How to Create and Manage Boards in Trello

Edited 1 week ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team

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Trello is a web-based project management tool that allows you to organize your tasks and projects using boards, lists, and cards. It is a simple yet powerful tool used by individuals and teams to increase productivity and maintain an organized workflow. In this guide, we will walk you through the process of creating and managing boards in Trello. This will help you effectively structure your tasks, improve collaboration, and keep track of progress. Let's get started!

Understanding the basic structure of Trello

Before you start creating boards, it's important to understand Trello's basic structure. Trello uses three primary components: boards, lists, and cards.

• Board: A board represents a project or workspace. It's like a whiteboard full of lists, intended to manage a single project or workflow.
• Lists: Lists are columns that you use to categorize and organize cards. They often represent steps in a process or types of activities.
• Cards: Cards are the smallest unit in Trello. These are individual tasks or items that move through lists. You can add descriptions, attachments, comments, and more to each card.

Creating a Trello board

Creating boards in Trello is the first step toward organizing your project. Follow these steps to create a board:

1. Log in to your Trello account. If you don't have an account, you can create one by signing up on Trello's website.
2. Once logged in, you'll see your Trello home page.
3. Click the Create New Board button or the plus (+) icon that's usually located on the right side of the page navigation bar. It may appear as "Create New..." depending on the context.
4. A pop-up window will appear. Here, you can enter the name of your board. Choose a name that reflects the project or workflow it will represent.
5. You can choose a background for your board if you want. Trello offers many colors and images to choose from.
6. Choose the workspace where you want to create your board. Workspaces are groups of boards that help you organize related projects. If you're working in person, your default workspace is fine.
7. You can set the visibility of the board. Options typically include private, workspace visible, or public.
8. When you are satisfied with these settings, click on the Create Board button to finalize the process.

Managing your Trello boards

Once you've created a board, managing it includes organizing lists and cards, setting due dates, assigning tasks, and collaborating with team members.

Add lists to your boards

Lists help to classify tasks into different stages or categories. Here's how you can add lists to your board:

1. Open the board you just created.
2. You will see a button on your board that says 'Add a List'. Click on it.
3. Enter a title for your list. Common examples might be "To Do", "In Progress", "Done".
4. Press Enter or click the Add List button to create your list.

Repeat this process to create as many lists as your project needs.

Adding cards to lists

Cards represent individual tasks or items. Here's how to add them:

1. Go to the list where you want to add the new card.
2. Click the Add card to list button or area.
3. Enter a descriptive title for your card.
4. Press Add card to complete the process.

Now, your card is part of the list, waiting for you to add more details.

Customizing the card

Clicking on a card opens up more details where you can customize and manage a variety of card settings. Here are some ways to customize your card:

• Description: Provide a detailed description of the task or item.
• Members: Assign cards to one or more team members, and make them responsible for that specific task.
• Labels: Categorize and color-code your cards for easy visual organization.
• Checklists: Add subtasks with checkboxes to your cards, allowing you to break a task down into smaller, manageable parts.
• Due Date: Set a deadline for completing the task.
• Attachments: Upload files from your computer, Google Drive or other integrated services.
• Comments: Use comments to communicate updates and information related to the card's function.

Organize boards with automation and power-ups

Trello allows you to enhance your boards with automation (butlers) and power-ups.

Using Trello Butler (Automation)

Trello Butler automates repetitive tasks on Trello boards. Here are some examples of how you can automate your board:

• When cards are marked complete, create rules to move them to a different list.
• Set a trigger to notify members when the due date approaches.
• Automate the creation of new weekly or daily cards using scheduled commands.

To create an automation:

1. Open the board you want to automate.
2. Click the Automation button near the top of the board.
3. You can create a new rule, button, or schedule by following the on-screen instructions.
4. Choose the actions and conditions for your automation, and save them.

Using power-ups

Power-ups extend the functionality of Trello by integrating it with other applications or adding additional features. Here's how to enable a power-up:

1. On your board, click the Show menu option (usually found on the right).
2. Go to Power-Up.
3. Search or browse to the power-up you want to enable (e.g. Calendar, Google Drive, etc.).
4. Click Enable to activate the power-up for your board.

Team collaboration on board

One of Trello's key features is its ability to facilitate collaboration between team members. Here's how you can manage team collaboration:

Inviting team members

Invite colleagues to your board to work together:

1. Open the board you want to share.
2. Click the Invite button at the top of the board.
3. You can invite team members by entering their email addresses or by sharing the board link.
4. Choose the appropriate permissions for your invitees based on their roles, such as viewer, commentator, editor, or administrator.
5. Click Send invitation.

Communicate with team members

Effective communication is crucial for any team project. Trello offers several ways to ensure seamless interaction:

• Comments: Use the comments section of a card to discuss tasks directly within Trello.
• Mention: Use @username to mention specific team members in the comments, letting them know immediately.
• Notifications: Members will receive notifications about Board activities, allowing them to keep themselves updated.

Maintaining and managing board settings

Managing board settings effectively ensures that your productivity tool serves its purpose well. Trello's boards offer various setting options:

Board settings

To access and modify your board settings, follow these steps:

1. Click on Show Menu on Board.
2. ... Go to More and then select Settings.
3. Here, you can change the board name and description, adjust member permissions, and manage other board-specific settings.

Closing and deleting boards

If a project ends or a board is no longer needed, you can close or delete the board to keep things organized:

1. Open the board you want to close.
2. Click on the Show menu then click on More and select Close board.
3. Once you close it, you will no longer see it in your list of active boards.
4. Alternatively, you can permanently delete a board from the boards menu, but keep in mind that this action is irreversible.

Conclusion

Creating and managing boards in Trello is an intuitive process that can significantly boost personal and business productivity. By understanding Trello's structure, using its features, and collaborating effectively with your team, you can ensure that all of your projects are streamlined and executed efficiently. Whether you're using Trello for simple to-do lists or complex project management, mastering boards, lists, and cards—and taking advantage of automation and power-ups—will enable you to accomplish your goals with ease.

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