How to Change Background Color in Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word, the popular word processing tool has a feature that lets you change background color in Word. If you use Microsoft Word regularly, you might find it boring to write a document with white background. Or, you might want to print another background color for a document using Microsoft Word. Here’s how to change background color in Word.

Microsoft Word has a lot of advanced features. You can add a ruler in Word, change margins, insert check marks, and even make brochures. Users can change word background color, page background color, and even Microsoft Word theme itself. There is much stuff you can change the background for in Microsoft Word. We’ll talk about all those stuff and you can jump to the section you want to read on.

These methods can be applied in Microsoft Word 2007, Microsoft Word 2010, Microsoft Word 2013, Microsoft Word 2016, and Microsoft Word 2019, as well as Microsoft Word 2021. You can also do these things both in Windows 11, Windows 10, and Mac.

How do I change the background color in Word?

When people say they want to change the Word background color, they refer to the page color which is the paper of the document in actual print condition.

If you change page color, that means you will spend more inks to fill the color for the printed papers, which is also applied in Microsoft Word for Android. But, for those who want and insist to do it, here’s how to change the Word background color:

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Open for the document you want to change page color for, or you can create a new blank document.
3. Now, go to the Design tab on the ribbon.
4. Click Page Color. This is where you can change Microsoft Word background color for pages. You can also change the page border color, or even add a watermark to the page.
5. To change the background color, just click any color available on Theme Colors. You can also choose any color from Standard Colors. If you want a default transparent background, you can choose No Color so that you don’t waste more printer inks.
6. However, if you feel like there’s no desired color you want in Theme Colors and Standard Colors, you can choose your color by clicking More Colors. You can choose more background colors to apply for Microsoft Word’s page. This is necessarily important if you want to change to the specific background color.
7. Now, you will see the Custom tab. You can move the selector to pick any color and change its level. You can choose a color model from RGB to HTML.
8. However, you might think that is too hard for you to pick a good color. You can choose the Standard tab and pick a nice background color if you want to change to that color in Microsoft Word. Click OK to apply.
9. Microsoft Word also offers a page border for users to change the border for the page. It also includes a feature to change the page border color, not just the page background color in Microsoft Word. You can do that by going to the Design tab and clicking Page border at Page background group.
10. If you want to change the shading, you can change it to another color by selecting any color in Theme colors and Standard colors. This will be applied to your future paragraph written in your document, not the border.

How do I set a picture as a background in Word?

Microsoft Word also provides a feature to add pictures to your page’s background. This makes a better alternative if you don’t want to change the Word background.

1. You can do that in the Design tab, and select Page Color. Then, click Fill Effects.
2. Now, in addition, you can change the background color to a gradient color, too. You can choose any shading styles, transparency level, and gradient color to apply to Microsoft Word’s page.
3. Now, to change the Microsoft Word background to a picture, you can do that by clicking Select Picture.

ALSO READ: How to Make Word Document Fillable but Not Editable

How do I change the background color for a text in Word?

When you paste content from a website, for example, Messenger, you might find it is hard to paste a normal text background color. You pasted a paragraph from a website, you bring the website’s background color of the text in Microsoft Word. Here’s how to fix that.

1. Select the text you want to change the background color for.
2. Click Borders at Home tab on the ribbon.
3. Click Borders and Shading to change the background color of the text.
4. At the Shading tab, you choose No Color on the Fill.
5. Click OK to make the background color of the text white again in Microsoft Word.

How do I change the background color for a page on Word?

Microsoft Word also offers a feature that lets people change the entire Microsoft Office background including Microsoft Word. But this kind of “background” is a background that you can see in the upper-right Microsoft Office apps, including Microsoft Word, like the image below.

1. Click the File tab.
2. Go to Account and click the combo box on Office Theme or Office Background.
3. You can change the Microsoft Word background to another one. There are some Office backgrounds available for you to use.

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Microsoft Word has some methods for users to change backgrounds. You can change page background color, border color, text background color, and even Microsoft Office background color. Specifically, you can change the page background color on a page so you can print out different paper colors by using the first method.