Trello

Trello board, Trello board, Trello kanban
Trello is a visual project management tool that uses boards, lists and cards to organise tasks. It helps teams maintain an overview.

What is Trello?

Trello is a visual project management tool that allows you to organise tasks, projects and workflows using digital boards, lists and cards. You drag cards between columns to track progress, add team members to tasks and set deadlines. For small and medium-sized companies, Trello offers an accessible way to create an overview without complex software or lengthy implementation processes.

How Trello works with boards, lists and cards

A Trello board consists of columns that you name yourself, for example ‘To Do’, ‘In Progress’ and ‘Done’. Within those columns, you create cards for individual tasks. Each card can contain a description, checklist, attachment, deadline and assigned team member. You drag cards from left to right to update their status. This Kanban principle makes the progress of projects immediately visible to everyone on the team. Trello works in the browser and has apps for iOS and Android, so you can access your boards whilst on the move.

Why Trello was created and why it is still relevant today

Trello was developed by Fog Creek Software and launched as a standalone product. The tool builds on the Kanban system that Toyota developed for production processes. The aim was to make project management visual and accessible, without the learning curve associated with enterprise software. Trello is now owned by Atlassian and is used by millions of teams worldwide. Its appeal lies in the combination of simplicity and flexibility: you can use Trello for software development, content planning, customer onboarding or event organisation, without having to take a training course first.

What Trello offers small and medium-sized companies

For a small to medium-sized company with five to fifty employees, Trello provides a central hub where everyone can see the status of projects. It prevents tasks from falling between the cracks or team members duplicating work. The free version is suitable for small teams and simple workflows. If you need more automation or integrations, you can upgrade to a paid licence. Trello integrates with process automation tools such as n8n or Zapier, allowing you to trigger repetitive tasks based on card movements. This makes it a useful component within a broader workflow architecture.

Uses of Trello

Trello is suitable for a wide range of situations where you want to create an overview of tasks, deadlines and responsibilities. The flexibility of the board system makes it applicable in marketing, development, sales and operational processes. Below are four specific scenarios in which small and medium-sized companies use Trello.

Content planning and editorial calendar

A marketing team uses Trello to plan blog articles, social media posts and newsletters. Each card represents a piece of content, with labels for channel, publication date and status. Columns such as ‘Ideas’, ‘In production’, ‘Reviews’ and ‘Published’ make the process transparent. Team members add concepts, images and feedback as comments on the card. Deadlines ensure that nobody misses publication deadlines. This works well for companies that manage multiple channels and where different people contribute to content marketing. It prevents articles from getting stuck in the draft stage or nobody knowing who is responsible for final editing.

Project management for web design and development

A digital agency plans website projects via Trello boards for each client. Columns represent phases: ‘Briefing’, ‘Design’, ‘Development’, ‘Testing’ and ‘Live’. Each card contains a component of the project, such as wireframes, front-end code or CMS configuration. Developers and designers tag each other on cards when input is required. Attachments such as Figma links or technical specifications remain linked to the task. This gives clients and team members real-time insight into progress. However, for larger projects with complex dependencies, Trello may be too limited. In such cases, a tool with a Gantt chart or resource planning features would be more suitable.

Sales pipeline and lead follow-up

A B2B service provider manages leads on a Trello board with columns such as ‘New contact’, ‘Quote sent’, ‘Negotiation’ and ‘Won’. Each card contains contact details, meeting notes and a deadline for follow-up. Sales staff drag cards through the pipeline and add updates whenever contact has been made. This makes it easy to see how many deals are at each stage and who is managing which leads. For small teams without a dedicated CRM system, Trello offers sufficient functionality. However, as soon as you’re handling more than a hundred leads a month or want to integrate automated email sequences, a CRM platform such as ActiveCampaign or HubSpot is more effective.

When Trello is the right choice and when it isn’t

Trello suits teams that work visually, have short cycles and few complex dependencies. It’s ideal for content planning, small projects and processes with clear phases. Trello is less suitable if you need detailed time tracking, resource planning or Gantt charts. The board also becomes cluttered for very large teams or projects with hundreds of tasks. In such cases, tools such as Asana, Monday or Jira offer more structure. Choose Trello if you want to get started quickly, are looking for an accessible tool and are prepared to switch to a more robust platform as your organisation grows.

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Frequently asked questions

Trello is a digital implementation of the Kanban principle, but is not identical to a physical Kanban board. Kanban is a method whereby you visualise work in columns and move tasks through a workflow. Trello adds functionality such as deadlines, attachments, checklists, labels and team assignments. A physical Kanban board with Post-it notes offers no history, notifications or integrations with other tools. Trello makes the Kanban principle accessible to remote teams and offers greater flexibility in how you organise columns and cards. The core remains the same: a visual overview and limiting work in progress.

Trello is simpler and more visual, whilst Asana offers more structure and planning features. Choose Trello if your team is small, has few complex dependencies and wants to work visually with boards and cards. Choose Asana if you have projects with subtasks, milestones and timelines that you want to view in a Gantt chart. Asana has more powerful reporting and resource management, but takes longer to set up. For a content team or small development team, Trello is often sufficient. For larger projects involving multiple departments and strict deadlines, Asana offers greater control. Both tools have free versions, so you can try them both out before committing.

Start with a single board for one specific process, such as content planning or client onboarding. Create three to five columns that reflect the stages of that process. Add cards for existing tasks and assign them to team members. Discuss in a brief team meeting how everyone updates cards and when to move cards between columns. Keep it simple: too many labels, checklists and automations at the start lead to resistance. After two weeks, review what’s working and what isn’t, and adjust the board. Once the team is familiar with Trello, you can add extra boards for other processes and enable automation via Butler or external tools such as n8n.

The biggest pitfall is creating too many boards and cards without clear agreements on who updates what. This leads to outdated information and a loss of trust in the system. A second mistake is the lack of labels or deadlines, which leaves priorities unclear. Teams also often forget to archive cards once they’re completed, causing boards to fill up with irrelevant tasks. Finally: Trello works best with short cycles and clear phases. If you try to cram long-term projects with complex dependencies into it, things will get messy. Keep boards organised, establish clear agreements and regularly assess whether Trello still suits your team’s growth.

The best approach depends on your processes and team size. Do you want more structure in your projects or workflows but aren’t sure which tool is right for you? Book a free 30-minute scan with Monkey Vision. We’ll review your current working methods and advise whether Trello is sufficient or whether you’d be better off choosing a more robust solution. You’ll immediately receive three specific areas for improvement regarding process overview, plus an honest assessment of which automation suits your situation. No sales pitch, just practical advice. Take a look at our approach to process automation and integrations.

About the author

Monkey Vision

Monkey Vision is a full-service digital agency based in London, specialising in web design agency, SEO and AI automation for SMEs. The knowledge base is compiled by our team of online strategists and continuously updated based on current insights.

Publication date: 12 June 2026
Last updated: 28 June 2026