Adding a cover page to the start of your Word Document is a great way to set the tone for your document. The cover page is the first thing your reader will see and should outline the documents title, author, maybe the date it was written or other key information that a reader may find useful to view at a glance before they dive into the rest of the document. Microsoft Word does have a large number of pre-designed cover page options available. We wrote a post on how to insert there here. If you are looking for something a bit fancy, or unique, creating your own custom cover page may be just what you need. Some companies require brand specific cover pages, you may need to follow brand guidelines with logo placements, colours and layouts in which case a customised cover page is perfect for you. In this article, we will outline how to insert and create a custom cover page to the start of your Microsoft Word Document before leaving you to make it look picture perfect.

Creating a Custom Cover Page in Microsoft Word

1. Open Word
2. Click Insert
3. Click Pages

4. Click Cover Page

5. Select a Cover Page template that best suits the cover page design you would like on your document
6. Customise each text box by clicking the default text and typing

7. Customise the size and location of shapes by clicking the feature and dragging it across the screen

8. Insert custom images by clicking Pictures

9. Insert custom icons or symbols by clicking Icons
   1. Search for a suitable icon
   2. Click the icon
   3. Press insert

10. Insert custom shapes, to add new boarders, lines or features by clicking Shapes
    1. Place your cursor where you would like the shape to be inserted
    2. Select the shape you want to insert

With so many different ways to customise a cover page, Microsoft has opened the doors for you to get creative and use text, images, photos, shapes and layout to design a cover page to suit your document perfectly.

On the hunt for an easier way to manage version control?

If you’re collaborating on Microsoft Word Documents and need to keep track of each new version along the way, it is likely that you (like so many of us) have a messy shared drive full of cluttered, badly named versions and no real way of knowing which one if the most recent and who made changes to what. The endless scrolling through what feeling like 500 versions to figure out if Report_v9_edited_final_FINALFINAL_2 is actually the most recent version. Is it the final one? Let’s say it is, now you have added your edits and are ready to save a new version, do you just add a _updated onto the end of the already long file name, or the current date – hoping no body else edits and saves on the same day? Its a mind-field out there! Then just to add another hidden bomb to the field, there is always one person in the team that saves a version in a different spot and it’s near impossible to figure out where it went. Collaborating in Word can be challenging, with Version control the number one frustration for most small to large corporations who collaborate regularly and do not have an automatic version control tool on hand. A tool that manages version control for you, such as Simul Docs will take all of the file naming and searching out of your job description leaving you to spend more time to edit. Simul Docs manages version control for you. When you open a new file, Simul will save it as file 0.0.1, then John from Marketing opens your file, makes some changes and presses save – this becomes file 0.0.2 and so on. It’s version control that makes sense. Then you want to go back and see what changes John has made over the course of the documents life. Well that’s easy, because Simul not only tracks the versions for you with the edits saved in each it places the authors name next to the document so you know who owns which version at a glance. So now it’s your turn to edit the Word Document, which one is the most recent one? Simul lists all of the versions in an easy to view ‘versions list’ at the side of your dashboard. The most recent version will be listed at the top, with the highest version number, e.g 0.0.5. You can open version 0.0.5 at the click of a button, edit it directly in Simul or open it in Microsoft Word, depending on which interface you personally prefer working within. Now that you are editing away, Simul also knows that you are going to want your changes tracked, so tracked changes are automatic, every, single, time you open the document. Because collaborating can be stressful enough without having to remember to turn on tracked changes or save the document as a new version before you start editing to avoid saving over the last file. So now you’ve made your edits, with all of your changes tracked (thanks Simul!) and are ready to press save and share your file and let your team know you have finished. Simul has you covered again – when you press save Simul automatically sends an email to the document owner letting them know a new version is available for their review. If you did want to share your document directly, Simul allows you to share via a directly link, email or to any of the popular cloud storage systems such as Dropbox, GoogleDrive, OneDrive and more. Save, export and download the document out of Simul docs at the click of a button. Simul gives you the option to do so in the original Word Document format or as a PDF. With collaboration in mind, purpose built tools such as Simul Docs were built to make collaboration easy. From version control, to tracking changes, saving, editing, merging and more – Simul has you covered! If you find yourself wasting time searching through a messy shared drive, we suggest you give Simul Docs a go. With free trials available, you’ve got nothing to loose. We are talking about first impressions here. So, let’s take on the first thing our eyes fall on—the cover page. The instructions below show you how to make a cover page in Word that’s attractive and professional?
Note: You can use our instructions to create a cover page design for your school assignment. Before you add a cover page to your assignment, however, check for any specific requirements with your instructor.

What Is a Cover Page?

There are a lot of things that go into a professional Microsoft Word document. The cover page is the very first page of your document. Its purpose right at the beginning is to give the reader the «Big Idea» about the document. The why and wherefore is communicated through a specific title, the author name, date, a one-liner on the subject, and any other bit of important information that you think is important for the reader.

What Does a Plain Cover Page Look Like?

Microsoft Word is used for writing serious research documents and school essays. Most of them go with monochromatic and simple cover pages. often dictated by strict style guides like the Chicago Manual of Style. Other non-academic cover pages are more casual. But what if you want to create a cover page in Word that’s way cooler than vanilla? Even if you don’t have the chops for it? Design your own cover page with the easy tools on Microsoft Word and save it as your own cover page template. For an academic assignment, do check with your instructor before using a cover page.

How to Make an Attractive Cover Page

Microsoft Word makes it painless to create a business report cover page or a title page for an essay. The Microsoft Office suite comes with a few well-designed cover pages that you can re-purpose for your document. There’s a good variety to choose from. To make a cover page, follow these steps:

1. Open a new Word document.
2. Click on the Insert menu on the ribbon.
3. The dropdown for Cover Page is the first feature you will spot on the menu (under Pages). Click on tiny arrow next to it and open the inbuilt gallery of templates.
4. Pick one from the 16 pre-formatted templates and three more on Office.com.
5. Select the one you like and click on it.

The cover page appears at the beginning of the document by default. But to place it in any other location, right-click on the cover page thumbnail in the gallery and select from the options given. Though, I am not sure why you would want to!

Customize Individual Fields

Click on each pre-formatted field (the square brackets) and the whole thing gets highlighted with a blue field label on top. Type in your version for the given field. The author name might appear by default if the Microsoft Office installation is in your name. Place the common information in Quick Parts and you don’t have to bother with typing them again and again. Change the date fields with the dropdown arrow and select a date from a calendar. You can format all fields just like normal text. You can easily edit graphical cover page elements like any other image. Just click on the graphic to display the Drawing Tools and Picture Tools menus on the Ribbon.

Change the Cover Page Design on the Fly

Customizing a pre-formatted cover page is a piece of cake. The templates consist of formatted controls and graphic boxes that come in different color themes. So, you can change any part of the template on the fly. Notice a picture on the cover page template? Maybe, you would like to swap it out with a logo or another more appropriate image. Just right-click on the picture and click Change Picture in the context menu. Changed your mind about the cover page design? While working on one cover page, you can change it for another cover page by selecting a new template from the dropdown. The new template retains the field entries. Note: To replace a cover page created in an older version of Microsoft Word, you must delete the first cover page manually, and then add a new design from the cover page gallery. Click on Save to finalize the cover page as a document. If you would like to save the cover page for later use in another document, select the entire cover page. Click on Insert > Cover Page > Save Selection to Cover Page Gallery. You can use the same menu to remove a selected cover page from the gallery.

How to Make a Cover Page in Microsoft Word

Word templates are a time-saving solution, but they don’t allow your personality to shine through. To add a personal touch, you should put in a bit more effort and make a cover page from scratch and put some planning into it. You have all the image editing tools in Microsoft Word at your disposal. When you can design your own logo in Microsoft Word, a cover page is less of a chore. Borrow or steal ideas from the process. The screenshot below displays a custom cover page I created in Microsoft Word from scratch. I used a few basic Shapes to create the design and formatted them with color.

Save Your Custom Template

Complete your cover page design on a fresh Microsoft Word document. Save this document as a Microsoft Word template (File > Save As > Microsoft Word Template) in a location of your choice. Now, the next steps are about adding your own cover page to the default choices under the Insert menu. Follow these steps: Press Ctrl + A to select the entire page. Add these selections to the Quick Parts gallery. Go to Ribbon > Insert > Quick Parts (the Text Group). Select Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery… from the dropdown. Enter the details in the dialog for a new Building Block. Building blocks are reusable Microsoft Word elements that you can add to any of the galleries available in Word. This is what the dialog box looks like:

• Name: Give the cover page a Name.
• Gallery: Choose «Cover Pages» from the dropdown.
• Category: Choose a category. For better organization, make a new category.
• Save in: Save it in your template or in the building block. When saved as a building block, you can use it in any Word document without opening the template.

Click OK and close the Building Block dialog box. Go to the Insert menu and check your new cover page template.

Create Cover Pages With Style

A cover page is one of the best ways to stylize your document. But is it one of the more underused features of Microsoft Word? A Microsoft Word document is often bland. Consider the merits:

• A cover page gives the reader a quick visual of the content inside.
• Save and re-use a generic company-wide cover page in the gallery.
• Convert a document with a cover page to PDF with one button and send it to any device.

Most of us don’t commonly employ a cover page with a document. If you want to, try free Microsoft Word cover templates and see if they make your document more eye-catching. Then, you can start making your own designs for the front page of a document.

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