I recently started a project where I wanted to integrate a lightweight framework into my Python application to display data visualizations. I first tinkered around with converting my project into a Flask app, but without a lot of experience with HTML and CSS, I was finding it difficult to get dashboards working on the webpage. Eventually I found a tool called Dash by Plotly, which describes itself as a “low-code framework for rapidly building data apps in Python”. I decided to give it a try and worked through a brief tutorial on their website, which showcases how simple it is to get data visualization working.

The tutorial gave me enough experience working with Dash to start incorportating it into my application. I was able to get Dash working in my app, and visualizing data in less than 15 minutes. On top of being easy to setup, Dash has a lot of really great resources that I found especially useful when trying to find new ways to visualize data or customize the webpage. Here are a few that I have been tapping into a lot:

  1. Dash Mantine Components - the Dash Mantine Components page has a lot of different options for customizing the layout and the look of the webpage. I have used it a lot to customize the typography of my app, but it can also be used to setup custom inputs, change the overlay, create buttons and tabs, and change data displays.

  2. Dash Example Index - the Dash Example Index is a page I keep coming back to frequently when I want to feel inspired about different ways I can visualize my data. This page lists countly different ways to create data visualizations, with examples of source code to help you get started.

  3. Plotly Docs - Plotly has a list of visualization examples similar to the Dash Example Index website, though not as extensive. These have been helpful to use to cross reference with the Dash Example Index visualizations because sometimes the Plotly docs go a little bit more in depth on the visualization examples they provide.

In addition to those resources, the Plotly Community Forums is extremely helpful when looking for answers to more specific questions. I have found the solutions to a lot of issues I’ve been blocked on in these forums.

Overall I can’t say enough good things about using Dash with Python, and I’m really enjoying working with it so far.