There are various easy options for making timelines in PowerPoint, including using SmartArt Graphics and PowerPoint templates. We covered these methods in our guide about how to make a timeline in PowerPoint. In this tutorial, we will cover the various techniques and Google Slides templates that you can use to create a timeline on Google Slides.
How to Make a Timeline in Google Slides using Diagrams
Google Slides provides specific diagrams for making timelines that can help you quickly create timelines using different layouts. To insert a timeline diagram in Google Slides, go to Insert -> Diagram -> Timeline.
You will be presented with various timeline designs that you can choose from to insert in your slide from the right sidebar. Select a design that best resonates with your needs to start making your timeline.
Once added, you can label and customize the timeline. Various timeline designs come with default text placeholders, but you can also add and remove them according to your needs.
The below image shows an example of a timeline we created using a timeline diagram in Google Slides.
How to Make a Timeline in Google Slides from Scratch
If you want to create a custom timeline in Google Slides from scratch, you can use lines, shapes, and text placeholders to create a custom timeline. To start, go to Insert -> Line and pick a line, arrow, connector, or polyline. The selected line type will create a straight line to make a timeline. You can create a timeline vertically or horizontally using this method.
In this example, we created a straight horizontal line and increased the line weight to make it prominent.
Once a line showing the timeline has been created, go to Insert -> Shape and select a shape for making placeholders. You can use anything from rectangles, squares, and circles to arrows or callouts to create placeholders along your timeline.
Insert the shape along the straight line to create a timeline design. The shapes can be placed differently, depending on the design type you want to make. You can showcase the shapes along the timeline in a straight line in a single direction or place them at the top, bottom, or in another format to create your timeline.
Customizing the timeline colors would help you stay consistent with your branding or template design needs. Select the shapes to color them according to need and insert text to label them.
It is important to ensure your text is legible. Use colors for your shapes in the text to remain legible, such as light text colors over dark shape colors or dark text colors over light shape colors.
To further elaborate each section of your timeline, add text boxes via Insert -> Text box.
The below example shows a timeline created from scratch in Google Slides.
Google Slides Timeline Templates
Now that you know how to create a timeline in Google Slides, below are suggested Google Slides timeline template designs that you can use for your presentations. These include both vertical timeline template and horizontal timeline template designs.
Free Timeline Template
You can open and edit this template in Google Slides to create horizontal timelines using an easily edited layout with icons and customizable timeline sections. The two slides in this template come with 5,4, and 3-year timeline designs.
Free Timeline Funnel Template
This free Google Slides timeline template combines AIDA-based purchase funnel diagrams aligned with a horizontal timeline layout to help create timelines for sales funnels. The template has a single-slide timeline design with a light and dark theme.
Free Roadmap Designs Timelines Template
The Free Roadmap Designs Timelines Template for Google Slides has a vertical design and can be used to make timelines and roadmaps. With three different slide designs, this template can be used for making timelines and milestone-based roadmaps.
Suppose you want to create roadmaps instead of mere timelines with similar designs. In that case, you might be interested in these Roadmap templates that show various handy designs for creating slides with elaborate roadmaps.
Free Horizontal Arrow Process Infographic Template
This timeline template for Google Slides provides infographic-style timeline designs. With six different slides, the slide deck focuses on a single slide with the complete timeline and various slides dedicated to each section of the timeline.
Final Words
The timeline template designs and methods mentioned above can be handy for making custom timelines with custom branding and layouts suited to different timeline types. You can also create more elaborate slides using roadmaps instead of simple timelines to explain the context to your audience better. However, making simple timelines might also be beneficial when you must keep the topic aligned with a project, activity, strategy, or other important discussion topic without venturing into too many additional details.
For an overview of how to better start and finish your slides, see our guide on how to start a presentation and how to end a presentation.
