How to Make an Infographic Online in 6 Helpful Steps
If there was a way to make your content 30X more likely to be read and shared by users and 50% more memorable, would you use that in your content? What if I told you that way actually exists; it’s called infographics. How to make an infographic online is easier than most people think.
Infographics show information in a visually appealing and memorable form. Usually rectangular, they explain concepts that may be hard to understand or comprehend. One of the infographic features is that they rely on visuals so people are more likely to remember them. Another of the infographic features is that they are easy to share as well, making them user friendly as well as SEO and digital marketing friendly.
There are 6 steps to how to make a infographic online:
- Pick a niche topic,
- Collect key information,
- Pick a software,
- Organize layout of Infographic,
- Match images to the main ideas,
- Add design elements.
Infographic Features and Benefits
There are 5 main infographic features and 6 benefits.
Features
Pictures
The first of the infographic features is its pictures. A picture is worth a thousand words. Cliché, but that is how infographics work. They use pictures and symbols to show and support ideas and facts. Infographics also can have graphs, timelines, and maps to better lead users through ideas, facts, or other information.
Eye Catching Colors
The second of the infographic features is its colors. If you’re going to make something, you should try to make something that you are proud of, even if it is a commission by someone else. So why not make infographic fun colors that both you and your readers will enjoy looking at. These can be typical blues and greens or yellows, oranges, and reds for more urgent or serious topics.
Short and To the Point
The third of the infographic features is its brevity. An infographic should only take between 10-30 seconds (depending on the length) to scan and get the main ideas. This also means that they don’t take long to make either (unless you use finicky software or a complicated design).
Show Comparisons
The fourth of the infographic features is its ability to show comparisons. Infographics are great for setting two things side by side to show the qualities that both have and characteristics that are unique to each object, person, place, idea, etc. This is usually done through two images that symbolize the two things with lines extending outwards leading to words, phrases, or sentences about one of the things. Facts that the things have in common have two lines, one on each side, leading to both of the things being compared.
Visual Aid
The fifth of the infographic features is its visual aiding memory. A majority of people are visual learners, and those that are not are still aided in memory and understanding of concepts and other information when given a visual aid. Visual aids are usually pictures, graphics, or shapes that help understanding. The goal is for people to be able to get a good portion of the concepts/information without having to read the words at all.
Benefits
Persuasive
As well as being easier to remember and understand, content that have images are more trustworthy to readers. Infographics show and not just tell. Using specific numbers and information makes the infographics (and any other piece of content) even more persuasive.
Easy to Share
Infographics are images that can be in different file types (JPG, PNG, PDF, etc.) and downloaded easily. They are an easy and popular content form to share since they are easy to scan yet explain complex topics. They can even be placed into tweets, posts, and emails.
Aids SEO
Google likes unique content and content that people backlink and share. Well-made infographics are exclusive to the site (make sure to put your brand’s mark on it to make sure no one steals it) and will drive traffic to a site. Pages that have high traffic are given higher domain authority on a topic by search engines, and those pages are listed higher in the search results for that topic.
Shows the Knowledge and Expertise of the Brand
Don’t you want to show off your passions and results of your brand’s experience in its field? Infographics show precise information presented to newcomers. Nothing says ‘friendly expert’ like being able to explain complex concepts quickly and easily (bonus points for fun) without seeming judgy for the lack of knowledge that the audience already has. Infographics are very accessible, even to those outside of the field or specific niche of the field, allowing those unfamiliar to the topic to gain a quick understanding without having to google technical words. A well main infographic makes the audience feel smart since they understood the concept without someone having to explain it to them.
How to Make an Infographic Online
There are six parts to how to make an infographic online: picking a topic, collecting information, picking a software, designing the layout, picking images, and adding design elements.
1. Pick a niche topic
When you are writing content, it is a good idea to have a specific topic in mind to write about before you start writing. Picking a niche topic will give you an idea what information you should include in your infographic that users will be looking for; this should lead you to a general list of possible keywords that you should use that will lead users to your content.
This topic should be:
- An area or subject matter that you have expertise in,
- A specific topic that people are curious about,
- A topic that can be complicated/otherwise bad to explain with just words.
2. Collect key information
The second part of how to make a good infographic is to collect essential and persuasive statistics, keywords, and facts for your topic. Gather together your info in one place (remember that using a piece of info from one person without citing the author is stealing, and using a piece of info from three people is research) for preparation for step 4. Make sure that the info you are using is written in plain language as well as it can be.
3. Pick a Software
The third part of how to make a good infographic is to pick a software to design the infographic. are freemium while others require a subscription. Canva has a freemium version with some of their templates and images and resizing the page (more desirable than you think with infographics) only available in the paid version.
Piktochart has a freemium version that allows resizing of pages in the free version but only allows a maximum of five infographics to be stored in their drive at a time without paying for a subscription. Adobe has a freemium version that resizes the page only in the paid version.
Personally, I find using Canva works fine as long a you know about how big you want your infographic from the start.
4. Organize layout of Infographic
The fourth part of how to make a good infographic is to organize the information into a final layout. Figure out the order and organization of facts and info that makes the most sense to aid reader understanding and ease of scanning. This can be chronologically, narratively (like a story), by numbers, or by most crucial info (as well as comparison as mentioned in infographic features)
As a general rule, keep 3-5 similar elements and items together. This helps with the feeling of unison in the design and helps the reader go from main topic to main topic without being overwhelmed.
5. Match images to the main ideas
The fifth part of how to make a good infographic is to add images. Whether you use cartoons, graphics, and photographs (yes, stock images too), reinforce topics and ideas with images. It is best to use/make your own to avoid copyright and make your site unique. Whatever images you use should be large and clear without being garish or overwhelming. If possible images, particularly cartoons and graphics should be flatter rather than 3D; this makes the image smoother and more a part of the overall design.
Algorithms that ‘crawl’ through a site also look for alternative text when indexing a site. Alternative text tells the algorithms what a picture is of or what the topic is. As such, remember to put your alt text in when uploading photos or infographics to content!
Infographics can also have graphs (including bar graphs, pie charts, and scatter plots) or timelines to better illiterate points with real data. Logos can be used when talking about specific well-known (at least to the intended audience) brands.
6. Add design elements
The last part of how to make a good infographic is to add design elements. Keep the infographic’s design as minimal as possible while still getting the main ideas across to avoid crowding or cluttering the graphic or confusing the reader. The more words an infographic has the less likely people will read it.
Use titles and headings as logically needed to separate the infographic into easily digested parts. Use colors to get the reader’s attention and symbolize what the brand stands for. Generally speaking about colors in design, it’s normal to use one primary color (a shade or tint is fine), and one bright color (these can be the same or different) that can be the main color or an accent color. Use at least one neutral color like white, black, gray, or brown to offset the bright color.
Optional: Add framing or edging to add that extra pizazz to the infographic.
Summary
Infographics show information in a visually appealing and memorable form. Usually rectangular, they explain concepts that may be hard to understand or comprehend. The main infographic features are that they rely on visuals so people are more likely to remember them and that they are easy to share as well, making them user friendly as well as SEO and digital marketing friendly. There are 6 steps to how to make a good infographic:
- Pick a niche topic,
- Collect key information,
- Pick a software,
- Organize layout of Infographic,
- Match images to the main ideas,
- Add design elements.
