Salesforce dashboards are one of the most powerful ways to visualize data and track your business performance. But if you’re wondering “What can I add to a Salesforce dashboard?” — the answer is: a lot more than you think.

From charts to gauges to Lightning components, Salesforce lets you build dashboards that connect your teams, display KPIs clearly, and help business users take quick action.

In this guide, we’ll walk through every component you can add, how they work, and the best use cases to build dashboards that truly get results.

Dashboards turn raw Salesforce data into visual insights. Instead of browsing multiple reports, users get a single page with all key metrics like:

• Leads generated

• Sales pipeline

• Case resolution times

• Revenue forecasts

It’s like turning a messy spreadsheet into a beautiful, strategic command center.

Think of reports as ingredients and dashboards as the final dish.

• Reports deliver detailed data.

• Dashboards show the story behind the data.

Dashboards rely on underlying reports, which means the quality of your dashboard depends on how well those reports are built.

Salesforce dashboards offer multiple elements that help you customize your visualization. Let’s break them down.

Charts are the most popular dashboard components because they give instant visibility.

Bar charts are perfect for comparisons like:

• Leads by source

• Opportunities by stage

• Cases by priority

They’re simple and highly readable.

Use line charts when you want to show trends over time:

• Month-over-month revenue

• Weekly sales progress

• Growth of active users

These are great for showing parts of a whole:

• Percentage of won vs. lost deals

• Distribution of case types

• Market segments

Perfect for visualizing a sales pipeline, funnel charts show:

• Lead → MQL → SQL → Opportunity

• Marketing conversion stages

Reports themselves can be displayed inside dashboards.

Best for simple lists, such as:

• New leads this week

• Open cases

• Upcoming renewals

These allow grouping and totals — useful when you need:

• Revenue by region

• Cases by agent

• Opportunities by stage

The most powerful report type — great for multi-dimensional analysis:

• Opportunities by rep and by stage

• Cases by product and priority

A metric component is perfect for single KPIs like:

• Total revenue

• Total open opportunities

• NPS score

• Sales target achievement

Clean. Simple. No clutter.

Gauges show performance toward a target.
For example:

• “Sales Target: 68% Achieved”

• “Customer Satisfaction: 92%”

They’re perfect for executive dashboards.

Tables help show multiple records with key columns.

Use them for:

• Top 10 deals

• Highest value accounts

• Overdue cases

You can also highlight rows with conditional formatting.

If you want something highly custom, Visualforce allows:

• Custom charts

• Special layouts

• Data pulled from multiple sources

This is perfect for complex or branded dashboards.

Lightning components make dashboards extremely flexible.

You can add:

• Custom UI widgets

• AI-driven insights

• Third-party integrations

This is where Salesforce dashboards become next-level.

Yes, you can even add images:

• Company logos

• Branded banners

• Icons

• Visual instructions

These make dashboards more user-friendly.

Dynamic dashboards let each user see data filtered to them automatically.

Example:
A sales manager sees all deals, while a rep sees only their own.

Dashboard filters make dashboards interactive without rebuilding them.

For example, you can filter by:

• Region

• Product

• Time period

• Owner

Salesforce allows you to adjust the color scheme, so charts align with:

• Branding

• Priorities

• Visual consistency

Too many charts confuse users. Stick to 8–12 components max.

Place the most important metrics at the top.

For example:

• Red for risks

• Green for success

• Blue for neutrals

Different roles → different dashboards.

• Sales reps

• Managers

• Executives

• Support teams

Everyone should see only what they need.

• Pipeline overview

• Expected revenue

• Top deals

• Win/loss trends

• Lead generation

• Campaign ROI

• Conversion funnels

• Case resolution time

• Customer satisfaction scores

• Agent performance

• Company KPIs

• Forecasts

• Goal progress

• Revenue trends

Salesforce dashboards are one of the most versatile tools for visual analytics. You can add charts, reports, metrics, gauges, tables, images, and even advanced Lightning components. The real power lies in customizing these components to match your business goals.

Whether you’re building a dashboard for sales, marketing, service, or leadership — the right setup can transform how your team understands data and makes decisions.

1. How many components can a Salesforce dashboard have?

Up to 20 components per dashboard.

2. Can I use one report for multiple dashboard components?

Yes — the same report can power several components.

3. Do dashboards update in real time?

They refresh when the underlying reports refresh, or based on your refresh settings.

4. Can I filter dashboards by user?

Yes, using Dynamic Dashboards.

5. Can I schedule dashboard refresh emails?

Absolutely! You can schedule dashboards to send via email automatically.