If you’ve grown up using a PC, you’re likely well acquainted with Microsoft Word. Word is a powerful tool that millions of Mac and PC users rely on to accomplish day to day work and school tasks. It offers a wide range of tools to tackle nearly any type of project, from word processing and birthday party invitations to advanced graph and table functions.
Word can even create certificates and the process is fairly simple, but users are limited to preset templates. Without advanced knowledge of Word’s features, it can be difficult to customize the prebuilt certificate templates.
Steps to Make A Certificate In Word
For all that Microsoft Word does well, it can fall victim to being a “jack of all trades, master of none” in certain scenarios. While Word does offer a certificate function, the options are limited and users need advanced skills to make changes to padding, tables, boxes and other template elements.
To access basic Microsoft Word templates, you need to follow these steps:
- Open Word and select New
- In the Search box in the upper left corner, search for “certificate.” You’ll be presented with a gallery of prebuilt designs.
- Choose a template, and select Create to begin filling out the certificate.
- From there, your options to change the template color or other design elements varies from template to template. Click on any element in the certificate to see your options for customizing.
Some basic options available in most templates include the ability to customize a recipient name, the type of award or certificate being presented, font type & size and color.
For some users who need only basic certificates for a one-off project, Word may be able to satisfy your needs. However, if you want the ability to fully customize a certificate quickly and easily, you need to seek out a dedicated certificate maker software.
The SimpleCert® Certificate Maker Is Easy and Fun To Use
The advantage of the SimpleCert® certificate maker lies in how easy it is for users of any skill level to master. You don’t need to know how to navigate tables, rows or columns to produce a polished, completely unique certificate.
The SimpleCert® system utilizes drag and drop technology that gives you the freedom to place any design element anywhere on the page–there’s no fighting with preset border restrictions or tables, which is a common frustration for users of Microsoft Word.
SimpleCert®’s certificate maker is entirely online–there is no software to download or take up space on your computer. It works seamlessly with Mac or PC devices, and is mobile friendly.
Get Creative With Customizable Certificate Templates
Microsoft Word offers many premade certificate templates to choose from, but it falls behind in terms of customization. The original intent behind Microsoft Word was to make it easy to use, regardless of one’s familiarity with the software. To meet the needs of every user, Word offers predesigned templates with the option to edit the default text.
That may be ideal for some cases, but users who want to explore their creative side, or access a higher level of customization, certificates in Word tend to fall short of satisfaction.
SimpleCert® has customizable certificate templates that offer the flexibility of “drag and drop” design tools, and our many clip art and photo integrations give you access to thousands of free-to-use images that will make your certificate truly unique.