Word page numbering not on first page

Microsoft Word page numbering

Page numbers in Word are a valuable tool to help you order pages after printing or quickly reference information for other readers. Today, we’re going to show you how to add page numbers in Word, format them, and skip the first page number if necessary.

Inserting page numbers in Word is easy, modifying them not so much

Though inserting page numbers in Word in the base form is quite easy, it gets more complex once you start to modify them to suit your exact needs. Microsoft Word has a variety of styles, placement, and formatting choices that can make things feel a little overwhelming.

Not to worry, though – we’ll be breaking down all the major options so you can quickly get your page numbering in Word looking exactly how you want. Let’s get started:

How to Format Page Numbers in Word

How to Start Page Numbers over in Word (Restart Numbering)

How to Skip the First Page Number in Word

How to Change Types of Page Numbering in Word

As well as page numbers, you can add individual line numbers to your document so that you can reference part of it even more easily. Just follow our linked tutorial to do so.

While you’re at it, you can add a page border to your Word document to ensure a clear margin for annotations once it has been printed. You can read our dedicated guide here to learn how to do so.

Usually, if you number the pages in a Microsoft Word document, you will number each of the pages sequentially starting from one. In some cases, such as long business reports or books with introductions or other special sections, you may want to use different page numbers in Word for different sections. You might also want to leave certain pages unnumbered, such as if you want to start page numbering on Page 3. This is all possible using Word’s built-in numbering feature.

Numbering Pages in Microsoft Word

It’s easy to add page numbers to a document in Microsoft Word. Simply click the «Insert» option on the ribbon menu, then click «Page Number.» Choose from one of the options to position the numbers where you want them, such as on the top or bottom of the page. Click «Page Number» again and click «Format Page Numbers» to choose font, size and other display settings.

Numbers will automatically appear where you placed them on each page.

Start Page Numbers Within Document

If you’re using a desktop edition of Microsoft Word, you can start with a page number other than one and start numbering anywhere in a document or a section.

To simply skip numbering on the first page, click the «Insert» tab in the ribbon menu, then click «Header» and «Edit Header.» In the «Header & Footer Tools» menu that appears, click the «Design» tab and check the box next to «Different First Page.»

If you want to otherwise start page numbering later in the document, you’ll want to insert a section break in the document before the section you want to number. To do this, go to the page where you want numbering to start and click «Layout» then click «Breaks» and «Next Page.» Double-click the header or footer where you want the page numbers to appear, and in the menu that pops up, uncheck the «Link to Previous» button, then click «Page Number» and pick the settings you want.

If you want to number multiple sections independently, create a section break for each one and uncheck «Link to Previous.»

Custom Page Numbers in Word

Once you have page numbers in sections where you want them or in the entire document in the Desktop version of Word, you can customize the numbering. Double click the header or footer where the numbers are, then click «Page Number» and «Format Page Numbers.»

Click the «Start at» drop-down and choose the number you want to start numbering. Repeat this for each section where you wan to customize the numbering.

If you want to delete page numbers for a particular section, double-click them on the header or footer of a page in that section and delete the numbers. The changes will apply to the entire section.

Using Word Online

If you’re using an online version of Word, your page number customization options are somewhat limited. You can skip numbering on the first page, but you can’t otherwise customize where numbering starts or what number comes first. If you need to make such changes, you may want to use a desktop version of Word or ask someone with the program to help you customize your document and send it back to you.

If you want to skip numbering the first page in Word online, click the «Insert» tab on the ribbon menu and then click «Header & Footer.» Click «Options,» then click «Different First Page.» Click the «Options» button again and click «Remove Page Numbers.»

If you need to add the numbers to the rest of the document, click the «Other Pages» button in the «Header & Footer» menu and then click «Insert» and «Page Number.»

Despite being a frequent user of Microsoft Word we often get stuck on little but very relevant options like showing the page numbers according to some selected or particular manner. In this guide, you will learn how to add page numbers, start page numbering later in your document like starting page numbering on page 2, page 3 or even on a particular page. You will also see how to change starting page number from one to another value and more.

Page numbers are usually applied to a document using options available under the “Insert” tab. It gives you the option to choose the arrangement of the page number on either footer or the header of the page among other places.

You can insert page numbers at the following page areas:

• Header (top of the page)
• Footer (bottom of the page)
• Page margins (sides)
• Current position (where the cursor is beating)

How to insert page number

Page numbering is an essential part of any Word document. Follow the given steps to add page numbers in a Word document.

Advertisement

1. Click the “Insert” tab at the top. Then click “Page Number” option in the “Header and Footer” group and then select page format and location. I’m choosing Top of page > Circle.
   
2. See page numbers are added to the header area on each page automatically with the selected style applied. Your cursor is inside the header, to exit from page header and footer setup mode just presses the Esc key on the keyboard. You can hit the “Close Header and Footer” button on the top, or you can even double-click outside header/footer area to get out of editing mode.
   

Hide page number from the first page in MS Word

Usually, the first page of the document is the title pages. For the document title purpose, you might want to hide page number from the first page. If you want to do that follow these steps:

1. Make sure you have already inserted page number in your document using above given steps.
2. Double click the header or footer area where you have added page numbers, to see design options.
   
3. Now, select “Different First Page” option check box. You will see the first page is different from the rest of the document.
   
   Note: If you want to show the number “1” instead of “2” on the second page then you have to use Section Breaks. Continue reading below to learn more about that.

Apply different style to Even and Odd page numbers in Word

If the requirement is to make even pages distinct from the odd number pages, then this option is convenient.

1. When you are modifying header or footer, click the check box that reads “Different Odd and Even Page” under Design tab.
2. Suppose we want to add page numbers in the Footer on all even number pages. Click inside footer on any Even number page and then select “Page Number” > “Bottom of Page” and then select a Style from the list.
3. Here you can see the results.
   

What are section breaks in MS Word?

We use section breaks to select a part of the document where we can apply selective formatting. The type of breaks used for explicit page numbering come under section breaks. As the name indicates, they make sections in the document for unique formatting options. They allow the user to select a particular length regarding pages of a document to apply formatting options like borders, page numbers or header, and footer options.

Start page numbering from a specific page in Word

Showing page numbers starting from a selected page or changing starting page number value might also be a requirement and this usually required when preparing documents with different chapters. You can use Microsoft Word “Breaks” option for this purpose. Follow these steps to perform this task.

Suppose, first two pages are for Document Title and Table of Contents and will be without page numbers. We want to start page numbering from the third page.

Here, we need to create two sections of pages in the document. Adding a Section Break after page 2 can do that. The first section will be page 1 and 2, and the 2nd part will be from page 3 to onward. This way both sections can have their separate page numbering in the Word document.

1. Bring your cursor to the last line of the 2nd page. From the “Layout” tab go to “Breaks,” then further moving into “Section Breaks” select “Next Page.” This will take your pointer to the next page.
   
   NOTE: You can’t see Section Breaks visually until you enable an option in MS Word. Go to Home tab and click on the symbol icon as shown in the screenshot. Now you can see the hidden marking and formatting symbols including page breaks.
   
2. Now move to the page 3 that is going to be the first page of the second section. Double click either on the footer or header area of your document.
   When in editing mode, a “DESIGN” tab under “Header & Footer” section will appear.
   Deselect “Link to Previous” by clicking on it. Doing so will disconnect the page from the previous section (1). Now this section (2) can have page number starting from “1”.
   
3. Now choose the page number option from “Header & Footer” menu group and select the style location of the page numbers you want to add.
   
4. If you want page number starting from some specific number value, then you can select it from “Format Page Numbers” section.
   In “Format Page Numbers” option you can choose the Number format like 1, 2, 3… I, II, III, etc. Include chapter number with a character as a separator or even change the starting value of page numbering in Word.
   
5. Exit the “Header & Footer” menu once you have completed the task with all options selected. See the final results in the screenshot below.
   

Remove page numbers Word file

Double-click on the footer or header area of your Word document where page numbers appear. Click “Page Number” from “Header & Footer” group of options on the top and then select “Remove Page Number” option.

Remember, If you have different Section breaks in your Word file then you have to do this in all sections separately.

Is it possible to add specific page numbers without section breaks?

In formal documents, we need to add page numbers in different parts of the document that are not linking to previous. In such conditions using sections breaks is the most suitable and an easy way to do it. There are methods for adding page numbers on odd pages or even pages etc. but for a precise selection, section breaks seem to be the only viable option.

Apparently, it seems difficult to manage documents with specific page numbers and other selected formatting options. But having the idea from the given guideline would now definitely help you get out of it easily.

Page numbers are helpful for remembering where you have left off when reading, or when you need to reference something to someone else. But if you are creating a document and don’t want or need a number on the title page, then you may be wondering how to remove a page number from the first page in Word 2013.

Different teachers and professors often have their own preferred way for receiving documents. Microsoft Word 2013 makes this simple to accommodate by offering a wide range of options for customizing the appearance of your document.

But sometimes you will need to implement something into your document where the method for doing so is not immediately clear. One area where this might happen is with page numbers.

By default, Word 2013 will start numbering the first page of your document. But if your first page is a title page, you may prefer to have the page numbering start on the second page. Fortunately it is possible to set this up without affecting the page numbering mechanism.

1. Click Insert.
2. Click Page Number, then choose a page number style.
3. Check the box to the left of Different first page.
4. Click the Page Number button, then click Format Page Numbers.
5. Click the circle to the left of Start at, then enter the starting page number. Enter zero if you want the first displayed page number to be “1.”
6. Click the OK button.

Our article continues below with additional information on removing the page number from the first page in Word, including pictures for these steps.

Last update on 2023-04-13 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
| As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Check out our guide on deleting Microsoft Word section breaks if you are running into problems caused by sections and need to fix them.

Delete the Page Number from the First Page in Word (Guide with Pictures)

Working with items in the header in Word 2013, such as page numbers, can be a little tricky. They appear on every page, and are generated automatically. So it is not simply a matter of deleting a page number from a specific page – you need to adjust the entire page numbering mechanism. So continue reading below to learn how to remove the page number from the first page in Word 2013.

Step 1: Open the document for which you wish to remove the page number on the first page.

Step 2: Click the Insert tab at the top of the window.

Step 3: Click the Page Number drop-down menu in the Header & Footer section of the ribbon.

Step 4: Choose your preferred location for your page numbers, then select your preferred page number format.

Step 5: Make sure that the Design tab under Header & Footer Tools is selected at the top of the window.

Step 6: Check the box to the left of Different First Page in the Options section of the window.

If you want your page numbering to start on the second page with “2”, then you can stop here. However, if you want to start with “1” on the second page, continue below.

Step 7: Click the Page Number drop-down menu in the Header & Footer section of the window, then click Format Page Numbers.

Step 8: Click the box to the left of Start at, then change the value to “0”.

Step 9: Click the OK button to apply your changes.

If you are using Microsoft Word 2010, you can follow the steps in this article to remove the page number in that program instead.

More on How to Start Page Numbers on Page 2 in Word 2016, Word 2019, or Word for Office 365

• If your required page layout dictates that you include other information in the header, such as your last name or the document title, then simply click inside the header and type the information that you want to include on each page.
• If you need to remove page numbers from your document entirely, then you can click the Header & Footer tab, click the Page Numbers button, then select the Remove Page Numbers option from the bottom of the dropdown menu.
• Page numbering will always start on the first page in MS Word by default, as indicated by the fact that completing the steps above without changing the starting page number will start the numbering with “2.” If you have to reach a minimum page count and your page one or cover page isn’t supposed to be included in that count, then starting your number with “0” will give you a more accurate count of your document pages that actually count towards your total.
• You can change a number of other document options by opening the Page Setup menu found on the Layout tab (Page Layout tab in some earlier versions of Word.) You can click the small Page Setup dialog button found at the bottom-right corner of the Page Setup section in the ribbon. The dialog box that opens will include a handful of tabs at the top of the window, including Margins, Paper, and Layout.
• Many institutions have specific requirements for where page numbers should be located. When setting page numbers and specifying your first page number, pay attention to whether you need to have your page numbers and other header information at the top of the page or the bottom of the page.
• Your page count will adjust automatically when your content forces a new page or when you insert page breaks.

If you are having trouble with the layout of your document, then you might want to try enabling the option to show paragraph marks. You can find this by selecting the Home tab at the top of the window, then clicking the Show/Hide button in the Paragraph group on the ribbon.

Once you have enabled these marks it will be a lot easier to remove blank lines or blank pages, as you just need to place your cursor after the unwanted mark, then press the Backspace key on your keyboard.

If you are writing a lot of Word documents for work or school, then the last thing you want to do is worry about losing a document.

That’s why it’s always a good idea to have backup copies that aren’t stored on your computer.

Services like Dropbox are great for this, but you might also want to look into getting an external hard drive. It can serve as a backup drive for important documents, as well as a place to store media files that are taking up too much of your computer’s primary hard drive.

How to Delete Pages in Word

When you start making a lot of adjustments to the layout of your Word document on a PC or Mac computer, you can easily run into formatting issues due to things like custom margins, paragraph markers, or an extra blank page that makes its way into the document.

One good way to eliminate these issues involves something we mentioned earlier, where you go to the Home tab, then click the Show/Hide button to display all of the document’s formatting marks.

Once you are showing these marks, you can delete a blank page by simply finding the “Page Break” mark right before or after a blank page, then pressing the Backspace key on your keyboard to delete it.

How do you omit the page number on the final page of a Word document?

I was asked this recently by someone who is using Lulu.com’s self-publishing service. Lulu had asked her to resubmit her book with a completely blank final page – no page number, nothing. Finding the solution to this seemingly simple request proved to be frustrating.

In fact, the solution is simple, but not entirely obvious.

Omitting first page numbers

Word certainly makes it easy to omit the page number on the first page of a document. For example, to begin numbering a document on page 2 using Word 2003:

1. Click on the first page of your document and then click Insert Menu -> Page Numbers to display the Page Numbers dialog box.
2. Select the positioning for your page numbers.
3. Uncheck ‘Show number on first page’.
4. If you’d like to display ‘1’ on page two (that is, you want to start the actual page numbering count on the second page), click Format and set the value of the Start At box to 0.

Here’s how to do the same thing in Word 2007:

1. Click the Insert tab and in the Header & Footer section click Page Number.
2. Click Top of Page, Bottom of Page or Page Margins to select a location for the numbering and select a numbering format from the gallery.
3. On the Design tab, check Different First Page.
4. To start the page numbering count on the second page, on the Design tab click Page Number -> Format Page Numbers and set the Start At control to 0.

An alternative method is to create a different first page header/footer in your document: simply use the ‘Different first page’ option in the Page Setup dialog. In Word 2003, it’s File -> Page Setup -> Layout tab -> Different first page; in Word 2007 it’s Page Layout tab -> Page Setup -> Layout tab -> Different First page.

Omitting last page numbers

Although things are not quite so obvious when you want to change the header or footer on the last page, it’s still easy to do and there are a number of ways to do it. The easiest methods involve creating the final page in a separate section.

Method 1: De-link the final section.

If you’re using Word 2003:

1. Create your document as usual with page numbering in your header or footer.
2. Go to the end of the last page containing text in your document.
3. Click Insert Menu -> Break.
4. In the Break dialog box, select Next Page in the Section break section and click OK. This will add a section break and a new page with the same page numbering format as the preceding pages.
5. Double-click in the Header or Footer. You should see the words ‘Same as previous’ above the header/footer.
6. Click the Link to Previous button on the Header and Footer toolbar. The ‘Same as previous’ message will vanish and you can now delete the contents of the Header/Footer and doing so will affect only the last page.

If you’re using Word 2007:

1. Create your document as usual with page numbering in your header or footer.
2. Go to the end of the last page containing text in your document.
3. Click Page Layout -> Breaks and, under Section Breaks, click Next Page.
4. Double-click in the Header or Footer. You should see the words ‘Same as previous’ above the header/footer.
5. Click the Link to Previous button on the Header and Footer toolbar, then edit the page header/footer as needed.

Method 2: Use a different ‘first’ page on the final section.

In Word 2003, follow steps 1 – 4 in the de-linking instructions above to add a single-page section at the end of your document. Then:

1. Click File Menu -> Page Setup -> Layout tab.
2. Check the ‘Different first page’ box.
3. In the Apply To drop-down box, select ‘This section’ and click OK.

If you’re using Word 2007, follow steps 1 – 3 in the de-linking instructions above and then:

1. Click Page Layout and click the Page Setup button (the arrow at the right of the Page Setup section).
2. On the Layout tab in the Page Setup dialog box, click ‘Different first page’. Make sure ‘This section’ is displayed in the Apply To box and click OK.

That’s not so hard, and it should be apparent that you can use similar techniques to add multiple sections to a document, each with its own page numbering format.