Eight ways to make your spreadsheets easier to read
Earnsy Liu | March 11, 2025
I know a surprising number of people who dislike spreadsheets. But why?
Here’s my theory: Spreadsheets often look daunting. Things can be unclear, dense, and not well labelled. I like Excel but sometimes find it hard to decipher what someone else’s file is about or understand how it’s laid out. What do I look at first? How’s this table different from the other one? Where does that number come from? Please tell me so I don’t have to work it out.
Those of us who create spreadsheets can do several things to make them easier for our users, whether they’re Excel gurus or complete beginners.
Invite users to engage with your information by making sure it’s tidy and easy to read — not something that they have to decipher. Image by cottonbro studio / Pexels licence
1. Say what the file is about
Start by giving files helpful names. Cryptic names like ‘Costs V2’ don’t say a lot. Even something like ‘Budget 2025 draft 1’ will give users more clues.
2. Name sheets meaningfully
Instead of ‘Sheet1’, how about ‘Product A revenue’ or ‘Operating expenses’? Double-click sheet names to rename them.
Keep your sheet names short and snappy. Excel allows up to 31 characters for sheet names, but don’t aim for long names. Keeping sheet names short means readers see more of them at a glance.
3. Organise information logically
Put related information close together. What goes with what? If two tables are related, it might make sense to put one above the other, side by side, or on neighbouring sheets. (Though if you’re working with pivot tables, you may prefer to put them on separate sheets so they have room to expand.)
Don’t cram too much onto a sheet. Yes, an Excel sheet can have up to 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns, but you don’t have to use them all. Please don’t try! Too much information on a sheet will overwhelm.
4. Use a clear heading hierarchy
Use headings and subheadings on each sheet. Think of them as headings in a document.
Write a ‘section heading’ at the top of each sheet — a few words that describe the page. That saves others from having to figure out what each sheet is about. Use ‘subheadings’ if you have several sections, tables, or graphs on a sheet.
Create a clear hierarchy of headings to help users see quickly how they relate to each other. For example, if your ‘section heading’ is 20-point bold, your subheadings could be 16-point bold.
Save your users time and stress by using clear headings and a clear heading hierarchy. Image by Write Group / CC BY-NC-ND
5. Label things clearly
Label information so users immediately know what they’re looking at. For example, if you’re buying from or selling to other countries, make it clear what currency you’re using.
If information comes from another sheet or file, say where that is. Similarly, if the results of a calculation feed into another sheet or file, say where they go. Whoever picks up your file later will thank you for sparing them the detective work. You may need frequent notes throughout, or notes for whole sections, or both — it depends on your file’s purpose, your information, and your users.
6. Make text easy to read
Down with 9-point fonts! Opt for 11-point text or larger so users don’t have to squint or zoom in to see your work.
Use commas to split large numbers into manageable chunks. Which of these numbers is easier to read: 6035249 or 6,035,249?
7. Declutter to reveal information
Make room so that readers can see information easily.
Remove unnecessary decimals
If you’re working with whole numbers or large numbers, you probably don’t need to show decimal points.
Allow enough space
Increase column widths and row heights if you need to. Avoid leaving multiple empty columns or rows between information, because people may not always know you have more information just a few columns or rows away. For example, they may use a screen reader, or may only be able to see a limited amount at a time because a visual impairment means they need to zoom in significantly.
Turn off gridlines if you can
Depending on your spreadsheet, you may not need the gridlines that appear by default. Go to the ‘View’ tab and untick ‘Gridlines’.
Turn off unnecessary filters
Excel automatically adds filters when you use the ‘Table’ feature. But depending on your table, filters may be unnecessary. Go to any cell in the table, select the ‘Table Design’ tab, and untick ‘Filter button’.
Remove unnecessary details, and use commas in large numbers. Image by Write Group / CC BY-NC-ND
8. Help users get oriented quickly
One more thing: why not save your files in a way that helps users find their way around easily? Unlike Word, users don’t automatically find themselves at the start of a table or workbook — they land where it was last open.
Before closing my file, I navigate to the first cell of each sheet. Here’s one way to do it quickly and easily.
1. Jump to the last sheet.
2. Use Ctrl + Home to go to the first cell.
3. Use Ctrl + Page up to go to the next sheet.
4. Repeat Ctrl + Home and Ctrl + Page up till you get to the first sheet.
Then save and close your file.
Get more tips on making documents look approachable
Much of our guidance on formatting documents applies to spreadsheets too. Get handy tips to ensure your documents have a polished look every time.
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