As a software developer who owns a technology consulting company, I’ve seen my fair share of data visualization tools. Each tool has its own strengths and weaknesses, so choosing the right one can be a challenge. In this blog post, I’ll share my experience with some of the most popular data visualization products on the market: HighCharts, D3.js, Tablau, and everviz.
First up is HighCharts. This JavaScript charting library is great for creating interactive and responsive charts and graphs. It’s easy to use and comes with a wide range of pre-built chart types, making it a popular choice for developers who want to create visually appealing charts quickly. There’s a great community online, so if you run into a blocker there is a good chance you can find help online.
Next, let’s talk about D3.js. This open-source JavaScript library is highly customizable and allows for the creation of complex and dynamic visualizations. It’s great for creating custom data visualizations that don’t fit into pre-built templates. However, its steep learning curve and extensive coding requirements can be a challenge for some developers.
Tablau is another popular data visualization tool that’s known for its ease of use and pre-built templates. It’s great for creating dashboards and visualizations quickly, and it comes with a wide range of built-in data connectors that make it easy to import data from various sources. However, it’s not as customizable as some of the other tools on this list.
Finally, there’s everviz. This cloud-based data visualization platform that’s HighCharts built into a graphing wizard. It’s great for creating interactive and visually appealing visualizations quickly and easily. If you have the dataset available, all you need to do is copy, paste and do some configuration. Bam, you have yourself a chart. It’s designed to be user-friendly, with a drag-and-drop interface that requires no coding skills at all. Knowledge of HighCharts properties help with everviz to allow maximum customizations.
In conclusion, the choice of data visualization tool depends on your specific needs and the complexity of the data you’re working with. HighCharts, D3.js, Tablau, and everviz are just a few of the many data visualization tools on the market, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. As consultants, it’s important to choose the right tool for the job, taking into account factors such as ease of use, customization options, and the specific data visualization needs of your project.
We found that we’re able to go with HighCharts 90% of the time to get the job done. It’s flexible, customizable and provides most of the charting types that we need. It’s been a crucial part of our data visualization strategy for as long as we have been making graphs and charts.