Google Docs is an online document editor designed to rival programs like Microsoft Word and WPS Office. Like all Google Workspace apps, Google Docs is cloud-first, with a web-based browser app for desktop users, as well as Android and iOS apps. And while Microsoft 365 works on Chromebooks, Google Workspace is the better, and easier, choice for most people.

Google Docs may be easy to use, but that doesn't mean it's lacking advanced features. The app offers advanced design and template options that include the option to create tri-fold brochures. Making a brochure in Google Docs is easy, and you can easily make one in a matter of minutes

Create a brochure in Google Docs

Google Docs has a variety of templates available, including two for brochures. However, these brochures are two-sided pages with text and images, so they're not the marketing triptychs most of us imagine when we think of a brochure. You'll need to do the work to make a classic tri-fold brochure.

To start, you'll change the orientation of the document to landscape from the default portrait.

  1. Click File from the ribbon menu at the top of the window.
    Click the file menu
  2. From the drop-down menu, select Page setup.
    Click Page setup
  3. Under Orientation in the Page setup menu, select Landscape.
    Select Landscape to change the page orientation in Google Docs
  4. On the right of the Page setup menu, set all the margins to 0 inches.
    Change the Margin size to zero
  5. Click OK.

Setting the margins to zero is an important step in the process since the folds won't be in the right place to split the brochure into thirds if you insert a three-column table into a document with one-inch margins. After changing the margins, the next step is to insert a table. These have become easier to work with, thanks to recent updates.

Here's how to make the table:

  1. Click Insert from the ribbon menu.
    Open the Insert menu
  2. From the drop-down menu, hover over Table, and from the pop-out menu, click the third box from the left on the top row to create a 3 × 1 table.
    Drag across the table to choose the number of rows and columns for the table

The three columns of the table are a visual reference for how the brochure will look. It also makes organizing the eventual text and images easier.

The last thing to do before adding text and images to the brochure is to give the columns some breathing room. To do that, adjust the table properties.

  1. Right click anywhere in the newly created table.
  2. From the context menu that pops up, scroll down until you see Table properties. Click it.
    Select Table properties
  3. This creates a new menu to the right of the document. Click Table to open a drop-down menu. Then, under the Alignment subcategory, click on the middle option to center your table.
    Access the middle button to center your table cells.
  4. Scroll down to Cell and click it to access a submenu. Adjust the Cell padding to 0.125 inches.
    Adjust your padding for the table to fit properly on the page.
  5. Close the Table properties menu by clicking the X in the upper-right corner of the menu.

This bit of padding keeps the elements of the brochure away from the edge of the page and away from where the folds will be.

All that's left to do is put in the images and text. We won't get into the principles of design, but plan how you'll organize your information so that everything is in the right place after your brochure is folded.

A page guide showing how pages appear in a tri-fold brochure

Google Docs offers other useful features

Knowing how to create tri-fold brochures will help you in your personal and professional projects. Google Docs offers other important templates, such as letters, resumes, and project proposals, that also work great for containing and relaying information.

Since Google Docs has a lot going on with its traditional templates, you may want to take a look at our primer on Google Docs. After you orient yourself to the application, you'll be more than ready to create brochures and other files for any occasion.