D2L: Customize Your D2L Banner

Make your D2L course feel more inviting by personalizing the banner at the top of your course homepage. You can select a relevant image- either from the D2L library or your own.

You can also edit the text within the banner. Maybe you just want to modify the course name so it’s more meaningful (e.g., not an abbreviated name, as it sometimes defaults to). You can also welcome each student by name.

Why customize your banner?

• It helps students quickly recognize your course by using relevant visuals or clear course names.
• You can create a welcoming, personal tone from the moment students enter the course.
• Adding a student’s name using a personalization code can increase their sense of connection.

How do you customize your banner?

1. Go to the course homepage of the course that you would like to modify.
2. Locate the banner at the top and click on the menu icon (represented by three dots) on the upper right corner of the banner. 
3. A menu will appear with
   1. Change Image
   2. Customize banner text
   3. Remove this banner

To change the banner image:

1. Click “Change image” to choose a different one or upload your own.
2. Use the search bar to find an image by keyword (e.g., “forest,” “cells,” “books”). 
3. Or, click on the “upload” button (top right) to add your own banner image. Tip: Make sure your image is wide enough to look good as a banner. 

To edit the banner text:

1. Click “Customize banner text” to change the text in the banner- this does not change the name at the top of the page or on the D2L homepage. It just changes the text in the banner.
2. Replace the default course name with a clearer or friendlier title.
3. You can also use a code to welcome students by name, such as the banner below.
   1. 1. Use this code to insert the student’s first name: {FirstName}
      2. The text for the banner in this example is: Welcome to ISB 204, {FirstName}!

To remove the banner:

If the banner feels too busy or distracting, you can select “Remove This Banner” from the same menu.

Repeat for each course:

Custom banners are course-specific, so you’ll need to update them individually for each course.

However, if you copy a course from a previous semester, the banner, including both the image and the text, will carry over automatically. Just make sure it’s still relevant before the new semester begins.