Business Document Formatting: Fonts, Margins and Structure

Formatting is the difference between a document that looks professional and one that looks thrown together. A few consistent choices — fonts, margins, headings — do most of the work.

Choose readable fonts

Pick one font for headings and one for body text. A common pairing is a serif for headings (like Merriweather) and a sans-serif for body (like Inter). Avoid using more than two fonts — variety here reads as clutter.

Set a comfortable size

Body text around 11–13px (or 11–12pt in Word) is readable without being oversized. Headings should create a clear hierarchy: larger and bolder for main sections, smaller for sub-sections.

Use margins and white space

Generous margins (around 1 inch) and space between sections make a document easier to read. Cramped text signals "rush job," even when the content is strong.

Be consistent

The single most important formatting rule is consistency. Same font sizes for same-level headings, same bullet style throughout, same spacing. Inconsistency is what readers notice first.

Let a template do the work

Templates enforce consistency for you. Editi's templates lock in fonts, colours, margins, headers and footers so every document looks on-brand without manual formatting.

Don't forget headers and footers

A logo in the header and a page number in the footer make multi-page documents easy to navigate and reinforce your brand. Editi adds these automatically when you export to PDF or Word.

Start with a template

Skip the blank-page formatting struggle. Browse Editi's templates — each one comes with professional fonts, margins and structure built in, so your document looks polished from the first keystroke.