Think of a set of data visualizations like the dashboard in your car. When you look at them, it should be easy-to-absorb information at a glance—your speed, fuel amount, and so on. Likewise, data visualization techniques help your teammates and managers grasp the significance of the metrics in seconds. Speed isn’t the only advantage of data visualizations. A report found that people were, on average, 89% better at problem-solving when they looked at data represented visually.

Want to learn more about data? There are over 200,000 results when you search for “data books” on Amazon. We’ve separated the wheat from the chaff, and reviewed some of our favorite books that will help improve your data skills.

Today we’re delighted to introduce a new Free plan for anyone who wants to use Geckoboard to make a shareable dashboard using our most popular data source: spreadsheets. It’s easy to understand why spreadsheets are so popular. They’re everywhere, and the most commonly used tool for data analysis, storage and visualization. Unfortunately, they do a poor job of communicating data. Sometimes they can be difficult for others to interpret.

Slack has been highly popular in professional circles since it was founded in 2009, so much so that the communication app has become a verb. In the past few years it’s become ubiquitous, especially in recent times with the various lockdowns and teams going remote. If Slack’s where important conversations happen, and where your team now hangs out, it also makes sense that it’s where you share your data.

A guest post from Alon Eisenberg at Trusted Shops. Building trust for your website is essential to building a loyal customer base. Why? Simply put, trust is the inspiration people need to enter their credit card information on your website. Unless you’re Amazon or another really famous brand, there will be some level of hesitation from shoppers when they visit your shop for the first time.

Whether your ecommerce company is just trying to keep things ticking along, or one of the lucky ones with increased demand, it can be hard to stay focused on your customers. In both cases, you’re much busier with day-to-day stuff, and handling more inquiries. You’re also trying to seize opportunities that will boost your business. Amidst all this, you don’t want to lose sight of what your customers actually need.

Ecommerce teams have to be adaptable at the best of times, but COVID-19 has introduced a whole new set of challenges. You’re probably getting more questions from your customers – and they're expecting faster responses. You might have more orders, but only a few team members on hand to fulfil them. You may also be rethinking your website's messaging so it's timely yet empathetic.

Dashboard design principles are all very well, but what do they look like in practice? This blog will walk you through nine golden rules, with a real-life dashboard example for each. By following these simple steps you can create a dashboard that's clear and effective. And you don't need to be a designer to make yours look great. Enjoy building!

You may have noticed that things are looking a little different around here, as we’ve made the biggest changes to our brand and product since we launched over a decade ago. Our old brand: There were several motivations behind the rebrand. Firstly, our visual identity was inconsistent. We’d last rebranded back in 2014, and since then our look and feel had moved on, but in an organic and un-codified way.

As your company grows, and departments become more specialized, teams can lose sight of overall performance. A dashboard is a great way to present the “pulse” of your business, and keep your team in the loop. Plus, it saves you from creating reports, which are often overlooked or out of date by the time people read them. But what aspects of company performance should you and your team be tracking?