How to Delete a Page in Microsoft Word 365: Step by Step

To delete a page in Microsoft Word 365 on Windows, press Ctrl+G, enter \page, press Enter, close the Go To box, and press Delete to remove the selected page’s contents. For a blank page, turn on paragraph marks with Ctrl+Shift+8 to find and remove the paragraph mark, page break, or section break causing it. Save first if you are unsure what is creating the page; removing a section break can change nearby formatting.

What You’ll Need

A Word document open in the Microsoft Word 365 desktop app. The steps below are for Windows; Mac differences are noted where they matter.
Permission to edit the document. If it is read-only or protected, you may need to save an editable copy or ask the document owner for access.
A moment to check the surrounding pages after deleting content, especially if the document uses section breaks, page numbering, headers, or footers.

Step-by-Step

Save a working copy if the layout matters. Choose File > Save As to create a copy, or press Ctrl+S to save your latest changes. Deleting ordinary text can be undone with Ctrl+Z, but a copy makes it easier to recover if removing a break changes page layout, headers, or numbering. On Mac, use Command+S to save.
Identify the page you want to remove. Scroll to it and check whether it contains text, images, a table, or only empty space. The approach differs: a page with content can be selected directly, while a blank page usually needs its hidden formatting mark or break removed. If you are not sure where a page starts, choose View > Navigation Pane and use the page thumbnails to locate it. The thumbnails help you navigate; they do not delete a page by themselves.
Select a page that contains unwanted content. Click anywhere on the page. In Windows, press Ctrl+G to open the Go To tab in the Find and Replace dialog. In the Enter page number box, type \page, then press Enter. Close the dialog with Esc. Word selects the contents of the current page. Press Delete, then look at the pages before and after it to make sure you removed the intended material. On Mac, open Edit > Find > Go To if available, or use Option+Command+G, enter \page, and confirm the selection before deleting.
Check the result and undo if the wrong material was selected. Word reflows text when content is removed, so later pages may shift and the old page number may no longer exist. Confirm that the unwanted content is gone and that important text, images, or table rows were not selected accidentally. If the selection was wrong, press Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac immediately, then select a smaller range manually.
Show hidden formatting marks to diagnose a blank page. Press Ctrl+Shift+8 on Windows or Command+8 on Mac. You can also use Home > Paragraph > Show/Hide ¶. The marks shown on screen are not printed. Look on the blank page and at the end of the preceding page for paragraph symbols (¶), a Page Break label, or a Section Break label. This view reveals what is occupying the page rather than making you guess.
Remove an extra paragraph or manual page break. If the blank page contains only one or more paragraph symbols, click before an extra symbol and press Delete, or click after it and press Backspace. If you see Page Break, select that label and press Delete or Backspace. Delete only the break or empty paragraph that is causing the unwanted page; removing surrounding text can join paragraphs or alter their spacing. Check that the following content now moves to the intended page.
Handle a section break carefully. If you see Section Break (Next Page), that break may be forcing the next section onto a new page. Select the break and delete it only if you do not need the section boundary. Removing it can make the following section adopt formatting from the preceding section, including page orientation, margins, columns, headers, footers, or page numbering. If those settings must remain different, changing the break type or adjusting the section’s layout may be safer than deleting it.
Fix the final blank page after a table. Word keeps a paragraph after a table at the end of a document, and that required paragraph can spill onto an extra page. Turn on paragraph marks, select the paragraph symbol after the table, and set its font size to 1 point from Home > Font. If necessary, set its paragraph spacing to zero using the Paragraph dialog. Do not try to delete the required mark; making it smaller often lets it fit on the preceding page. Check the table and page layout afterward.
Hide formatting marks and save. Press Ctrl+Shift+8 on Windows or Command+8 on Mac again, or click Show/Hide ¶ on the Home tab. Save with Ctrl+S or Command+S. Review the pages around the edit, since deleting a page’s contents may move text and alter page numbering without deleting the document’s actual page-number fields.

Common Mistakes

Pressing Delete without checking what is selected. A click in the document is not the same as selecting a page. The Go To method selects the current page’s contents, but inspect the highlighted area before deleting, particularly if the page contains a table or text that continues from another page.
Assuming a page is a separate object. In a standard Word document, pages are created by flowing content and layout. You usually remove the page by deleting its contents or the break that forces it to exist; there is not a universal Delete Page button for ordinary document pages.
Deleting a section break without checking section settings. A section break can control orientation, margins, columns, headers, footers, and numbering. Removing it may fix a blank page but also change the appearance of a larger part of the document.
Deleting the paragraph after a final table repeatedly. Word requires an ending paragraph after a table. If it creates a blank page, shrink or adjust that paragraph instead of trying to remove it altogether.
Using Backspace or Delete without checking the cursor position. Backspace removes content before the cursor; Delete removes content after it. With formatting marks visible, click precisely beside the unwanted mark and confirm what disappears.

Tips

Use Show/Hide when the page will not go away. Blank space can be caused by a paragraph mark, manual page break, section break, or table layout. Seeing the marks makes it easier to choose the right fix and avoid deleting useful content.
Use the Navigation Pane to find, not erase. Choose View > Navigation Pane and select the Pages tab to jump among page thumbnails. Word’s page view is useful for locating a page, but you still need to remove its contents or the formatting that creates it.
Check page numbering after a change. If numbering restarts or a header changes after you delete a section break, use Undo and reconsider whether the break is needed. Section-specific headers and numbering can be linked or configured differently from the preceding section.
Use a small, reversible edit first. If you cannot tell whether a break is responsible, save a copy and remove only that break. Review the layout immediately; undo if the result is not right. This is safer than selecting a large area and deleting several marks at once.
Know the desktop and web differences. Word for the web can handle ordinary text deletion, but some layout and section-break controls differ from the Windows desktop app. If you cannot reveal or manage the break you need, open the file in the desktop app and use the steps above. On Mac, shortcut keys differ, but the same principles—select page contents or reveal and inspect formatting marks—apply.

Troubleshooting

The blank page remains after I delete the visible paragraph. Turn on Show/Hide and inspect both that page and the end of the previous one. There may be another empty paragraph, a manual page break, or a section break. Also check whether the page is created by the required paragraph after a table; reduce that paragraph to 1 point rather than trying to remove it. If the page appears only after a particular section, inspect that section’s break and layout settings.

Deleting a section break changed my margins or header. Press Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac to restore the break and the prior layout. Decide whether you need separate section settings. If the next section must retain its own formatting, keep the boundary and address the unwanted blank page by reviewing the break type and the page setup options for that section. Make one change at a time and check the headers, footers, and page numbers afterward.

The Go To method selects the wrong content or does nothing. Click directly on the page you mean to remove before opening Go To, then enter \page and verify the highlighted selection before pressing Delete. If the page is blank, there may be no ordinary text for this method to remove, so use Show/Hide and inspect its paragraph marks and breaks. If the document is protected, restricted, or open in a browser with different controls, switch to an editable desktop copy or ask the owner for access.

Text from the next page moves up, but I still see a blank page. That can happen when a section break, table, or paragraph setting still forces a page boundary. Reveal formatting marks and inspect the exact point where the blank page begins. Check paragraph pagination options such as Page break before, Keep with next, and Keep lines together by opening Home > Paragraph dialog launcher > Line and Page Breaks. Change a setting only when you understand which paragraph or section it applies to.

The page disappears but page numbers or layout look different. Pages are recalculated as the document reflows, so their old numbers can change. If headers, footers, orientation, or numbering changed too, undo the deletion and inspect for a section break before trying again. The break may be needed to preserve those settings; the fix may be to adjust the blank paragraph or page-break behavior rather than remove the section boundary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I delete a page in Word without deleting its text manually?
Yes. On Windows, click the page, press Ctrl+G, enter \page, press Enter, close the dialog, and delete the selected page contents. Check the selection first so you do not remove content you want to keep.

Why is there a blank page at the end of my Word document?
Common causes include extra paragraph marks, a manual page break, a next-page section break, or the required paragraph after a final table. Turn on Show/Hide ¶ to identify the cause, then remove the extra mark or adjust the setting responsible.

Can I delete a page from the Navigation Pane?
No. The Navigation Pane’s Pages tab helps you locate and move to a page, but it does not provide a command to delete that page. Delete the page’s contents or remove the break or empty paragraph that is creating it.

Will deleting a page remove its page number?
Word normally recalculates page numbers when content is removed, so the remaining pages shift automatically. If numbering restarts or changes format unexpectedly, inspect section breaks and the page-number settings for the affected section.

Do these steps work in Word for Mac?
The same selection and formatting-mark approach works, but shortcuts differ: use Command+8 to show marks and Command+Z to undo. For Go To, use Edit > Find > Go To if available, or Option+Command+G, then select the page contents and verify the selection before deleting.

What if I need to delete a page from a protected document?
You may not be able to edit it until the document owner grants permission or removes the restriction. If you are authorized, use the available protection controls or save an editable copy; do not assume the page can be removed while the document is read-only.

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