> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ahaslides.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How to Use and Create a Presentation Theme in AhaSlides

> Use AhaSlides themes to make presentations look polished and on-brand. Apply a ready-made theme in one click, build custom themes with your logo and fonts, or style individual slides.

Your slides don't just deliver content — they shape how your audience feels, trusts, and engages with your session. With AhaSlides themes, you can make your presentations look polished, consistent, and on-brand in just a few clicks — whether you're running a quick classroom quiz, a training workshop, or a company-wide event.

You can:

* Instantly apply a professional look using ready-made themes.
* Build reusable brand themes with your logo, colours, and fonts.
* Fine-tune individual slides when you need something special.

<Tip>
  If you only have 2 minutes: click **Design → Themes**, pick an Official Theme, and you're ready to present — your whole deck is automatically styled. When you're ready to go further, create your own theme to save time across future presentations and keep your visuals consistent.
</Tip>

## Choose Your Level of Design Customization

AhaSlides offers three levels of design customization, depending on how much control you need:

* **Quick polish → Pre-made themes.** Best when you want a clean, professional look instantly. Apply professionally designed colour schemes and backgrounds in one click.
* **Brand consistency → Custom themes.** Best for recurring sessions, team alignment, and brand credibility. Create reusable themes with your logo, colours, and fonts.
* **Creative flexibility → Individual slide customization.** Best when specific slides need unique visuals. Customize backgrounds and styling at the slide level.

### What Each Setting Affects

| Setting                 | Scope               | Visible to           |
| ----------------------- | ------------------- | -------------------- |
| Background colour/image | Per slide           | Presenter + Audience |
| Text font               | Entire presentation | Presenter + Audience |
| Visualization colours   | Entire presentation | Presenter + Audience |
| Logo                    | Entire presentation | Presenter + Audience |

### Plan Requirements

| Feature               | Availability       |
| --------------------- | ------------------ |
| Pre-made themes       | All plans          |
| Background colour     | All plans          |
| Visualization colours | All plans          |
| Background images     | All paid plans     |
| Custom fonts          | Pro and Enterprise |
| Team theme sharing    | Team plans         |

## Presentation Theme

### 1. How to Apply a Pre-Made Theme

Pre-made themes provide a quick and easy way to style your presentation.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Design tab">
    Click on the **Design** tab in the toolbar.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Go to Themes">
    Navigate to the **Themes** tab.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick a theme">
    Select one of the **Official Themes** or **AhaSlides Team Themes**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Selecting a theme will apply it to all your slides, except those you have already customised.

### 2. How to Create a Custom Theme

Custom themes are best for consistent branding across multiple presentations. You can create your own theme by selecting the **Create** button next to **My Themes**. From there, you can:

* Add a theme name.
* Upload your logo.
* Upload a background image or choose a background colour.
* Change the text font.
* Customize the text colour and visualisation colours.

Once you've finished setting it up, click **Save** to apply your custom theme. If you are in a team, you can share or unshare your customised theme for your team to use.

## Customizing Your Slide

If you prefer a more personalized design, you can customize each slide using the **Customise** menu. You can open it by:

* Clicking the **Design** tab > **Customise**, or
* Right-clicking on your slide and choosing **Design**.

Changing the text font and visualisation colours will apply to all slides.

### Change Background Colour

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Customize menu">
    Click the **Design** tab > **Customize** (or right-click your slide and choose **Design**).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick a colour">
    Click the colour icon next to **Background colour**, then choose the colour you would like to use.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Set Background Image

<Note>
  This function is available for all paid plans.
</Note>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Add an image">
    Click the **Add** button next to the **Background image** section on the Design menu to upload or add an image.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check quality">
    Ensure the image is high-quality and fits your presentation style.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Adjust Background Transparency

Modify the **Background Transparency** to set the transparency level, with 100% being fully visible.

### Change Text Font

Changing the font applies across your entire presentation, and it is also visible on your audience's screens. This feature is only available on Pro and Enterprise plans. For step-by-step guidance, see [How to Change and Manage Fonts](/branding/how-to-change-and-manage-fonts).

### Change Visualisation Colours

Changing this setting applies to all charts in quiz, poll, and scale slides, and to audience response displays in word cloud, open-ended, and brainstorm slides. Click the colour bar under **Visualisation Colours** and select the colour palette you would like to use for your presentation.

## Best Practices for Great-Looking Slides

* **Design for readability:** use strong contrast between text and background, especially for projector rooms and large screens.
* **Keep colours consistent:** using the same visualization colours helps audiences read charts and results faster.
* **Avoid visual clutter:** clean slides keep attention on interaction, not decoration.
* **Reuse your theme:** save time and stay consistent across sessions.
* **Preview once before presenting:** open the audience view on another device to check text size and contrast.

## Frequently Asked Questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Why does my theme not apply to all slides?">
    When you customize individual slides using the Customize menu, those slides are excluded from automatic theme updates. To reset a slide, go to **Design > Customize** and click **Reset to default**.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I use my own fonts?">
    Yes, on Pro and Enterprise plans. Go to **Design > Customize**, click the font dropdown under **Text**, and select **+ More fonts** to access additional options. See [How to Change and Manage Fonts](/branding/how-to-change-and-manage-fonts) for details.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What do visualization colours affect?">
    Visualization colours control the palette for all charts in quiz, poll, and scale slides, plus audience response displays in word cloud, open-ended, and brainstorm slides. Changing this setting applies to the entire presentation.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I share my custom theme with my team?">
    If you're on a team plan, your custom themes appear in the AhaSlides Team Themes section for all team members. Toggle sharing on or off from your theme settings.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What image size works best for a background?">
    Use high-resolution images (1920x1080 pixels or higher) that match your presentation aspect ratio. Lower-quality images may appear pixelated when projected. Use the transparency slider to ensure text remains readable over busy images.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I apply different themes to different slides?">
    Themes apply presentation-wide, but you can customize individual slides to override theme settings. Use the Customize menu to set unique backgrounds for each slide while maintaining your overall theme.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Will my audience see the same styling I see?">
    Yes. All design elements (backgrounds, fonts, colours, and logos) display on your audience's devices exactly as you see them in the presenter view.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>


## Related topics

- [How to Create and Use a Word Cloud Slide in AhaSlides](/using-slide-types/using-the-word-cloud-slide.md)
- [How to Set Up and Use the Idea Board Slide in AhaSlides](/using-slide-types/how-to-use-the-idea-board-slide.md)
- [How to Create and Run Surveys on AhaSlides](/using-slide-types/using-the-surveys-tool.md)
- [How AhaSlides Uses AI and What You Should Know](/ai-powered-features/how-ahaslides-uses-ai-and-what-you-should-know.md)
- [AhaSlides Presentations Dashboard: Create & Organise](/getting-started/the-my-presentations-dashboard.md)