Widget Types: When to Use Each One

How to Choose the Right Widget

Picking the right widget type is one of the most important decisions when building a dashboard. The wrong chart can hide a story in your data, while the right one makes the insight obvious at a glance.

This guide covers the widget types available in clariBI, organized by purpose:

1. Comparison -- comparing values across categories
2. Trend -- showing change over time
3. Composition -- showing parts of a whole
4. Relationship -- showing connections between variables
5. Single Value -- highlighting one key number
6. Tabular -- displaying raw or aggregated data

Comparison Widgets

1. Bar Chart

Best for: Comparing discrete categories side by side.

Required fields: Category (X-axis), Value (Y-axis)

Optional fields: Series (for grouped or stacked bars)

When to use it: When you have 3 to 15 categories and want to compare their values. Revenue by product line, support tickets by status, or headcount by department.

When to avoid it: When you have more than 20 categories (the bars become too thin to read) or when you want to show change over time (use a line chart instead).

Configuration tips: - Sort bars by value (descending) for easier comparison - Use horizontal bars when category labels are long - Add data labels for exact values when precision matters

Trend Widgets

2. Line Chart

Best for: Showing change over time with continuous data.

Required fields: Date/Time (X-axis), Value (Y-axis)

Optional fields: Series (for multiple lines)

When to use it: Tracking metrics over time: daily revenue, weekly active users, monthly churn rate. The line emphasizes the direction and rate of change.

When to avoid it: When you have fewer than 3 time points (use a bar chart) or when the data is not ordered by time.

Configuration tips: - Use smooth curves for high-level trends, straight lines for precise data points - Add a trend line (linear or moving average) for noisy data - Limit to 5 lines maximum -- beyond that, filter by series

3. Area Chart

Best for: Showing volume over time, especially when you want to emphasize magnitude.

Required fields: Date/Time (X-axis), Value (Y-axis)

Optional fields: Series (for stacked areas)

When to use it: When the filled area helps convey volume or accumulation. Website traffic over time, cumulative sales, or inventory levels.

Configuration tips: - Use transparency (50-70% opacity) when stacking multiple areas - A single area works well; stacked areas get hard to read beyond 4 series

Composition Widgets

4. Pie Chart

Best for: Showing parts of a whole when you have 2 to 6 categories.

Required fields: Category, Value

When to use it: Market share, budget allocation, traffic source distribution. Works well when one or two slices dominate and you want to show proportions.

When to avoid it: When you have more than 6-7 categories (the slices become hard to distinguish). Use a bar chart instead.

Configuration tips: - Always include data labels with percentages - Order slices from largest to smallest (clockwise from 12 o'clock) - Use "Other" for small slices below 5%

5. Donut Chart

Best for: Same as pie chart, but with a metric displayed in the center.

Required fields: Category, Value

When to use it: When you want to show composition and a total or key figure simultaneously. The hollow center can display "Total: $1.2M" while the ring shows the breakdown.

Relationship Widgets

6. Scatter Plot

Best for: Showing the relationship between two numeric variables.

Required fields: X-axis (numeric), Y-axis (numeric)

Optional fields: Color (category)

When to use it: Correlation analysis: advertising spend vs. revenue, employee experience vs. performance rating, support response time vs. satisfaction score.

Configuration tips: - Add a trend line to make correlations visible

Single Value Widgets

7. Metric / KPI Card

Best for: Highlighting one key number prominently.

Required fields: Value field, Aggregation (sum, avg, count, etc.)

Optional fields: Comparison period, target value

When to use it: The most important numbers on your dashboard: total revenue, active users, conversion rate, NPS score.

Configuration tips: - Add a comparison period to show change (e.g., "+12% vs. last month") - Use conditional formatting to turn the card red when below target - Keep 3-5 metric cards in a row across the top of your dashboard

Tabular Widgets

8. Data Table

Best for: Displaying detailed, row-level data.

Required fields: Any columns from your data source

When to use it: When users need to see exact values, scan individual records, or export data. Transaction logs, user lists, inventory tables.

Configuration tips: - Enable sorting on all columns - Enable search for tables with many rows - Use pagination (25-50 rows per page) - Apply conditional formatting to highlight outliers (e.g., red for overdue items)

Choosing by Question Type

If you are not sure which widget to pick, start with the question you are trying to answer:

Choosing by Data Volume

The number of data points also affects which widget works best:

Combining Multiple Widgets

The most effective dashboards use a combination of widget types working together:

The Metrics + Detail Pattern

Place 3-4 metric cards across the top row showing headline numbers (revenue, users, conversion rate, NPS). Below them, add a line chart or bar chart that provides the trend or breakdown behind those numbers. Below that, add a data table for detail.

The Comparison Pattern

Use a bar chart as the primary widget, with metric cards showing the totals for each group. Add a data table below for users who want exact numbers.

The Overview + Focus Pattern

Start with a pie chart showing the high-level composition. Pair it with a bar chart that focuses on the top 5-10 items. Add a line chart showing how the composition has changed over time.

Related Articles

• Dashboard Builder: Widgets, Layout, and Configuration
• Creating a Dashboard Step by Step
• How AI Chooses Charts
• See full documentation