Quick answer: If the first page has content you want to remove, select that page with Word’s Go To command and delete the selection. If it is blank, show formatting marks first and remove the empty paragraphs or manual break causing it. Save a copy before changing a document with section-specific formatting.
Delete a first page that contains text or pictures
- Click anywhere on the first page in desktop Word.
- In Windows, press Ctrl+G. On Mac, press Option+Command+G.
- In the Enter page number box, type \page, press Enter, then close the dialog.
- Check that Word selected only the content you intend to remove. Press Delete.
Word lays out pages from their content, so deleting the first page means deleting its content or the formatting mark that creates it. Review the new first page afterward, especially if the document has a cover, section break, header, or page numbering.
Remove a blank first page
- Choose Home > Show/Hide ¶ to reveal paragraph marks and breaks. On Windows, Ctrl+Shift+8 also toggles them; on Mac use Command+8.
- If the page contains only extra empty paragraph marks, select those marks and delete them.
- If it contains a labeled Page Break, select the manual break and delete it.
- If you see a Section Break, pause before deleting it. Section breaks can control margins, orientation, headers, and page numbers. Review those settings and consider changing the break type if you need to keep the section formatting.
An automatic page boundary is not a deletable object. If content simply flows onto another page, adjust the content or layout instead of hunting for a hidden page to delete.
If the unwanted page appears elsewhere in the file, these steps to delete an extra page in Word cover hidden paragraph marks and page breaks.
When the blank page is caused by a section break
Show formatting marks and look at the label on the break before page two. A Next Page, Odd Page, or Even Page section break can force a new page. Deleting it may also merge two sections and change their headers, page numbering, columns, or margins. If you need both sections but not the forced new page, make a copy, select the section break, and use Layout > Breaks > Continuous. Then check the layout on both sides of the former break. In Word for the web, open the file in desktop Word to change a section break.
If you wanted to keep the cover page
Do not delete the first page just to remove its page number or header. Double-click that header or footer and turn on Different First Page instead. If the second page must display “1,” also check the page number format and section numbering after making that change.
See Microsoft’s guidance on blank pages in Word for the web and a different first-page header or footer.
To replace it with a new design, see how to make a cover page in Word.
Check the result
Scroll from the start of the document and verify that the right content is now on page one. Check headers, footers, page numbers, and section formatting before saving. If you meant to hide the first page number while keeping the page, use Different First Page rather than deleting page content.
Microsoft’s guides: delete a page with Go To and remove a blank page.
Matt has been writing about Microsoft Windows and other Microsoft products since the days of Windows XP. He spends much of his time writing for sites like WindowBrain.com