A while back I showed you how to organize your messy Pinterest boards into what some would consider a work of art. Today’s Pinterest tip is going to take your boards to the next level. Make your boards more than just ordinary, make them into a masterpiece by setting your board cover images!
Why bother changing the board cover image? If you don’t, the image will continually change to be the last image you pinned to that board and it may not be the best representation of the kinds of pins there. You want your followers and your potential new followers to know what they can find on your boards, don’t you?
You’ve worked so hard and spent so much time choosing the right pins, you might as well choose an image that represents your board well. Take a look at the video below to find out how:
Did you know that videos are “Pinnable” too? Click the ‘Pin It’ button at the top or at the bottom of this post to pin it your board.
Do you like the video tutorials? Have a question about Pinterest? Let me know in the comments below.
If you’d rather pin an image, I made one just in case.
Happy Pinning!
110 Comments
Thanks, Cynthia for the information. I do have a question for you…..is there a way to rename your boards? When I first got started with Pinterest I didn’t thoroughly think through the naming of my boards and I did a terrible job of doing so! Would love to find out how to rename them and if anyone knows……I think you should!
Thanks for your time and I hope you can help me!
Jai Archer
Jai, you sure can change your boards’ names. Just go to your profile page where you see all of your boards and click “Edit” underneath the the board you want to change. Just type the new name in the title box on the page that pops up.
If you’re at all concerned about SEO, I wouldn’t recommend doing this very often as it changes the URL of your board. Also, keep in mind if you want your boards to be easily found that you use words in the name that people will search for.
Thanks for your question! -Cynthia
I was trying to organize my boards and change covers on my iPad following your instructions and was not successful because I don’t have the same version of Pinterest as you? I downloaded the latest version. Any suggestions..? Thx you!
Hi Paula, thanks so much for your question. Through the current version of the Pinterest mobile app, there is not a way to organize your boards or to change the board cover.
However, if you go to Pinterest in the Safari app on your iPad, you can change your board cover image by lightly clicking towards the bottom of the current board cover image. The drawback to this is that you can not adjust the positioning of the image.
I haven’t been able to find a way to rearrange your boards at all on an iPad it seems that you still have to use a computer to do that. Hope this helps.
the new pinterest layout won’t let change my board covers. i did exactlu what u showed on the video.
Hi Ariana, The process to change your board cover has changed a little since the recent update to Pinterest.
Now, to change the board cover, go to your main profile page where you see all of your boards.
-Hover your mouse over the board that you want to change.
-You should see a box appear that says “change cover”. Click it
-Scroll though each image until you see one that you want to use for the cover and drag to position it in place.
-Click the red box that says “save changes”
Your board should have a new cover. With the changes, you can no longer open your board and pick a pin to use as a cover image. You have to scroll through each one.
I hope this helps and thanks for stopping by. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Two of my boards do not say “change cover” In fact, they do not show any picture at all.
Hi Bree, can you check and see if it’s group boards that you’re having the problem with?
I’m having the same problem on 2 boards–no picture at all. And they are not group boards. Suggestions?
Hi Debbie,
Not sure why this is happening. Not sure if this will help but if you remember which pin you used as the board cover, check to see if the link still works. If it does delete the pin then try repining and see if you get a new board cover image. Maybe there is something with the image selected that is throwing it off?
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Hello…When using my iPad and I go to pin something not all my boards come up….just a few of them. What do I need to do to see all my boards? Thank you!
Hi Carla, thanks for your question. Are you using The iPad app? If you are, make sure you’ve updated to the latest version. You should see an alphabetical list of your boards that you can scroll through by hiding and dragging up and down.
If you’re pinning through Safari, it can be a bit tricky to scroll through your list of boards. Tap on your list of boards and very slowly drag the list up, repeat until you find the board you need.
I hope this helps, please let me know. 🙂
Two of my board covers are gone and they are just blank. I can’t get a change cover icon to click on ….nothing. It is driving me crazy and pinterest hasn’t responded to my email. Any suggestions?
Thanks
Hi, thanks for your question.
Is it by any chance a group board? I’ve noticed this happening with a couple of mine that I belong to. Since I’m not the one who owns the board, I can’t change it. If it is you could try to reach out to the person that started the board and let them know. They might not have noticed that their cover image is gone.
Pinterest works a bit differently when I access it on my phone’s browser (not the app). You could give that a try.
Go to Pinterest.com and click on the drop down menu next to your profile image in the upper right corner and select Full Site. Double tap your profile image again to go to your account page to see your boards. Quickly tap the board that you want to change the cover image for then click the edit board cover bottom that appears. (On an iPhone it took me a couple of try’s to get the button to appear)
I hope this helps. Let me know how it goes.
Not a group board. Does not offer change cover option at all. It did but not since the covers disappeared. Still have 2 blank spots …can’t find any fixes for it either?!
Thanks
Hi Cynthia,
Was wondering if you’ve ever come across this problem? I changed my album name recently and everything was fine. Then, a couple of days ago I noticed it changed back to the original name and will not let me change it. It tells me there’s an error and that I already have a board named that. Is this some wierd glitch? Or, is there some way to fix it?
Michael,
I hadn’t seen that problem before, I think it is a glitch. I didn’t see anything in the Pinterest help center about this but you might want to email them and let them know you’re having this problem.
To do that, visit https://help.pinterest.com/home and search for your problem. Click the answer that most resembles your issue and at the bottom you will see a red box that says Email Help. from there you can send a message t Pinterest.
Not all answers provided by Pinterest have the email option. This one does https://help.pinterest.com/entries/22997027-Add-edit-or-delete-a-board
Best of luck to you!
Hi. Since I updated IE to 10 it now does not let me edit my board pictures. Is there a solution for this? Thanks for your help.
Hi Kimberly,
I’m sorry I have a Mac so I’m not very familiar with IE. I know Pinterest has been having some issues this week, something tells me more changes are on their way. You could always give another browser like Chrome or Firefox a try if it doesn’t resolve soon.
Hello,
How to I arrange the way my board looks when I’m a follower on someone else’s site (other than just my most recent pins)
Hi Bradey,
I’m not sure if I understand your question. Do you want to change the board cover image, the large image on your boards?
Cynthia.
Is there any way to change the cover of a Youtube video? If I pin a video, I just get the same one that Youtube made. On Youtube, they give a choice of 3 video cover, and I think they just selectively pick 3 screen capture from the video, and allow us to pick which one. That is the cover of the video that I pin on Pinterest.
Thanks
Danny,
Yes, you can change the cover for a video and I highly recommend it for both Pinterest and YouTube exposure. You can take a look at one I created for a video I recently recorded here http://www.ohsopinteresting.com/tip-for-advanced-pinterest-users-to-save-time-and-add-followers/.
There is a process that you have to go through on YouTube to upload your custom image but it isn’t too complicated. Social Media Examiner has a great tutorial. http://www.ohsopinteresting.com/tip-for-advanced-pinterest-users-to-save-time-and-add-followers/
Thanks for your question, Danny!
I can no longer change my board cover…..something I’ve always done. When I click on change cover, there is no image to view. I don’t know what the problem is. Can you help?
i updated to the current version of pintrest on my ipad. i do not like the format as well. can i switch back somehow? i used to be able to change my board cover just fine with the edit button within the app and now i cant.
Shana, I don’t think you can go back to previous versions of apps. I hope in the future you can have the same features on both the apps and web version.
I hate the new version of Pinterest on my phone. I loved the layout a lot better the old way. Sometimes change is not good, and this is one of them. Soo discouraged!!!!! I don’t even like to get on Pinterest now that they messed it all up.
I have an ipad ..I want to change my board covers to other pictures …I did what you said in video ..an have tried everything nothing works…..why did you change it …put it back the way it was????????????????
I wish I hadn’t updated Pinterest on my Ipad. I can not figure out how to change board covers or move boards around. So frustrating! Any suggestions?
I didn’t change my penterest ……it was changed …how do you edit board covers ..on my ipad
I think I’ll just erase my pins ..since Pinterest is not doing ANYTHING TO HELP THIS PROBLEM ????thanks for nothing
I’m done you don’t answer me you don’t want to help at all …I’ll just drop all my pins an be done thanks for nothing
Hi Linda,
It is a bummer that all of the features on the iPad version of Pinterest aren’t the same as the web version. Unfortunately it seems that the only way to change board covers and the order of boards is in the web version from a desktop or laptop computer. I hope they add these features to their mobile apps soon.
What are u talking about it worked fine last week ….but while I slept ..u changed something ..an made it all different..?????????????now nothing works …last week ..I could do anything I wanted ….
@Linda she didn’t change anything. The employees of Pinterest updated their mobile app, which changed some features. Including being able to edit your board covers. Stop accusing her of changing it. As for her not answering every one of your comments, I’m sure she has plenty of better things to do.(:
Glad I found your site. It’s so frustrating not being able to change board covers from an iPad I thought it was just me! I think this is a bug they can’t keep the app the way it is too many of us use tablets.
Great site Cynthia!
Quick question: When pinning a video from YouTube, have you encountered the situation where the cover image for the video is the “frowny TV screen”? However when you click it, it takes you to the video you want. Do you know how to change the cover of a YouTube Pin?
Thanks!
Thanks Mike! Unfortunately there’s no way to change the cover of a YouTube pin. It should use the thumbnail of the video. How are you pinning. I notice this happens when I post to Facebook sometimes with my iPad?
I have enjoyed sending pins back and forth with a friend, and we always just click send, then there’s a button just for her. 1 click and it’s sent. Now, that button doesn’t work, for either of us. We can click on the email option, but it’s a pain to type her long address every time, and now even that doesn’t work. Do you know how to fix it. I miss pinning back and forth
Hi Rob,
I looks like Pinterest is making some big updates to the site and that might be a feature that they’ve phased out. Hopefully it’s temporary. You might want to try using the mobile app to send pins. Thanks for your question 🙂
Cynthia, is there a email address to reach out to Pinterest? I would love to email them.nThe new change they made the effected my mobile layout stinks. Please help. Also, sorry soo many people are taking it out on you. Not your fault.
Hi, I am no longer able to change the cover picture on any new boards I make as there is no ” change cover ” showing when I hoover over the picture, also the number of pins always show as 0 . why is this happening and what can I do about it . thanks BD
Hi BD,
I just experienced the same problem It must be a glitch in the system. I hope it resolves soon. Thand for stopping by 🙂
To all those having image cover problems.
This morning I noticed the problem of having no image cover on a few of my boards. There also was no hoover-over ‘Change Cover’ option.
I solved this for myself by doing the following:
Click on Edit Board
Simply click ‘Save Changes’ without changing anything
Then you should see the hoover over option to change your cover.
I hope this works for others. I did this on the web, so apps may differ.
Thanks for the great tip Ryan!
Hello
Im having a problem with changing my board covers! I have an android and the version for it doesnt have an option for changing board covers, can you help!?
Angela,
Unfortunately board covers can only be changed from the web version on a computer not form any of the mobile apps.
-Cynthia
Hi Cynthia,
Do you know of a way to change any/all of the four images that identify each board that is created? On my iPad/app the four images are squared together. I wasn’t able to find any info on this anywhere. Thank you in advance for your time and any help you might be able to offer.
Pls help. I don’t have `set cover` when I try to edit my cover pic on my board.
Hi, I’ve noticed with the new site design the option to change my board covers has disappeared, I’m using a tablet (HP slate 7) and I’m able to open the full site using google chrome, whereas before the site changing I was able to see roughly in the middle of my board it said edit cover how there’s no option so I was wondering if you could offer me any assistance, many thanks
For everyone without a change cover option, try using IE. I just checked on mine because I’ve been going nuts with not being able to change it and the option is not there for me in Chrome or Firefox (with or without an adblocker on). Only in IE does the ‘change cover’ appear on hover. I’ve written to pinterest to see what’s up.
Hi Erin,
Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your advice about this. I really appreciate you taking time to do that. I’m sure many will find it helpful 🙂
Please keep us updated if you hear from Pinterest.
-Cynthia
Hi Stephen,
How about trying a different browser? It looks like it worked for Erin in the comment below. I have an iPad and a Mac and am still able to change board cover images with both the app and in Google Chrome but noticed on my husband’s Android tablet that I couldn’t change them. Hopefully, Pinterest will get all of the different versions working the same way soon.
-Cynthia
Hello Cynthia,
I have the same problem about the change board cover images. I don’t see any pop up cover and I’m definitely doing it now here in the website. 3 days ago I still can change my images. Hope it will be fixed soon!
Hi Cynthia,
I’ve tried both ie and Firefox nothing seems to work, hopefully Pinterest fixes this issue soon 🙂 thanks for trying to help
I’ve been trying to change my covers, it used to always have the change cover option and now it doesn’t matter how long I put my curser over the image that option doesn’t come up anymore. Any ideas?
Thank you for the wonderful information! I spent an hour trying to figure it out until I came across this article and read through the comments. I was not able to change the cover photo while using Chrome but was able to after switching to Internet Explore. Thank you!
Switching from Chrome to IE also solved my problem of not being able to change my board cover photos. Thanks!!
why can you seem to only change the cover of your boards with Internet Explorer; I tried with Firefox and Google Chrome, no dice.
Changing board covers have been a problem for a few weeks. I hope Pinterest get’s it fixed soon.
I have the same problem. Can change it with IE, but not Chrome and Chrome is my preferred browser.
When I hover over the cover there is NO option to “change cover”. No where. That suggestion does not work.
Sally, many people have been having trouble with this. For some reason if you use Internet Explorer as a browser it seems to work fine. You might want to give that a try.
Internet explorer didn’t work for me, I’ve tried it twice nor does Firefox, hopefully this issue is fixed asap
Steven, I agree many people are having the same problem with their boards. I hope something is done about it soon.
hey whenever I hover my mouse over my board it does not have the option of change cover like yours does. It used to and I changed a bunch of them but now it does not. I tried logging out and re-logging in and refreshing the page but nothing worked. If you could please help me that’d be great!! Thanks!!!
Hi Blanca, This seems to be a problem with many accounts. The only thing that has worked for some is to use a different internet browser. I hope they resolve this issue soon.
Hi everyone,
I haven’t been able to change my board cover photo like many of you. I searched the Pinterest Help Center and they say they are having problems with Windows devices, and we just have to hang tight until they fix it.
You can read more here: https://help.pinterest.com/en/articles/cant-change-board-covers-windows-device
I pray to god that you update your app so I can change my board covers! It is very frustrating because I like my boards to be appealing to the eye I’m an android user and don’t have a desktop:( I hope you make some changes for us tablet users it would make me oh so happy!!
Having the same issue of no longer being able to change my album cover photos. Has been like this for a few weeks.
I was having the same problem as others– mousing over the board, and having no option to change the cover. Discovered the solution: click the “edit” button. There is now an option to change the cover that way. 🙂
To change the Board Covers:
– Go to the Board and click Edit
– Click Change Cover and pick a new cover for your Board
– Click Save Changes
I don’t have the option anymore to change my covers. Before I used to hover over them like you show, but there is nothing there now. It’s been like this for days, even after cleaning out my computer, etc. I hover all over the picture, and nothing. Before, it was like you show in the video, and easy. Now nothing. Any ideas?
This problem is still occurung, any idea as to when they’re going to fix it ?
Sorry mym mistake they have fixed it , thanks for the info Teresa 😀
Use IE. Click Edit on the bottom of the board you want to change the cover on. Fourth Option Down is Change Cover. Make the change and then be sure to SAVE it. Presto, it works. However, the option does not show up in FireFox. Not sure about Chrome. I didn’t check that. Hope this helps. 🙂
Thanks for the tips Anne Marie Baugh 🙂
Hello I want to change board name according to my items, suppose i have electronics item and then click on pinterest then it should show electronics board and if i have apps then it shows apps board. please my issues.
I was adding my Pinterest account to a feed on Facebook but when I type in http://www.pinterest.com/mudfirepottery a random picture shows up from a DIY board I made. How do I get my profile picture to show up? Thank you.
Hi Chris, I don’t know of a way to choose which picture Facebook shows in the feed. You might want to share a specific board or take a screen shot of your account then upload image and link your account in a Facebook post.
Thanks for the question 🙂
Hi, can you help me? I went on to pinterest this morning, and my boards have turned around, i.e. the last one is now first and the first is now last. How can I change it? Also if I start a new board it comes up first instead of at the bottom – very confusing
Hi Jacqui,
I’ve never heard of this happening. It might be that Pinterest is updating things. When they do that some account features act quirky. Hope it settles down for you soon.
-Cynthia
Hi there,
I’m sorry if this is a repeat question, but there are a lot of posts and I read through a lot, but I didn’t see anything about the Pinterest App for Kindle. I know you use Mac products, but do you know if I can change my cover photo on the Kindle App?
Thanks!
I’m sorry Shana, I don’t use a Kindle. I would suggest you go to the board yo want to change the cover image for and choose the edit option. If it’s available on the app it would probably be there.
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Shana –
I have a Kindle Fire HDX and there is no option to change your cover. You can tap on the picture and edit your board but not the cover photo. I also can’t change the cover on any of my boards anymore on my computer since they did all of the new upgrades and added features? It used to be so simple.
It really help!, thanks!
When I hovered over my boards. There didnt come up an option to change the pin covers? do you know why? How can you get people to start following you on pinterest. I have posted post on my fb page to come join me on pinterest. Any other suggestions?
To change the board covers, you have to click the “Edit” button on the board (the same button you click to change the name of your board). There’s an option to change the cover picture.
Shortly after I made my last post I did find the ways to change my board covers on both my computer and my Kindle Fire HDX. On a computer, click on the board that you wish to change and in the upper right hand corner click on EDIT. Select COVER and click on CHANGE. Use the right arrow (or left to go back) and select the pin you wish to use on your board as the new cover. Click on SAVE CHANGES. To change your board cover on a Kindle, select the board you wish to change and click on EDIT. Select BOARD COVER. All your pins will show and you can scroll down and select the pin you wish to use on your board as the new cover. Once selected click on DONE.
Don’t know if this was answered or not, but here is what works to change the cover photo: http://pintalk.net/change-boards-cover-image-pinterest-mobile-app/
works for both desktop and mobile
I’m changing my board cover, it looks like it’s been changed, and then it changes back to the last cover.
Basically my board cover change won’t “stick.” Any ideas?
Thanks!
Mariana please make sure to save your new board cover. Click on SAVE after making your new selection or it will remain the same and won’t be changed.
I have been trying to change my board cover using many of the suggestions mentioned above, but I don’t even have that option listed in my Edit section. Here are my options:
~Name
~Description
~Category
~Map
~Collaborators
No other options are listed. Am I the only one?
Hi Cynthia,
I like your video and website about Pinterest, very helpful. The only thing is I can’t find that change cover button on the boards. Maybe Pinterest has changed it? Can you guide use the news ways to change our board covers? Much appreciated!
It’s wonderful that you are getting ideas from this post as well as from our argument made at this time.
So, I guess this has nothing to do with the board covers, but it’s late, I’m tired lol and this was the first post that came up,… I have many boards & pins, and when I get on Pinterest it says I have 0 boards. My feed still comes up of the boards I follow, and when I pin from that or a search the whole list of them pops up correctly and I can pin and it will say added to board, (so they r still there) and when it says pinned to board x (using that as example) I can click on that little black rectangle saying that and it will take me to that board. So again, they r there. But then I will go back to the main menu, then to where it says boards, and it still says 0 boards, and under pins, 0 pins. But if I go over to likes, my pins I liked pop right up. My info pops right up, and so does when I click on followers or following. The only things that don’t work are boards and pins. And it’s driving me nuts because I can’t see my boards, and to get on one I have to pick a random pin off my feed, pin it to the board I want to see, wait for the “pinned to board x” box to pop up and make sure I click it, then once I’m on the board delete the random pin I used to get on it In the first place. The first couple days I just figured maybe it’s a glitch, or updating, etc, but it’s been about 2 weeks now of this. Internet connection and speed are fine, everything else pops right up, works good and in timely Manner. Can anybody help me??
Hi Cynthia, this is not working right now. There is no button to change it when you hover over a board. Any thoughts?
i don’t know if it was listed, but to change board cover, open the board you want to change. open edit board, upper right corner. look for the word cover, about mid page. click change, choose pic, save, and voila, changed cover.
Hi Cynthia! Ditto Tina. I’ve had a board for awhile but am just now trying to get it going with a roar. Maybe I have an old version and need to update?
i don’t know if it was listed, but to change board cover, open the board you want to change. open edit board, upper right corner. look for the word cover, about mid page. click change, choose pic, save, and voila, changed cover.
I hope you can help. I’m trying to change my pinboard cover, but everytime I hit the button for it, up pops a blank white screen. Help, please . . . thank you,
Sandy
There’s certainly a lot to know about this subject.
I really like all the points you made.
Hi, I’ve only noticed today that I can’t change or edit my board cover photos in Pinterest on my iPad. Normally just click on edit and up comes change cover photo, but this choice has completely disappeared from the edit panel!? Why is that and how can I change it now …please help its so frustrating!! Thank you
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Hello. I was wondering if you had a moment to help a new Pinterest user. My pages don’t look like yours, and I am wondering why. I don’t have the same layout or the same options. Thanks in advance.
Help! I WISH Pinterest changed my board cover to the last pin. It DOES NOT! Is there a setting for this? It keeps my old old covers until I change them, and it is a royal pain to do that with so many boards. I will try to find your email, but can’t contact you on LinkedIn unless we are connected.
Hi Vicki,
Unfortunately Pinterest doesn’t automatically change your board covers. However it’s likely that the new showcase will liven up you profile (they’re currently rolling it our so you may or may not have it yet) and they highlight boards/pins at the top of your profile. You can learn about them here: https://business.pinterest.com/en/blog/your-big-beautiful-new-showcase and here’s and example: https://www.pinterest.com/burberry/. The big photo is set but the smaller photos change – that’s how board covers work too… the smaller photos should always be new but the main cover is always static but the new showcase feature does a much better job of highlighting your new posts in key boards
Hmmm, looks like the new highlighted idea is really the same as the old, except for size of first image. But the point is I hate having to go in an manually update that. It is way too much work. Pinterest SHOULD be able to have a dynamic update every time you pin. That would be a very attractive feature for me.
I DO NOT like the Showcase format for board covers. My single image board covers have disappeared completely – the ones I specifically chose to quickly and easily identify my boards. I have been using Pinterest for several years to pin ideas I find on the web, and I am used to the covers I chose to easily identify, by sight, the board I wish to browse. With all of my personally chosen covers now gone, I am having to scroll through my profile page and read the board headings, rather than identifying the board by sight. This is frustrating when I am trying to locate something quickly.
When I tried to change one of my board covers tonight, only 50 options (of over 900 pins) were available for me to scroll through – looked like my most recent pins. DO. NOT. LIKE.