A grid of mini time-series panels with shared axes.
A free, animated small multiples (time grid) you can read here or embed on any website, from Scrollchart.
Small Multiples (Time Grid)
Small multiples present the same chart template repeated across a grid, one panel per category, region, cohort, or condition. Every panel shares identical axes, scales, and visual encoding. Differences between panels are therefore immediately attributable to the data rather than to axis or scale differences. The arrangement follows the principle Edward Tufte articulated in "Envisioning Information" (1990): "at the heart of quantitative reasoning is a single question: compared to what?".
This variant uses time-series panels. Each cell shows how the same metric evolved for a different facet over the same time window. Viewers scan the grid and notice which facets rose, which fell, and which show anomalies, without having to mentally overlay multiple lines on a single chart.
All panels share the same Y-axis range, so a taller peak in one panel genuinely means a higher value than the same feature in another panel. Read each panel independently for its trend, then compare across panels: which facet peaks earliest, which has the largest range, which is flattest.
Panel titles identify the facet. The grid layout, rather than separate charts, is what enables pattern recognition: the eye can move between adjacent panels and register differences without re-orienting to new axes. For this to work correctly, the shared scale must not be broken, and outlier panels should not cause the Y-axis to collapse the other panels into flat lines.
Editorial pages where a quick visual replaces a wall of text
Content-marketing posts that need a clean, branded illustration
Source & accuracy
This small multiples (time grid) is an editorial illustration built to represent the concept accurately. Where it shows figures, they are typical or representative values chosen to make the relationship clear, not a single underlying dataset. The diagram and its explainer are reviewed and maintained centrally, and updated over time as understanding improves.
Parallel time series in a grid layout
Small multiples (time grid) arranges individual time-series charts in a grid, one chart per item (region, product, user group, etc.). Each mini chart shares the same X and Y axes, enabling direct comparison. A viewer can scan the grid and immediately see which items follow the same seasonal pattern, which are stable, and which are growing or declining. This layout avoids the overplotting and color confusion of a single multi-series line chart.
Reading patterns across the grid
A glance across the grid reveals common trajectories: if all items show an uptick in the final quarter, there's a shared market effect. If one item diverges while others cluster, that item requires investigation. Organizing the grid by some attribute (largest to smallest, highest growth to negative growth) helps viewers find the pattern faster than random arrangement. Small multiples make outliers and subgroups immediately obvious.
Space-efficiency vs. cross-item comparison
Each mini chart is small, so fine details are hard to read; the strength lies in pattern comparison across many items, not precision within a single item. If precise readings matter, a linked tooltip on click or a detail pane helps. Small multiples scale well to 15-20 items; beyond that, the grid becomes unwieldy and sorting or filtering becomes essential to focus the view.
Embed this diagram
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Reference
What this is
A free, embeddable, animated small multiples (time grid) for any website.
Who uses it
Data journalists, Researchers & academics, Content marketers, News organizations.
How to embed
Copy one line of HTML. No signup. No watermark. Works in WordPress, Webflow, Ghost, Substack, plain HTML.
File size
iframe embed, ~80 KB gzipped (loads on demand, does not block your page paint).
License
Free forever. Editorial explainer text included; updated centrally over time.
Copy the universal HTML snippet, the WordPress shortcode, or an iframe fallback -
see the WordPress plugin page for details. Any format keeps
the same Core Web Vitals profile and the same explainer text.
By embedding, you acknowledge the diagram and explainer text are served from scrollchart.com and may be updated from time to time to reflect new research or to link to relevant sources within the explainer.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I get a free animated "Small Multiples (Time Grid)" for my website?
Scrollchart provides "Small Multiples (Time Grid)" as a free, embeddable animated diagram you can add to any website with one line of HTML. No signup is required and there is no watermark. The diagram and its explainer text are served from scrollchart.com, so the embed stays current without any maintenance on your end.
How do I embed a small multiples (time grid) in a blog post or article?
Paste the one-line HTML snippet from the Scrollchart diagram page into your post editor. It works in WordPress, Webflow, Ghost, and plain HTML with no plugin required. The animated diagram and its explainer text load from scrollchart.com and render directly in your page DOM.