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Published:
September 10, 2026
Updated:
September 10, 2026

Changing Slide Layout in PowerPoint

By
Letsignit

Capturing your audience’s attention and creating communication that reflects who you are also comes down to the details. This includes the layout of your PowerPoint presentations!

Whether you’re preparing a report for printing, a corporate presentation, or a dynamic widescreen presentation, discover how to adjust every detail of your Microsoft PowerPoint document for a professional, impactful, and engaging result.

How Do I Edit The Default Slide Layout Template In Powerpoint?

Applying a Different Layout 

A slide’s “layout” refers to the placement of text boxes and visual elements. You can modify a template’s default layout to create a customized result in just a few clicks.

To change the internal structure of a slide (without changing its overall orientation), follow these simple steps:

  • Select the slide you want to modify in the left-hand pane.
  • Go to the Home tab on the ribbon.
  • Click the Layout button.
  • Choose the layout that best showcases your information from the available options (Title and Content, Two Content, Comparison, etc.).

You new layout is automatically inserted in the whole presentation. This lets you instantly reorganize your content while maintaining the visual identity of your theme. 

Manually Modifying the Slide

You can also manually modify the different elements on a slide by changing their dimensions, moving them, or adjusting their formatting (colors, fonts, etc.).

Simply select the element you want to modify, then right-click it or select one of the relevant tools from the ribbon.

Please note: if you want to apply a change to your entire presentation, it’s best to use the PowerPoint Slide Master. To do this, go to View in the PowerPoint menu then Slide Master.

How to Change Page Orientation in PowerPoint?

As you probably know, a PowerPoint presentation opens in landscape format by default. However, depending on the nature of your project, switching to portrait orientation may be necessary. Here’s how to change the visual format of your file.

How to Change Slide Layout From Landscape to Portrait?

Portrait orientation has several advantages! First, a vertical layout allows for a natural top-to-bottom reading flow, making it particularly suitable for linear and narrative content such as activity reports, dissertations, or technical documents.

Portrait slides also give you more vertical space for long lists or vertical charts, improving readability when slides contain a lot of information.

It’s also an excellent alternative to Word, especially if your teams prefer a more visual interface for creating graphic materials such as flyers, posters, and other visual content.

To switch your PowerPoint presentation to portrait orientation:

  • Go to the Design tab in the top ribbon.
  • Click Slide Size on the far right.
  • Select Custom Slide Size.
  • In the window that opens, select Portrait under the Slides section.
  • Click OK, then choose between Maximize or Ensure Fit to adapt your existing content.

How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation Landscape?

Is your document currently in portrait orientation and do you want to return to an optimal width for projection? Landscape format provides a larger, more balanced workspace for organizing visual elements, complex charts, and text boxes with plenty of breathing room.

To switch to landscape orientation, follow the same procedure as for portrait orientation, but select the opposite option:

  • Click the Design tab.
  • Select Slide Size, then Custom Slide Size.
  • Select Landscape.
  • Click OK to apply the change to the entire presentation.

How to Change the Orientation of a Single Slide?

Unfortunately, PowerPoint does not natively allow you to mix portrait and landscape orientations within the same file. This can be a real limitation when a presentation requires different formats or when some data works better in portrait while other content requires landscape.

But don’t worry: there is an effective workaround.

  • Create two separate presentations: one in landscape format and another containing your portrait slides.
  • In your main presentation, select the object or text that will serve as the transition point.
  • Go to the Insert tab, then click Link (or Action).
  • Create a hyperlink to the second PowerPoint file.
  • Repeat the process in the second file to link back to the original presentation.

This method ensures a smooth transition during your presentation, creating the impression of a single document with mixed orientations!

To take your PowerPoint customization even further, also check out our guide on how to edit a PowerPoint presentation.

Landscape or Portrait: Which Orientation Should You Choose for a PowerPoint Presentation?

The best slide orientation depends on both your end goal and the medium on which your presentation will be viewed.

Landscape format is the most common choice for conferences and meetings because it fits perfectly with the aspect ratio of screens, computers, and projectors. It also provides plenty of space for complex charts and panoramic images.

Landscape orientation is particularly suitable for:

  • Traditional presentations in meeting rooms or conference settings.
  • Presentations projected onto a screen, projector, or TV.
  • Financial reports requiring wide data tables.
  • Product demonstrations featuring panoramic visuals.
  • Video conferences and webinars on platforms such as Teams or Zoom.

Portrait slides, meanwhile, are becoming increasingly popular for modern digital use cases. For example, portrait format is ideal for creating infographics for social media or designing documents intended to be read on smartphones. Choosing a vertical layout makes scrolling easier and improves readability on mobile devices.

Portrait orientation is therefore particularly well suited to:

  • Print documents: activity reports, dissertations, technical documents, or A4 flyers.
  • Mobile reading: content optimized for vertical viewing on smartphones or tablets.
  • Social media: LinkedIn carousels, Instagram Stories, or TikTok visuals.
  • Vertical infographics: linear data, timelines, or step-by-step processes structured from top to bottom.
  • Digital signage: signage and advertising displayed on vertical screens in public spaces or retail environments.

Psst... Did you know that a well-designed PowerPoint presentation can also help strengthen your brand consistency?

6 Tips for Designing an Effective PowerPoint Presentation

1 - Keep Your Visual Structure Consistent

Well-structured information combined with an appealing visual design can only strengthen your presentation.

Not only does a consistent structure help maintain your audience’s attention, but it also demonstrates professionalism. A harmonious layout that aligns with your visual identity also contributes to a consistent and therefore more impactful communication strategy. In short, organizing your presentation effectively is a win-win!

The Slide Master is ideal for automating your presentation layout. It applies your formatting rules across the entire document in a single action. By modifying the Slide Master, you can ensure that every slide follows your company’s brand guidelines and avoid visual inconsistencies.

You can also use a more advanced tool such as Letsignit Slides, which allows you to import and automatically apply your brand guidelines to every new presentation.

2 - Avoid Information Overload

When creating a PowerPoint presentation, it can be tempting to include as much information as possible. After all, you want your audience to absorb every piece of data!

But for truly impactful communication, simplicity is always worth prioritizing. Reduce the amount of information and focus on what really matters. The rule of thumb: one main idea per slide, even if that means increasing the number of slides when you have a lot to say.

You can also use keywords and bullet points to make your content easier to scan. Strategic use of white space helps guide the viewer’s attention toward the most important information. For complex data, break the information down into several progressive steps to make it easier to understand and remember.

Did you know? A study published in 2026 involving 61 students found that relevant visual elements can support learning, while an excessive number of visual elements can also increase cognitive load and hinder information recall. In other words, an effective slide isn’t necessarily one packed with graphic elements. The key is to choose useful visuals and establish a clear information hierarchy.

3 - Pay Attention to Alignment and Spacing

Poor alignment may seem like a minor detail, but it can be enough to make a presentation look careless or unfinished. And when you want to convince your audience, precision and attention to detail are essential.

The good news is that, in the digital age, you no longer need to spend hours aligning objects manually! PowerPoint offers several precision tools, including smart guides, gridlines, and automatic distribution. These useful features ensure that text boxes, icons, and images are perfectly aligned.

A harmonious design also depends on effective use of margins and spacing between elements on the slide. Aim for a balanced layout to make information easier to absorb and reduce your audience’s cognitive fatigue.

4 - Adapt the Layout to Your Content

The fourth essential habit for effective PowerPoint design is to adapt your slide layouts (Title, Comparison, etc.) to the type of information you’re presenting in order to maximize visual impact.

For example, the Comparison layout is an effective way to display different sets of information side by side, making differences easier to identify and opposing points easier to understand.

For Microsoft 365 subscribers, Designer uses AI to automatically suggest professional layouts based on your content. The tool analyzes your images and text in real time to turn raw information into a coherent visual narrative. The goal is to choose a structure in which the design consistently supports the message for a more impactful result.

5 - Choose the Format and Orientation Based on Your Final Distribution Channel

This is a fundamental step to consider before you start creating your presentation. Choosing between landscape and portrait slides depends not only on the content, as we saw earlier, but also on how the presentation will ultimately be distributed or viewed.

For example:

  • Landscape (16:9) is the standard format for widescreen displays, TVs, and video conferences. It provides an ideal width for charts and tables. For older screens, the 4:3 format may be preferable to avoid black bars.
  • Portrait is essential for viewing content on smartphones, social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Instagram, and reports designed for A4 printing.

Note: planning for the final viewing format in advance can also save you valuable time and prevent tedious formatting adjustments later!

6 - Optimize Text Accessibility and Readability

The final aspect of PowerPoint presentation design is no less important: your presentation should be accessible to everyone.

Make sure there is strong contrast between your text and background to ensure optimal readability. You should also prioritize simple, easy-to-read fonts and use a minimum font size of 24 points for projected presentations. Finally, icon consistency is essential: stick to a single visual style to avoid creating visual confusion.

By paying attention to these formatting details, you can make your PowerPoint presentation more effective while showcasing both its content and visual elements. This ensures that information is communicated clearly, memorably, and convincingly to your entire audience!

*****

Mastering PowerPoint slide layouts is a simple skill, but it can make a real difference and take your presentations to the next level! Speaking of which, check out our guide on how to improve your PowerPoint presentations in just a few simple steps.

About the author
About Letsignit
Letsignit is an email signature management solution that empowers organizations to turn employee email signatures into a dynamic and personalized engagement channel for their brands and campaigns.

Questions
Fréquentes

1

Is it possible to track the number of clicks on email signatures?

Yes, with the 'Campaigns' offer, it is possible to track the number of clicks on the email signatures of all your employees in the 'Statistics' area of the platform.

You can then access a detailed or global view of the number of clicks on the email signatures of each employee. You can use the search option to target a specific signature or a given period. Finally, you have the possibility to export all statistics to an Excel document.

If you launch campaigns with banners inserted in your email signatures, you can also access their performance via this same space.

2

Can we add links to social networks, our website, and appointment-setting applications such as Calendly?

With Letsignit, you can easily add social network icons in your collaborators' email signatures and link to your company pages. Also, our "attributes" feature allows you to manage personalized URLs for each of your collaborators such as their individual LinkedIn profile.

And that's not all: you can add links to an appointment-setting application, allow your customers to leave reviews easily, and integrate our 'Chat on Teams' widget to let anyone start a discussion via Microsoft Teams chat.

3

Can employees update their signature information themselves (number, function, etc.)?

It’s up to you! As an administrator of the Letsignit platform, you choose whether or not to grant modification rights to your employees. These permissions are managed on an attribute-by-attribute basis, which means that you can decide to allow the employee to change their phone number, but not the address of your premises, for example.

This feature applies to all attributes in your directory, including custom attributes created on Letsignit. When your employees change one or more attributes, your directory is obviously not affected.

4

Why it is important to standardize our email signatures on a large scale to ensure our identity and brand image?

It often happens that employees make their email signature their own: custom format, bad fonts, colors inconsistent with the brand standards... all of this has an impact on your brand!

A consistent visual identity is considered authentic and outperforms a perceived weak one by 20%. And, your customers are 2.4 times more likely to buy your products.

With Letsignit, take back control over your brand identity by standardizing all your email signatures. Our tool has many features that allow you to customize your signatures by department, by audience or by subsidiary. Not to mention the possibility of carrying out campaigns within your email signatures thanks to our Campaign offer.

5

What is the user experience like for our employees?

What is the user experience like for our employees?

  • If you opt for the Letsignit Add-in for Outlook, they will have a dedicated space in their Outlook account where they will be able to view the signatures and campaigns assigned to them.
  • If you opt for the Letsignit Desktop APP, they will be able to preview all their signatures and campaigns in this space. If they want to change their default signature to another one when sending an email, this will be done in their signature library in Outlook.

In both cases:

  • They preview their signature before sending an email and choose from signatures assigned to them.
  • Based on the permissions granted, they will also be able to modify their personal information such as their name, position, or address in these spaces.

In short, they have autonomy in their email signature, but you keep control on the field, signatures, and banners they can edit or use.

6

Can my employees have multiple signatures available to them?

With our "multi-signature" feature, your employees can benefit from multiple email signatures. No technical manipulation is required. Thanks to our Add-in for Outlook or the desktop app, they can change their email signatures as they wish with just a few clicks.

Regarding the creation of email signatures, you can make several variations such as:

Everything has been thought of to go further in the personalization process based on the recipient of your emails.

7

Regarding “Green IT,” have you implemented measures to limit the digital footprint of email signatures?

If sending emails has an impact, non-optimized email signatures also have an impact. An unsuitable format or an image that is too heavy considerably increases the size of your signatures... and therefore, your emails.

As a responsible economic actor, we contribute to reducing our CO2 emissions and those of our customers in several ways:

  • Optimization of the weight of signatures and campaigns in emails.
  • Green features: lightening of signatures during response/transfer emails, possibility of not embedding images, implementation of lighter signatures for internal exchanges.
  • Integration of a 'Switch to Teams' widget to encourage your employees to continue their exchanges via chat, rather than email.

As we are increasingly involved in sustainability initiatives, our priority in 2023 is to develop even more green IT functionality.

8

Regarding “Green IT,” have you implemented measures to limit the digital footprint of email signatures?

If sending emails has an impact, non-optimized email signatures also have an impact. An unsuitable format or an image that is too heavy considerably increases the size of your signatures... and therefore, your emails.

As a responsible economic actor, we contribute to reducing our CO2 emissions and those of our customers in several ways:

  • Optimization of the weight of signatures and campaigns in emails.
  • Green features: lightening of signatures during response/transfer emails, possibility of not embedding images, implementation of lighter signatures for internal exchanges.
  • Integration of a 'Switch to Teams' widget to encourage your employees to continue their exchanges via chat, rather than email.

As we are increasingly involved in sustainability initiatives, our priority in 2023 is to develop even more green IT functionality.

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