---
title: "Customising Your Board"
description: "Configure columns, colours, and display settings"
---

Every team works differently. Customise your kanban board to match your workflow by adding columns, changing colours, renaming statuses, and controlling what's visible.

## Display Settings

Access display settings to customise your board columns:

1. Click the **Display Settings** button (<Icon icon="sliders" />) in the filter bar
2. The settings panel opens showing all your columns

<Frame>
  <img style={{maxHeight: "400px"}} src="/images/cloud/display-settings.png" alt="Display Settings panel showing visible columns with toggles" />
</Frame>

## Managing Columns

### Adding a New Column

<Steps>
<Step title="Open Display Settings">
  Click the **Display Settings** button (<Icon icon="sliders" />) in the filter bar.
</Step>

<Step title="Click Add column">
  Click the **+ Add column** button at the bottom of the list.
</Step>

<Step title="Enter the status name">
  Type a name for your new status (e.g., "In Review", "Blocked", "Testing").
</Step>

<Step title="Save changes">
  Click **Save** to apply your changes. The new column appears on your board.
</Step>
</Steps>

New columns are assigned a random colour. You can change it after creation.

### Renaming a Column

<Steps>
<Step title="Open Display Settings">
  Click the **Display Settings** button (<Icon icon="sliders" />) in the filter bar.
</Step>

<Step title="Click the column name">
  Click on the name of the column you want to rename.
</Step>

<Step title="Type the new name">
  Enter the new name and click outside the field or press Enter.
</Step>

<Step title="Save changes">
  Click **Save** to apply your changes.
</Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
Renaming a column doesn't affect the issues in it. All issues keep their current status - only the display name changes.
</Info>

### Changing Column Colours

Each column has a colour that appears in the column header and on issue cards.

<Steps>
<Step title="Open Display Settings">
  Click the **Display Settings** button (<Icon icon="sliders" />) in the filter bar.
</Step>

<Step title="Click the colour dot">
  Click the coloured circle next to the column name.

</Step>

<Step title="Select a colour">
  Choose from the preset colours.
</Step>

<Step title="Save changes">
  Click **Save** to apply the new colour.
</Step>
</Steps>

### Reordering Columns

Change the order columns appear on your board:

<Steps>
<Step title="Open Display Settings">
  Click the **Display Settings** button (<Icon icon="sliders" />) in the filter bar.
</Step>

<Step title="Drag the column">
  Click and hold the drag handle (<Icon icon="grip-vertical" />) next to a column.
</Step>

<Step title="Move to new position">
  Drag the column up or down to its new position.
</Step>

<Step title="Save changes">
  Click **Save** to apply the new order.
</Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
Arrange columns to match your workflow from left to right - typically starting with "To Do" on the left and ending with "Done" on the right.
</Tip>

### Hiding Columns

Hide columns you don't use regularly to keep your board clean:

<Steps>
<Step title="Open Display Settings">
  Click the **Display Settings** button (<Icon icon="sliders" />) in the filter bar.
</Step>

<Step title="Toggle visibility">
  Click the toggle switch next to the column you want to hide. When the toggle is off, the column is hidden.
</Step>

<Step title="Save changes">
  Click **Save** to hide the column.
</Step>
</Steps>

**Hidden columns:**
- Don't appear on the board
- Still exist - issues in them are preserved
- Can be viewed using the "All" status tab
- Can be unhidden at any time

<Info>
Hiding a column is useful for "Done" statuses. You can hide completed work to focus on active issues, but still access them when needed via the status tabs.
</Info>

### Deleting Columns

Remove columns you no longer need:

<Steps>
<Step title="Open Display Settings">
  Click the **Display Settings** button (<Icon icon="sliders" />) in the filter bar.
</Step>

<Step title="Click the delete button">
  Click the **×** button next to the column you want to delete.
</Step>

<Step title="Save changes">
  Click **Save** to remove the column.
</Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
**You cannot delete a column that contains issues.** Move all issues to another column first, then delete the empty column.
</Warning>

## Managing Tags

Tags help categorise and filter issues. Tags are created inline when you add them to issues.

### Creating Tags

To create a new tag:

1. Open any issue
2. Click the **Tags** field (or the **+** button next to existing tags)
3. Type the name of your new tag
4. If the tag doesn't exist, you'll see a **Create** option
5. Select a colour for the tag
6. Click to create and apply the tag

<Frame>
  <img style={{maxHeight: "120px"}} src="/images/cloud/tags-field.png" alt="Tags field showing a bug tag with + button to add more tags" />
</Frame>

<Info>
Tags are shared across all issues in the project. Once created, a tag can be added to any issue.
</Info>

### Using Tags

- Click the **Tags** field on any issue to add or remove tags
- Use the tag filter in the filter bar to find issues with specific tags
- Tags appear as coloured labels on issue cards

**To remove a tag from an issue**, click the tag - it will show a strikethrough indicating it will be removed.

<Frame>
  <img style={{maxHeight: "120px"}} src="/images/cloud/tag-removal.png" alt="Tag with strikethrough indicating removal" />
</Frame>

## Best Practices

<CardGroup cols={2}>
<Card title="Keep it simple" icon="circle-check">
  Start with fewer columns. You can always add more later. Too many columns creates confusion about where issues should go.
</Card>

<Card title="Use clear names" icon="tag">
  Column names should be obvious to everyone on the team. "In Progress" is clearer than "WIP" or "Active".
</Card>

<Card title="Hide, don't delete" icon="eye-slash">
  If you're not sure about a column, hide it instead of deleting. You can unhide it if you need it later.
</Card>

<Card title="Consistent colours" icon="palette">
  Use consistent colour meanings across projects. For example, always use red for blocked/urgent statuses.
</Card>
</CardGroup>

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
<Accordion title="Can't delete a column">
The column probably has issues in it. You must move all issues to another column before deleting. Check:
1. Open Display Settings - it shows the issue count next to each status
2. Use the "All" status tab to see all issues including hidden ones
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Changes didn't save">
Make sure you clicked **Save** after making changes in Display Settings. Changes aren't applied until you save.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Column order is wrong">
Open Display Settings and drag columns to reorder them. Remember to click **Save** after reordering.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Can't find a column">
It might be hidden. Open Display Settings and check the visibility toggle for each column. Or use the "All" status tab to see issues in hidden columns.
</Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related Documentation

- [Kanban Board](/cloud/kanban-board) - Using the board interface
- [Issues](/cloud/issues) - Creating and managing issues
- [Filtering & Sorting](/cloud/filtering) - Finding issues with tags and filters
