The go-to free online whiteboard for real-time collaboration

Why Mural for online whiteboards

The ability to co-create and align quickly is paramount for successful go-to-market collaboration between sales, marketing, and R&D teams. A traditional whiteboard simply can't keep up with the demands of distributed teams or the need for persistent, evolving ideas. This is where an online whiteboard tool like Mural is indispensable. It serves as your central hub for collective intelligence, designed specifically to foster innovation and drive business transformation through shared visual spaces.

Teams find interactive online whiteboards essential whenever they need to bridge geographical gaps, facilitate complex problem-solving, or give every voice the ability to contribute equally. It's particularly powerful when launching new products, refining go-to-market strategies, or conducting deep dive discovery sessions. 

Online whiteboards are a powerful tool for cross-functional teams who need to think visually, collaborate synchronously or asynchronously, and transform abstract concepts into actionable plans.

Benefits of an online whiteboard

Shifting to a collaborative online whiteboard addresses many of the frustrations teams face with conventional methods, paving the way for more impactful outcomes.

Unify diverse perspectives

Align fragmented teams: Mural’s digital whiteboard acts as a single source of truth for all your ideas and plans, ensuring that sales, marketing, and R&D are always aligned. It creates a shared visual language that cuts through departmental jargon, bringing everyone onto the same page for critical product launches and strategic initiatives.

Spark boundless ideation

Elevate brainstorming beyond limits: Unlike static whiteboards, Mural’s infinite canvas allows for endless expansion of ideas. Teams can rapidly generate, organize, and prioritize concepts with intuitive tools and diverse brainstorming techniques, turning creative energy into tangible, actionable insights at lightning speed.

Energize virtual engagements

Transform passive meetings into dynamic workshops: Combat Zoom fatigue with an engaging online whiteboard collaboration environment. Mural’s built-in facilitation tools keep participants active and focused, fostering a sense of shared ownership and making every virtual session productive and memorable, moving beyond discussion to true co-creation.

Visualize complex roadmaps

Clarify and track strategic progress: From complex project roadmaps to intricate market analyses, an online whiteboard tool provides the visual structure needed to plan and execute with precision. Teams can easily map out dependencies, assign ownership, and track evolution, keeping projects on track and transparent.

Foster inclusive participation

Empower every contributor, everywhere: For global or hybrid teams, Mural's virtual whiteboard helps distributed workers feel like they’re working in one common space. It supports anonymous input and flexible asynchronous modes, allowing quieter voices to be heard. Mural promotes a truly inclusive environment where diverse perspectives enrich every outcome, for a more comprehensive approach to digital collaboration.

Common challenges with online whiteboard tools and how to overcome them with Mural

While online whiteboards are a powerful tool when used with intention, teams often encounter specific roadblocks that can dampen their effectiveness. We recognize these common pain points, and Mural has been specifically engineered to transform them into seamless, productive experiences.

Disconnected remote team members

Challenge: It's tough to replicate the energy and spontaneity of an in-person whiteboard session when team members are geographically dispersed. Teams experience feelings of isolation and reduced engagement.

‍Mural’s solution: Mural provides a vibrant, shared space that transcends physical distance. Features like customizable Facilitation Superpowers and Mural AI create a lively, energized virtual room. Our best virtual whiteboard for brainstorming sessions includes using the Summon feature, ensuring everyone stays connected to the facilitator's view, mimicking that in-person feel and keeping all participants engaged.

Overwhelming canvas clutter

Challenge: Without proper organization, an interactive online whiteboard can quickly devolve into an unreadable mess of sticky notes, making it impossible to find specific ideas or track progress.

‍Mural’s solution: Mural’s powerful organization features prevent chaos. You can easily group content into areas, use outlines to create structured narratives, and even utilize color-coding and tags for effortless categorization. Our robust search functionality means no idea ever gets lost, ensuring clarity and accessibility across all your projects.

Limited export and integration capabilities

Challenge: Many online whiteboard tools are standalone, making it difficult to integrate outputs with existing workflows or share findings effectively with stakeholders outside the tool.

‍Mural’s solution: Mural isn't just a canvas; it's a connected workspace. Easily export your boards as PDFs or images, and directly integrate with project management and communication tools like Jira, Microsoft Teams, and Slack. Your collaborative work can seamlessly flow into your existing operational ecosystem, bridging the gap between ideation and execution.

Lack of structured facilitation guidance

Challenge: Facilitating a productive online whiteboard session can be daunting, especially for those new to virtual environments, leading to unstructured discussions and missed objectives.

‍Mural’s Solution: Mural provides built-in facilitation tools and hundreds of expert-designed templates for diverse use cases—from strategy sessions to design sprints. These templates come with guiding instructions and pre-built frameworks, empowering anyone to lead highly effective and outcome-driven sessions, regardless of their experience level.

Best practices with Mural for online whiteboards

To harness the power of your online whiteboard for maximum impact, integrating these best practices with Mural's capabilities will transform your collaborative efforts and accelerate business transformation.

1. Structure for clarity and flow

What it means and why it's important: A well-structured mural guides participants through a logical progression, minimizing confusion and maximizing output. This prevents overwhelm to foster a more focused discussion.

‍How Mural helps: Use Mural’s area tool to divide your canvas into distinct sections for different activities or topics. Our outline feature allows you to create a navigable agenda directly on the board, making it easy for participants to follow along and jump to relevant sections during an online whiteboard collaboration session.

2. Leverage templates for rapid starts

What it means and why it's important: Don't start from a blank slate every time. Templates provide a proven framework for common activities, saving time and enabling consistency.

‍How Mural helps: Mural offers a vast library of expert-designed templates for virtually any business need, from an online tool for cross-functional alignment to retrospectives. Simply select a template, customize it to your needs, and you're ready to go, accelerating your team's ability to get productive quickly.

3. Encourage diverse input with creative tools

What it means and why it's important: The best ideas come from a variety of perspectives. Make it easy for everyone to contribute in ways that suit them.

‍How Mural helps: Beyond sticky notes, Mural allows for embedding images, videos, GIFs, and documents directly onto the board. Use the drawing tools for freeform ideation or connect ideas with lines and arrows. Whether your team members prefer writing, drawing, or visual references, their input will be seamlessly integrated into the Mural online whiteboard.

4. Facilitate actively for engaging outcomes

What it means and why it's important: A good facilitator guides the discussion, keeps time, and ensures all voices are heard, leading to more productive sessions.

‍How Mural helps: Mural provides powerful facilitation controls. Use the Timer feature to manage activities, Summon participants to a specific area of the board, and Celebrate contributions to keep energy high. Private Mode allows for individual ideation before group sharing, promoting thoughtful and inclusive participation.

5. Document and act on insights

What it means and why it's important: The real value of an online whiteboard session is in the actions it inspires. When insights are captured in a visual space, it becomes easier to transform them into tangible next steps.

‍How Mural helps: Easily export your finished boards to share with stakeholders or integrate them directly with project management systems. With Mural, your ideas don't just stay on the canvas; they drive forward your business initiatives, fostering continuous improvement in your digital collaboration efforts.

Ready to revolutionize your team's collaboration and supercharge your journey towards business transformation? Experience the power of the Mural online whiteboard today and turn complex challenges into clear, actionable successes.