How to Create a Custom Template in Google Docs

Google Docs is an excellent word processing platform. It’s free, web-based and offers seamless collaboration between users. It’s no surprise that Google’s offering is popular with small businesses, education, and individuals. You can always create a document from scratch, but the real treasure lies in the Google Docs templates.

Using templates, you can quickly create a professional-looking flyer, business letter, company notebook, brochure and more. Google packs quite a few templates. The internet is full of third-party developers who create specific Google Docs templates based on different categories. But what if you want more customization and better control over the template in Google Docs? In this case, you need to create one or use the existing template and make the necessary changes.

Why do you need a custom template in Google Docs? If you find yourself creating the same layout of a document over and over, you can save yourself a lot of time with a template.

This post will talk about how to create a custom template in Google Docs using different background colors, font styles, types and more. Lets start.

Choose a Template

First, you need to decide what kind of template you want to create in Google Docs. You can start using the blank document or choose a nice template and make the necessary changes to it. Here we will talk about both methods.

Let’s create a template using a blank canvas. Follow the steps below.

Stage 1: Visit Google Docs on the web.

Step 2: Tap the + icon and select the blank canvas.

Stage 3: Give the template a relevant name.

Now let’s design a template with relevant details.

Add Background Color

If you are not a fan of the boring Google Docs background, you can change it to your preferred color. To change it, follow the steps below. Background color in Google Docs. If you are having trouble with white background, skip this section.

Stage 1: Open the File menu and select the option labeled Page Setup.

Step 2: Expand the color picker under Page Color.

Stage 3: Choose your desired color from the presets provided.

Choose Custom if you want to fine-tune your color selection. You can also add a hexadecimal color code to get the exact background color you want.

You can also click Set as Default if you want to set the selected color to be automatically applied to new documents. This does not affect older documents; you have to change the color of each one manually if necessary.

Now that you have chosen the background color for the template, let’s add the relevant details.

Add Text, Company Logo and Horizontal Lines

You can use Title, Subtitle, Title 1/2/3 and add relevant details to the document. I added the company name, slogan and address. So I don’t have to deal with them again.

Tap the Insert menu, choose Image > Install From Computer. Add the company logo and store it in a preferred location. I have it in the upper right corner.

To add horizontal lines, choose Insert > Horizontal line. It gives a nice layout break to a document.

You can now add common text to a Google Docs document. For example, you can write down the company’s general guidelines, rules, and some hiring details.

Use a Third Party Template

The way mentioned above is the simple trick of creating a custom template in Google Docs. You can also choose a third-party template and make minor changes to it. Let me show you an example.

In the image below, I downloaded the Sales template for Google Docs. Opened the document in the app and made the relevant changes like Company name, address, Email and Phone number.

Now I can save the template and next time I only need to change small details like discounted items, discount rate, discounted name and more. In a few minutes, I have a brochure ready to be sent for printing.

Save and Reuse Google Doc Templates

After making the necessary changes, tap on the move folder menu and save the template in a Google Drive folder. Now, remember that this is your main template file in Google Docs. You should not make any changes to the original file.

Follow the steps below when you want to use the template to create a quick document.

Stage 1: Visit Google Drive on the web and find the template you want to use.

Step 2: Open the template in Google Docs.

Stage 3: Do not make any changes now as it will corrupt the original private document.

Step 4: Tap on File > Make a copy instead and save it to Google Drive.

Now go ahead and edit the required details in the template and you are ready.

Create Google Docs Docs on the Go

Designing a custom Google Docs template can save you a lot of time when dealing with the same type of documents frequently in the app. Go ahead and create a custom Google Docs template to simplify the process. Let us know how you plan to use the custom template feature in Google Docs in the comments section below.

Next: Make your work more efficient with Google Docs. Read the post below to learn about the eleven best Google Docs templates to increase productivity.