How To Use Google Sheets Conditional Formatting to Visualize Your Data?

Are you tired of staring at rows of numbers? It’s time to transform your data into vibrant, insightful visuals that stand out!

Thanks to the Google Sheets built-in conditional formatting feature, spreadsheets no longer have to be boring rows of black-and-white numbers.

Conditional formatting can essentially help you better understand key data instantly by automatically changing the appearance of spreadsheet cells based on their content.

It's especially effective for drawing attention to patterns, trends, unusual values, or specific criteria within your data.

From tracking sales to flagging overdue tasks and managing projects or customers, conditional formatting makes your spreadsheet both functional and visually compelling!

Here’s how you can use Google Sheets conditional formatting to easily visualize your data:

Select the range of cells you want to format.

Go to ‘Format > Conditional formatting’.

In the ‘Conditional format rules’ right-hand panel, click the ‘Format cells if…’ dropdown.

Choose the rule based on your criteria that will trigger the formatting.

Specify the value or range for your condition (for example, if you want your cells to turn green if they exceed a certain value).

Under ‘Formatting style’, pick the text color, background color, bold, etc.

Click ‘Done’ to apply the rule.

And it’s that easy! By using the conditional formatting feature, you can completely transform your Google Sheets data into easily readable and actionable data.

Conditional formatting in Google Sheets basically lets you dynamically change the appearance of a cell, such as its text style or background color, based on rules you define.

Each rule essentially follows an ‘if this, then that’ logic, and has three main components:

Range: The cell or group of cells the rule applies to. For example, ‘E:E’ relates to all cells within column E.

Condition: The ‘if’ part of the rule. This sets the criteria that must be met for the formatting to be applied. For example, a condition might be ‘Is equal to.’

Formatting: The ‘then’ part of the rule. This defines how the cell should be styled (for instance, setting the background color to a certain color) if the condition is true.

Conditional formatting is particularly useful for visually analyzing financial data, sales figures, or any other situation where you must quickly identify key data.

Conditional formatting in Google Sheets is an innovative and powerful tool that helps you automatically visualize the appearance of cells based on the data they contain.

To use conditional formatting in Google Sheets, you must first select the data range to which you want to apply conditional formatting.

Once you've done this, the next step is to define your condition (the ‘if this, then that’ rule that triggers the formatting).

You must set this up in the ‘Format cells if’ section of the conditional formatting sidebar.

Google Sheets offers a variety of conditions to choose from, and the one you select essentially determines how and when your formatting is applied.

The most common triggers are:

Is empty/is not empty: Based on whether or not there's data in the specified range.

Text-based triggers (Text contains, Text does not contain, Text starts with, Text ends with, Text is exactly). 

Number values (Greater than, Greater than or equal to, Less than, Less than or equal to, Is equal to, Is not equal to, Is between, Is not between).

For text-based and number values, you must type the word or specific number value you want to trigger within the ‘Value or formula field’. 

Google Sheets will then automatically format all cells containing the word or number you specify.

If you want to take conditional formatting a step further, you can highlight entire rows based on specific criteria by using a custom formula.

Let’s say you want to identify all rows related to your Australia-related projects quickly:

Select your entire data range.

Click ‘Format > Conditional formatting’.

Under ‘Format cells if’, choose ‘Custom formula is’.

In the Value or formula field, type: =$C3="Australia (change ‘C’ to whatever column your data is in).

Choose your formatting style (e.g., background color), then click ‘Done’.

Now, any row where column C contains ‘Australia’ will be highlighted in the color you choose across all selected columns.

And this example seriously only scratches the surface of what's possible with custom formulas! 

Check out this list of Google Sheets functions to find out everything you can do.

The built-in Google Sheets color scale tool is a formatting style that helps you visualize specific values or data on a spectrum.

This would be useful for teams wanting to visualize percentages for things like project completions, sales performance across regions, or customer satisfaction survey scores.

To apply a color scale to your Google Sheets data:

Select the entire column where you want to use the color scale.

Click ‘Format > Conditional formatting’.

Select ‘Color scale’ in the ‘Conditional format rules’ panel.

By default, the scale will apply a gradient, typically shading lower values in a darker color (e.g, dark green) and higher values in a lighter version (e.g, light green).

Before applying conditional formatting based on dates, it’s essential to ensure all your spreadsheet dates follow a consistent date format.

To set a uniform date format:

Select the cells that contain dates.

Click ‘Format > Number’.

And now that you have your dates standardized, you’re ready to apply conditional formatting!

Available date-based rules within Google Sheets include ‘Date is’, ‘Date is before’, and ‘Date is after’.

For example, if you want to highlight all your projects due before October 1, 2025:

Select the entire column that contains your project deadlines.

Click ‘Format > Conditional formatting’.

Under ‘Format cells if’, choose ‘Date is before > Exact date’

Any project due before October 1, 2025, will then be highlighted automatically!

Adding multiple conditional formatting rules to the same range is also simple! To do this:

Highlight your desired range.

Click ‘Format > Conditional formatting’.

Select ‘Add another rule’ to set up additional conditions (same as shown above).

How does it work? Well, Google Sheets processes rules in the order they were created.

This means that once a cell meets the condition of a rule, the corresponding formatting is applied, and any following rules are ignored for that cell. It’s that easy! 

Why should you visualize your Google Sheets data? Well, raw numbers (especially in large datasets) can be hard to interpret, and quite honestly, pretty overwhelming.

Here are some of the key reasons why you should consider visualizing your Google Sheets business data with conditional formatting:

Clarity: Visuals make complex data more digestible, easily revealing trends and patterns that would take pages of raw data to explain.

Engagement: Visuals are much more appealing than endless rows of numbers, drawing attention and making your message more impactful.

Better decisions: When data is presented clearly, it’s easier to analyze and make informed decisions, whether you're reviewing data yourself or sharing it with others.

By creating visuals using Google Sheets tools like conditional formatting, you can essentially turn those numbers into clear insights that are then easier to understand and act on!

Did you know that using conditional formatting isn’t the only way you can visualize your data within Google Sheets?

From simple charts to full-scale dashboards, there are several built-in tools to help you effectively visualize your data, such as:

Basic charts: Turn your data into colorful bar charts, line graphs, pie charts, and more to illustrate trends, comparisons, and proportions in just a few clicks.

Advanced charts: Enhance your visualizations with more advanced options, such as combo charts (different chart types) to compare multiple data series in one visual, and trendlines to visualize the overall direction of your data.

Sparklines: These are mini charts that fit within a single cell, perfect for giving a snapshot of trends (without taking up much space).

Dashboards: By combining charts, sparklines, tables, and filters, you can build an interface that brings multiple data visualizations together into one unified view.

And once you’ve successfully visualized your Google Sheets data, there are multiple ways you can easily automate these visualizations, such as:

Google Apps Script: With basic scripting knowledge, you can automate tasks like updating charts, refreshing data, or generating reports.

Add-ons: Tools like Google Analytics can pull live data directly into your spreadsheet, ensuring your charts and dashboards are updated in real-time.

From small datasets to complex reports, these visual tools can help you present your business data clearly, efficiently, and with impact!

As you can see, conditional formatting is an easy, effective way to visualize your important business data.

But what if you don’t want to set up these formatting options yourself?

Is there a way you can effectively manage your projects, customers, sales, emails, finances, and other business data without having to do any of the heavy lifting?

Enter…..my Sheetify CRM all-in-one business toolkits (Sheetify CRM, Sheetify Projects, Sheetify Bookkeeping).

Each Sheetify business toolkit was designed with small businesses in mind, providing you with the tools you need to effectively manage your entire small business in Google Sheets.

If you're looking for a tool that can easily manage your data with built-in conditional formatting, charts, automations, dashboards, and more, Sheetify is the ultimate solution!

Find out more about my Sheetify business toolkits here.