How to Make a Pinterest Board

Creating a Pinterest board is your first step toward organizing ideas, planning projects, and building your brand on one of the world's biggest visual discovery platforms. This guide will walk you through the simple steps to get started, then show you how to use boards strategically to get your content seen and grow your audience.

Understand This First: Pinterest Boards Aren't Just Folders

Before jumping into the "how," let's get one thing straight. A Pinterest board is much more than a digital folder for pretty pictures. Think of it as a themed collection, a public moodboard, or an interactive guide. For creators and brands, each board is a new opportunity to show up in search results.

Why? Because Pinterest is a visual search engine. Users don't just endlessly scroll, they actively search for ideas and solutions like "fall outfit inspiration," "small bathroom remodel ideas," or "weekly vegan meal prep." Your boards, when set up correctly, can show up in those search results, bringing new eyeballs to your profile, products, and website.

Thinking this way transforms your approach. You're not just saving Pins, you're curating resources that solve a problem or provide inspiration for a specific audience, optimized to be found.

How to Make a Pinterest Board: The Step-by-Step Guide

Let's start with the basics. You can create a board in a couple of different ways, both on your computer and on your phone. It's a straightforward process, no matter which device you're using.

On a Computer (Desktop Version)

Using the desktop site is often the easiest way to get started, giving you a full view of your profile.

1. Log in to your Pinterest account.
2. Navigate to your profile by clicking your profile picture in the top-right corner.
3. Click the Saved tab to view your existing boards.
4. Look for the plus sign icon (+) on the far right of your screen. Click it, and from the dropdown menu, select Board.
5. A pop-up window will appear. Here's where you'll give your board a name. We'll talk more about how to choose a good name later, but for now, just type one in!
6. You'll see a checkbox labeled "Keep this board secret." Check this box if you want the board to be visible only to you (and anyone you invite). This is perfect for planning surprise parties, brainstorming new product ideas, or just creating a personal vision board.
7. Click the Create button. Voila! Your board is created. Pinterest will immediately suggest some Pins to add, helping you get it started.

On the Pinterest Mobile App (iOS & Android)

Creating boards on the go is just as simple.

1. Open the Pinterest app on your phone and log in.
2. Tap your profile picture icon at the bottom-right of the screen to go to your profile.
3. Tap the plus sign (+) at the top right of your screen, then select Board from the options.
4. Just like on desktop, you'll be prompted to enter a Board name.
5. You can toggle the "Make board secret" switch if you'd like to hide it from your public profile.
6. You can also invite collaborators right from this screen by tapping "Collaborators" and searching for their username or email.
7. Tap Next or Create in the top-right corner. All done! The app, like the website, will immediately help you find pins to populate your new creation.

The Essential Board Settings You Can't Ignore

Creating the board is just step one. Nailing the settings transforms a simple collection into a strategic asset for your business or brand.

Public vs. Secret Boards: When to Use Each

This is the most fundamental setting. The choice is simple but important:

• Public Boards: These are visible to everyone. They appear on your profile and their Pins can show up in search results and other users' feeds. Use public boards for everything you want your target audience to see: your blog posts, products, brand aesthetic, tutorials, and curated inspiration related to your niche.
• Secret Boards: These are visible only to you and anyone you explicitly invite. Use them for behind-the-scenes planning, competitor research, moodboards for unfinished projects, or saving personal inspiration you don't want to share publicly. You can even create an entire content calendar with secret boards before scheduling anything out.

You can always change a secret board to public later, but be careful: you cannot change a public board back to secret. Plan accordingly!

Collaborative Boards: Planning with a Team or Clients

Need to plan an event with a friend or gather brand inspiration with your team? Collaborative boards are for you. When you invite someone to a board, they can add their own Pins, making it a shared creative space.

To invite a collaborator:

1. Open the board you want to share.
2. Below the board's title, you'll see a small circle with a plus sign (+) next to your profile picture or the word "Invite". Click it.
3. You can share a link or search for the user by their Pinterest name or email address to send an invitation.

This is a great tool for working with clients on design projects, planning group trips, or building a team resource hub.

The Board Description (This Is Your SEO Goldmine)

If you ignore every other optimization tip, please pay attention to this one. The board description is where you tell the Pinterest algorithm exactly what your board is about. This directly impacts how easily people can find your board through search.

When you edit your board (click the three dots next to the title), you'll find a "Description" field. Fill it with relevant, natural-sounding keywords that people would use to find the content on that board.

Let's look at an example for a board about home decor:

• Weak Description: "My home ideas."
• Strong, SEO-Driven Description: "Inspiration and ideas for modern home decorating. Find minimalist living room decor, Scandinavian design aesthetic, cozy bedroom textiles, and functional small space solutions. Perfect for anyone looking to create a calming, neutral home."

The second example uses specific search terms people are actually typing in, making it far more likely to get discovered.

From Basic to Pro: Strategies for Effective Pinterest Boards

You've got the technical skills. Now, let's talk strategy. Good boards are well-organized, visually appealing, and made for discovery.

Name Your Boards for Humans (and a Search Engine)

Just like the description, your board title is a huge ranking factor. Avoid vague or cutesy titles that don't mean anything to an outsider. Be clear, direct, and use keywords.

• Instead of "Yum," use "Easy Weeknight Dinner Recipes."
• Instead of "Dream Closet," use "Minimalist Wardrobe & Style Inspiration."
• Instead of "Good Stuff," use "Social Media Marketing Tips for Small Business."

Think about what search terms you want this board to rank for, and build your title around that.

Use Sections to Tame Your Biggest Boards

Got a massive board with hundreds of Pins? Tidy it up with Sections. This feature allows you to create sub-folders within a board to keep your ideas organized.

For example, a board called "Backyard Landscaping Ideas" could get overwhelming quickly. You could create Sections inside it for:

• Patio Furniture
• Drought-Tolerant Plants
• Outdoor Lighting
• DIY Garden Projects

This helps users (and you) navigate your content more easily. To add a Section, open your board and click the "Add Section" button.

Design an Eye-Catching Board Cover

A small detail with a big impact! Setting your board covers gives your profile a clean, cohesive, and professional look. By default, the cover is just the latest Pin you saved. Instead, you can choose any Pin from the board to represent it.

To set a board cover:

1. Navigate to the board.
2. Click the three dots (...) and select Edit board.
3. Under "Board cover," click the edit icon (usually a pencil).
4. Scroll through the Pins on that board and pick one that best represents the theme. You can even create a custom "cover" graphic and upload it as a Pin specifically for this purpose.
5. Adjust the cropping and click Save.

Steal These Board Ideas for Your Brand or Business

Stuck on what kind of boards to create? Here are a few ideas to get you started, categorized by industry.

For E-commerce & Product Businesses:

• Boards for each product category (e.g., "Handmade Ceramic Mugs," "Linen Dresses").
• "Behind the Scenes": Show your workspace, team, and creation process.
• "How to Use Our Products": Create and share helpful tutorials.
• "Gift Guides": Curate your products for different holidays or occasions (e.g., "Mother's Day Gift Guide").
• "Customer Photos & Reviews": Showcase user-generated content (with permission!).

For Bloggers & Content Creators:

• A board featuring exclusively your own blog posts or videos.
• Boards for each of your primary content categories (e.g., "Personal Finance Tips," "Travel Guides to Southeast Asia").
• "Resources & Tools I Love": A board sharing affiliate links for your favorite software, books, etc.
• Inspiration for your niche (e.g., a food blogger could have boards for "Healthy Baking Recipes" or "Holiday Cocktails").

For Service-Based Businesses (Coaches, Designers, Consultants):

• A portfolio board showcasing your finished work and case studies.
• "Helpful Tips & Industry Advice": Establish your expertise. For example, for marketing, your board will be your business knowledge base.
• "Client Testimonials": Turn quotes from happy clients into attractive graphics.
• "FAQs": Answer common questions related to your services.
• Inspirational quotes related to your industry and mission.

Final Thoughts

Making a Pinterest board is a simple click-and-type process, but building a strategic collection that drives traffic and brand awareness takes a purposeful approach. By giving your boards clear, keyword-driven names and descriptions, organizing Pins logically, and curating for a specific audience, you elevate your profile from a personal hobby to a powerful marketing tool.

Mastering a visual platform like Pinterest is a huge win for your overall content plan. Once you get that rhythm down, the next challenge is maintaining similar consistency across all your other channels - from Reels and TikTok to YouTube Shorts. That's why we built Postbase, we needed a simple, visual calendar to plan and see all of our content in one place without the chaos. It helps us schedule everything reliably and keeps our entire social presence strong, which gives us more time to focus on creating great content in the first place.