Welcome to Geckoboard!
In this guide, we'll show you everything you need to know to get up and running with your dashboards.
Let’s get started.
1. Connecting data sources
Geckoboard has been built specifically to help surface real-time data from different sources. There are various ways to pull data into Geckoboard:
Pre-built integrations
Geckoboard has a wide range of integrations with popular services and databases. With just a few clicks, you can select a service, authenticate, and add common metrics seamlessly.
Spreadsheets
Connect spreadsheets from Google Sheets or Excel files hosted on platforms like Sharepoint and OneDrive. You can visualise individual spreadsheet cells and ranges directly in your dashboard that stay in sync when you update your source spreadsheet.
Need advice on how to get your spreadsheet data into Geckoboard? Contact our support team. We can even build a dashboard with your Google Sheets for you.
Learn how to connect your spreadsheet to Geckoboard ➜
Custom data sources
Where we don't have an integration, automation tools like Zapier can bridge the gap, and our Datasets API enables developers to format and send custom datasets directly to Geckoboard.
Learn how to connect your SQL database to Geckoboard ➜
Explore our Datasets API docs ➜
Follow our Zapier setup guide ➜
2. Visualizing your data
With one or more data sources connected, you'll then need to pick a metric you care about, and turn it into a live visualization called a widget. These are the building blocks of your dashboard.
Types of widgets
In Geckoboard, you can present metrics in a few different ways. Depending on the metric, you can easily switch between Number, Gauge, Line, Column, Bar, Leaderboard and Table visualisations.
Your dashboard can also contain widgets that aren't powered by a particular data source, in the form of text, images, QR codes and clocks.
Widget enhancements
Some widget types can be enriched with additional information you or your team might want to track, including goals and targets, status indicators and comparison metrics.
Real-time updates
When your data updates behind the scenes, your widget will stay in sync, updating within a few minutes, sometimes even faster depending on your data source.
Multiple data sources
A single dashboard can contain widgets powered by different data sources. Many data sources also support multiple connections.
3. Designing your dashboards
Geckoboard makes it easy to customize the layout of your dashboards so you can keep them organised, emphasise specific metrics, and make them easier to understand in a glance.
Moving widgets
Easily rearrange widgets by clicking, dragging, and dropping them into desired positions.
Grouping widgets
You can group similar metrics together so that they're easier to read. Simply drag one widget onto another to create a group, and easily remove widgets from groups as needed.
You can then use the sliders to change the size of each widget within a group to provide a clear visual hierarchy.
4. Ways to view and share dashboards
There are a few ways you can share your dashboards with your colleagues and make them easier for you to access throughout the day.
Sharing links
Create a direct link to your dashboard, allowing others to view your dashboard without needing Geckoboard accounts. These links can be copied and pasted into a chat, bookmarked, embedded or even shared publicly.
Send to TV
If you want to make your metrics truly unmissable or just live in the office, you can display your Geckoboard dashboard on a large screen or TV using a simple PC on a stick. You can even loop through several dashboards on one screen.
Schedule regular screenshots
If you need to send regular update son your KPIs, there's no better way than scheduling screenshots of your dashboards that can be sent via email or posted to a Slack channel on days and times you choose.
Invite your team
You can invite other people to your account either to view or make dashboards themselves. Having their own account also means they can log in to Geckoboard through a browser on their mobile device and access the dashboards from there.
Investigate changes in your data (beta)
Something on your dashboard caught your eye? Explore different dimensions to your data without hopping into another tool, with Interactive View. Available via the 🔍 icon on Zendesk Support, Intercom, Facebook Ads, Google Analytics 4, Google Search Console, Matomo, Shopify and Stripe widgets.
Explore more resources
In this guide, we’ve covered the basic things you need to know as you’re getting started, but there are many other resources available to help, too.
Browse over 70 dashboard examples based on real business dashboards. Based on dashboards used by real teams in Marketing, Sales, Finance, Support, Operations and more.
The Geckoboard Academy will take you through key steps you'll need to build the best dashboard for your team.
Alongside our Help Center, our friendly support team is here to help with anything may need along the way. Hit the 'Help' button in the top right of your account and share any questions or feedback you have.
Happy dashboarding!