How to Create a Custom PowerPoint Template

ByJim Miller

Even with fresh competition from the likes of Google Slides and Pitch, PowerPoint's popularity remains intact. One of the reasons for PowerPoint's dominant position is its built-in templates. The software comes with hundreds of templates to start building your presentation. However, sometimes ready-made templates are not enough. If you frequently need to create PowerPoint presentations, you should create a custom PowerPoint template tailored to your needs. Here's how to create one.

Why You Need to Create a Custom PowerPoint Template

When you frequently deal with PowerPoint presentations, creating each slide from scratch can be time-consuming and require too much effort. Once you familiarize yourself with a specific PowerPoint slide design, fonts, and other elements, you no longer need to keep adding them to all your PowerPoint presentations. Simply convert it to a custom template and use the same fonts, theme, iconography, and images throughout all your PowerPoint presentations.

How to Create a PowerPoint Template

For this tutorial, we will start by creating a PowerPoint presentation from scratch and then convert it into a custom template.

  1. Open the PowerPoint app on your PC or Mac.
  2. Select “New” and open “Blank Presentation”.

open blank presentation

  1. Utilize the “Design Ideas” feature in PowerPoint to pick the perfect design idea for your slide.

use design ideas

  1. Go to the “New Slide” menu and select the relevant slide from the drop-down list.

open new slide

  1. Use the “Design Ideas” menu to check ready-to-go slide ideas to implement.

design ideas

  1. Right-click on a slide and select “Format Background” to add a beautiful gradient background.

add background in powerpoint

  1. Use the “Insert” menu to integrate shapes, icons, pictures, header & footer, and more.

insert elements in powerpoint

The idea is to create a PowerPoint presentation with necessary elements that you can reuse in other presentations as well.

Save Presentation as a Template

To save your customized PowerPoint presentation as a template, follow these steps:

  1. Open the PowerPoint presentation that you want to save as a template.
  2. Click on “File” in the menu bar.
  3. Go to “Save As” > “Browse”.

open browse menu

  1. Select the location on your PC or Mac and give it a relevant name, such as Business, Education, Sales Pitch, etc.
  2. Select “Save as type” and click on “PowerPoint Template” from the list.

save as powerpoint template

  1. Hit “Save” and you're done.

Your template will be saved as a PowerPoint template and you can reuse it anytime from the Personal Templates menu in PowerPoint. Whenever you need to use the same PowerPoint template, simply open the app, navigate to “New” > “Personal,” and you will see the saved PowerPoint templates in the list. Open it and start editing based on your preferences or your client's preferences.

Wrap Up: Use PowerPoint Like a Pro

If you are not using templates in PowerPoint, then you are missing out on a lot. The true potential of PowerPoint lies in templates and Design Ideas. Master these two tools, and you will be ready to deliver eye-catching PowerPoint presentations in a short span of time. So, start creating your custom PowerPoint templates today and take your presentations to the next level.