How to Make an Org Chart Online (From an Outline)

To make an org chart, open the Org Chart Maker and type one person per line in the People box, indenting each person under their manager. Add a job title after a bar — Maria Lopez | CEO. The chart is drawn as you type. Choose the spacing and colours (by Level, by Department or One colour) and download a PNG, JPG or SVG.

Make an org chart step by step

1. Open the Org Chart Maker.
2. In People, type the top person on the first line.
3. Indent each direct report with spaces or a Tab:

Maria Lopez | CEO
  James Chen | CTO
    Priya Shah | Engineering Lead
    Tom Baker | Designer
  Ana Silva | CFO
    Leo Park | Accountant

1. Under Layout, choose the Spacing — Compact, Normal or Roomy — and Colour by: Level, Department or One colour.
2. Tick Stack teams with no reports to list people without reports in a column under their manager — keeps wide charts readable.
3. Set the title, then download PNG, SVG or JPG.

Why write an outline?

Drag-and-drop org chart apps are slow to rearrange. With an outline, adding a person is adding a line, and moving a team is moving its lines and changing the indent — the chart rearranges itself.

The outline understands bullets (-, *, 1.) and Markdown headings (#, ##), so you can paste a team list from a document or a spreadsheet column.

Colour schemes

• Level — each management layer gets its own colour: the leadership team, managers, staff.
• Department — each branch from the top gets its own colour: engineering, finance, sales.
• One colour — a calm, print-friendly look.

Several charts side by side

Several top-level lines (lines without indentation) make several charts side by side — handy for co-founders, separate departments or a board and its committees.

Org chart ideas

• Company and team structures for onboarding packs and websites.
• School and club committees — who does what.
• Project teams — roles for a launch or event.
• Family trees — a simple descending tree (for complex families, specialised genealogy tools work better).

Tips for readable org charts

• Keep titles short — "Head of Sales", not the full official title — so boxes stay small and the chart fits a slide.
• Use Stack teams with no reports for managers with many direct reports.
• Split very large organisations into one chart per department.
• Check the indentation — one space too few moves someone to the wrong manager. Using Tab for each level avoids mistakes.

Keeping it up to date

Because the chart is drawn from text, keep the outline in a document or a note. When someone joins or moves, edit the line, paste the outline back in, and export a fresh chart in seconds — far quicker than rearranging boxes in a slide.

Related tools

• Brainstorming a structure? Start with the Mind Map Maker.
• Planning the team's work over time? The Gantt Chart Maker.

Privacy

Names and titles stay in your browser — nothing is uploaded or stored, which matters for internal staff lists.

Frequently asked questions

Can someone report to two managers?

Each line has one parent. For dotted-line relationships, mention them in the job title ("Designer · also supports Marketing").

Can I add photos?

The chart shows names and titles. For photos, use a design tool with the exported SVG.

Can I print it on a large sheet?

Download the SVG — it scales to any size without losing sharpness.