How to Create a Page Border in Microsoft Word

Adding a page border to your document can be a subtle way to make your Microsoft Word documents stand out. You can customize the style, thickness, and number of pages for a border to apply it to a Word document.

Adding a page border in Microsoft Word

Creating a page border in Microsoft Word will depend on your version of Microsoft Office. For Office 365 and Office 2019, open a Word document and click the Design tab on the ribbon.

If you have an older version of Office, click the Layout or Page Layout tab.

From here, click the Page Borders button in the Page Background section of the ribbon.

By default, the Borders and Shading box that opens should show the Page Borders tab by default. If it doesn’t, click this tab to enter border settings.

Click «Box» to add a typical border for your document. You can use the default style, border color and width, or change these settings in the various drop-down menus.

Click OK to apply a page border to the Word document.

In the Borders and Shading dialog box, select Window, select color, style, and width options, then click OK to apply it to the document.

By default, this border style is applied to every page.

Your document edit view will update to show the new border applied.

Page border applied to a Microsoft Word document

Alternative page border styles and formatting

The block page format is the default style, but alternative border styles and formatting options are available instead.

The frame border is the simplest, adding a solid line with no shadow to the page. Even this can be customized with different line types, widths and colors.

Custom page border settings and styles

In addition to the frame border, you can also apply a shadow border, a 3D style border, and a custom border with blending and matching options for each side.

To do this, select one of the options in the Customize section of the Page Borders tab of the Borders and Hatching dialog box. The style you choose will appear for you to preview in the Preview section before you apply it to your document.

Choose a Word border style by clicking one of the options in the Customize section of the Page Border tab in the Borders and Shading dialog box.

Apply or remove individual borders

If you want to apply or remove individual borders from your document (for example, remove the border from the bottom of the page), you can do so in the Preview section.

If a border is applied, click on the border to remove it. To apply it again, click on the line to make it appear again.

In the Microsoft Word page border settings, click individual borders in the preview sections to add/remove each line.

Adding a border to one page

Microsoft Word usually applies border styles to every page, but you can apply page borders to an individual page or exclude specific pages, such as your master page.

To do this, enter the Page Border settings menu (Layout / Design / Page Layout > Page Borders) and click the Apply To drop-down menu.

If you want to apply a frame to an individual page, make sure you are active on that page in your Word document before you enter the menu.

From the «Apply to» drop-down menu, select «This section» to apply it to the page you’re currently on. To apply your border to the first page only, select This section is for the first page only, or to apply it to all pages except the first, select This section is all but the first page.

To apply a page border to individual pages, select the appropriate option from the Apply To drop-down menu in the Page Borders options menu.

Click OK to save when you’re ready. It will then apply your page border to the specified pages, not the entire document.