How to Create a Letterhead in Word – Complete Guide

Would you like to know how to create a letterhead in BecomeHave you ever wanted to create a custom letterhead to impress clients? Or maybe you've decided to start a home-based business? Either way, you don't need to order from a printing company or graphic designer. This simple guide will show you how to create a letterhead in Word without any design skills.

We will use Microsoft Word for this step-by-step tutorial, which is included in Microsoft 365 (previously called Office 365). We have also made a letterhead for Google DocsAdditionally, you can use a letterhead when performing a mail merge.

Information and design elements for creating a letterhead in Word

The key to letterhead design is first deciding what you want to showcase. While creating the template is simple, you do need to do some planning. We find it helpful to grab a blank sheet of paper and sketch out the design. Nothing fancy, as this is just a mockup. This will help you choose your initial header. The good news is that once you understand the power of templates, you can make changes or use different versions.

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The list of items may vary depending on whether you are an individual, an organization, or a business. For example, if you are making a church letterhead, you may not have a tagline, or if you are a professional law firm, you may not have social media addresses. To get you started, here are some items to consider such as the following:

1. Logo
2. slogan or tagline
3. Full Name
4. Address
5. Phone numbers (office and cell phone)
6. Web address
7. Email address
8. Professional license numbers
9. Memberships and Awards
10. Established date
11. Social media addresses

Once you've thought about the elements you want to include, you need to determine placement. For example, split elements between the header and footer in Microsoft Word.

Template Graphics Considerations for Letterhead in Word

Clearly, images or logos can enhance design and be impactful. But images can pose design problems. For example, you may find a great graphic, but your computer printer doesn't do it justice.

• This is because your printer's capabilities are not good enough to display the image. And we all know how images differ when the printer is running out of ink.
• The other side is when you have a great printer, but the image file is not as good as it should be. This could be the result of reducing the image file size too much, so it appears pixelated.
• Another problem is that the image you extract has too much white space, so you have to crop or adjust the image. Again, an image capture program like SnagIt can make cuts and adjustments.

If you work for a company or organization, you should verify if they have an identity or “style guideThey will often have approved graphics that they can provide you in the appropriate image size and file format. Like templates, style guides can range from simple to complex.

Add a Logo to Letterhead Header in Word

In this tutorial, we'll create a simple template. The header will have my site logo, and the footer will have a mailing address. And yes, Microsoft Word could handle my new logo, which is an SVG file.

1. Step 1:: Start with a blank Word document.
2. Step 2:: Click on the menu Look and Choose Print layout.

3. Step 3:: On the menu Insert, select HeaderMicrosoft Word will display a list of numerous home header styles.

4. Step 4:: Click on the style you prefer. We will use the white style Now it is in the " modeDesigner» and you should see a bookmark tab header on the left and some placeholder text above.

5. Step 5:: On the menu Design, click on Images in the section InsertIf your image is too large, it will be reduced to fit the width.
6. Step 6:: The dialog box will open Insert file. Find your graphic file and click on Insert.
7. Step 7:: Check your image to see if it is balanced. In the example below, the logo is twice the size I prefer.

1. Step 8:: Right click on your image and select Size and position…
2. Step 9: A dialog box appears with several resizing options. The initial logo was 20% and was reduced to 10%.

1. Step 10:: Click Accept to accept the new image size. The image will be left-aligned.

1. Step 11:: Click on the image and click Home.
2. Step 12:: Click the button Center alignment in Paragraph section.

Optional Step: Add any other text you want in this area.

Add Footer to Letterhead in Word

Include the address in a smaller font and a vertical line or pipe sign in the footer area. Also center the text.

1. Step 1:: On the menu Insert, select Footer of page. Word will display a number of footer styles.

1. Step 2:: Click the style you prefer. A placeholder footer appears.

1. Step 3:: Add in your text such as your address.
2. Step 4:: If you want to change the font, highlight your text and right click. This will open the mini formatting bar.

1. Optional Step: If you want to center your text, click on the menu Home and then on the button Center text.

1. Step 5:: Double click on the small footer marker page at the top left to exit footer design mode.

This is also a good time to print out your letterhead to check the color and clarity of any artwork. Your online version may show colors that are off. but they print fine. You may also need to adjust your printer settings if you are in draft or economy printing mode.

If you need to edit the header or footer to access design mode, double-click anywhere in the header or footer area. Small tab markers will appear on the far left.

Save the letterhead template in Word (*.dotx)

In addition to modifying the header and footer, you may want to adjust other properties before saving the file. For example, you can change the margins, fonts, or style.

1. Step 1:: On the menu File, select Save As…
2. Step 2:: In the dialog box Save as, changes Save as type: Document template (*.dotx).

1. Step 3:: Provide a descriptive name for your template, such as “letterhead.”
2. Step 4:: Click Save.

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Using your letterhead template

When you save the template, Microsoft Word stores it in a template folder. In this example, this is “C:\Users\Anne\Documents\Custom Office Templates\letterhead-tutorial.dotx”.

To use the letterhead template in Word, you need to do the following:

1. Step 1:: Open Microsoft Word and select New on the menu File or in Backstage view.
2. Step 2:: Click in Particulars.

1. Step 3:: Double-click the template you want to use. A new document will open based on your selection.

About macros for creating a letterhead in Word

Macros automate common tasks. You can create a macro for virtually any task you perform in Word. The number of steps is irrelevant. You can even create a macro that automatically places certain text in a document with as many attributes as you want!

Macros are created using a recording device similar to a common tape recorder. Once you begin recording your macro, a toolbar appears with standard stop and pause buttons. Here's an example of how to create a macro for your custom letterhead.

Create the letterhead macro in Word

1. Step 1:: Open a blank document where you will assign your macro to all documents.
2. Step 2:: In the view tab, choose Macros y Record macroThe Record Macro dialog box is displayed as shown below.
3. Step 3:: Type a name for your macro, such as (No spaces allowed; use an underscore to indicate a space.)

4. Step 4:: In Store macro in:Make sure that All Documents (Normal.dot) or Global Template
5. Step 5:: Add one description if you want, this is useful if you are creating a lot of macros and need to keep everything organized.
6. Step 6:: To assign the macro to a keyboard shortcut, click This provides quick access to your macro.

1. 1. The dialog box customize keyboard appears as shown above.
   2. Assign a key combination. For this macro, since we are creating a letterhead, we will use Alt – L. On your keyboard, press the key OTHER and the letter L at the same time. The combination is automatically placed in the field Press new key shortcut.
   3. Click in Assign
   4. Click in Close.

Record Letterhead Macro in Word

After choosing Close, the macro recording starts immediately. For stop recording, you will need to click on the macro again and click Stop recording.

When recording your macro, be sure to include the following on your letterhead.

1. Step 1:: Write the letterhead information
   1. Example:

1. OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
2. 1101 Camden Avenue

• Salisbury, MD 21801-6860

1. 410-543-6011
2. 1-888-543-0148
3. TTY 410-543-6083

• FAX 410-548-2587

1. Step 2:: Once you have completed the letterhead information, place your cursor at the end of the text and click on the tab Page design in Office 2013 or on the tab Designer in Office 2016.
2. Step 3:: Click On Breaks.
3. Step 4:: From the drop-down menu, select Continuous.
4. Step 5:: Hold down the key Shift and press the up arrow ↑ on the keyboard several times until all the text is highlighted.
5. Step 6:: Click on the tab Start.
6. Step 7:: In the group Source, click on the drop-down box Font name.
7. Step 8:: Choose Arial
8. Step 9: Click on the drop down box Font size.
9. Step 10:: Enter 7 and then press the key Enter on your keyboard.
10. Step 11:: Make sure the text is still selected (highlighted)
11. Step 12:: Click on the tab Page design in Office 2013 or on the tab Designer in Office 2016.
12. Step 13:: In the group Paragraph, click on the bottom right corner. A pop-up window should appear with the following areas on the tab Indentation and spacing.
    1. En General admission and also to Alignment: Choose Right in the drop-down menu.
    2. En Identation, make sure that both Left: , the Right: are set to 0.
    3. En Spacing, Both Before: as if to After: Login 8pt.
    4. Click on Accept.
    5. In the group Page Setup on the Layout Tab of page (2013) or Designer (2016), click on Margins.
    6. Choose Custom margins.
    7. In the tab Margins, make sure the Apply to: option is selected. in the lower left corner is set to Selected section.
    8. En Margins, make sure that both Higher: , the Right: are set to .375. You can leave the margins Bottom: e Left: at default values.
    9. Click on OK.
    10. Press the Arrow down ↓ on the keyboard once to place the cursor at the beginning of the document, below the letterhead.

Once you have completed these steps, click on the tab Watch. Click on the  Macro and select Stop recording as it's shown in the following.

14. Step 14:: Click File>Close to close the document you just created. If you are prompted to save the document, you can do so.

Testing the letterhead macro in Word

1. Step 1:: Click in File.
2. Step 2:: Click New.
3. Step 3:: Choose Blank document.
4. Step 4:: If you set a keyboard shortcut above, click it now. For this example, press the key OTHER and the letter L at the same time. Your letterhead should appear in the upper right corner of the document.
   1. If you did not choose to set a keyboard shortcut for your macro, click the tab Watch.
   2. Click on Macro in the group Macro.
   3. In the window Macro, select your macro and click Run.
   4. Once your letterhead appears, you may need to change the document font to the default font, size, or justification in the groups Source y Paragraph found in the tab Start.

Turn your original design into a letterhead template in Word

Microsoft Word is pretty low-tech compared to Illustrator or InDesign, however, that's what your clients are using and your letterhead design is useless to them if they can't edit it and add content to it, so knowing how to create a Microsoft Word letterhead template is key.

1. Create your letterhead design in Word

We've created this example in Illustrator, but Photoshop and InDesign can also be used to create letterhead designs. Create your design in CMYK color mode, and if you're using photos or complex graphics, make sure they're 300 dpi or higher, because Microsoft Word compresses any images you put into it.

2. Export your letterhead design as a high-resolution PNG file

To do this, you must follow these steps:

1. Step 1:: click File > Export > PNG.
2. Step 2: Make sure to select 300 dpi as the resolution.
3. Step 3: You can also save your design as a JPG and even as a TIFF; however, TIFF files will dramatically increase file sizes and loading times in Microsoft Word for your client.

3. Set up your Microsoft Word document

1. Step 1:: Next, set up a Word document to insert your letterhead design.
2. Step 2:: Click in File > New Blank Document.
3. Step 3:: While the document is open, click on File > Page Setup > Paper Size > Manage Custom Sizes.
4. Step 4: Set the paper size to 8,75 x 11,13 To accommodate your full bleed layout, set all margins to «0» and set the non-printable areas to «User defined».

Doing this allows you to set your letterhead in Word to be full bleed instead of fitting into the default margins.

4. Place your letterhead design into your Microsoft Word document

Your letterhead design will be placed in the Header and Footer section of your Word document, automatically repeating on all additional pages.

1. Step 1:: Go to View > Header and Footer.
2. Step 2: Some guidelines for headers and footers will now appear in your document.
3. Step 3: Click in Insert > Photo > Picture from file
4. Step 4: Select your PNG file
5. Step 5: Now your png file will appear centered in the middle of the page
6. Step 6: Select the png image, click Format > Image.

NOTE: : A menu of " will appearImage format«

7. Step 7:: First, go to SizeWord automatically scales down your artwork, but you can fix this by setting the height and width to 100%.

8. Step 8:: Then click on the Layout tab and select the option «Behind the text«
9. Step 9:: Click the button "Advanced" and make sure the horizontal and vertical absolute positions are set to Page.
10. Step 10:: Now press ok to apply all these image format settings.

NOTE: : Your letterhead design should now appear at 100%. Adjust the positioning if necessary.

11. Step 11:: Go to View and uncheck Header and footer so you can exit the Header & Footer area and start editing your text area.

Now that you are not in header and footer editing mode, the letterhead design will appear faded, but it will not actually print that way, so let your client know.

Adjust the margins and paragraph styles as you like. If you press return until Word creates a new page for you, you'll notice that the same layout has appeared on the next page. This is because you inserted your layout into the header and footer section of the document, and the layout will automatically repeat on each additional page.

5. Save the letterhead template in Word

Go to File> Save As. Choose dot like your format and Save. Now you can send your editable Microsoft Word letterhead template to your client!

6. Prepare the letterhead template in Word for printing

If your client is printing the Microsoft Word letterhead template on a printer that can print full-bleed pages, tell your client to save the finished file as a PDF for best printing results.

Printing directly from a Microsoft Word document can have mixed results. To save the template as a PDF:

• go to File > Print > Save to PDF. Now the file is ready to print

It is important that your client knows that The colors in your Microsoft Word letterhead template will display colors slightly differently than the original design. When creating the template, the trick is to get the colors as close to the original design as possible; they just won't display exactly the same no matter what, and they will likely look different when printed.

In case your client has Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader, you should recommend that he or she edit the letterheads in those programs because the print quality will be higher than in Microsoft Word.

Also, if the design is full bleed and your client wants it as a Microsoft Word letterhead template, be sure to inform them that it cannot be printed properly on a typical home or office printer, as this will result in a white margin around the edges.

They need to take the full bleed design to a professional printing shop that can print full bleed designs.

Microsoft Word It has many drawbacks and simply doesn't measure up to other, more advanced graphics editing programs, but your clients probably know that and you'll have to work with it.

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Final thoughts

Creating a custom letterhead in Word won't take care of your correspondence. You'll still have to type out your letters. But at least you won't have to type in your contact details every time. And you can also use this template to print your letterhead in bulk. Many commercial printers can use a Word file or PDF file for a print run. We hope we've helped you with this information.