How to Create Eye-Catching Pinterest Board Covers: Step-by-Step Tutorial

Have you ever noticed how some Pinterest profiles just pop and grab your attention instantly? Most often, that professional and clean look is the magic of effective Pinterest board covers.

Pinterest board covers can play a huge role in growing your Pinterest reach and driving traffic to your blog. Professional-looking board covers can spark curiosity and encourage clicks, boosting your engagement.

However, creating and using Pinterest board covers divides opinions. Some Pinterest experts say they’re a waste of your time, while others are fanatic about using them.

So, should you create custom Pinterest board covers in the first place?

In this post, I’ll answer your questions about Pinterest board covers to help you figure out the best workflow for your Pinterest marketing strategy.

Because the thing is:

Board covers aren’t just pretty but also strategic. I’ll show you how to craft stunning board covers that captivate your audience’s attention and make them eager to explore your content.

Let’s go!

Please note: This post contains affiliate links to products I use, trust, and recommend. If you choose to purchase a helpful product using these links, I may receive a small commission for referring you – at no extra cost to you. These funds help me keep this blog up and running.

What are Pinterest board covers?

Pinterest board covers are the image covers for your Pinterest boards. I like to think of them as being the faces of your boards or the book covers of your Pinterest library of ideas.

By default, Pinterest selects a saved pin from each board to be the cover. But if you’re not happy with how your board covers look, you can change them to a custom design. I’ll show you how to do that in a minute.

A professional-looking board cover is a visual hook that draws people in and gives them a quick taste of what’s inside each board.

Hence, your Pinterest board covers don’t serve much of a purpose other than improving the aesthetics of your Pinterest profile and the Saved tab.

They don’t impact your Pinterest SEO or the performance of your individual pin images. But that doesn’t mean board covers aren’t helpful for growing your account.

Should you create custom board covers on Pinterest?

Is creating custom Pinterest board covers worth your time?

Well, it depends.

My personal take on board covers is: if you have the time to create them, go for it.

But if you’re busy with other things like writing blog posts and designing new pins, skip board covers for now.

So it boils down to weighing out the pros and cons.

Here are a few pros and cons of Pinterest board covers to help you decide:

Pros of Pinterest board covers

• Looking professional:
  Custom board covers make your profile and Saved tab look professional. It shows that you care about your branding and took the time to make it more appealing.
• Organizing your ideas visually:
  If your boards cover multiple high-level topics, people may have a hard time figuring out what your account is about. Using color-coding or other visual cues on your Pinterest board covers is an easy way to group your boards together by topic.
• Helping users navigate your account:
  Clear, attractive board covers make it easier for pinners to find what they’re looking for. If people can’t find your best content faster, they might move on to something else.
• Cleaning up your Saved tab:
  Depending on how many boards you have, your Saved tab on Pinterest could look cluttered. Since the automatic board covers and preview images are generated from the pins on each board, the overall aesthetic often looks messy. Making custom board covers solves this problem.
• Strengthening your brand:
  Depending on your niche, using distinct branding on Pinterest can be a fantastic way to stand out from your competitors. Having a strong brand makes your content more recognizable, too. Therefore, aligning your board covers with your brand colors, fonts, and overall aesthetics can strengthen your Pinterest presence.
• Attracting new followers:
  Although the Pinterest algorithm makes sure your content is distributed to the right audience even when you have zero followers, generating more followers helps your account grow faster. Stunning board covers make a great first impression and increase the chances of converting a user into a follower.

Cons of Pinterest board covers

• Consuming your time:
  Let’s face it: designing covers takes time. I know you’re busy as it is, so you may want to invest your time in other Pinterest marketing tasks. For example, you could create new, fresh Pinterest pins instead.
• Requiring basic design skills:
  Creating Pinterest board covers is easy and quick, but you’ll need to use a design tool of your choice for it. If you’re new to Pinterest and using Canva to design your graphics, you may want to get some practice under your belt before designing your board covers.
• Becoming redundant:
  Pinterest launches new features on the platform regularly. In the past few years, we’ve seen the rise and fall of idea pins, keyword suggestion bubbles, hashtags, and more. Who knows whether board covers will still be thing in a few years?
• Updating and maintaining takes time:
  Whenever you create a new Pinterest board, you need to go through all the steps it takes to design, upload, and set your board cover. Also, if you decide to change your branding in the future, be mindful of how much work it is to create new board covers for every board on your profile.

How to plan your Pinterest board covers

When it comes to creating Pinterest board covers that grab attention, a little planning goes a long way.

Before diving into design, it’s crucial to understand who you’re trying to reach and how your covers can embody your brand’s unique style.

Here are two main points to remember when planning your board covers:

1. Identify your target audience:
   To make Pinterest board covers that resonate, knowing your audience is key. Think about it like throwing a party — you need to know your guests to keep them engaged. Your pins and board covers have to appeal to your target audience. Check your Pinterest Analytics for data on the demographics and interests of your current followers. Also, research your competitors to learn what aesthetics work well in your niche.
2. Align them with your brand aesthetic:
   Your Pinterest board covers should be a visual extension of your brand. I like to see them as the welcome mat to your Pinterest profile — they should feel like your brand’s cozy home. Stick to a color palette that aligns with your brand colors. Use fonts consistently and make sure they are easily readable on small screens.

How to change Pinterest board covers: Step-by-Step tutorial

There are two ways for you to change your Pinterest board covers:

1. Design and upload a custom board image to be the cover.
2. Select an existing pin saved to a board to be the cover.

Let’s look at both methods in more detail next. Before we do, save this pin for later!

How to create Pinterest board covers with Canva

Most often, it makes sense to create custom cover images for your Pinterest boards. That way, you can place clear text overlays on them to help people find your best content more easily.

Canva is a powerful design tool that makes this task a breeze with its user-friendly features. If you’re not a graphic designer, don’t fret. Canva is perfect for non-designers like you and me.

I use Canva to design all of the graphic elements and digital assets for my business: Pinterest pins, blog post featured images, eBooks, printables, checklists, infographics, and more.

Here’s how you can make custom board covers for free in Canva:

Step 1: Create a new design (with the right dimensions)

First, head over to Canva to sign in or create your free account.

Click Create a design, and select Custom size:

For Pinterest board covers, the ideal dimensions are 1000 x 1000 pixels. This is large enough to make sure your design looks nice and crisp. The 1:1 aspect ratio means that your board covers are quadratic.

For your custom size design, enter these dimensions into Canva and click Create new design:

You will now see a blank design canvas that we’ll be working with:

Step 2: Add your brand name or logo

Branding is key to recognition, so subtly incorporating your brand name or logo into the board cover is essential.

In Canva, you can easily upload your logo to use. Alternatively, you can add a text overlay element and type in your brand name.

Make sure your branding doesn’t steal the show. It should be visible but not overpowering. Most often, centering it to the bottom of the content area on your design canvas works well.

For Blogging Explorer, I’ll use my website domain name for branding, drag it to the bottom center, and adjust my font size:

Step 3: Use your brand colors and fonts

Consistency in colors and fonts is like wearing a uniform — it sends a clear and cohesive message.

Use a your brand color palette and clear fonts. Sticking to your signature colors boosts brand familiarity and recognition.

For my board covers, all text overlays will be black. For the background, I will use the light blue from my brand color palette:

Step 4: Keep your design simple

Simplicity isn’t just about minimalism; it’s about clarity and effectiveness. A simple design makes your board cover easy to read at a glance, even on smaller screens.

Use clean lines, clear fonts, and enough negative space to make your board title pop. Avoid cluttered board cover designs with too many elements.

If you’re going for the minimalistic look, your board cover design should include two elements:

1. Board title
2. Brand name, logo, or website URL

Seriously, that’s it. Anything else is unnecessary.

However, if you have a brand element or icon that you want to use, go for it. Just bear in mind that your board covers will be teeny-tiny on most screens. If you use small, subtle elements, people may not be able to see them properly.

When it comes to designing your board covers, less is more.

Step 5: Duplicate your design for all boards

Once you’ve crafted the perfect design, use it as a template to create covers for all your Pinterest boards.

Click Duplicate page at the top right corner of your design:

Create as many duplicates as you need to have a cover for every board on your profile.

Next, change the board title text overlay on each page to match your board names.

Step 6: Download your covers from Canva

Once you have a cover design for every board on your Pinterest profile, it’s time to download them.

Click Share in the top-right corner and select Download:

Next, configure your download preferences:

1. File type — choose PNG for best quality.
2. Select pages — choose which pages you want to download.

When you’re ready, click Download:

Step 7: Upload your board covers as pins

To set your new image as a board cover you need to save it as a normal pin to that board first.

Navigate to the board you want to add a cover to.

Click on the plus symbol at the bottom and select Pin:

Select the right image from your downloads folder, give the pin the same title as the board name, and click Publish:

Step 8: Set your board covers

Now that your new image is saved to the right board, let’s set it as the board cover.

Head over to your Pinterest profile, open the right board, and select Edit board:

In your board settings, click on the plus symbol for Board cover:

Click your uploaded board cover image to select it:

Next, you can move and scale your Pinterest board cover. However, since we’re using a square image, you can simply click Done here:

To finish off, click Done in your board settings:

And there you go! Your Pinterest board cover is now visible on your profile — go see how it looks!

How to use an existing pin as a Pinterest board cover

So far, we’ve looked at how you can design custom Pinterest board covers with Canva.

However, sometimes it makes sense to use an existing pin as your board cover.

If some of your pins are plain photos without text overlays, they will make for beautiful board covers.

For example, let’s say you blog about travel tips. If one of your boards is titled “Travel Tips for Paris” and it includes stunning photos, you can set your most beautiful image from that board as your board cover.

Or if you publish makeup tutorials and one of your boards is “Eyeshadow Looks”, pick the strongest photo on your board as your cover.

My tip: If your Pinterest board covers are photos, make sure your covers have a cohesive look and feel. If most of your covers are bright and calming photos, avoid mixing them with dark, cluttered images that don’t fit in.

Here’s how to use an existing pin as your Pinterest board cover:

1. Head over to Pinterest and open the board you want to edit.
2. Click on the three dots next to the board title and select Edit board.
3. Under Board cover, click the gray box with the plus icon.
4. Select the pin you want to set as your board cover.
5. Adjust your cover with the Move and scale to crop options, and click Done.
6. Save your board settings by clicking Done again.

FAQ: How to make and use Pinterest board covers

Final thoughts: How to make and use Pinterest board covers

Creating eye-catching Pinterest board covers is a smart strategy to boost your blog traffic. With a few simple design principles, you can keep your branding consistent and make your boards stand out in a crowded feed.

Before you jump into creating dozens of custom board covers, make sure you understand your target audience and be mindful of what they need from you:

• What do they want to see when they open your Saved tab to peruse your boards?
• What’s going to help them find what they’re looking for faster?
• Are uniform board covers enough or should you use different colors for different topics throughout your boards?

Here are the main takeaways for designing your Pinterest board covers with Canva:

1. Include subtle branding by placing your brand name or logo on your design.
2. Use consistent brand colors.
3. Use large, easily readable fonts for your text overlays.
4. Make sure there’s enough contrast between your text overlay and its background.
5. Avoid cluttering your design with anything that’s not 100% necessary.

Ready to start? Head over to Canva to create a new design for your board covers right away.

For even more fun with Canva, grab my Viral Canva Pinterest Template Pack to create dozens of stunning pins within minutes!

And if you’re serious about leveraging Pinterest to grow your traffic, don’t miss my complete Pinterest marketing strategy guide.

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