When looking for the best software to create templates, whether you’re aiming for stunning graphics, engaging marketing materials, or professional documents, the key is finding a tool that balances power with user-friendliness. To cut to the chase, some of the top contenders include Microsoft Word for general document templates, Canva for easy graphic design and social media templates, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe InDesign for professional-grade print and digital layouts, and CorelDRAW Graphics Suite for versatile vector illustration and page layout. For those deep into design, CorelDRAW offers an incredible array of tools for creating everything from logos to intricate marketing materials, and you can even get a head start with a special offer: 👉 CorelDraw 15% OFF Coupon Limited Time FREE TRIAL Included. These tools address a wide range of needs, from crafting the best software to design website templates to the best program to create email templates or even just finding what software is best for creating forms.

The selection truly depends on your specific needs.

Are you a small business owner needing quick social media posts, or a professional designer building complex web layouts? For quick, visually appealing designs without a steep learning curve, online platforms like Canva are invaluable.

They democratize design, allowing anyone to produce beautiful templates for social media, presentations, or even simple business cards.

If you’re tackling more sophisticated projects, such as designing professional brochures or detailed print materials, then industry standards like Adobe InDesign or CorelDRAW are your go-to.

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For vector-based graphics that can be scaled infinitely without losing quality, Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW are unparalleled, making them excellent choices for creating intricate logos and illustrations that form the backbone of many template designs.

Finally, for more structured content like forms or reports, traditional office suites like Microsoft Word or Google Docs offer robust template creation features that are often overlooked.

Each of these tools, from the simple to the sophisticated, offers distinct advantages, helping you efficiently create, reuse, and distribute consistent, professional-quality templates.

Table of Contents

Mastering Document and Presentation Templates

When it comes to creating consistent and professional documents or presentations, having the right software is paramount.

These tools allow you to standardize your brand, ensure readability, and save immense amounts of time.

The goal is to make a template once and reuse it endlessly, minimizing repetitive tasks and maximizing output quality.

Microsoft Word: The Ubiquitous Document Templating Tool

Microsoft Word remains an undeniable powerhouse for creating document templates.

It’s the default choice for millions, and for good reason.

Its extensive features allow for intricate formatting, content controls, and styles that ensure uniformity across all documents.

Features: Word offers a vast array of features for template creation, including custom styles, themes, content controls for fill-in-the-blank fields, macros, and document properties. You can easily set up header and footer information, page numbering, and table of contents automation.
Use Cases: Ideal for business letters, reports, invoices, resumes, contracts, and academic papers. It’s also excellent for creating standardized forms with fillable fields, making it a strong contender for what software is best for creating forms.
Tips for Efficiency:
- Utilize Styles: Define heading, body text, and list styles to ensure consistency. This is crucial for accessibility and easy document navigation.
- Content Controls: Insert rich text, plain text, picture, combo box, and date picker controls to guide users in filling out your template.
- Protect Document: Use Word’s “Restrict Editing” feature to prevent unintended changes to your template’s structure.
Data Point: According to Statista, Microsoft Word holds over 40% of the market share for word processing software, underscoring its widespread adoption and utility.

Google Docs: Cloud-Based Collaboration for Templates

Google Docs offers a robust, collaborative, and free alternative for creating document templates.

Its cloud-native nature makes it perfect for teams.

Key Strengths: Real-time collaboration, automatic saving, version history, and seamless integration with other Google Workspace apps.
Template Gallery: Google Docs has a built-in template gallery that users can leverage or add their own custom templates to.
Accessibility: Accessible from any device with an internet connection, promoting flexibility.
Use Cases: Collaborative reports, meeting agendas, project proposals, and shared forms.

Microsoft PowerPoint & Google Slides: Presentation Template Powerhouses

For impactful presentations, both PowerPoint and Google Slides offer excellent template creation capabilities.

Master Slides: Both programs allow you to design custom master slides, which dictate the layout, colors, fonts, and background elements for your entire presentation. This ensures brand consistency.
Branding Elements: Easily embed logos, brand colors, and specific font choices into your template for a polished, professional look.
Efficiency Boost: Once a master slide is set, every new slide added will adhere to that template, saving significant time and effort.
Statistic: Over 30 million PowerPoint presentations are created daily worldwide, highlighting its dominance in the presentation space.

Graphic Design Software for Visual Templates

When your templates need to be visually stunning, incorporating complex graphics, illustrations, or unique branding elements, specialized graphic design software becomes indispensable. Vector illustrator

These tools offer precision, creative freedom, and powerful features for professional-level output.

Adobe Illustrator: Vector Art for Scalable Templates

Adobe Illustrator is the industry standard for vector graphics, making it the best software to create templates for logos, icons, and illustrations that need to be scalable to any size without losing quality.

Vector Advantage: Unlike raster images photos, vector graphics are mathematically defined, meaning they can be scaled from a tiny icon to a billboard without pixelation. This is critical for brand consistency across all mediums.
Tools for Precision: Illustrator offers an unparalleled set of drawing tools, including the Pen tool, Shape Builder tool, and advanced pathfinders, allowing for intricate and precise designs.
Template Uses: Perfect for creating branding guidelines, icon sets, complex infographics, product packaging mockups, and even design elements for website templates.
Workflow Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other Adobe Creative Cloud applications like Photoshop and InDesign, enabling a smooth workflow from illustration to layout.
Expert Tip: Learn to use Artboards to organize multiple variations of your template or different template sizes within a single file. This keeps your design assets centralized and manageable.

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite: Versatile Design for All Needs

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite is a formidable competitor in the vector graphics and page layout arena, offering a comprehensive suite for various design tasks. It’s often cited as the best software to make templates for print, web, and illustration due to its versatility.

All-in-One Solution: CorelDRAW combines powerful vector illustration, layout, photo editing, and typography tools in one package. This makes it incredibly efficient for creating complete template sets.
User-Friendly Interface: While powerful, many designers find CorelDRAW’s interface intuitive, allowing for a quicker learning curve compared to some competitors.
Diverse Applications: From creating professional logos and brochures to vehicle wraps and web graphics, CorelDRAW excels. Its robust layout features make it excellent for multi-page document templates, like magazines or annual reports.
Template Creation Features:
- Master Pages: Similar to master slides in presentations, master pages in CorelDRAW allow you to define common elements headers, footers, page numbers, backgrounds that appear on multiple pages, perfect for multi-page templates.
- Styles: Define paragraph styles, character styles, and color styles to ensure absolute consistency across all your designs.
- Variable Data: For personalized templates like certificates or mailing labels, CorelDRAW’s Print Merge feature allows you to pull data from spreadsheets, automating the creation of numerous customized documents.
Did You Know? CorelDRAW was one of the first vector graphics programs to offer color management features, which are crucial for ensuring color accuracy from screen to print.
Affiliate Opportunity: For those serious about investing in a powerful template creation tool, consider exploring CorelDRAW. It offers a free trial, and you can get started with a significant discount: 👉 CorelDraw 15% OFF Coupon Limited Time FREE TRIAL Included.

Adobe Photoshop: Raster-Based Visual Templates

While primarily a photo editing software, Photoshop is invaluable for creating raster-based visual templates, especially for digital media.

Pixel-Perfect Control: Excellent for designing social media graphics, website banners, and email headers where pixel precision and visual effects are crucial.
Smart Objects: Use Smart Objects to embed vector graphics from Illustrator or other elements that can be scaled without degradation, bridging the gap between raster and vector.
Layer Comps: Create different versions of a design within a single Photoshop file using Layer Comps, making it easy to present template variations.
Limitations: Not ideal for print-ready documents that require crisp text or scalable logos, as everything is pixel-based.

Web and Email Template Creation Software

These templates need to be responsive, visually appealing, and functional across various devices and email clients.

HTML/CSS Editors & Frameworks: The Foundation of Web Templates

For the best software to design website templates from scratch, or to create highly customized email templates, a good HTML/CSS editor combined with knowledge of web development is essential.

Tools: VS Code, Sublime Text, Atom, and Notepad++ are popular code editors.
Frameworks: Using frameworks like Bootstrap, Foundation, or Tailwind CSS significantly speeds up the process of building responsive web templates. These frameworks provide pre-built components and a grid system.
Email Challenges: Email templating is notoriously tricky due to the inconsistencies in email clients. Tools like Mailchimp or HubSpot often have built-in drag-and-drop editors for simpler tasks, but for complex, custom designs, raw HTML/CSS is often necessary.
Testing: Critical for web and email templates. Tools like Litmus or Email on Acid are invaluable for testing email responsiveness across hundreds of clients. For websites, browser developer tools are your best friend.
Data Point: Over 1.9 billion websites are live globally, with a significant portion using templates or themes, highlighting the demand for efficient template creation.

Drag-and-Drop Website Builders: Simplified Web Templates

For users without coding knowledge, drag-and-drop website builders offer a user-friendly way to create professional-looking website templates.

Platforms: Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify are popular choices. They come with pre-designed templates that can be customized extensively.
Ease of Use: Their intuitive interfaces allow users to build complete websites by simply dragging elements onto a canvas.
Limitations: While flexible, these platforms often have limitations on deep customization compared to coding from scratch. You’re typically working within their ecosystem.

Email Marketing Platforms: Streamlined Email Templates

Platforms like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and SendGrid specialize in creating and managing email campaigns, offering excellent template builders. Word perfect app

Built-in Editors: Most provide drag-and-drop editors, pre-designed templates, and robust analytics.
Responsiveness: They automatically handle responsive design, ensuring your emails look good on both desktop and mobile.
Segmentation: Allow you to segment your audience and personalize emails based on template variations.
Use Cases: Newsletters, promotional emails, automated welcome series, and transactional emails. These are generally the best program to create email templates for marketing purposes.

General-Purpose Design and Productivity Software

Beyond specialized tools, some general-purpose design and productivity software offer surprising capabilities for template creation, especially for those looking for cost-effective or integrated solutions.

Canva: The Democratizer of Design Templates

Canva has revolutionized template creation for non-designers and small businesses, making it incredibly accessible and powerful for visual content.

Accessibility: Canva’s intuitive drag-and-drop interface makes it incredibly easy for anyone to create professional-looking designs without prior design experience.
Vast Template Library: It boasts an enormous library of pre-designed templates for virtually any purpose: social media posts Instagram stories, Facebook banners, presentations, flyers, business cards, resumes, invitations, and more. This makes it a strong contender for the best software to create templates for everyday marketing and personal use.
Brand Kit: Canva Pro allows you to set up a “Brand Kit” with your brand colors, fonts, and logos, ensuring consistency across all your designs.
Collaboration: Easy to share designs and collaborate with team members.
Use Cases: Small business marketing, social media content creation, event invitations, basic resumes, and quick visual reports. It’s often the go-to for many who need to quickly make templates without extensive design training.
Market Impact: Canva recorded over 150 million monthly active users in 2023, showcasing its immense popularity and effectiveness as a design tool for the masses.

Affinity Designer & Affinity Publisher: Professional Alternatives

For those seeking professional-grade tools without the subscription model of Adobe, the Affinity suite offers compelling alternatives.

Affinity Designer: A powerful vector graphic design application, similar to Adobe Illustrator. Excellent for creating logos, icons, and scalable graphic elements for templates. It’s a one-time purchase.
Affinity Publisher: A desktop publishing application akin to Adobe InDesign. Ideal for creating multi-page layouts, brochures, magazines, books, and other print-ready templates. It handles complex typography and image placement well.
Integration: The Affinity suite is designed to integrate seamlessly, allowing easy transition of assets between Designer, Photo their Photoshop alternative, and Publisher.
Cost-Effective: A significant advantage for freelancers or small businesses looking to avoid recurring subscription fees.

Lucidchart & Miro: Diagram and Flowchart Templates

When your templates involve diagrams, flowcharts, wireframes, or brainstorming, specialized whiteboarding and diagramming tools shine.

Visual Organization: Excellent for creating process flow templates, organizational charts, mind maps, and wireframes for websites or applications.
Collaboration: Both Lucidchart and Miro are highly collaborative, allowing multiple users to work on the same diagram simultaneously.
Template Libraries: They offer extensive libraries of shapes, icons, and pre-built templates for various diagram types.
Use Cases: Business process mapping, project planning, software architecture diagrams, user journey mapping.

Specialized Software for Niche Templates

Sometimes, a specific type of template requires a tool built precisely for that purpose.

These niche solutions offer focused features that general software might lack.

Adobe InDesign: Print and Digital Layout Templates

Adobe InDesign is the gold standard for desktop publishing and professional layout design.

If you’re creating multi-page documents destined for print or interactive PDFs, this is your tool.

Master Pages: InDesign’s master pages are incredibly robust, allowing you to define consistent layouts, numbering, headers, and footers across hundreds of pages.
Paragraph & Character Styles: Granular control over typography, ensuring perfect text alignment, spacing, and appearance throughout your template.
Advanced Features: Supports variable data for personalized documents, powerful preflighting checking for print errors, and rich interactive PDF capabilities.
Use Cases: Magazines, books, brochures, annual reports, interactive PDFs, sophisticated newsletters, and branded stationery sets. It’s often considered the best program to create templates for high-quality print production.
Industry Standard: Widely used by graphic designers, publishers, and marketing agencies globally for professional print and digital document creation.

Figma & Sketch: UI/UX and Prototype Templates

For creating user interface UI and user experience UX templates, including website and app mockups, Figma and Sketch are industry leaders.

Vector-Based UI Design: Both are vector-based, making them ideal for designing scalable UI components and screens.
Prototyping: Allow for interactive prototypes, showing how users would navigate through a website or app, which is crucial for testing design templates.
Collaboration: Figma, in particular, is known for its real-time collaborative features, making it a favorite for design teams.
Design Systems: Excellent for building comprehensive design systems, which are essentially libraries of reusable UI components and guidelines, forming the ultimate templates for digital products.
Use Cases: Website wireframes, mobile app designs, interactive prototypes, design systems, and digital product mockups. These are truly the best software to design website templates from a UI/UX perspective.

Microsoft Excel & Google Sheets: Data-Driven Templates

While not typically thought of as design software, Excel and Google Sheets are unparalleled for creating data-driven templates, particularly for financial, analytical, or organizational purposes. Image a software

Structured Data: Excellent for creating invoice templates, budget planners, inventory trackers, project management schedules, and data entry forms.
Formulas & Automation: Use formulas, conditional formatting, and even macros in Excel to automate calculations and data validation within your templates.
PivotTables & Charts: Integrate these to provide dynamic reporting capabilities within your templates.
Use Cases: Financial statements, expense reports, attendance sheets, sales dashboards, and simple data collection forms. This makes them highly effective for creating templates that are forms-based and require data input, making them strong contenders for what software is best for creating forms where data processing is key.
Real-world Impact: According to a study by IDC, professionals spend an average of 1.5 hours per day working with spreadsheets, indicating their pervasive use in business operations.

Considerations When Choosing Template Software

Picking the right software isn’t just about features.

It’s about matching the tool to your specific needs, skill level, and budget. Here’s what to ponder before making a decision.

Skill Level and Learning Curve

Beginner-Friendly: If you’re new to design or just need quick, simple templates, tools like Canva or Microsoft Word offer intuitive interfaces and vast template libraries that get you started immediately. The learning curve is minimal.
Intermediate User: For those with some design experience but not looking to become a professional, CorelDRAW, Affinity Designer/Publisher, or even the advanced features of PowerPoint can be excellent choices. They offer depth without overwhelming complexity.
Professional Designer: For industry-standard, high-fidelity output, Adobe Creative Cloud applications Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Figma are unparalleled. However, they come with a steeper learning curve and often require dedicated training.

Budget: Free, One-Time Purchase, or Subscription

Free Options: Google Docs, Google Slides, Google Sheets, Canva free tier, and basic HTML/CSS editors offer substantial capabilities without cost. These are excellent for individuals and small startups.
One-Time Purchase: Software like the Affinity Suite Designer, Photo, Publisher and older versions of CorelDRAW though the latest is subscription-based for some features offer a perpetual license. This can be more cost-effective in the long run if you prefer owning your software.
Subscription Model: Adobe Creative Cloud, the latest CorelDRAW versions, and many web-based tools like Mailchimp premium operate on a subscription model. While this means ongoing costs, it provides continuous updates, cloud storage, and access to a full suite of integrated tools. Consider your long-term financial commitment.

Type of Templates You Need to Create

Documents & Forms: Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or specialized PDF editors are ideal for text-heavy documents, reports, and fillable forms. They excel in structured content.
Visual & Marketing: Canva is superb for social media, flyers, and simple marketing graphics. For professional-grade visual assets, CorelDRAW, Adobe Illustrator, or Photoshop are necessary.
Web & Email: For simple, responsive web elements or email newsletters, drag-and-drop email marketing platforms are great. For custom, professional web designs and UI/UX, Figma, Sketch, or direct HTML/CSS coding are the way to go.
Print Layouts: Adobe InDesign or CorelDRAW are the undisputed kings for multi-page print documents like magazines, books, and complex brochures, ensuring professional print output.

Collaboration Features

Real-Time Collaboration: If you work in a team, tools like Google Docs, Google Slides, Canva, Figma, and Miro offer real-time collaboration, allowing multiple users to work on the same template simultaneously, streamlining workflows.
Version Control: Look for software with robust version history, allowing you to revert to previous iterations of your template. This is crucial for team environments and complex projects.
Sharing & Feedback: The ability to easily share templates for review and gather feedback is important for efficient template creation.

Ecosystem and Integration

Adobe Creative Cloud: If you’re already invested in the Adobe ecosystem Photoshop, Premiere Pro, etc., then Illustrator and InDesign offer seamless integration, allowing easy transfer of assets between programs.
Google Workspace: For teams heavily reliant on Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides offer unparalleled integration and cloud-based convenience.
Stand-alone vs. Suite: Consider whether you need a single, specialized tool or a comprehensive suite that covers multiple design disciplines. For example, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite offers an integrated experience for illustration, layout, and photo editing.

By carefully evaluating these factors, you can make an informed decision on the best program to create templates that aligns perfectly with your individual or business needs, ensuring efficiency, consistency, and professional output.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best software to create templates for beginners?

The best software for beginners to create templates is Canva. It offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, a massive library of pre-designed templates for almost any need social media, presentations, documents, and requires no prior design experience. Google Docs and Microsoft Word are also excellent for document-based templates due to their widespread familiarity.

What software is best for creating forms?

For creating forms, Microsoft Word and Google Docs are excellent for simple fillable documents with content controls. For data-driven forms and extensive calculations, Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets are powerful. For online forms, dedicated tools like Google Forms, Typeform, or Jotform offer more advanced features like conditional logic and integrations.

Can I create website templates without coding?

Yes, you can create website templates without coding using drag-and-drop website builders like Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify. These platforms provide intuitive visual editors and a wide array of customizable pre-built templates, allowing you to design and launch a website without writing a single line of code.

What is the best software to design website templates for professionals?

For professionals designing website templates, Figma and Sketch are considered industry standards for UI/UX design and prototyping. They offer powerful vector tools, collaboration features, and the ability to create interactive mockups. For actual development, an HTML/CSS editor like VS Code combined with frameworks like Bootstrap is essential.

What is the best program to create email templates?

For marketing email templates, email marketing platforms like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or HubSpot are the best. They offer intuitive drag-and-drop builders, responsive design capabilities, and ensure compatibility across various email clients. For highly customized or complex email designs, using raw HTML/CSS with an editor like VS Code is necessary, followed by thorough testing.

Is Adobe Creative Cloud necessary for professional template creation?

While Adobe Creative Cloud with tools like Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop is an industry standard and offers unparalleled power for professional template creation, it’s not strictly “necessary” for everyone. Alternatives like CorelDRAW Graphics Suite and the Affinity Suite Designer, Publisher, Photo offer professional-grade features often at a one-time purchase cost, providing viable alternatives for many designers. Nikon jpg

How do I ensure brand consistency across all my templates?

To ensure brand consistency, use software that supports Brand Kits like Canva Pro, Master Pages/Slides CorelDRAW, InDesign, PowerPoint, and Styles Word, InDesign, Illustrator. Define your brand colors, fonts, logos, and graphic elements once, and apply them consistently across all your templates.

Can I create templates in Google Sheets?

Yes, you can create various templates in Google Sheets, especially for data-driven purposes.

Popular uses include budget planners, expense trackers, invoice templates, inventory lists, project timelines, and simple data entry forms.

You can use formulas, conditional formatting, and data validation to make them robust.

What’s the difference between vector and raster graphics for templates?

Vector graphics created in Illustrator, CorelDRAW, Affinity Designer are made of mathematical paths and can be scaled infinitely without losing quality, ideal for logos, icons, and illustrations. Raster graphics edited in Photoshop are made of pixels and can become blurry or pixelated when scaled up, best for photos and detailed digital art where pixel precision is key. For versatile templates, a combination is often used.

Is CorelDRAW good for creating print-ready templates?

Yes, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite is exceptionally good for creating print-ready templates. It offers robust vector illustration, page layout, and typography tools, along with powerful color management and preflighting features to ensure your designs are production-ready for printing.

How do I make a template fillable in Word?

To make a template fillable in Word, you need to enable the Developer tab, then insert Content Controls such as Rich Text, Plain Text, Drop-Down List, Date Picker, Check Box into your document. Once you’ve added the controls, you can protect the document for forms to ensure users can only interact with the fillable fields.

What are “master pages” in template design?

“Master pages” or “master slides” in presentations are design templates within a document or presentation software like Adobe InDesign, CorelDRAW, or PowerPoint that define the common elements that appear on multiple pages or slides.

This includes backgrounds, headers, footers, page numbers, logos, and consistent layout grids, ensuring uniformity throughout a multi-page template.

Are there any free alternatives to Adobe InDesign for layout templates?

Yes, a prominent free alternative to Adobe InDesign for layout templates is Scribus. It’s an open-source desktop publishing application that supports professional publishing features like CMYK colors, spot colors, ICC color management, and versatile PDF creation, making it suitable for print-ready documents. Pdf add another pdf

How can I share templates with my team efficiently?

The most efficient way to share templates with your team is by using cloud-based platforms like Google Workspace Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Canva Pro’s team features, or shared libraries within professional software like Adobe Creative Cloud Libraries. These platforms allow for centralized storage, version control, and easy collaborative access.

What is the primary benefit of using templates?

The primary benefit of using templates is efficiency and consistency. Templates save significant time by providing a pre-designed structure and format, eliminating the need to start from scratch. They also ensure brand consistency, maintain a professional appearance, and reduce errors across all your documents, presentations, and designs.

Can I sell templates I create using these software?

Yes, you can sell templates you create using these software, provided you comply with the licensing agreements of the software itself and any third-party assets fonts, stock images you might have used.

Platforms like Creative Market, Etsy, or your own website are popular marketplaces for selling digital templates.

What software is best for creating infographic templates?

For creating infographic templates, Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW are excellent due to their powerful vector graphic capabilities, allowing for detailed and scalable illustrations. Canva is a great option for beginners due to its vast library of infographic elements and user-friendly interface. Lucidchart can also be useful for data visualization within infographics.

What are the considerations for choosing between a subscription and a one-time purchase software for templates?

Consider your budget and long-term needs. A one-time purchase e.g., Affinity Suite saves money in the long run if you prefer owning the software and don’t need continuous updates or cloud services. A subscription e.g., Adobe Creative Cloud, CorelDRAW provides ongoing updates, cloud storage, new features, and often access to a broader suite of tools, but incurs recurring costs.

How important is responsiveness for web and email templates?

Responsiveness is extremely important for web and email templates.

It ensures that your template adapts and displays correctly across various screen sizes and devices desktops, tablets, smartphones. Without responsiveness, your content may be unreadable, visually distorted, or difficult to navigate, leading to a poor user experience and potentially losing engagement.

Can I create simple business card templates with free software?

Yes, you can absolutely create simple business card templates with free software. Canva is an excellent choice, offering numerous free business card templates and easy customization. Other options include Google Docs for basic text-based cards or even free online graphic design tools.

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Best software to create templates