3 min read

Convert a Spreadsheet Into a Beautiful Web App in Seconds

We live in a world exploding with data. But what can you do with that data besides accumulating it? With Polymer Search, you can transform your data-filled spreadsheets into a highly interactive web application in minutes.

Polymer Search is an AI-powered tool that'll convert any spreadsheet into a beautiful, interactive web application in seconds! No download required, no time wasted.

You can share the web application via a URL (known as a Polymer Site), or embed the app on your website!

Here's a preview of what it'll look like:

make Excel look like an application

Want to learn how to create something like this? Read on.

Step 1: Sign in to your Polymer account. If you don’t have an account, you can sign up and create one for free.

There are sample datasets for you to try so you can explore the possibilities of Polymer Search. Take a look at whichever type of data set are most similar to your own.

If you’re ready to learn about your own spreadsheet data, you can move on to step two.

Step 2: Upload & convert your spreadsheet into a web app

Polymer supports Excel files like .csv and .xlsx, but if you want to connect your Google Sheets or Airtable, that's also possible. To upload your file, drag it here:

upload

Using the power of AI, Polymer Search will encrypt and analyze your data, transforming it into a beautiful web app that is not only visually appealing, but contains many features such as data analysis tools and visualization!

Step 3: Launch Polymer Site

On the right hand side, click "Open Polymer App" and this should launch your web application!

Choosing Your Layout

Immediately after starting up your Polymer Site, you'll be prompted with this screen:

customize app

You can change these in the settings at any time, so don't worry about picking the wrong answer, but here's an explanation of what they mean:

  • Search and present data: Tick this option if you want to present data.
  • Find AI-driven Inisights: Tick this if you want to analyze data. You can tick both of these if you want.

Design

There are 3 layouts to choose from:

To Make Excel Look Like a Web Application, Choose "Grid View"

There you'll be presented with a tool called "Smart Pivot" which is basically a much easier to use and interactive pivot table.

Otherwise in terms of design, "gallery view" looks the best but requires the most effort to set up. In order to make the most out of gallery view, you'll need images for each entry (like FlixGem) and they need to be of the same size.

Cards view is good when you don't have images of the same size. You can change these settings any time by clicking this icon:

layout settings

Sharing and Embedding

To share or embed a Polymer Site, you'll need to first make it public by going to "Share" (at the top right corner) > Public > Embed Code

Paste the embed code on a blank HTML page.

sharing and embedding

Alternatively you can copy the direct link to the Polymer App and send that link to other people so they can view it!

Further Customization:

This step can be pretty important, so don't skip it. To open settings, click on the cogwheel icon:

settings

The first thing you want to customize are the "Column Settings." This will modify the settings for each individual column e.g. Age, First Name, Last Name.

Make sure the "Data Type" is set to the correct settings. E.g. Age should be a number:

column settings
  • "String" just means text like "First Name."
  • If you choose "Image" it'll automatically display images from a URL in the spreadsheet
  • URL becomes a link

Also you can separate a column into multiple columns by choosing the 'custom separator.'

For example, if a column says "Daniel, Alex, Tim" and you choose "comma" as the separator, it'll separate all those names into different columns.

And that’s it! Within minutes you will have an interactive web application that will deeply analyze your data to provide valuable insights and display it in visually appealing ways that are perfect for presentations.

Have more questions? Book an onboarding today.

Links:

Posted on
June 15, 2021
under Blog
June 15, 2021
Written by
Alex Almeida
Founder of Connected Brands, a performance marketing agency, Author at The Conversion Lift

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