How to build an analytics or overview dashboard

You will learn

Learn how to build a dashboard to visualize all email, SMS, flow, and deliverability trends, and understand the health of your business. Dashboards (also referred to as overview dashboards) provide an all-encompassing, customizable report detailing your success across each marketing channel.

Creating or accessing the dashboard

These steps apply to customizable dashboards, including the Overview dashboard. Dashboards marked View only cannot be renamed, deleted, or customized with cards. Your user role determines whether you can create, edit, delete, or export dashboards.

1. Navigate to Analytics > Dashboards.
2. Open an existing dashboard from the list, such as the pre-built Overview dashboard, to customize it. To start with a blank dashboard, click Create Dashboard, enter a Dashboard Name, then click Create Dashboard in the dialog.

Customizing the analytics dashboard

Choosing a date range

By default, your dashboard will show your performance metrics over the last 30 days.

1. Click Time period at the top of the dashboard. Choose a range from the Time period dropdown, then click Apply. For Custom, select a start and end date before applying.

You can adjust the date range to show:

• Week-to-date
• Month-to-date
• Year-to-date
• Last 7 days
• Last 30 days
• Last 90 days
• Last month
• Last 3 months
• Last 12 months
• Last year
• Custom (note: you can pull up to 12 months maximum within your date range)

Choosing a conversion metric

Besides the date range, you also can choose any account-wide conversion metric. The conversion metrics will pull from any integration or custom conversion-related event and visualize your data.

1. To change the conversion metric, click on the dropdown next to Conversion metric.
2. Choose the conversion metric that suits your current dashboard's needs.

Changing the comparison period

You can compare performance in your selected date range with the previous period, the previous year, or a custom date range.

1. Click Time period, then choose Previous period, Previous year, or Custom from the Comparison period dropdown.

In the example below, the date range is the last 90 days. If you choose Previous year, your data will compare to the same 90 days in the previous year. If you choose Previous period, your data will compare to the same prior date range or, in this case, the 90 days prior to your chosen date range.

For a Custom comparison, select a start and end date within a range of up to 12 months. The comparison cannot exactly match the main time period. Click Apply to save your comparison.

Refreshing the dashboard

In the upper right-hand corner of the dashboard, Last updated shows when the dashboard data was last refreshed.

1. To manually refresh the dashboard and the data displayed, click on the three dot menu (...) in the upper right and select Refresh Data. This will update all the data on the dashboard.

Adding a card

You can find additional pre-built data cards in the dashboard library. Use these cards to dive deeper into your marketing channel performance and troubleshoot potential issues.

1. Click Add card in the upper right-hand corner. A pop-up will appear showing the data view library. This library contains many pre-built cards to serve your data visualization needs.

2. Once you have chosen a pre-built card to add to your dashboard, select it and then click Add Data View.

The newly added card will appear at the bottom of your dashboard.

Deleting a card

1. To delete a card, click the 3 dot menu (...) in the upper right of that card.
2. Select Remove Data View.
   

3. Click Delete data view to confirm.

Creating a custom card from scratch

If the pre-built options offered in the data view library do not fit your needs, you have the option to create your own custom cards.

1. To create your own card, click Add card and choose the option Create from scratch.

2. Choose your metric from the dropdown (e.g., Checkout Started).

3. Choose a measurement available for your metric: Average, Counts, Unique Counts, or Value. Counts represents the total number of events, including repeated events by the same profile. Unique Counts represents the number of profiles who performed the event at least once. For example, repeated opens by the same subscriber increase Counts but count once in Unique Counts.

To group your data, choose an option from Group by (e.g., item or product type). To narrow the results, click + Add Filter and select up to 5 values for that grouping.

4. Choose Table, Line graph, Bar graph, or Number. Number is available only when you have no grouping, or when you select exactly 1 filter value for the grouping.

5. Once you finish setting up your card, click Add Card.

Editing your custom card

1. If you need to make any adjustments to your custom card, click on the 3 dot menu (...) inside your card.
2. Click Edit card. This will bring you back to the original card setup in the data view library.

3. Make your changes, then click Save Card.

Adjusting the order of cards

1. Click and drag the handle at the top middle of a card (-) and drop it in your desired position, as shown below.

This content requires Functional cookies to be enabled.

Update Cookie Settings

Exporting your complete dashboard

1. Click on the 3 dot menu (...) in the upper right and select Print to PDF. A function will then appear to allow you to print or download the entire dashboard as a PDF.

Adding additional dashboards

By default, you will see a pre-populated dashboard. You can create additional dashboards until the combined total of these customizable dashboards and pre-built dashboards marked View only reaches 12.

1. Navigate to Analytics > Dashboards.
2. Click Create Dashboard in the upper right.

3. Enter a Dashboard Name, then click Create Dashboard. Your new dashboard opens and is also available in the dashboards list.

You can then add cards to your blank dashboard using the data view library, which includes both pre-built cards and a fully configurable Create from scratch option.

Editing the name of your dashboard

You can edit the name of your dashboard by navigating into your existing dashboard.

1. Click on the 3 dot menu (...) in the upper right.
2. Select Edit Name.

3. Update Dashboard Name, then click Save Changes.

Deleting your dashboard

You can delete a customizable dashboard in either of these ways.

Option 1

1. Navigate to Analytics > Dashboards and find the report you wish to delete.
2. Open the action menu for the dashboard in the list and select Delete.

3. Click Delete Dashboard in the confirmation dialog.

Option 2

1. Navigate to Analytics > Dashboards and click directly into the dashboard you wish to delete.
2. Click on the 3 dot menu (...) in the upper right.
3. Select Delete Dashboard.
   

4. Click Delete Dashboard in the confirmation dialog.

Additional resources