Can I put a different, lighter design on pages 2 and up instead?

Yes. That’s a separate continuation design — the full letterhead on page 1, your lighter version on every page after. It’s one of the three choices offered while the file is built, so you never touch a header to set it up.

Why did my letterhead disappear from page 1 when I ticked the checkbox?

Because the artwork was in the default header. "Different First Page" gives page 1 a new, empty first-page header, so page 1 goes blank while later pages keep the design. A WordLetterhead file sidesteps the shuffle entirely — you choose what pages 2 and up show before you download, and the file arrives that way.

My letterhead is pasted into the document body — will this work?

No. "Different First Page" only splits headers, and an image sitting in the body — or a letterhead rebuilt from a converted PDF — isn’t in one. Move the design into the header first, or start from a file built that way.

Does the first-page split work the same on Mac?

Yes — Word’s first-page header split behaves identically on Windows and Mac, and a WordLetterhead file arrives with it already configured, so there’s nothing to set up on either platform.

The checkbox is free — what am I paying $9 for?

Everything around the checkbox: your artwork locked at 300 DPI in both headers, margins matched to the design, the first-page split pre-enabled, printing at full strength by default. In that file, first-page-only is a choice you make before you download, not a repair you make after. Getting the same result by hand is the header shuffle this post describes — and the free sample lets you compare both before spending anything.

How to Put a Letterhead on Only the First Page in Word

By the WordLetterhead Team · Last updated: August 31, 2026

Skip the reading — your letterhead in Word in about two minutes.Upload your letterhead

Letterhead on page 1, plain paper after — the standard business-letter layout, and Word does it with one checkbox. But tick that box from the wrong header and the letterhead vanishes from page 1 instead. Here’s the trap — and the file that arrives with it already solved.

How do you put a letterhead on only the first page?

Word can do it — it supports a header split called "Different First Page" that gives page 1 its own header, separate from every page after it. Set up right, the letterhead lives in the first-page header and pages 2 and up stay clean. The catch is the "set up right" part: the split involves two headers most people don’t know exist, and configuring it from the wrong one backfires.

The trap: your letterhead vanishes from page 1

Headers repeat on every page by default, so most letterheads live in the default header. Trigger the first-page split from there and Word gives page 1 a new, empty first-page header — your letterhead vanishes from page 1 and stays on pages 2 and up, the exact opposite of what you wanted. Untangling it by hand means shuffling artwork between headers until the right copy is in the right one.

One more catch — this only works when the letterhead actually lives in the header. Artwork pasted into the document body, or the text boxes left over from a converted PDF, has no header machinery — there’s nothing for the checkbox to split. (Where the artwork lives is the whole game: every method compared.)

Here’s the honest read: if the checkbox already backfired on you, the checkbox was never the problem — the file is. A letterhead that fights this setting will keep fighting you on printing, on page 2, on every person who edits it. The fastest exit isn’t more header archaeology; it’s a file built the right way from the start — two minutes, and the free sample costs nothing to try.

The version where you never open a header

WordLetterhead asks you one question while it builds the file: what should pages 2 and up show? Choose blank, and the letterhead sits on page 1 only — first-page split already on, continuation header already empty, nothing left for you to configure. Choose the same design and it repeats, exactly as it does today.

Upload your letterhead — PDF, PNG, or JPG.
Pick what pages 2 and up show: the same design, blank, or a lighter second sheet.
Download the .docx. It opens in Word already set the way you chose.

Because the choice is made while the file is built, there is no header to untangle and no way to trigger the split from the wrong side of it. And while anyone types in the body, the artwork can’t be selected, moved, or resized. (Want a lighter continuation design on pages 2 and up instead of clean pages? Here’s how second-page letterhead works.)

The watermarked sample is free — build it, open it in Word, and print a test page before paying anything. The clean file starts at $9, one time, no account.

Common questions

Can I put a different, lighter design on pages 2 and up instead?: Yes. That’s a separate continuation design — the full letterhead on page 1, your lighter version on every page after. It’s one of the three choices offered while the file is built, so you never touch a header to set it up.
Why did my letterhead disappear from page 1 when I ticked the checkbox?: Because the artwork was in the default header. "Different First Page" gives page 1 a new, empty first-page header, so page 1 goes blank while later pages keep the design. A WordLetterhead file sidesteps the shuffle entirely — you choose what pages 2 and up show before you download, and the file arrives that way.
My letterhead is pasted into the document body — will this work?: No. "Different First Page" only splits headers, and an image sitting in the body — or a letterhead rebuilt from a converted PDF — isn’t in one. Move the design into the header first, or start from a file built that way.
Does the first-page split work the same on Mac?: Yes — Word’s first-page header split behaves identically on Windows and Mac, and a WordLetterhead file arrives with it already configured, so there’s nothing to set up on either platform.
The checkbox is free — what am I paying $9 for?: Everything around the checkbox: your artwork locked at 300 DPI in both headers, margins matched to the design, the first-page split pre-enabled, printing at full strength by default. In that file, first-page-only is a choice you make before you download, not a repair you make after. Getting the same result by hand is the header shuffle this post describes — and the free sample lets you compare both before spending anything.