How to Learn Microsoft Word: 12 Free and Paid Word Training Resources
As an account manager at a Microsoft certified training company, I’ve seen how Microsoft Word is an essential business tool. I’ve helped coordinate Word training for legal professionals, technical writers, executive assistants, policy analysts, and many others.
From talking with hundreds of clients, I’ve discovered that learning Microsoft Word is an ongoing process. Even experienced users can learn new tricks and save time with powerful tools like advanced styles and templates.
When it comes to Microsoft Office software like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, many of us are self-taught. While that might work to a degree, consider how much time can be saved when you learn the productivity tools in Microsoft Word. Think about how your documents would look far more professional by learning the Microsoft Word advanced formatting tools.
In addition to learning new tools and features of Microsoft Word, learning Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts can also be a fantastic way to claim back time in your work day.
After talking with hundreds of Word users and expert Word trainers, I compiled a list of the best Microsoft Word training resources that have been shared over the years.
As you go through these resources be on the lookout for the Microsoft Word features that our Word students tend to get most excited about:
- Working with basic formatting features
- Modifying and customizing Styles in Word
- Using the Format Painter to copy and paste formatting
- Using Smart Art to enhance your documents
- Table design tips and tricks
- Adding charts and pulling data from Excel
- Inserting online videos
- Collaboration techniques like using comments in a document
- Best practices for headers and footers
- Merging multiple documents in Word
- Working with page breaks
- Adjusting margins and adding tabs
- Customizing columns in a document
- Adding and customizing a table of contents in a document
- Using footnotes and endnotes in a document
- Inserting images and captions in a document
- Creating a mail merge with Excel data
- Tracking changes in a document
- Recording and using Macros
- Saving time with keyboard shortcuts
- Improving document accessibility
- Working with 3D models
Thanks to the Internet, you can easily find tons of resources to help you learn Microsoft Word. You also have access to top-rated instructors regardless of your location. Whether you enjoy learning from videos, books, or a live instructor, every type of learner can quickly find a Microsoft Word training solution. In this article, we’ll show you the best options when it comes to:
- Quick Reference Guides with step-by-step Microsoft Word instructions
- Keyboard Shortcut Guides covering the most common Microsoft Word tasks
- Reference Books with comprehensive Microsoft Word tutorials
- Video Courses for every level of Microsoft Word user
- Live Online Instructor-Led Training held in web conference classrooms with a Microsoft Word expert
- Onsite Instructor-Led Training delivered by a Microsoft Word trainer in a physical classroom location
Ready to dive in? Here’s our list of the best Microsoft Word resources available on the web.
Microsoft Word Quick Reference Guides
Quick reference guides are a fast and easy way to help you get the most out of Microsoft Word. These guides contain simple tutorials on how to use the most popular Microsoft Word tools. The best thing about a quick reference guide? It’s a ton of information that you can keep right on your desk.
Quick reference guides usually run 2-6 pages in length and cost between $3 – $6 each.
Many trainers and training companies go to Beezix and Quick Source Learning for quick reference guides.
Beezix Microsoft Word Learning Guides
Beezix offers a large library of learning guides. For Microsoft Word, explore guides based on experience level like their Introductory, Intermediate, and Advanced guides. Or, you can choose a guide based on topic like Templates and Forms or Mail Merge.
Quick Source Microsoft Word Learning Guides
Quick Source Learning offers a library of reference guides on the most popular desktop software from Microsoft, including Microsoft Word. We like Quick Source because their guides are easy to read and comprehensive – typically about 6 pages. Quick Source also offers customization – perfect if you are looking for a tailored resource for a group of employees.
Microsoft Word Keyboard Shortcut Guides
Our customers love to have “Microsoft Word Tricks” included in their training. The most popular trick? Keyboard shortcuts. Want to save time and get work done faster? Keyboard shortcuts help you do that.
Webucator Free Microsoft Word Keyboard Shortcuts Guide
Since we’ve had so many requests for Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts, Webucator has created our own Microsoft Keyboard Shortcut Guide. So many of our customers have wanted this, that we decided to give it away for free. Download our Free Microsoft Word Keyboard Shortcut Guide to see how you can perform tasks like printing, saving, moving through documents, formatting text, inserting objects, all with a couple of keyboard clicks. The guide is printable, so be sure to get a copy to keep on your desk!
Don’t have a printer? Head on over to Beezix and they will send you a beautifully laminated Word shortcut guide for $3.60 + shipping and taxes.
Microsoft Word Reference Books
Are you an excellent self-learner? Like to learn from a textbook?
You might want to try one of the many books available to help you learn Word. Keep your book right on your desk and look up tutorials whenever you need help.
The biggest advantage of learning from a book? You gain access to a huge amount of easy-to-reference information for a very low price. Most Microsoft Word reference books on Amazon range from $20 – $50.
Here are two Microsoft Word reference books to consider.
Microsoft Word Step by Step Book
Microsoft publishes Step by Step textbooks to help you learn the Office products. Filled with colorful screenshots, the book takes you through Microsoft Word tools and features, step by step. They also include practice files to help you get hands-on experience.
Self-learners have tapped into the “Dummies” books for decades. Some authors of the dummies books also teach in the classroom, including delivering classes for Webucator. This classroom experience, along with practical experience, shows in the practical tips and easy-to-follow instructions offered in these books.
Microsoft Word Video Courses
Video courses top the charts as one of the most popular trends in the learning industry right now. Companies look to video courses as an inexpensive way to offer a large library of courses to their whole workforce. Outside of the corporate training world, colleges and universities, secondary schools, and libraries also offer easy access to video courses.
Here are three affordable video resources worth checking out.
Kyle Pew’s Master Microsoft Word Beginner to Advanced Course
Kyle Pew delivers a comprehensive overview of Microsoft Word in his video course. This is a paid resource, but well worth the cost. Kyle’s video course takes you through Microsoft Word from A-to-Z. Students love his course, making it one of the highest rated and bestselling courses on Udemy. We love Kyle Pew here at Webucator as well. So much so that Kyle is one of our top go-to instructors for onsite Microsoft Word Classroom Training.
Sali Kaceli – 2-Hour Free Word YouTube Video
This detailed 2-hour free video covers the most popular features of Word. If you open the video description, you will see clickable bookmarks to take you to specific modules like formatting, charts, mail merge, macros, and more.
You can get fast accurate information about using Microsoft Word right at Microsoft.com. Visit the Microsoft site to find written, step-by-step instructions along with how-to videos. Microsoft offers everything from the basics like formatting text, to more specific information such as using Word for school and improving accessibility.
Live Online Microsoft Word Training
Many managers have come to me and said, “we have self-paced courses, but no one completes the training.” These groups usually want the ease of getting the training done in one day and accountability of a classroom. But, there’s not always a training center nearby.
Live online training brings the instructor-led classroom experience to anyone with a computer and an internet connection.
Almost all Microsoft Training companies offer instructor-led online training now. Webucator was one of the first Microsoft partners to deliver all of our Microsoft classes in an instructor-led online format.
Webucator Instructor-Led Live Online Classes
Join a live instructor in a WebEx classroom. The training feels just like a traditional classroom experience. You chat with the instructor and the other students, participate in hands-on exercises, and ask questions at any time. Everyone connects by calling in on their phone, using their computer speakers, or using a webcam.
To keep everyone engaged and active in the class, we strive for a small class size – less than 10 students.
You may be wondering, what’s the most important aspect of a live online class to look for? The trainer. Talk with the trainer before your class and look for a solution where you can have continued access to the trainer after the class. At Webucator, we encourage students to email questions to the instructor after their training. Our instructors often will hear from a student long after their training, and they are always happy to help!
Onsite Microsoft Word Training
Although online resources like video courses and tutorial sites have flooded the market, many professionals still prefer learning from a live instructor.
Nevertheless, you probably can’t just walk down the street to take a class with a Microsoft Word Instructor in the classroom. Why? Most training centers have moved away from the traditional classroom delivery to live online formats instead.
Here are the two ways you can still get into an onsite classroom with your trainer.
Training Centers in Large Cities
If you live near a large city, you might find a nearby training center that offers in-person public Microsoft Word classes. A local college or a university might also provide Microsoft Word classes as part of their professional development catalog.
Try searching the web for “Microsoft Word Classes Near Me.” Be sure to include “Near Me” or the results will include video courses or other formats. Contact the companies that come up. Be sure to confirm that the trainer would be physically in the classroom with you. Some centers will have you come into a classroom near you, but you will actually end up watching the class from one of their computers, with the instructor in a different location.
Onsite Training at Your Office
If at least 8 people at your company need Microsoft Word Training, try bringing the instructor to your office to deliver a class. With a group of 8 or more, the cost of a private class typically works out to be the same or less as attending a public training session. Plus, the instructor usually customizes the class to focus on the topics of your choice. You can even ask the instructor to use your templates or troubleshoot your documents as part of the class. If this sounds like a good solution for your group, be sure to contact Webucator about scheduling a private Microsoft Word Class.
Find Your Microsoft Word Training
How will you build up your Microsoft Word skills? Whether you choose a guide, a video, or working with an expert, there are resources available for everyone.
If you still need help finding a solution, reach out to us! We’ll help you find a great training solution quickly.