Looking to boost your team’s productivity and creativity?

This blog explores how to use Microsoft Whiteboard for real-time team collaboration. Whether you’re working remotely or in a hybrid setup, you’ll learn how to set up boards, use templates, and share ideas instantly. Perfect for small and medium-sized businesses aiming to streamline meetings and brainstorming sessions.

A preview of using Microsoft Whiteboard within a Teams meeting

In today’s modern workplace, real-time team collaboration is essential.

Microsoft Whiteboard offers a dynamic digital canvas that helps businesses brainstorm, plan, and communicate visually—no matter where team members are located. This guide shows you how to use Whiteboard effectively in a business environment, with practical tips, templates, and sharing strategies to enhance productivity and engagement.

This is one of the online whiteboard tools that enhances team collaboration. This is one of the digital workspace solutions that enhances team collaboration.

If your team’s still scribbling on physical whiteboards or snapping blurry photos of meeting notes, it’s time to upgrade. Microsoft Whiteboard is a freeform digital canvas that lets teams brainstorm, plan, and collaborate in real-time — whether you’re in the same room or scattered across locations.

This guide walks you through how a small or medium-sized business (SMB) can use Microsoft Whiteboard successfully – from setup to sharing – with practical tips and best practices.

Microsoft Whiteboard can be accessed via Temas Meeting Share options.

Quick links

  1. Getting Started
  2. Using templates
  3. Adding sticky notes etc
  4. Organising Your Whiteboards
  5. Exporting and Sharing
  6. How to use Microsoft Whiteboard succesfully
  7. Helpful Resources
  8. FAQs

Getting Started: Where to Find Microsoft Whiteboard

You can access Microsoft Whiteboard in several ways:

  • Via Microsoft Teams: During a meeting, click Share > Microsoft Whiteboard.
  • From the App Launcher: Look for the Whiteboard tile in your Microsoft 365 apps.
  • Directly in your browser: Visit https://whiteboard.cloud.microsoft/ and sign in with your Microsoft 365 account.

Once opened, you’ll land on your Whiteboard homepage where you can create new boards or revisit existing ones.

Using Templates for Faster Setup

Templates are your shortcut to productivity.

Microsoft Whiteboard offers a wide range of pre-built templates for different meeting types:

Meeting Type    Best Template    Why It Works
Team Brainstorming Brainstorming Idea capture areas, voting tools, action items
Project Kick-off Project Planning Kanban boards, timelines, task assignments
Sprint Planning Daily Stand-up Progress tracking, blockers, task updates
Problem Solving Problem Solving Root cause analysis, decision matrices
Strategic Planning Strategy SWOT analysis, goal setting, roadmap planning
Customer Research/UX Design and Research Journey mapping, feedback collection, personas

Quick Tips

  • High structure?  Use Strategy or Project Planning templates. This is one of the cloud-based project planning that enhances team collaboration.
  • Creative thinking?  Go for Brainstorming or Workshop templates.
  • Recurring meetings?  Try Retrospectives or Daily Stand-ups.
  • Client-facing?  Use Design and Research templates.

To use a template

  1. Open Whiteboard.
  2. Click the three dots in the toolbar.
  3. Select Templates and choose one that fits your session.

Adding Sticky Notes, Text, Images and Drawing Tools

This is one of the visual collaboration software that enhances team collaboration.

Pro Tip: Don’t worry about perfection — Whiteboard thrives on collaborative messiness.

Whiteboard tools: sticky notes, text, emojis, images and links

Sticky Notes

  • Great for quick ideas, voting, and grouping.
  • Drag and drop, colour-code, and resize.

Text Boxes

  • Ideal for headers, instructions, or detailed notes.
  • Offers formatting options for clarity.

Images

  • Upload or search online.
  • Use visuals to inspire or explain.

Drawing Tools

  • Pens, highlighters, and shape recognition.
  • Perfect for diagrams, sketches, and creative flows.

Organising Your Whiteboards

As your team creates more boards, staying organised becomes essential.

Folder and Naming Best Practices

  • Whiteboards are saved in the OneDrive folder of the creator.
  • SharePoint is not yet supported.
  • Use consistent naming like:
    • Marketing Campaign Ideas – Q3 2024
    • Project Phoenix – Kick-off – 15 Aug
    • Customer Journey Mapping – Sarah’s Team

Housekeeping Tips

  • Include dates in names for easy sorting.
  • Archive old boards instead of deleting.
  • Regularly clean up clutter.
  • Check permissions before sharing externally.

Exporting and Sharing Your Whiteboards

Whiteboard shines when it comes to collaboration — but it’s the follow-up that keeps momentum going.

Sharing Safely

  • Double-check email addresses before inviting collaborators.
  • Avoid “Anyone with the link” unless absolutely necessary.
  • Use view-only links for final versions.
  • Test the link in a private browser to confirm access settings.

Export Options

  • Click the three dots
  • Export as PNG (great for presentations) or PDF (ideal for printing).
  • Use the copy feature to duplicate successful boards as templates.

Real-Time Collaboration Features

  • Click Share to invite others.
  • See cursor tracking and live edits.
  • View the participant list to track who’s contributing.
  • Manage permissions: view-only or edit access, organisation-wide or specific people.

Bonus Features for Power Users

If you have access to Microsoft Copilot:

  • Summarise brainstorming sessions.
  • Categorise notes.
  • Suggest content ideas.

Add dynamic elements in the form of Loop Components:

  • Task lists
  • Voting tables
  • Progress checkers
  • Checklists

These components update in real-time across Microsoft 365 apps.

How a SMB Can Use Microsoft Whiteboard Successfully

Here are a few practical use cases for small and medium-sized businesses.

  • Hybrid Meetings: Use Whiteboard to capture ideas live, whether attendees are remote or in-person. This is one of the remote team productivity that enhances team collaboration.
  • Project Planning: Kick off projects with templates that track tasks and timelines. This is one of the cloud-based project planning that enhances team collaboration.
  • Team Brainstorms: Collect ideas visually and vote on them using emojis or stars. This is one of the virtual brainstorming techniques that enhances team collaboration.
  • Training Sessions: Use learning templates for onboarding or internal workshops.
  • Client Collaboration: Share boards securely with clients for feedback and planning.

Helpful Resources

Getting Started with Microsoft Whiteboard

Guides to Microsoft Whiteboard

Whiteboard Help and Learning Hub

Summarise Ideas with Copilot in Whiteboard

Microsoft Whiteboard is more than just a digital sketchpad — it’s a powerful collaboration tool that can transform how SMBs work together. With templates, real-time editing, and seamless sharing, it’s perfect for brainstorming, planning, and problem-solving.

So go ahead — open Whiteboard, pick a template, and start collaborating creatively in real-time.

FAQs

Microsoft Whiteboard is a freeform digital collaboration tool included in Microsoft 365. It allows teams to brainstorm, plan, and problem-solve together in real-time. For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), it replaces traditional whiteboards with a flexible, cloud-based canvas that supports remote work, hybrid meetings, and visual thinking.

To use Microsoft Whiteboard in Teams, follow these steps:
  1. Join or start a Microsoft Teams meeting.
  2. Click the Share button in the meeting controls.
  3. Select Microsoft Whiteboard from the sharing options.
This opens a collaborative canvas for all participants. You can also access Whiteboard anytime via:
  • The Microsoft 365 app launcher (look for the Whiteboard tile).
  • Directly at https://whiteboard.microsoft.com.

Yes! Microsoft Whiteboard is designed for ease of use. Even if you’re new to digital whiteboards, you’ll find it intuitive. Just open a board, choose a template, and start adding sticky notes, text, images, or drawings.

Here’s how Microsoft Whiteboard for SMBs can help:
  • Remote team brainstorming: Collaborate visually from anywhere.
  • Project planning: Use templates to track tasks and timelines.
  • Meeting follow-ups: Export boards as images or PDFs.
  • Organised storage: Boards are saved in OneDrive for easy access.

Yes, but be careful:
  • Double-check email addresses before sharing.
  • Avoid “Anyone with the link” unless absolutely necessary.
  • Use view-only links for final versions.
  • Test the link in a private browser to confirm access settings.

Microsoft Whiteboard offers templates for:
  • Brainstorming
  • Project Planning
  • Strategy
  • Problem Solving
  • Customer Research
  • Daily Stand-ups
Templates are flexible and customisable, making them ideal for SMB workflows.

Definitely.

You can create and prepare boards before meetings, then share them during the session. This is great for setting agendas, collecting feedback, or running workshops.