How to Make a Timeline Online (Free Timeline Maker)

To make a timeline, open the Timeline Maker and type one event per line as date | title | details — for example 1969 | Apollo 11 | First people on the Moon. Choose Horizontal or Vertical, and Even spacing or To scale so gaps in time show as gaps on the line. The timeline is drawn as you type; download it as a PNG, JPG or SVG.

Make a timeline step by step

1. Open the Timeline Maker.
2. In Events, type one event per line:

1957 | Sputnik 1 | First artificial satellite
1961 | Yuri Gagarin | First human in space
1969 | Apollo 11 | First people on the Moon
1998 | ISS | Construction begins

Details are optional; 1969: Apollo 11 and 1969 - Apollo 11 also work. 3. Under Layout, choose:

• Horizontal or Vertical.
• Even spacing or To scale.
• The width: 960 px, 1280 px or 1600 px.

1. Set the title and colours, then download PNG, SVG or JPG.

Dates it understands

• Years: 1969, 500 BC.
• Months: Mar 2024, 2024-03.
• Full dates: 2024-03-15, March 15, 2024.
• Quarters: Q2 2024.
• Any text — "Phase 1", "Kick-off" — works as a label, but then events stay in the order you typed them.

Events with recognised dates are sorted into date order automatically.

Even or to scale?

• Even spacing gives every event the same room — clearest when the dates are uneven (some years crowded, some empty) and you care about the sequence.
• To scale places events by their real dates, so long quiet periods show as long gaps — honest for history and for showing how fast things accelerated.

Horizontal or vertical?

• Horizontal — the classic timeline for slides and posters; cards alternate above and below the line and move apart when they'd overlap.
• Vertical — better for many events, long descriptions and phone screens; cards alternate left and right.

Ideas for timelines

• School projects: history topics, inventions, a person's life.
• Project milestones for a status update or proposal.
• Product release history for a website.
• Company history for an "About us" page.
• Your career for a CV or presentation.
• A story's plot — brainstorm it first with the Mind Map Maker, then put the events in order.
• Event schedules — a wedding day, a conference.

Timeline or Gantt chart?

A timeline shows moments. When tasks have durations and overlap — a project plan — use a Gantt chart instead.

A worked example: product releases

For a "Our story" web page, type each release with a month and a one-line description — Mar 2023 | Version 1.0 | First public release — choose Vertical so it reads on phones, and To scale so the faster pace of recent releases shows. Export the SVG and it stays sharp on any screen.

Tips

• Short titles, optional details. The title should make sense on its own.
• 8–15 events read comfortably; for more, use the vertical layout or split by era.
• Consistent date formats look tidier.

Privacy

Your events stay in your browser — nothing is uploaded or stored.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use dates before year 0?

Yes — write them with BC, such as 500 BC.

Why are my events out of order?

Events with text labels instead of dates keep the order typed. Use recognisable dates for automatic sorting.

Can I change the colours?

Yes, in the style options.