If you want to include a visual representation of your data, using a heat map is a good idea. A heat map with gradient color will quickly reveal the extremities for your data. But if you think your audience will have a hard time accurately reading the data, you can use a single color for your heat map.

Usually, this type of map is used to identify abnormal data. In this article, we’ll show you how you can create both types of heat maps in Google Sheets.

Create a Heat Map With Color Gradient in Google Sheets

This type of heat map will color the cells depending on their value. In this example, small values will be highlighted with dark shades of color. The smaller the value, the darker the color.

Follow these steps to create a heat map with a color gradient in Google Sheets:

  1. Select the data from the cell ranges.
  2. From the toolbar, click Format > Conditional formatting.
    Heat map Google Sheets
  3. In the Conditional format rules, select Color scale. Google Sheets will show you a heat map preview.
  4. If you want Google Sheets to ignore values that are too low or too high, use the Min and Max value fields.
  5. Click Done once you’re happy about how your heat map looks.
    Heat map Google Sheets

Besides adding a heat map, you can change your Google Sheets theme color for better-looking spreadsheets.

Create a Heat Map With a Single Color in Google Sheets

By making a heat map with a single color, you can quickly identify relevant data and use Google Sheets like a pro. Here is how you can do it:

  1. Select your data from the cell ranges.
  2. Head to Format > Conditional formatting.
  3. Select Single colour.
    Heat map Google Sheets
  4. From the Format rules menu, select the rule that you want to use. For this example, we’ll go with Greater than or equal to.
  5. Input the value Google Sheets should use for formatting the data in the field below Greater than or equal to.
  6. Head to Formatting style and select how Google Sheets should highlight the data.
  7. Once you choose the formatting rules, click Done.
    Editing a heat map in Google Sheets

If you edit your document and introduce new data, Google Sheets will highlight it without you having to go through the formatting process again.

Add Heat Maps to Your Spreadsheets

Hopefully, you are now looking at a clear visual representation of your data. The best part is that you can easily import your newly created map in other docs. If you need more visual tools, heat maps aren’t the only tools in Google Sheets that you can use to showcase data for an audience.