Learning How to Make Infographics Online

CopyPress

May 23, 2018 (Updated: May 4, 2023)

An Apple laptop and two Apple monitors with different design versions while making an infographic online.

In this article…

Free Tools to Make Infographics Online
Making Infographics With Canva
Making Infographics With Piktochart
Making Infographics With Venngage
Making Infographics With Visme
Tips and Inspiration
Need Additional Help?

Just when you thought you had to install expensive software to make your own infographics, think again. With the resources available these days, you can make infographics online in a matter of minutes using web-based software or mobile apps.

How to Make Infographics Online

Image via Flickr by DashBurst

To make an infographic online, you first need to choose a topic. Do you want to highlight your business’s eco-friendly practices or the ways you give back to your community? Do you want to start a conversation about an important social issue, such as underpaid teachers and underfunded schools, or trace the history of a social movement like #MeToo? Your infographic needs to have one cohesive theme that supports your goals and offers something valuable to your audience.

Once you have your topic, you need to gather relevant data. That could be a set of trivia-like facts, a list of the steps involved in your manufacturing process, or statistics related to climate change. Make sure any information you include is on-topic and serves a purpose.

Next, decide which online infographic maker you will use to create your infographic. For your first project, you may want to start with a template, which you can customize as needed.

Once you’re finished, you can publish the infographic on your website, share it on social media, send it to your email subscribers, or download a copy that can be printed or incorporated into marketing materials. Not all infographic makers have the same options when it comes time to export your infographic, so be sure to double-check the service’s capabilities before you dive into the creation process.

If you don’t have the time or desire to make your own infographics, you can also find content creators online who can create professional infographics for you. These services can help with every step of the process, from ideation to publication.

Free Tools to Make Infographics Online

Below are some of the most popular infographic makers that you can use for free:

Animaker — Animaker.com helps users create animated videos, including video infographics. With the free version, you can make videos up to two minutes long in SD quality. Your videos will be branded, however, and you will not be able to download them. You can create as many videos as you want, but you’ll be limited to five exports per month and you’ll only have access to a few of Animaker’s elements and effects.

BeFunky — BeFunky.com includes an infographic maker with free customizable templates, as well as a wide selection of stock images and design elements. Pick out an infographic template in the Designer section of the site, then personalize your infographic with images, colors, text, and more.

Canva — Canva.com offers a user-friendly interface for designing not only infographics, but also brochures, business cards, flyers, presentations, and more. The free version of Canva includes a wide selection of images, fonts, and other design elements, as well as a few “premium” options that cost $1 each. Use Canva in your browser or download the app to design infographics on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device.

Easel.ly — Easel.ly allows you to register for free so that you can try its services before you invest in a paid plan. However, with a free account, you will be limited to 60 images, 25 stock photos, 10 fonts, 10 templates, and four charts. Your work will be public, and your exports will be limited to low-quality JPEGs.

Infogram — Infogram.com features a Basic plan that gives users over 37 types of interactive charts as well as 13 types of maps. You can import data and publish your finished projects online. However, you are limited to 10 projects.

Mind the Graph — Mindthegraph.com was designed specifically for science infographics. The free version lets you edit one figure at a time, upload one external file, and use five scientific illustrations.

Piktochart — Piktochart.com allows you to create your own infographics, presentations, and printables. Like other options, it offers hundreds of pre-made templates that you can customize to suit your needs.

Snappa — Snappa.com is aimed at people with no graphic design experience. You can choose from over 500,000 royalty-free stock images, over 70,000 graphics, and over 200 fonts, or you can upload your own images and fonts. The starter version can be linked with two social media accounts for streamlined publishing, and resizing your graphics for different social media applications couldn’t be simpler.

Venngage — Venngage.com offers a free version that’s perfect for students. However, you will be limited to five infographics, and what you make will be publicly available.

Visme — Visme.co lets users make infographics in three quick steps. Choose a template, input data, and customize. Visme’s basic version is free, but it only allows you to work on three projects. You are also limited to 100 MB of storage, and your projects will be public.

Vizualize — Vizualize.me helps you turn your resume into an infographic. Although it only does one thing, Vizualize does it very well. Also, turning your resume into an infographic might be a good project to help you get more comfortable with the general process of creating infographics.

Keep in mind that the free version of these services tends to be somewhat limited, although they can still help you make infographics online. An annual or monthly subscription will give you access to more tools, resources, and features, such as unlimited storage or premium graphics.

To give you an idea of what to expect, here are the steps for making an infographic with a few of the most popular web-based infographic services.

Making Infographics With Canva

Create a free Canva account.
Click the button to “Create a Design” and select the “Infographic” option under “Blogging & eBooks.”
Use the left sidebar to select the layout you would like. You can select one of Canva’s templates or, if you’ve upgraded to a paid account, you can use one of your own past designs as a template.
Use the “Elements” tab in the left sidebar to add images, charts, graphs, icons, frames, shapes, and more.
Add headings, subheadings, and body text to your infographic using the “Text” tab. There are a few pre-designed text blocks available to customize, or you can add your own text from scratch.
Choose a background color or pattern.
Add your own images, if needed, using the “Uploads” tab.
Use the options at the top of the page to share, download, and order prints. You can also adjust the privacy of your infographic in the upper-righthand corner.

Making Infographics With Piktochart

Log into create.piktochart.com and select the “Infographics” option on the dashboard.
Choose a template. Piktochart offers over 600 templates, many of which are designed for infographics. Use the search tool to help narrow down your options. Hover over the template you would like and click “Use Template.”
Use the available tools to customize your infographic. Templates are arranged in blocks, which can be added, removed, edited, moved, resized, and duplicated.
Edit text and graphics. You can adjust text by double-clicking a text block and using the editing toolbar that appears at the top of the page. Images, icons, and other graphics can be found in the “Graphics” tab of the left sidebar and added via a drag-and-drop method.
Use the “Tools” tab in the left sidebar to add a chart or map, then input your data into the spreadsheet.
Save, download, and share your infographic using the buttons at the top of the page.

Making Infographics With Venngage

Sign up for a Venngage account and answer a few questions that help Venngage recommend relevant templates.
If you already have an account, simply log in and choose a template from the “Infographics” category. Click “Create” to go the infographic editor.
Click on elements, such as text blocks and icons, to edit, move, or delete them. Use the toolbar along the top of the page to make adjustments. You can also click and drag to select multiple elements simultaneously.
Drag and drop any new elements you want to add from the left sidebar. You can also use the left sidebar to change the background color and upload your own images.
Use the buttons in the upper-righthand corner to publish, share, or download your infographic. Use the “Settings” button to change the page size, make a copy, or (if you have a Business plan) save your infographic as a template.

Making Infographics With Visme

Choose one of Visme’s professionally-designed templates, or create your own template using pre-designed content blocks from Visme’s library. You can even create your own library of content blocks, which comes in handy if you plan to make more infographics in the future.
Format your data. Visme allows you to import pre-existing data, input data manually, or connect to live data. You can then decide how you want to present your data. Options include charts, graphs, tables, maps, and other widgets designed to cover a variety of data types. A large collection of images and icons is also at your disposal.
Customize your infographic until it looks exactly the way you want. This includes everything from the color scheme and fonts to layout and images. Visme even offers the tools you need for an interactive infographic. You can easily add links, videos, audio, pop-ups, polls, and animations for a more engaging final product.
Save, share, and download. The free version of Visme allows you to download your projects as JPG or PNG files. Standard lets you download as a PDF too, while Complete adds HTML5 capabilities. You can also share your finished infographic online and use Visme’s tools for tracking, analytics, and lead management.

Tips and Inspiration

We already mentioned the need for an infographic to have a cohesive theme, a specific purpose, and relevant data. Here are a few other things every good infographic needs to have:

A well-defined audience. Decide who you want to reach with your infographic, and keep your audience in mind during the design process.
The right balance of text and graphics. Having too much text defeats the purpose of an infographic. You need enough text for readers to understand your message, but the informative graphics should be the star of the show.
A promotional strategy. Not every top-notch infographic goes viral. You need to have a firm plan for publishing your infographic so that your audience can see and share it.
Proper spacing and sizing. Your infographic should be optimized for mobile screens as well as computer screens. Make sure there’s ample white space so that your infographic is visually appealing and easy to read. Also, make sure that even the smallest font is large enough to be read without readers having to strain.
An attention-grabbing title. Write a heading that will make readers curious enough to read your infographic.
Credible, cited sources. Make sure that you get your information from trustworthy sources and that you cite them clearly.
Good flow and branding. Your infographic should point back to your brand and fit in well with your other promotional materials. Make sure the tone matches your brand’s voice and that the infographic flows well from start to finish.

Need some inspiration? Spend an hour or so browsing the internet for examples. Find a few that you really like — and a few that you don’t. Keep notes about what you think makes each attractive or off-putting. Identify which parts work well, and which could be improved. If you’re not sure where to look, start by typing “infographic” into the search bar on Flickr or Pinterest. You can also perform a Google search for “infographic examples,” which will bring up lists of examples from Creative Bloq, HubSpot, and other sites.

Need Additional Help?

The following resources are available if you need more help navigating the infographic design process:

Online courses and tutorials, such as those from Coursera and LinkedIn’s Lynda

Companies like CopyPress that specialize in content creation and can handle the entire process from start to finish

eBooks and blog posts from content creators and companies like Visme and Piktochart

In-house FAQs, help centers, and customer support available through your chosen infographic maker

Thanks to all of the tools and resources available to make infographics online – it has never been easier. Simply download the app, upload the images, insert your data and you’re on the way to success.