Power BI Publishing to Web: Maximize Potential

In today’s world, businesses rely heavily on analytics and visualizations to make informed decisions. Power BI publishing to web has become an essential tool for creating compelling reports and dashboards, bringing data to life.

With Power BI publishing to web, organizations can seamlessly share their insights, fostering a collaborative culture and maximizing the impact of their visuals. You can leverage the Power BI Publish to Web feature to embed content on diverse platforms. These include emails, blog posts, websites, or social media.

It also grants easy control over editing, updating, and sharing visuals.

The Power BI publishing to web feature empowers individuals and organizations to transform data into shared knowledge.

This fosters a collaborative culture where insights transcend boundaries, enriching decision-making and driving collective progress.

This article will explore Power BI’s web publishing feature. We’ll begin by defining what Power BI publishing to the web is. We’ll also look at the benefits of Power BI publishing to the web.

We’ll then discuss who should use the Power BI publishing to web feature. We’ll also learn the best practices for Power BI publishing to web. We will finally learn how to publish a Power BI report on the web.

Table of Content:

1. What is Power BI Publishing to Web?
2. Why use Power BI Publish to Web?
3. When to Use Publish to Web?
4. Who Should Use Publish to Web in Power BI?
5. Power BI Publish to Web Example
6. How to Publish a Power BI Dashboard to the Web?
7. How to Use the “Publish to Web” Feature?
   • Step 1: Open Your Report
   • Step 2: Publish the Sankey Diagram to the Web
   • Step 3: Save Your Report
   • Step 4: Select And Publish Report
   • Step 5: Create the Embed Code
   • Step 6: Confirm Publishing
8. Benefits of Publishing a Power BI Report to the Web
9. Considerations and Limitations of Publishing Power BI to the Web
10. Best Practices for Publishing a Power BI Report to the Web
11. Power BI Publish to Web FAQs
12. Wrap Up

What is Power BI Publishing to Web?

Definition: Power BI Publishing to Web is a feature that lets you share interactive reports and dashboards publicly. When you publish, Power BI generates an embed code that can be added to websites, blogs, or emails, allowing anyone to view the content without signing in. Since these reports are accessible to all, it’s important to avoid publishing sensitive or confidential data.

Why use Power BI Publish to Web?

• Share Reports Easily: Publish to Web allows you to share Power BI reports or dashboards publicly without requiring viewers to have a Power BI account.
• Simple Embedding: The feature generates an embed code that you can quickly add to websites, blogs, or emails to make interactive reports accessible.
• Wider Audience Reach: It’s a great way to showcase data insights to customers, students, or the public, making complex information easy to understand.
• Visual Storytelling: Interactive dashboards help engage viewers and communicate insights more effectively than static charts or tables.
• Ideal for Public Content: Perfect for sharing research, product updates, or marketing data—just avoid using it for confidential or sensitive information.

When to Use Publish to Web?

Use Publish to Web when you want to share non-sensitive Power BI reports with a broad audience. It’s ideal for marketing dashboards, research findings, public reports, or embedding visuals in blogs and websites. Avoid using it for confidential or internal data since the reports are publicly accessible.

Who Should Use Publish to Web in Power BI?

Power BI publishing to the Web is suitable for various types of individuals, such as:

• Developers creating custom web apps. They could include live Power BI reports as visual components alongside other app features.
• Sales and marketing teams. They could share the latest products with customers, resellers, affiliates, or external vendor networks.
• Organizations seeking to incorporate interactive reports onto their websites and portals to exhibit external data and analytics.
• Individuals managing blogs, website analytics, or content platforms can embed interactive reports directly into their online content.
• Consultants, agencies, or systems integrators providing BI applications directly to clients.
• Internal SharePoint site administrators. They could enrich pages and site dashboards by integrating dynamic Power BI visuals using web part embedding.

Power BI Publish to Web Example

Imagine you’ve created a sales performance dashboard in Power BI that shows revenue by region, top-selling products, and monthly growth trends. Instead of sharing it only with your internal team, you use Publish to Web to make it publicly accessible.

• Power BI generates an embed code.
• You paste that code into your company blog.
• Now, anyone visiting the blog can interact with the live dashboard—filtering by region or viewing product trends—without needing a Power BI account.

This is especially useful for marketing teams, educational institutions, or public reports, where the goal is to share insights widely while keeping the process simple.

How to Publish a Power BI Dashboard to the Web?

In this section, we learn how to publish a Power BI visualization to the web. We’ll use the Sankey Diagram (Sankey Chart) as an example.

Stage 1: Logging in to Power BI

• Log in to Power BI.
• Enter your email. Click the “Submit” button.

• Enter your password and click “Sign in.”

• Choose whether to stay signed in.

Stage 2: Create a Data Set and Select the Data Set to Use in Your Sankey Chart

• Click on the “Create” option on the left-side menu.
• Select ”Paste or manually enter data.”

• We’ll use the following consumer behavior and shopping habits dataset.

Item Purchased	Category	Location	Season	Review Rating	Payment Method
Sweater	Clothing	Kentucky	Winter	3.1	Credit Card
Sweater	Clothing	Oregon	Winter	3.1	Bank Transfer
Sunglasses	Accessories	Rhode Island	Spring	3.1	Cash
Sunglasses	Accessories	Rhode Island	Spring	3.5	PayPal
Blouse	Clothing	Oregon	Spring	2.7	Cash
Shoes	Footwear	Louisiana	Summer	2.9	Venmo
Shoes	Footwear	California	Fall	3.2	Debit Card
Coat	Clothing	Louisiana	Winter	3.2	Debit Card
Coat	Outerwear	California	Summer	2.6	Venmo
Handbag	Accessories	California	Spring	4.8	PayPal
Shoes	Footwear	California	Fall	4.1	Credit Card
Sweater	Clothing	Oregon	Winter	4.9	PayPal
Coat	Outerwear	California	Winter	4.5	PayPal
Dress	Clothing	Rhode Island	Spring	4.7	Debit Card
Coat	Outerwear	California	Winter	4.7	PayPal
Sweater	Clothing	Kentucky	Winter	2.8	Credit Card
Sunglasses	Accessories	Kentucky	Spring	4.1	Venmo
Sweater	Clothing	Oregon	Winter	4.7	Debit Card
Sweater	Clothing	California	Summer	4.6	Bank Transfer
Pants	Clothing	California	Summer	3.3	Venmo
Pants	Clothing	Kentucky	Winter	2.8	Credit Card
Pants	Clothing	Rhode Island	Winter	4.1	Credit Card
Pants	Clothing	New York	Summer	3.2	Cash
Pants	Clothing	Oregon	Winter	4.4	Credit Card

• Paste the above data table into the “Power Query” window.

• Select the “Create a dataset only” option as shown below.

• Click on the “Data Hub” option on the left-side menu.
• Power BI populates the data set list. (If you have not created a data set, refer to the Error! Reference source not found section.)
• The data details are shown below:

• Click on the “Create a report” dropdown, as shown below.
• Select “Start from scratch.”

Stage 3: Adding the Power BI Sankey Diagram Extension by ChartExpo

• To finish creating our Sankey Diagram, we’ll use an add-in or Power BI visual from AppSource.
• Navigate to the Power BI Visualizations panel.
• Click the ellipsis (…) highlighted above to import the Power BI Sankey Diagram extension by ChartExpo.

• The following menu opens:
• Select the “Get more visuals” option.
• The following window opens:

• Enter “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo” in the highlighted search box.
• You should see the “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo,” as shown in the image below.

• Click the highlighted “Add” button.

• Power BI will add the “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo” in the visualization panel.

Stage 4: Drawing a Sankey Diagram with ChartExpo’s Power BI extension

• Select the “Sankey Diagram for Power BI by ChartExpo” icon in the visualization panel.
• The following window opens in the report section of your dashboard:

• You can resize the visual as needed.
• Go to the right-hand side of your Power BI dashboard.

• You’ll select the fields to use in your Sankey chart here.
• The ChartExpo visual needs to be selected, though.
• Select the fields in the following sequence:
  • Category
  • Item purchased
  • Location
  • Payment method
  • Review rating
  • Season

• You’ll be asked for a ChartExpo license key or email address.

Stage 5: Activating your ChartExpo Trial or Applying a Subscription Key

• Select the ChartExpo visual. You should see three icons below “Build Visual” in the Visualizations panel.

• Select the middle icon, “Format visual.”
• The visual properties will be populated as shown below.

• If you are a new user,
  • Type in your email under the section titled “Trial Mode.”
  • This should be the email address that you used to subscribe to the ChartExpo add-in. It is where your ChartExpo license key will be sent.
  • Ensure that your email address is valid.

• You should receive a welcome email from ChartExpo.
• The Sankey Diagram you create under the 7-day trial contains the ChartExpo watermark.

• If you have obtained a license key:
  • Enter your license key in the “ChartExpo License Key” textbox in the “License Settings” section (see below).
  • Slide the toggle switch next to “Enable License” to “On.”

• Your final chart should look like the one below. If you get a license, the Sankey Chart will not have a watermark.

Insights

• At level 1, Category, clothing was the most purchased category (57.91%). Accessories came in second with 17.40% of the total items. Footwear had the least number of purchases (11.47%).
• At level 2, items purchased, sweaters were the most purchased item (26.04%). Pants were the second most purchased item (19.98%). Blouses were the least purchased item (3.03%).
• At level 3, Location, most of the purchases were made in California (36%). Oregon came in second (22%). New York had the least number of purchases (4%).
• At level 4, Payment method, PayPal was the most preferred payment method (25%). 24% of the customers preferred to pay using credit cards. 9% of the customers preferred to use bank transfers.
• At level 5, Season, most purchases were made during winter (47%). The spring season had the second-highest number of purchases (26%). The fall season had the fewest number of purchases (8%).

How to Use the “Publish to Web” Feature?

The provided data illustrates customer behavior regarding the timing and method of their purchases.

It reveals the specific types of items bought, the top purchasing states, and the preferred payment methods in those regions.

It also shows the correlation between purchases and different seasons.

Step 1: Open Your Report

You can now share your Sankey diagram on the Web. Let’s learn how to do so step by step.

• Go to your Power BI workspace, choose the report you want to share, and make sure you have editing rights.

Step 2: Publish the Sankey Diagram to the Web

• On the top right of the Sankey diagram, click “Pin the visual.” Your visual needs to be in focus mode.

• You’ll be asked to name your report before you can pin the visual.

• Choose a name for your report and a destination workspace, for example, “My Workspace.”
• A menu appears at the top of the Sankey diagram.

• Click on File. Hover over “Embed Report.”

• Choose “Publish to web (public).”

Step 5: Create the Embed Code

• The above window opens. It says that you’ll get a link or embed code to include on a public site.
• You get a warning not to publish confidential information, as shown below:

5. Click the “Publish” button to publish the Sankey diagram to the web.

• As you can see, we now have the HTML you can embed in a public site. Copy this and add it to your site.
• Power BI also generates a public URL you can send via email.
• Paste the public URL in your browser. Your Sankey Diagram should open. It is now publicly accessible, on the web, for anyone, even without a Power BI license.

Benefits of Publishing a Power BI Report to the Web

1. Easy Sharing with Anyone: Publishing to the Web makes reports accessible to anyone with the link, even if they don’t have a Power BI account.
2. Simple Embedding Options: You can embed interactive reports directly into websites, blogs, or emails using a ready-made HTML code.
3. Wider Audience Reach: Perfect for reaching customers, students, or the public, making insights available beyond your internal team.
4. Interactive Data Experience: Viewers can explore dashboards and reports in real time instead of relying on static charts or PDFs.
5. Time-Saving and Cost-Free: No need for complex permissions or extra licenses—publishing is quick, easy, and free.
6. Ideal for Public Information: Great for showcasing research, product performance, or educational dashboards without exposing private data.

Considerations and Limitations of Publishing Power BI to the Web

1. Public Accessibility: Once published, reports are visible to anyone with the link and can be indexed by search engines. Avoid sharing sensitive or confidential data.
2. No User-Level Security: Unlike internal Power BI sharing, Publish to Web does not support row-level security or access restrictions.
3. Admin Restrictions: Your organization’s Power BI admin may disable or limit this feature, requiring approval before you can create embed codes.
4. Limited Control Over Access: You cannot track who views your report or revoke access for specific individuals—only delete the embed code entirely.
5. Performance Considerations: Large datasets or complex visuals may load slowly when embedded on external websites.
6. Compliance Risks: Public publishing may not align with industry regulations or company policies, especially in finance, healthcare, or government sectors.

Best Practices for Publishing a Power BI Report to the Web

Below are recommended best practices for Power BI publishing to the web:

1. Publish Only Non-Sensitive Data: Ensure the report does not contain confidential, personal, or proprietary information since it will be publicly accessible.
2. Review Before Publishing: Double-check visuals, filters, and pages to confirm accuracy and remove any unnecessary data.
3. Use Placeholder Images: Add a placeholder image to improve page loading speed and provide a cleaner viewing experience.
4. Optimize Visuals for Performance: Keep dashboards simple and avoid overly complex visuals to ensure fast load times for all users.
5. Update Reports Regularly: Refresh your data sources and republish when needed so viewers always see the most up-to-date insights.

Power BI Publish to Web FAQs

Can Power BI Reports be Published to the Web?

Power BI reports can be published to the web using the ”˜Publish to Web’ feature. It can publish reports through an integration feature, Power BI Embedded.

This feature allows viewers to access published information without needing a Power BI account.

The data should be restricted, as anyone with the URL can access it. You can also determine which kind of data to publish.

What is the Difference Between Publish to Web and Embedded in Power BI?

The publish-to-web feature allows you to share interactive reports using a public link or embed code. This allows universal access to content via a browser without authentication. However, it lacks robust security features and offers limited customization options.

On the other hand, the embedded feature integrates your report with online platforms. It provides greater control over access, allowing restrictions on specific users or groups.

To access information, users should authenticate their access, providing heightened security for your data.

It also offers more customization options, such as filters, slicers, and fonts, enabling users to interact extensively with your data.

Wrap-Up

Power BI Publishing to Web feature allows users to effortlessly embed interactive content across multiple online platforms.

It seamlessly integrates with various platforms, enabling users to manipulate data for more in-depth insights.

Despite this flexibility, you retain control over your published data, preventing unauthorized republishing.

We began by describing Power BI publishing to the web and its benefits. We then looked at who should use this apt Power BI feature.

We explored best practices for Power BI publishing to the web. We then used ChartExpo’s Sankey Diagram as an example of how to publish a Power BI report to the web.

We hope that you are now comfortable publishing your Power BI visualizations to the web.