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Custom dashboard widgets
Cory Brown avatar
Written by Cory Brown
Updated over a week ago

Widgets are your data storytellers.

They transform customer feedback into visually engaging charts and graphs, offering actionable insights at a glance.

Customization is key here; you can resize and reorder widgets to present data precisely how you see fit. Plus, most widgets offer the convenience of downloading data as a CSV file or the chart as a PDF image for further analysis or reporting.


Widget types

Widgets are the heart of your dashboard, each uniquely designed to showcase data in a way that best suits your analysis needs:

  • Experimentation is encouraged - We invite you to explore the different widget types with your account's data. Discover the unique insights each one can provide.

  • Interactivity - Dive deeper into your data with interactive charts and numbers. Clicking on a data point in most widgets reveals a drilldown modal, showing detailed responses that contribute to that specific metric.

To help you navigate the array of widgets, here's a rundown of when and why to use each type:

90-day moving average

  • Purpose - Ideal for tracking satisfaction scores over time.

  • Insight - Offers a smoothed trend line, averaging data over 90 days to highlight overall satisfaction trends without daily volatility.

  • Configuration Options - Mix and match datasets for comprehensive trend analysis.

Satisfaction score

  • Purpose - Instantly showcases the current score for key metrics like CSAT, NPS, CES, or a 5-Star rating.

  • Insight - Includes a percentage change from the previous period, providing a quick glance at how scores are evolving.

Answers summary

  • Purpose - Summarizes answer counts by sentiment, making it simple to gauge overall customer feeling.

  • Insight - Shows changes in sentiment distribution over selected periods, highlighting shifts in customer satisfaction or concerns.

Ratings over time

  • Purpose - Visualizes sentiment trends, making it easy to spot changes in customer feedback volume or quality.

  • Insight - Group data by time for a clear view of feedback spikes or trends, especially useful for identifying periods of increased negative feedback.

Responses over time

  • Purpose - Tracks the volume of responses received over time.

  • Insight - Similar to Ratings over time but focuses on the total response count, offering a broader view of engagement levels.

Sentiment distribution

  • Purpose - Offers a visual snapshot of feedback sentiment distribution.

  • Insight - The donut chart format easily distinguishes between positive, neutral, and negative feedback proportions.

Answer distribution

  • Purpose - Breaks down the specific choices selected in survey questions.

  • Insight - Useful for detailed analysis of choice-based questions, highlighting the exact distribution of responses.

Leaderboard

  • Purpose - Ranks data points (like team members, customers, or companies) based on their performance metrics.

  • Insight - Sortable columns allow for dynamic ranking based on various criteria, providing a competitive insight into performance.

Question completion

  • Purpose - Visualizes the completion rate of survey questions.

  • Insight - Identifies potential drop-off points or questions causing friction, aiding in survey optimization.

Question completion summary

  • Purpose - Offers an extended view of question completion rates, including views, skips, and drop-offs.

  • Insight - Delivers a granular look at survey engagement, guiding improvements for higher completion rates.


Creating widgets

To create a widget, go to the custom dashboard, then click the Add widget button in the top right corner. Choose your desired widget type, and then customize the settings.

Here's a breakdown of each field to guide you through the customization process without leaving any room for confusion:

Name

  • Purpose - Assigns a label to your widget, visible at the top.

  • Tip - Use clear, descriptive titles. Consider including the metric type (e.g., "Monthly CSAT Score") and the data range or specific teams it covers to ensure immediate understanding at a glance.

Question type

  • Purpose - Filters the questions to those that match the selected response scale, ensuring data consistency.

  • Requirement - You must select a question type before choosing specific questions. This step is crucial for maintaining comparability and accuracy in your widget's data and calculations.

Question

  • Purpose - The backbone of your widget, determining which data it will display.

  • Tip - After selecting a question type, choose questions that align with your dashboard's goal. For multiple datasets, ensure they serve the narrative you're aiming to convey with your dashboard.

Multiple question and survey datasets

  • Purpose - Allows you to combine data from multiple questions or surveys into one widget.

  • Availability - Exclusive to users on the Pro plan or higher.

  • Tip - Leverage this feature to create composite views of related data points. For instance, comparing CSAT scores across different teams or time periods in a single widget enhances comparative analysis.

Survey

  • Purpose - Specifies the survey(s) from which to draw data for the widget.

  • Tip - Use this for widgets that require a holistic view of survey responses rather than individual question analysis. This is particularly useful for widgets aimed at understanding overall survey engagement and completion.

Calculation

  • Purpose - Determines the mathematical operation applied to the data.

  • Options - Choose from CSAT (% Positive / Total ratings), NPS (% Positive - % Negative), or Mean (Sum of all ratings / Total ratings).

  • Tip - Simplesat automatically suggests the most relevant calculation based on your question type. However, consider the context of your data when deciding whether to adjust this setting.

Dataset combination

  • Purpose - Decides how multiple datasets are displayed within the widget, particularly relevant for the 90-day moving average chart.

  • Tip - Use separate lines to compare trends over time between different data sets or combine them to view overall trends.

Dimension

  • Purpose - Sets the primary category for Leaderboard widgets, determining the basis for comparison.

  • Options - Team members, Customers, or Companies.

  • Tip - Choose a dimension that aligns with the widget's objective. For instance, to evaluate customer service performance, Team members would be the appropriate dimension.

Feedback type

  • Purpose - Defines how data is categorized within Leaderboard widgets.

  • Tip - Use sentiment grouping for a high-level overview of performance or individual ratings for detailed analysis.

Date range

  • Purpose - Sets the time period for the data displayed in the widget.

  • Tip - Align the date range with the specific analysis goals of your widget. Using different date ranges across widgets can offer insights into temporal trends or allow for period comparisons within the same dashboard.

Filters

  • Purpose - Applies specific criteria to narrow down the data displayed in the widget.

  • Tip - Utilize filters to segment your data further, such as focusing on specific customer segments or geographic regions. This can be especially useful for pinpointing the drivers behind trends or variations in your data.


Managing widgets in the dashboard

Here's how you can seamlessly adjust your dashboard layout:

Reordering widgets

  • How - Simply click and drag any widget to move it to a new location on your dashboard.

  • Why - Adjust the order of widgets to prioritize the most important data at the top or to group related information together for easier comparison.

  • Impact - Changes are instantly reflected and saved, ensuring that your preferred layout is preserved.

Resizing widgets

  • How - Hover over a widget to reveal resizing controls in the top right corner. Select the desired width option to adjust the widget's size on the dashboard.

  • Why - Resizing allows you to optimize the dashboard space, making sure that each widget has enough room to display its data clearly. Larger widgets can be used for more complex data visualizations, while smaller widgets are perfect for concise metrics.

  • Options - Width adjustments include options for 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, and full width, providing flexibility in how you display each widget.

Editing and deleting widgets

  • How - Each widget has a menu accessible via the three vertical dots icon. From this menu, you can choose to edit the widget's settings or delete it from your dashboard.

  • Why - This functionality allows you to fine-tune the information displayed or remove widgets that are no longer relevant to your dashboard's objective.

  • Considerations - Before deleting a widget, ensure that its data won't be needed for future analysis. Deleted widgets cannot be recovered, but you can always create a new one if necessary.

Remember, the dashboard dynamically saves your layout changes, instantly reflecting them for all viewers. This means that as soon as you make a change, everyone with access to the dashboard will see the updated layout. Therefore, it's wise to consider how these adjustments affect the dashboard's overall coherence and usability for all users.

So, whether you're refining your dashboard for a presentation or simply ensuring that it remains an effective tool for daily insights, these widget management features empower you to customize your view to exactly what you and your team need.

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