can satisfy this demand for data by installing and using some of the following WordPress plugins.
The Value of Charts and Graphs
Everyone understands charts and graphs. We’re raised with these visual displays from a very early age. If you think all the way back to preschool, kindergarten, or elementary school, you can probably remember pie charts and bar graphs in your math text books. Charts and graphs clearly convey information that’s otherwise difficult to dissect. This holds true in the business-consumer relationship, too.
A real estate company can entice people to lease property by presenting demographic information with concise bar charts. Software companies can visually compare product offerings with convenient grids. There are tons of examples of how companies can use charts and graphs – the options are virtually limitless.
5 WordPress Plugins Worth Trying
The only question that remains is how can you utilize charts and graphs on your WordPress site? The obvious solution is to get some help. Here are a handful of plugins worth trying:
The name may be boring, but the plugin is packed with cool features. It allows you to create six different HTML5 based charts: line graphs, bar graphs, pie charts, radar charts, polar areas, and doughnut graphs. Furthermore, each of these charts are fully customizable and many come with animated options. Perhaps the best part about WordPress charts is that it’s lightweight. It hardly impacts page-loading times and greatly enhances the overall visual display of your site.
2. ChartBoot
What ChartBoot may lack in stunning visuals it certainly makes up for in diversity. There are an incredible 18 different chart types available. In addition to the standard ones, you get options like combo charts, gauge charts, timelines, tree maps, motion charts, and 3D pie charts. You can even find a helpful video on YouTube to learn more about the features of the plugin.
3. Visualizer
With support for nine different HTML5 based chart types, Visualizer is one of the more flexible solutions. It also comes with great support documentation that explains how to create, edit, and even clone various chart types. You can also rest assured people are satisfied with the plugin. Visualizer has more than 9,000 active installs and has an average star rating of 4.6/5.0.
4. Google Chart WordPress Plugin
If you’re willing to pay for your plugin, Google Chart WordPress Plugin is worth the $8. While it only has eight different chart styles, it’s by-far one of the easiest plugins to use. It allows you to extract data directly from a Google spreadsheet and is conducive to simple copying and pasting, as well as dragging and dropping. It’s also fully responsive, meaning it works on any device – regardless of size.
From appearance, Iced Visualization Charts is definitely the most boring plugin on the list. However, what it lacks in advanced features it makes up for in simplicity. It’s free, easy to use, lightweight, and flexible. It’s perfect for users who aren’t extremely intuitive when it comes to website building.
Invest in Strong Visuals
By investing in strong visuals, you can clearly convey information to your website visitors and avoid boring them with static content and dull text. Interactive visual content is the key to engaging with and converting modern internet users and your website should take graphs and charts seriously. Give these WordPress plugins a try and find one that works well for you.