How to Put a Letterhead on Only the First Page in Word
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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 setup that works.
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.)
The two-second version in a WordLetterhead file
Every .docx from WordLetterhead ships with "Different First Page" already on and the same artwork in both headers. So to keep letterhead on page 1 only: double-click the top of page 2, click the artwork, press Delete. Done — page 1 keeps its own copy untouched.
- Upload your letterhead — PDF, PNG, or JPG — and download the .docx.
- In Word, double-click the top of page 2 to open its header.
- Click the artwork and press Delete. Page 1 keeps its own copy.
Because the file carries a separate copy in each header, deleting the page-2 copy can’t touch page 1. And while anyone types in the body, the artwork can’t even be selected — it stays put until someone deliberately opens the header again.
Common questions
- Can I put a different, lighter design on pages 2 and up instead?
- Yes. The default header is really a continuation header — whatever you put there shows on page 2 and every page after. Double-click a page-2 header, swap the full artwork for your lighter version, and page 1 keeps the full design.
- 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 — it ships with the split already on and the artwork in both headers.
- 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.