How To Change the Page Background to Color or Image in Microsoft Word

Want to set a custom color or background image to a page in Microsoft Word? Here’s how you can do it in simple and easy steps.

Microsoft Word is one of the most popular word processors for creating, editing, formatting, saving, and printing documents. A couple of the main reasons for its popularity are its ease of use, a boatload of options, and broad compatibility with applications and institutions. With just a few clicks, you can create or edit a document however you want. In fact, you can use MS Word to create the simplest of documents or one of the most complex documents out there.

By default, Word shows a simple white background for pages. If you are using the dark mode, you will see a dark background. In a vast majority of cases, a simple white or dark background is sufficient. However, there may be situations where you want the pages in Microsoft Word to be a specific color or have a specific page background. For example, if you are creating a fun, creative document, you might want a colorful page.

Thankfully, it is pretty easy to do. In this quick and guide, let me show you the steps to change the color of a page or add a background image to a page in Microsoft Word. Let’s get started.

Quick navigation links:

1. Change the background color of a page in Microsoft Word
2. Add a background image to a page in Microsoft Word

Change the Background Color of a Page in Microsoft Word

We can use the Page Color option to change the page background in MS Word. Here is where to find the option and how to use it.

1. Open the Word document.
2. Go to the “Design” tab.
3. Click the “Page Color” option.
4. Select the color of your choice to apply it to the page.
5. It’s that simple to add or change the page color in Microsoft Word.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

Step 1: Open the Word document for which you want to change the background. You can do that by double-clicking the Word file.

Step 2: After opening the Word document. Go to the “Design” tab on the ribbon menu. This is the menu that lets you customize how the page and its content look.

Step 3: Now, click the “Page Color” option and select the color you want to apply. As you hover over the color, Word shows an instant preview of the background color.

Step 4: If you don’t like the pre-defined colors, you can set a custom color. To set a custom color, select the “More Colors” option.

Step 5: Next, go to the “Custom” tab, select the color you want to set, then click “OK“.

That is it. It is that simple to set a background color in Word. If you ever want to remove the background color, select the “Design” > “Page Color” > “No Color” option.

Add a Background Image to a Page in Microsoft Word

Note: Before proceeding, make sure the image you want to use in the page is the same size as the page. Otherwise, it might either become too small or too big. And changing its dimensions might deform the image ratio.

In addition to a simple color, you can also set your favorite image as the page background. To do this, we can use the “Insert Picture” option. Here’s how.

1. Open the Word document.
2. Go to the “Insert” tab.
3. Click the “Picture” option.
4. Select the “This PC” option.
5. Now, find the image or picture and select it.
6. Click the “Insert” button.
7. The above action adds the picture to the document.
8. Go to the “Picture format” tab.
9. Click the “Wrap Text” > “Behind Text” option.
10. You can drag the image to set its position.
11. With that, you’ve successfully added an image to a page in Microsoft Page.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

Step 1: Open the Word document for which you want to change the background. You can do that by double-clicking the Word file.

Step 2: Now, write all that you want. If you don’t want to write yet, that is fine too. Next, go to the “Insert” tab and then click the “Picture” option.

Step 3: In the Picture menu, select the “This PC” option.

Step 4: Now, find the image or picture you want to set as the background, select it, and click the “Insert” button.

Step 5: The above action will add the image to the Word document. Now, select the “Picture Format” tab, click the “Wrap Text” option, and then select the “Behind Text” option. This will move the image behind the text.

Step 6: If needed, you can fix the image position and resize it to fit the page. To do that, select the “Fix Position on Page” option from the “Wrap Text” menu.

Step 7: Drag the image to position it on the page. You can also drag the corners of the image to resize it as needed.

That is it. It is that simple to set an image as the page background in Word.

As you can see, whether you want to add color or an image to the page background, it is pretty easy thanks to the built-in option in Microsoft Word. If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.

Good to read: How to change the default font in Word.