More and more workplaces are utilizing the benefits of virtual collaboration. Fortunately, there is an abundance of fantastic applications and software to pick from. Digital board apps are a particularly good way to bring teams together for productive work.

However, which one should you choose with so many of them out there? In this article, we will explore four virtual board applications, their features, and how you can best use them to streamline project and work-related participation.

1. Padlet

Screenshot of Padlet Home Page

First on the list is Padlet, which possibly has the most features out of all the other applications mentioned here. When you create a "padlet" (a board), you can choose from seven distinct layouts, including Wall, Stream, Grid, Shelf, Map, Canvas, and Timeline.

Once you select your preferred template, you can start adding posts by clicking the pink Plus sign in the bottom-right corner of your screen. Padlet is a great option for online collaboration and planning, as it enables you to upload almost any file type, such as Microsoft Office, Google files, images, videos (and embedding YouTube videos), links to sites, GIFs, and plenty more.

Related: How Padlet Can Make Planning and Collaboration Easier

Sharing your padlet is easily done, by clicking Share at the top-right of your screen. It provides numerous ways of doing this, from sharing a link, to posting to Google Classroom. Your colleagues will be able to add and edit posts in real-time, and it's all anonymous.

Padlet is a good choice if you want quieter team members to contribute their ideas without fear of judgment. It's also excellent for managing multiple projects, and keeping everyone in the loop.

Download: Padlet for iOS | Android | Amazon | Windows (Free, and Pro subscription for $8 per month)

2. Wakelet

Screenshot of Wakelet Home Page

Wakelet is a content curation platform that doubles as a virtual board. It was purposely designed for creating and sharing work and ideas, whilst maintaining as much simplicity as possible.

Wakelet organizes its content into Spaces that contain your Collections. The Collections are boards where you post your work, and you choose from five Layouts, including Media, Compact, Grid View, Mood Board, and Column.

Related: How to Use Wakelet to Collaborate With Your Team Effectively

The appeal of this app is that it's simple to use, which means the posts you can post are limited to Links, Text, Images, Bookmarks, PDFs, Tweets from Twitter, YouTube videos, and files from Google Drive and OneDrive. However, this makes it incredibly easy for your team to get on board and start contributing. To add others to your Spaces or Collections, just click the blue Share button in the top-right of your screen.

Wakelet is free to use, and you can sign up for the Personal account, or the Educators account, which include all the above features. Since you can access it through all web browsers as well as Android and iOS devices, you should have no trouble accessing it, no matter where you are.

Download: Wakelet for Android | iOS (Free)

3. Dotstorming

Dotstorming is a free collaboration board platform, where you and your colleagues can work on projects, and vote on ideas. You can create a Wall, a Voting board, and a Collage, and although this application is limited to these three, they are purpose-based, rather than just visually different.

With the Wall, dotstorming enables you to add sticky note style posts, of which you can change the color, add text, and images. You can arrange each of these "notes" in any way you like, and drag them across the board to organize them.

Related: How to Create Collaborative Mind Maps in MindMeister

The Voting board allows you to Add a card, which your colleagues can vote on and add comments to. The Cards have some additional features, including the ability to upload GIFs, add Emojis, and insert Links.

When the voting is finished, you can order the cards by selecting Rank by votes, Rank by comments, and Rank by added. There is even a chat box to the right side of the screen for productive discussion.

The Collage is unique, in that it is a virtual whiteboard that you can draw, add text, upload images, and features the chat function. This is a great option for designing visual workflows and brainstorming ideas, and isn't limited by layout restrictions.

To start adding contributors to your boards, just click the Share icon on the toolbar in the top-right of your screen, and send the link.

4. Google Jamboard

Screenshot of Google Jamboard

If you prefer a free-hand approach to collaborate, Google Jamboard is a digital interactive whiteboard that will give you what you need. It was developed to work with Google Workspace. It is a highly accessible choice if you already work with Google products.

If you already have a Google account, you can get started right away without signing up for anything. If you want something that is truly streamlined, this digital board is your best bet, as you can access it from the cloud on any browser, and upload any file from Google Workspace, including spreadsheets, images, documents, maps, and much more.

Related: How to Use Google Jamboard for Visual Collaboration From Anywhere

When you create a new Jamboard, you are presented with a blank, whiteboard. Here, you can utilize the Drawing tool, which offers a Pen, Marker, Highlighter, Brush, and six color options. You can also Erase, Select, Add a sticky note, Add image, add Shapes, a Text box, and use the Laser tool.

Google Jamboard also comes with several backgrounds to choose from, or you can upload your own. Just like all Google files, the Share button allows you to make it available to your team, and you can Present to a meeting via Google Hangouts.

Download: Google Jamboard for Chrome Extension | Android | iOS (Free)

Digital Collaboration Boards at Your Fingertips

When it comes to teamwork, sending emails back and forward have become a thing of the past. Instead, making use of digital collaboration boards allows for a high standard of efficient project planning and joint work, and keeping everyone in the loop is effortless.

Each of the applications we've explored here offers differing tools and functions, so you can decide which are the right ones for your needs.