How To Create a Powerpoint Template From Scratch

Manually formatting each slide can take a long time. Besides, it isboring and can get really irritating. Are you tired of having to change your font, color, and layout again and again? Well, learning how to create a PowerPoint template can save you a lot of time and effort.

All your future presentations automatically follow your theme, once you make PowerPoint template from scratch and save it as a .potx file. This is especially importantfor a professional setting, like a corporate presentation, where you want to make sure your slides look professional and consistent without having to go through the struggle of changing them manually.

Step 1: Accessing the Slide Master (The Secret Weapon)

If you are interested in knowing more about how to create a PowerPoint template in slidemaster, it is important that you are aware of a very powerful and yetvery over looked feature in PowerPoint, which is the Slide Master. The slidemaster is the parent slide from which all other slides derive their lookand design. If you change something in the slide master, it changes all the other slides.

If having to create PowerPoint template is getting a bit too technical and complicated for you, then you can get them designed by experts in the field. Many professionals offer ready-made solutions, like a high-quality PowerPoint template, which saves time and ensures a polished result. Access the Slide Master by following these steps:

1. Open a blank PowerPoint presentation.
2. Go to the View tab in the top ribbon.
3. Click Slide Master.

Once inside, you will see a hierarchy of slides. The top slide is theMaster, and the smaller slides below it are called Layouts. These layouts allow you to create different styles while still keeping everything consistent. So,you must make changes in the Slide Master if you want your design to bepermanent and applied across the entire presentation.

Step 2: Defining Your Theme (Fonts, Colors, and Backgrounds)

Once you get into the Slide Master, the next step in designing aPowerPoint template is to establish a strong visual identity. This is whereyour presentation begins to take on a professional appearance. Awell-thought-out PowerPointtemplate design ensures your presentation has a consistent visualappearance throughout all slides.

If you are still unsure about how to design a PowerPoint template, then it isimportant to invest in professional branding services to help you establish yourvisual identity before designing your presentation template. The main designelements are:

●      Background: Right-click on the Master slide and select Format Background to changethe background of all slides. Select a color or a high-quality image that suitsyour brand style.

●      Font: Clickon Fonts in the Slide Master tab to select a font style for all theslides in the presentation.

●      Colors: Click on Colors to add your brand colors, like Accent 1, Accent2, etc.

●      Logo:Add your logo to the Master slide so that it appears on all the slides in thepresentation automatically.

This step is important because it locks in the design aspects of thepresentation. However, do not pick a busy design, poor image quality, orcomplicated backgrounds. A simple and balanced design is the best choice for aprofessional presentation.

Step 3: Creating Custom Layouts (Placeholders)

Once you have your theme in place, the next step in this custom PowerPoint templatetutorial is to design your custom layouts to make it shine. Instead ofhaving to use a single layout for all your slides, you can now design a customlayout for a Team Slide, a Process Slide, or an Image on Left, Text onRight. This is an important step in a structured PowerPoint templatedesign, especially if you want to guide users through a presentation.

One important concept to understand in this PowerPoint template design step-by-step isto know the difference between a text box and a placeholder. A text box isfixed, but a placeholder is variable. You can make the custom layouts throughthe following steps:

●      Insert Placeholder: Click Insert Placeholder on the Slide Master tab.

●      Types: Select from options like Text, Picture, Chart, or Media, etc.,according to the need for the layout.

●      Drag and Drop: Draw the box exactly where you want the user to insert their content.

●      Rename: Rename the layouts to make them easily recognizable later.

Custom layouts are mainly relevant when creating a professionaltemplate for a sales presentation, as the presentation’scontent and structure impact the decisions being made. When you create alayout, you are not only creating a presentation template, but a system thatmakes it incredibly easy for anyone in your team to produce high-quality slideswithout having to worry about any potential errors in the presentation’sdesign.

Step 4: Saving as a Reusable Template (.POTX)

The last, yet most important part of the process on how to make a reusablePowerPoint template is saving your file in the correct format. If youdon’t do it, it will only function as an ordinary PowerPoint presentation. Youmust save your PowerPoint template file with the .potx extension, as this willallow it to be reused over and over without compromising its structure orstyle. You can check out the Slidey portfolio if you wish to see howprofessional PowerPoint templates are designed. Follow these steps to save yourtemplate correctly:

●      Click File > Save As.

●      Change the file type fromPowerPoint Presentation (.pptx) to PowerPoint Template (.potx).

●      Save it in your Custom OfficeTemplates folder.

●      Open PowerPoint and access yourtemplate from the New menu whenever needed.

So, once you createprofessional PowerPoint template, saving it as a .potx file protectsyour design and ensures consistency. It prevents accidental changes to yourmaster file while allowing you to reuse the template anytime. This final stepturns your hard work into a professional asset.

Conclusion & Next Steps

A good template design helps save time and reduces repetitive work,while ensuring that your corporate identity is visible in every single slide.You can design a professional system that makes your presentations more effective with the use of Slide Master, themes, and saving the file in the right way. If this process feels time-consuming, you can start instantly by downloading our free PowerPoint templates or contacting Slidey for a professionally designed corporate template with completely customized solutions.