Word's cover page tool does the layout work for you, but you choose the design and fill in the text

Microsoft Word includes a built-in cover page feature that handles spacing, margins, and text placement automatically. You pick a design from Word's template gallery, type in your title and author information, and Word formats it to look professional without you having to adjust font sizes or positioning manually. The cover page sits as its own section at the front of your document, separate from the body text that follows.

This is different from manually creating a cover page by typing on a blank page — Word's templates give you consistent formatting and save time if you need your document to look polished quickly. However, the designs are limited to what Word offers, and if you need something very specific or branded to your organization, you may need to design it yourself or use a different tool.

Key Takeaways

  • Word's cover page feature is found under the Insert tab, and you choose a design before you add any text to your document.
  • Once you insert a cover page, you click directly on the placeholder text fields to type your title, subtitle, author name, and date.
  • You can change the cover page design at any time by inserting a new one, and Word will replace the old design while keeping your text.
  • If you delete a cover page, the rest of your document stays intact because the cover page is a separate section.
  • Word's cover page templates work best for standard documents like reports and essays; custom branding usually requires manual design work.

How to insert a cover page from Word's template gallery

Open your document in Microsoft Word. If you are starting fresh, open a blank document. If you already have content written, you can still add a cover page — Word will place it at the very beginning automatically.

Click the Insert tab at the top of the screen. In the ribbon, find the Cover Page button. Click it to see a dropdown menu showing all available cover page designs. Each design shows a preview thumbnail so you can see what it will look like. Click the design you want.

Word inserts the cover page at the start of your document when ready. If your document already had content, that content moves to the page after the cover page. The cover page appears as a separate section, which means you can delete it later without affecting the rest of your document.

Filling in the cover page text fields

Once the cover page is inserted, you will see placeholder text in different areas — typically a title area, subtitle area, author field, and date field. The exact layout depends on which design template you chose.

Click directly on any placeholder text to select it. The text will highlight in blue. Type your own text to replace it. For example, click on the title placeholder and type your document title. Click on the author placeholder and type your name. Continue for each field the template includes.

If a field does not explore to your document — for instance, some templates include a company name field but you do not need one — you can click on that placeholder and delete it. Word will remove just that text box, leaving the rest of the cover page intact.

Changing fonts, colors, and text formatting on the cover page

After you fill in the text, you can format it the same way you would format any text in Word. Select the text you want to change by clicking and dragging across it or triple-clicking to select the entire text box. Then use the formatting options in the Home tab — font dropdown, font size, bold, italic, color, and alignment buttons all work on cover page text.

You can also right-click on a text box to access additional formatting options. Some cover page designs include colored backgrounds or images. If you want to change the background color, right-click on the background area itself and look for fill or design options in the context menu.

Keep in mind that cover page templates are designed to look balanced as they are. Changing fonts or colors significantly may make the design look uneven. If you find yourself making many changes, it may be faster to choose a different template design instead.

Switching to a different cover page design

If you insert a cover page and then decide you want a different design, you do not have to delete the old one and start over. Go back to the Insert tab, click Cover Page again, and select a new design from the gallery. Word will replace the old cover page with the new design while keeping all the text you typed.

Your title, author name, and other information will transfer to the new template if the new template has the same fields. If the new design has different fields or fewer fields, some of your text may not carry over, so check the result before you save.

Removing a cover page from your document

To delete a cover page, go to the Insert tab and click the Cover Page button. At the bottom of the dropdown menu, you will see a Remove Cover Page option. Click it, and Word deletes the cover page when ready. The rest of your document remains unchanged.

Alternatively, you can click anywhere on the cover page, then select the entire page by pressing Ctrl+A (or Cmd+A on Mac) while your cursor is on that page, and press Delete. This method works but is less reliable because it may delete more than you intend. Using the Remove Cover Page option is safer.

When Word's cover page templates are not enough

Word's built-in cover page designs work well for academic papers, business reports, and standard documents. However, if your organization has specific branding requirements — a logo that must appear in a certain location, a specific color scheme, or a particular layout — you may need to design the cover page yourself or use a different tool.

If you need a custom design, you can create a blank cover page by inserting a blank page at the start of your document, then adding text boxes, images, and shapes manually. This takes more time but gives you complete control. Alternatively, design tools like Canva or Adobe InDesign let you create a cover page as an image file, which you can then insert into Word as a picture.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a cover page template from Microsoft's online library instead of the ones built into Word?

Yes. In Word, click File, then New. Search for "cover page" in the template search box. Microsoft's online template library shows additional designs beyond what is built into your copy of Word. You can read any template and use it in your document. This gives you more design options than the Insert Cover Page menu alone.

What if I want different cover pages for different sections of my document?

Word allows only one cover page per document using the built-in cover page feature. If you need multiple cover pages — for instance, one for each chapter — you will need to create them manually by inserting blank pages and adding text boxes and formatting yourself. This is a limitation of Word's cover page tool.

Does the cover page count toward my page number total?

Yes, the cover page is page 1 of your document. If you want page numbering to start on page 2 (the first page after the cover), you need to insert a page break after the cover page, then go to Insert, Page Number, and set it to start at 1 on that second page. This is a separate step from creating the cover page itself.

Can I add a background image to a cover page I created with a template?

It depends on the template design. Some templates have a background image or color already built in, and you can right-click to change it. Others are text-only with a plain background. If you want to add an image to a plain template, right-click on the background, select Fill, then choose Picture, and upload an image file. The image will appear behind the text.

If I save my document as a PDF, does the cover page stay formatted correctly?

Yes. When you save a Word document as a PDF, the cover page formatting transfers over. Go to File, Save As, choose PDF from the file type dropdown, and save. The cover page will look the same in the PDF as it does in Word, though some advanced formatting effects may not transfer perfectly depending on your design choices.