How to change the background color of a slide in PowerPoint

Updated: 11/16/2019 by Computer Hope

The default and most popular background color of a slide in Microsoft PowerPoint is white. Changing the background color helps call more attention to a specific slide. The background may be changed to a single color, or you can set a color gradient that fades a color from lighter to darker.

Changing the background color of a slide

To change the color of a slide in your PowerPoint presentation, follow the steps below.

1. Open Microsoft PowerPoint.
2. In the Ribbon, click the Design tab.
3. Click the Format Background option on the right side of the Design tab.

Tip

You can also right-click the outer area of a slide and select Format Background in the pop-up menu that opens.

4. In the Format Background pane that opens, choose Solid fill or Gradient fill.
5. Choose the solid or gradient color options you want to use. The background color changes after selecting these options.

At step 4 above, you can also select a picture to use as the slide background. Select the Picture or texture fill option and choose a picture in the Picture source section.