Excel is a versatile tool used by individuals across various age groups and professions. In the realm of project management, it is often applied as a simple yet effective solution for handling small and mid-sized projects. Its features enable users to plan, visualize, and monitor progress with ease.

This Microsoft solution is also good for generating simple timelines, which are essential for tracking tasks and schedules.

This article is focused on the method for building a simple Excel timeline using a ready-made template.

Feel free to try it or explore how to create a project timeline in Excel in other ways.

Creating a project timeline with an Excel template

Microsoft Excel provides free templates to build a project timeline. They allow you to visualize tasks, dates, milestones, and other important visual elements. These templates will help you lead your project team to success.

What defines a good Excel project timeline template?

To ensure a template in Excel suits your work processes, consider these key features:

• User-friendly design. Select a clean and simple timeline template that will let you and your team quickly grasp the project's overall progress at a glance.
• Visual progress bars. Choose Excel templates with progress bars to easily monitor the completion status of tasks.
• Automation. Try to find a template that will automatically update project data to let your team always work with the latest information.
• Customizability. Prioritize templates that will let you adjust layouts, colors, and elements to fit your specific project requirements.

By leveraging these templates, you can make a professional project timeline without the hassle of starting from scratch.

Quick steps to create a project timeline in Excel using a template

Before opening Excel, gather all details about your project including tasks, start and end dates, deadlines, etc.

Step 1: access Excel templates

Proceed with these steps:

• Open Excel and find the File menu.
• Select New from the sidebar.
• Use the search bar at the top to type "project timeline".
• Press Enter to explore template options.

Step 2: make a choice

Browse the available templates and select one that will suit your needs.

Here I choose a “Four-week project timeline” template.

If significant changes are required, it's better to avoid potential project management risks in the future and consider creating a new timeline from scratch.

Step 3: personalize the template

Replace the initial data in the template with your project's specific information, such as tasks, dates, and milestones. Adjust the layout, colors, and text as necessary.

Carefully review your timeline for any gaps, overlaps, or errors, and make corrections as needed.

Once finalized, save your timeline and share it with your team or stakeholders.

Need more options?

While Excel’s built-in templates are convenient, they may not be ideal for more complex projects.

Therefore, you may try other options, including:

• Creating a project timeline in Excel using a stacked bar chart.
• Creating a project timeline in Excel using the SmartArt feature.
• Creating a project timeline in a professional Gantt chart-based tool (as an alternative to Excel), and more options.

Be prepared to consider different approaches, as the final result will depend on your initial requirements and how detailed your timeline is.

Anyway, each method is designed to help you visualize your project plans and manage each task in the most efficient manner.