As a Google Slides expert with over 5 years of experience creating professional presentations, I often get asked how to customize the footer in Google Slides. Unlike PowerPoint, Google Slides does not have a dedicated option to insert footers. However, with some easy workarounds, you can add customized footers to enhance your presentations.
In this comprehensive guide, I will walk you through the step-by-step process to modify, update, and manage footers in your Google Slides presentations.
Table of Contents
Before jumping into the how-to section, let me quickly go over the benefits of adding footers:
- Branding: Adding your company name, logo, tagline etc. builds brand recognition. Viewers can instantly know who created the presentation.
- Copyrights: You can add copyright information to protect your intellectual property.
- Contact information: Adding links to your website or social media handles makes it convenient for viewers to connect with you.
- Navigation: Including slide numbers helps the audience keep track of where they are during the presentation.
- Credibility: Adding sources of data/statistics cited in your presentation builds credibility.
Now that you know why footers are important, let me show you how to add and customize them in Google Slides.
Follow these simple steps to add a customized footer across all slides:
Step 1: Open the Master Slide
- Open your Google Slides presentation.
- Click on View > Master from the toolbar. This will open the master layout slide. Any changes made here will reflect across all slides.
Step 2: Insert Text Box
- Click on the Insert tab and select Text Box from the dropdown menu.
- Draw a text box by dragging your mouse towards the bottom of the slide. This will be your footer area.
- Inside the text box, add your desired footer text. This can include company name, logo, contact information, slide numbers etc.
- Use the options in the toolbar to change the font, size, color and alignment of the text.
Step 4: Exit Master View
- Once done, click on the X button at the top right to exit master view.
- The footer will now be visible across all slides.
And you’re all set! The footer will stay persistent across existing and new slides added to the presentation.
Need to tweak your existing footer? No problem, here are the steps:
- Re-enter Master view using View > Master.
- Select and edit the footer text box you had added earlier.
- Make changes to the content/formatting as needed.
- Exit Master view to apply changes across all slides.
So with just the master slide, you can rapidly modify footers across your full Google Slides presentation.
Want to remove footers altogether? Follow these quick steps:
- Go back to the Master layout slide.
- Click the footer text box to select it.
- Press Delete to remove it.
- Exit Master view. The footers will now be removed from all slides.
And your slides will no longer have any footers.
When adding footers, keep these best practices in mind:
Consistency – Use the same formatting, colors, fonts for footers across all slides for visual cohesion.
Positioning – Place footers at the bottom of slides without covering content.
Moderate size – Don’t make footers too big or they will distract from key messaging.
Up-to-date – Update footers regularly to include recent contact details, years etc.
Visual appeal – Make footers visually appealing by using brand colors, logos and icons.
By following these best practices, your Google Slides footers will enhance your presentations while maintaining simplicity.
Troubleshooting Errors
Sometimes footer formatting can mess up slide layouts. Here are some common issues and fixes.
Text Overlaps Content
- Reduce footer text size if it overlaps existing content.
- Or move up the footer box away from other objects.
Footer Covers Half the Slide
- Shrink the footer box height to only occupy the space needed.
Unable to Edit Footer
- First select Show Footer from the bottom right, then edit it.
So those are some handy troubleshooting tips for avoiding footer issues.
Conclusion
I hope this detailed guide gives you a good understanding of how to leverage footers effectively in your Google Slides presentations. Although Google Slides does not have a native option, adding customized footers only takes a few minutes.
Footers are an excellent way to brand your slides, display contact information, add copyright data and help audiences navigate presentations better. By following the best practices outlined, you can create simple yet appealing footers that elevate your Google Slides.
Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions! I’m happy to help you out with your presentation needs.
