Managing projects without Gantt charts is like trying to find something in an overstuffed suitcase. You might still find what you’re looking for, but not without spending a fair amount of time sifting through the mess first.
The ever-growing selection of project management software and methodologies is what makes life so exciting (and a little stressful) for managers. While it almost guarantees that a perfect-fit process exists for every team, it also adds a bit of challenge with the trial and error search needed to secure your preferred approach.
Gantt charts are a great place to start if you find yourself in this boat and we have the best templates to get you started!
Gantt charts are a popular and highly visual methodology used to display your tasks against the time allotted to complete them.
At a glance, you can easily communicate any overlap between multiple tasks, all of the tasks involved in the project, key deadlines, and the start and end date of the entire project. Pretty neat!
If you’re already knee-deep in another project management process but are Gantt chart-curious about how this other methodology could benefit your team, you’re in the right place, my friend.
Not only will we break down every key element of Gantt chart project management and its benefits, but we’ve also added ten of our favorite templates with tips on how to get the ball rolling (at top speed).
This Article Contains:
- What is a Gantt chart Template?
- 1. Simple Gantt Chart Template by ClickUp
- 2. Blog Management Gantt Chart Template by ClickUp
- 3. Gantt Timeline Template by ClickUp
- 4. Building Web Pages Gantt Chart Template by ClickUp
- 5. Construction Management Gantt Chart Template by ClickUp
- 6. Product Launch Checklist Template by ClickUp
- 7. Gantt Excel Template by Gantt Excel
- 8. Waterfall Management Gantt Chart Template by ClickUp
- 9. Simple Gantt Chart Template by Google Sheets
- 10. Business Planning Gantt Chart Template by ClickUp
- 11. Uses Acceptance Testing Gantt Chart Template by ClickUp
- 12. Featured Gantt Chart by PowerSlides
- 13. Gantt Chart Template by Cacoo
- 14. Gantt Chart Template by LibreOffice
- 15. IT Roadmap Gantt Chart Template by ClickUp
- How to Create a Gantt Chart Template
- 3 Benefits of Using Gantt chart Templates
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat is a Gantt chart Template?
A Gantt chart template graphically represents all the tasks and deliverables in an ongoing project. Each task is displayed as a horizontal bar and where it begins represents the start date of that specific task. The length of the bar then shows how long you have to complete the task.
With each task stretched and stacked along your timeline, you can easily determine your team’s progress, the amount of work remaining, and the project’s current status. This helps keep every team member on the same page and helps you set realistic goals for future project planning.
It’s also a great way to ensure that you won’t run into overlap! Ideally, your tasks should be staggered in a sort of waterfall-like fashion on your project timeline, but if you notice a nearly vertical stack of bars during the same stretch of time, it’s time to bump some due dates.
Take a deeper dive into everything you need to know about Gantt charts, including how to use them, their limitations, and the qualities that make them special.
Summarize this article for me please15 Free Gantt Chart Templates
1. Simple Gantt Chart Template by ClickUp
Apply the Simple Gantt Chart Template by ClickUp to your Workspace for a big picture overview of your project, visualize dependencies, and get ahead of blockers before they happen. Who wouldn’t love that?
This ClickUp template will instantly pull tasks from your List into a simple chart using ClickUp’s Gantt view. With this template, you will also find three task statuses that will help you understand your chart through color-coding! Just by looking at your chart you will see if a task is open, in progress, or complete based on the color of each bar.
With four different project view types, this template can be adapted to tons of different use cases. From creative and design to engineering and product development, HR, operations, IT, and more. Seriously, the sky is the limit for all of the ways you can use your Simple Gantt Chart Template. 🚀
While this is a beginner-friendly free template, it’s also a great starting point for seasoned project enthusiasts who just want to get things going quicker.
2. Blog Management Gantt Chart Template by ClickUp
The best tool to manage blogs is a template that’s proven to save teams time on organizing, scheduling, and collaborating on blogs. Use ClickUp’s Blog Management Gantt Chart Template to streamline your blog publishing process.
This ClickUp template comes with 7 views. The Gantt view allows you to track your blog’s progress and avoid common bottlenecks throughout the blog process.
This Gantt Chart template is intermediate. Check out our Gantt Chart Examples Guide for everything you need to know about using this Gantt Chart template.
3. Gantt Timeline Template by ClickUp
This Gantt Timeline Template by ClickUp provides an interactive way to look at your business operations on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis.
This Gantt Chart template comes with 5 different views to visualize your project. This timeline is so versatile that no matter your use case, whether it be engineering, marketing, or anything in between this template will work for you and your team.
This Gantt Chart template is beginner friendly and a great option for anyone on your team!
4. Building Web Pages Gantt Chart Template by ClickUp
This Web Pages Gantt Chart Template by ClickUp was made for webpage creation. This template will allow you to create a clear plan and system for managing your webpage production, execute on website workflows across content, design, and development, all while visualizing your webpage’s progress, timelines, and stakeholders.
ClickUp’s Building Webpages Template is a great solution for organizing and managing the production of your website.
This Web Pages Gantt Chart template is intermediate.
5. Construction Management Gantt Chart Template by ClickUp
Use ClickUp’s Construction Management Gantt Chart Template to keep your construction team’s project on track.
This free Gantt Chart template has pre-built Custom Fields, which allow your team to add important details (such as progress percentage bars, confidence levels, and project notes) in addition to Custom Statuses, which help everyone understand where each content item stands at a glance.
In addition to the Gantt Chart template, this template includes four highly visual views that can be customized for any need, from organizing construction workflows on a List and Board to drag-and-drop planning on Calendar and Timeline.
This template is an intermediate template. Check out this help document if you are looking to learn more about using ClickUp’s Gantt Chart View!
6. Product Launch Checklist Template by ClickUp
To ensure a successful product launch, it’s essential to have the perfect checklist. This Product Launch Checklist Template made by ClickUp contains all the necessary activities and milestones for an effective launch plan. Use this Gantt Chart template that is designed to monitor your development from initial design conception through prototype construction, customer reviews gathering, promotional initiatives and post-launch analysis – allowing you no detail overlooked!
7. Gantt Excel Template by Gantt Excel
Is there a free Excel Gantt chart template? You bet!
This gantt chart excel template can help you prioritize specific tasks in the project plan and even display dependencies between them.
If you are comfortable with Excel and plan to present your chart to other frequent Excel users, you will likely find this template useful and intuitive.
Something to keep in mind though is that while Excel ~excels~ at creating spreadsheets, pivot tables, and formulas, it lacks valuable task management functionality and communication features. 😳
But if you put the “pro” in Microsoft Project and have workarounds for those limitations, then we love that journey for you! You do you!
And remember, even if your company is all-in on Microsoft, you can always use ClickUp’s integration with Teams and SSO to explore other Gantt options without disturbing the peace in the office! 🤗
Bonus: Learn how to make a Gantt chart in Microsoft Word!
8. Waterfall Management Gantt Chart Template by ClickUp
This ClickUp Waterfall Management Gantt Chart Template is ideal for software developers working in a Waterfall Management environment. It contains tasks that are organized by phase, and each task can be assigned to a specific team member or department. It also has columns for task details such as priority level, assignee, and duration. This makes it easy to keep track of the project.
In addition, the template includes a view of the Gantt chart, which is great for getting an overview of the project and seeing how tasks will be completed sequentially. You can also add notes and comments to tasks in the Gantt chart, which is great for collaboration. Additionally, you can add milestones and labels to track progress on important tasks.
9. Simple Gantt Chart Template by Google Sheets
This Google Sheet’s Gantt Chart template is great if you are looking for a quick way to create a Gantt chart in Google Sheets.
Although Google Sheets is a free, and user-friendly tool, it isn’t a robust Gantt chart tool and using it to create Gantt charts comes with challenges.
If you use Google Sheets to create a Gantt chart you won’t get task management features or mobile functionality.
Check out these Google Sheets alternatives!
10. Business Planning Gantt Chart Template by ClickUp
This ClickUp Business Account Planning Gantt Chart Template allows you to track projects and set up tasks with specific deadlines. It’s also useful for assigning resources and tracking progress over time. You’ll be able to easily identify any potential bottlenecks or delays in the project timeline, so that corrective action can be taken if needed. Plus, the simple design makes it easy to customize for any organization’s needs. This gantt chart template is the perfect way to ensure successful project completion.
You can also use this gantt chart template to stay organized when planning and executing business strategies. With the help of ClickUp’s intuitive lists, you’ll be able to easily create tasks that are directly related to your business goals.
11. Uses Acceptance Testing Gantt Chart Template by ClickUp
Use this User Acceptance Testing Checklist Gantt Chart Template by ClickUp before you launch your next product. It will help you pinpoint any areas that need more attention or testing before release and allows for a streamlined approach to tracking and organizing tasks —perfect for ensuring the best possible outcome!
This gantt chart template provides a breakdown of all the tasks in an app development process, including: Designing the user interface (UI), Coding, Quality Assurance Testing and Release. Each task has a designated start and end date which allows you to easily track progress and make adjustments if needed.
12. Featured Gantt Chart by PowerSlides
While it’s less of a task management system, this Gantt chart template is a great option if you’re looking to present several key points to stakeholders.
This downloadable template from PowerSlides comes with four slides and multiple colors to use with almost any version of PowerPoint.
Best for illustrating a project schedule, the slide deck offers multiple layouts for a quick plug-and-play presentation in addition to shapes that can be edited to suit your project requirements.
13. Gantt Chart Template by Cacoo
This Cacoo template will speak straight to your minimalist soul. 🧼
That said, it leaves more room to be customized by you!
Think of this template as a base you can continue to build upon with details about your project. And when you’re ready to take your Gantt skills to the next level, check out Cacoo’s monthly, weekly, and product roadmap Gantt chart templates!
14. Gantt Chart Template by LibreOffice
If you’re comfortable with Excel, you’ll likely catch onto this LibreOffice Gantt chart template pretty quickly!
Built like a spreadsheet, you can download and input your project information into this template to see it simultaneously reflected as a Gantt chart.
But keep in mind that it’s on you to keep this template updated! This resource does not act as a task management tool, so you’ll want to adjust this template regularly as your team makes progress on your project.
15. IT Roadmap Gantt Chart Template by ClickUp
This IT Roadmap Gantt Chart Template is essential for IT managers and department heads to keep track of the team’s progress towards specific goals. It can be used to create a roadmap that outlines tasks, timeline, resources needed, and more in order to reach those objectives. This template also includes key performance indicators (KPIs) so you can easily evaluate the team’s performance.
With ClickUp’s Gantt chart feature, you can customize each element of this Gantt chart and adjust it as needed. You can also sync it with other tasks and projects to ensure that everyone on the IT team is working together towards the same goal. With this Gantt chart template, you’ll be able to manage and track progress in a straightforward and organized way.
Summarize this article for me pleaseHow to Create a Gantt Chart Template
Templates are great for getting started, but it’s on you to explore or experiment with the features that best enhance your own workflow.
Bonus: Scrum Templates
When it comes to Gantt charts, ClickUp’s Gantt Chart view is the starting point you’ve been searching for.
Adding an interactive Gantt chart to your Workspace in ClickUp is as easy as making a few quick clicks:
➡️ Select the ➕ in any List, Folder, or Space
➡️ Select Gantt
➡️ Name your chart
➡️ Choose to make it a Personal chart
➡️ Pin the view for quick access
And now for the fun part…customizing your Gantt chart! 🎨
The chart’s taskbar on the side lets you select what data you want to look at. Choose from the Spaces, Folders, and Lists levels in your project to start creating project tasks. Then assign a due date to your tasks and subtasks to locate them on your Gantt chart.
Like dragging connections between shapes on a whiteboard, you can easily show dependent tasks by drawing lines between two tasks on your chart!
If you enable Reschedule Dependencies ClickApp, you can use the same drag-and-drop actions to change deadlines for the task dependencies. Even an entire group of project tasks can be rescheduled this way as a List, Folder, or Space.
Talk about multitasking! 🤩
And if you’re ever curious about how close you are to achieving your goal, hover over the progress bar to quickly determine the progress percentage of your project schedule. 🙌🏼
As for calculating the progress on your critical path, ClickUp’s Gantt view has you covered there too!
But in your pursuit to meet the deadline, don’t miss out on the biggest Milestones—tasks marked with a diamond shape on your chart. Plus, you can turn any task into a Milestone with a simple right-click!
Now that you’ve added all the important details to your online Gantt chart in ClickUp, you can change how they appear.
In the menu bar on top, you’ll see a Show option with a dropdown containing:
- Columns: enable and disable columns on the online Gantt chart
- Allow Live Updates: instantly update all team members about any changes
- Other Sorting Options: sort tasks by assignees, due dates, last updated, etc.
- Highlight task position on drag: see individual tasks you’re moving around more clearly
- Reschedule Dependencies: enable the drag and drop functionality to reschedule task dependencies
- Hide Weekends: automatically schedule all tasks scheduled on the weekend to the following Monday
For the finishing touches, use different color schemes to show different priority levels.
And to wrap things up, let’s talk about sharing and permissions.
Share the online Gantt chart directly with people in or outside your Workspace. Adjust their permissions to change who can and can’t edit the chart.
While the Public Sharing option will live-update the chart for its viewers, you can also download the document as a PDF and circulate it among external stakeholders instead.
If a simple online Gantt chart can be that comprehensive, imagine what else is in store for you in ClickUp!
Take a look around your current project management tool for similar features and integrations to enhance your Gantt chart processes, or check out one of ClickUp’s multiple pricing plans to see how this platform can help build you up even further.
What’s our favorite plan, you ask?! Free Forever, of course. 🥳
More Template Resources:
- Project Management Templates
- CRM Templates
- Product Management Templates
- RACI Chart Templates
- Kanban Board Templates
- Milestone Templates
- Project Roadmap Templates
- Project Proposal Templates
- Construction Management Templates
Summarize this article for me please3 Benefits of Using Gantt chart Templates
1. Get a high-level glimpse of your entire project
You know that anxious feeling you get after boarding a plane where you can’t help but think you’ve forgotten something super important?
Gantt charts are your solution to this nightmare because they show you everything. So you’ll know immediately if you’re missing anything!
The visual nature of this methodology helps you quickly understand the bigger picture of your project. Plus, they’re simple to grasp! You don’t have to be the project manager to look at a Gantt chart and know exactly what’s going on. That means cross-functional team members, stakeholders, and other department heads can also easily see the key points—and who doesn’t love full transparency?!
2. Track project progress in real-time
Especially if your team works asynchronously, this is a major benefit.
Today, you can track your lunch delivery in real-time, so why not do the same for your project schedule?
A Gantt chart is like a geo-tracking device for your project.
Now with the help of Gantt chart software, project managers can simply feed their digital chart with information on project activities, update it a few times, and off it goes on its own.
These charts also take it a step further by telling you the critical path for your project schedule. This is the minimum set of tasks you’ll need to complete to meet your project deadline.
3. Maintain project transparency
Fun fact: while the original Gantt chart was a tool used exclusively by project managers to make high-level decisions, they are now a regular and essential tool for all members of a project team.
Project managers can routinely update and share a Gantt chart with the team. Or, if you are using powerful gantt chart software like ClickUp, your chart will automatically update as your tasks enter new statuses! 👏
This lets every member see how their work affects the rest of the team and makes your Gantt chart the most reliable way of presenting the big picture to get everyone on board. Seeing these connections can also promote open communication between team members, improve overall teamwork, and motivate members to hold themselves accountable!
One way to make sure you’re covering all your bases while mapping out your projects is by using a gantt chart template created to do that very thing, and luckily, we know 15 excellent templates to make that dream a reality!
Summarize this article for me pleaseManage Projects with Gantt Chart Templates
We’ve all hit that point in a project before. Where we just wish things would start magically moving forward already!
While we haven’t found that solution quite yet, we have found Gantt charts! And we’re almost certain that they’re the next best thing. 🙂
Securing a solid Gantt chart template is the first step in making sure you’re channeling your work in the right direction. Almost like a set of training wheels to help your team gain momentum with this new methodology!
Experiment with your own Gantt chart in ClickUp or browse from its growing library of free templates designed to help you improve your efficiency.
Sign up for ClickUp for free today and watch your project excel off the charts! 🚀
Questions? Comments? Visit our Help Center for support.