The fastest way to add a cover page in Word
Open your document in Microsoft Word. Click the Insert tab at the top of the screen. In the ribbon, find the Cover Page button — it sits in the Pages group, usually near the left side. Click it, and Word shows you a list of built-in cover page designs. Select one, and Word inserts it at the very beginning of your document, pushing your existing text down to the next page.
The cover page templates include spaces for a title, subtitle, author name, and date. Click any text box on the cover page and type to fill it in. Word automatically pulls your document title and author name from your file properties if you have set them, but you can change anything you see. If you do not see the Cover Page button, your version of Word may be older or configured differently — in that case, you can build a cover page manually by inserting a blank page at the start, then adding your own text, images, and formatting.
Key Takeaways
- Click Insert, then Cover Page, and choose a design from the list — Word inserts it at the start of your document automatically.
- The template includes editable text boxes for title, subtitle, author, and date that you can click and modify.
- Word pulls your document title and author name from file properties, but you can override them by typing directly into the boxes.
- If you want a custom look, you can delete the template cover page and build your own using a blank page, text boxes, and images.
Changing the cover page design after you insert it
If you insert a cover page and then change your mind about the design, you do not have to delete it and start over. Go back to Insert > Cover Page, select a different design, and Word replaces the old one with the new one. Your edits to the title and author name may or may not carry over depending on the new template's layout — Word tries to preserve them, but if the new design has a different structure, some text might be lost.
To be safe, before you switch designs, write down any custom text you added to the cover page. That way, if it does not transfer, you can type it back in quickly. This takes only a moment and saves you from retyping longer passages.
Removing a cover page
To delete a cover page you no longer want, go to Insert > Cover Page and click Remove Cover Page at the bottom of the menu. Word deletes the entire cover page and moves your document text back to page one. If you built a custom cover page manually instead of using a template, you will need to select and delete it by hand — highlight all the content on that first page and press Delete.
Removing a template cover page is cleaner than deleting a custom one because Word handles the page break automatically. With a manual cover page, you may need to clean up extra blank space or formatting after you delete it.
Building a custom cover page without a template
If none of the built-in designs match what you want, you can create your own. Start by inserting a blank page at the beginning of your document: go to Insert > Page Break, then move your cursor to the very top and press Ctrl+Home (or Cmd+Home on Mac) to position yourself at the start. Now you have a blank first page to work with.
Add text by clicking where you want it and typing, or by inserting a text box (Insert > Text Box) so you can position it precisely. You can change font, size, and color using the Home tab. To add an image, go to Insert > Pictures and choose a file from your computer. Center elements by selecting them and using the alignment buttons in the Home tab, or by using the position tools in the Layout tab. Custom cover pages take longer to build but give you complete control over the look. If you plan to use the same design for multiple documents, you can save this document as a template so you do not have to rebuild it each time.
Adjusting spacing and margins on your cover page
The built-in cover page templates are sized to fit standard margins, but if your document uses custom margins or you want more breathing room around your title, you can adjust them. Select all the content on the cover page (Ctrl+A while your cursor is on that page), then go to Layout > Margins and choose a preset or click Custom Margins to set your own.
Be aware that changing margins affects your entire document unless you have set up different sections. If you want the cover page to have different margins than the rest of your document, you will need to insert a section break after the cover page, then adjust margins only within that section. This is more advanced, but Word's Layout tab includes a Breaks menu that lets you do it.
Numbering pages so the cover page does not count
By default, Word counts your cover page as page 1. If you want the actual content to start at page 1 (so the cover is unnumbered), you need to insert a section break after the cover page and then adjust the page numbering. Go to Insert > Page Number, choose where you want the number to appear, then click Page Number > Format. Set the starting number to 0 for the cover page section, then 1 for the section after.
This requires setting up sections, which is a bit more involved than inserting a cover page, but it is the standard way to handle cover pages in formal documents like reports or theses. Most schools and workplaces expect cover pages to be unnumbered, so this step is worth learning if you write documents regularly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a cover page template from online instead of Word's built-in ones?
Yes. Microsoft Office has a template gallery online where you can search for cover page designs. read one, open it in Word, and customize it. You can also find templates on other sites, though you should read only from sources you trust. Once downloaded, you can edit it the same way you would edit any Word document.
What if the cover page template does not match my document's font or style?
Click on the text in the cover page and change the font using the Home tab, just as you would for any other text in Word. You can also select all content on the cover page and explore a style from the Styles gallery to match the rest of your document. This takes a few clicks but keeps everything visually consistent.
Does the cover page count toward my page count or word count?
Yes, Word includes the cover page in both page count and word count by default. If you need to exclude it from the count for a school or work assignment, check your assignment guidelines — some instructors ask you to report the count without the cover page, which you would calculate manually.
Can I add a cover page to a document that already has content on page one?
Yes. Insert > Cover Page will place the cover page at the very beginning and push your existing content down. Your original page one becomes page two. If you want to keep your current first page as is and add a cover page before it, this method works perfectly.