How to Add a Header or Footer in Google Slides

Adding headers and footers to your Google Slides presentations can help enhance their design and improve navigation for your audience. Unlike PowerPoint, Google Slides doesn’t have built-in options for inserting headers and footers. However, with a few simple steps, you can manually add them to your slides.

In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn three easy methods to insert headers and footers in Google Slides:

1. Using text boxes
2. Editing the slide master
3. Inserting slide numbers

Follow along as we break down each technique. Soon you’ll be enhancing all your presentations with polished headers and footers!

Benefits of Using Headers and Footers

Before jumping into the how-to, let’s review why headers and footers can be useful:

• Provide consistency and cohesion for a professional appearance
• Help identify key details like titles, dates, and authors
• Improve navigation with page numbers and section divisions
• Add customizable visual elements and branding

Keeping these benefits in mind will help you maximize headers and footers in your Google Slides presentations.

Method 1: Insert a Text Box

The quickest way to add a header or footer is by inserting a text box. Here are the steps:

1. Open your Google Slides presentation and select the slide where you want the header/footer.
2. Click the Insert > Text Box option in the toolbar or menu.
3. Drag to customize the size and placement of the text box. Position at the top for a header or bottom for a footer.
4. Type your desired text into the box.
5. Format the text if needed – change font, size, color, etc.

With this simple technique, you can insert headers and footers in just a minute or two. The downside is that you’ll have to manually add a text box to each slide you want formatted.

If you want your headers/footers on every slide, read on for a more automated option.

Method 2: Edit the Slide Master

For a header or footer on multiple slides at once, editing the slide master is the best approach. The master slide acts as a template that all other slides inherit formatting from.

Follow these steps to edit the slide master:

1. Click View > Master in the Google Slides toolbar.
2. Select the box with the text “Click to edit master title style”.
3. Replace the placeholder text with your desired header/footer content.
4. Format the text box as needed.
5. Click the X to close the master slide editor.

Now all slides using that master slide layout will automatically display the header and footer!

You can also add visual elements like logos by inserting an image onto the master slide. Just make sure to maintain clear headers/footers for readability.

Method 3: Insert Slide Numbers

If you just need page numbers rather than text headers/footers, Google Slides has a simple slide number tool. Here’s how to add it:

1. Click Insert > Slide Numbers.
2. Choose if you want numbers on all slides or not the title slide.
3. Pick a location – top left, bottom center, etc.

Slide numbers can help your audience navigate through presentations and keep track of where they’re at. You can also use this method in conjunction with text headers/footers inserted via text boxes or master editing.

Customizing Your Headers and Footers

Once inserted, headers and footers can be further customized to fit your ideal presentation design:

• Use different first page options to have alternate headers/footers on the title slide.
• Separate headers/footers for odd and even pages.
• Vary margins and alignment of header/footer text boxes.
• Change formatting like color, size, and font family.
• Include visual elements like logos and icons.

Don’t be afraid to experiment to find headers and footers that enhance your content!

Conclusion

Adding polished headers and footers in Google Slides is simple with the techniques covered in this guide. By manually inserting text boxes, editing the master, or adding slide numbers, you can create elegant and useful headers/footers.

Use them to establish cohesion, improve navigation, and make your presentations stand out.

So next time you’re building a Google Slides presentation, remember these pro tips for enhanced headers and footers!