How to Quickly Change Themes For Google Slides (Download & Import)

Have you ever worked hard on a presentation, only to feel that it falls short of your expectations? It may not be your fault. 

Your less-than-memorable presentation could actually be the result of using the wrong presentation theme. Use the right professional theme that has great design layouts and your presentation is likely to be a hit. But with the wrong theme you could find that you left your audience with a bad impression.

If you use Google Slides to create presentations, there are plenty of professional Google Slides themes your can import. Making a great impression has never been easier.

In this tutorial, I'll explain in detail why choosing a high-quality presentation theme is so important. I'll also show you how to find and download professional Google Slides themes using Envato's GraphicRiver marketplace. Finally, I'll explain how to quickly apply customization to the Google Slides theme you chose after importing it into your presentation. 

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1. Why Presentation Theme Designs Are So Important

You may have a great message for your presentation. You may have done tons of research. You may spend hours practicing. But unless you are careful about choosing your presentation theme design, all that hard work may not come across to your audience or best represent your brand.

No matter what presentation software you use, the presentation theme you select and use is important. A good presentation theme helps you to:

1. Draw the Viewer In. Like it or not, we're all affected by what we see. Colors, images, fonts, and shapes—they all make a difference. The right theme makes good use of all these design elements to engage the audience through a presentation. The best themes come with great layout options and plenty of striking graphic features.
2. Shape the Reader's Opinion. The way your theme looks impacts the reader's impression of you. A well-designed, professional theme leaves your audience with a positive opinion of you and your message. A sloppy, unprofessional presentation design does the opposite.
3. Allow for Branding. A good theme lets you add your unique branding elements to your presentation, such as your color scheme and logo. It also helps tie the presentation to your brand in your audience's mind. This is important for in person presentations, as well as when distributing your presentations online.
4. Save Time. The right theme saves you time. No longer do you have to spend hours trying to develop the right look on your own. A good theme will be attractive and come with plenty of unique slide designs. It will also be easy to customize for your needs with quick to edit professional slide setup.
5. Avoid Common Mistakes. There are many common design traps for those new to presentation design. Using too many fonts or the wrong colors for your presentation are just a few of the things that can go wrong. A professional theme helps you get it right.

Browse through this post for a curated selection of the most-popular Google Slides themes, with fresh, on-trend designs: 

• Google Slides
  17+ Cool Google Slides Themes (To Make Presentations in 2017)
  Sean Hodge

2. How to Find & Download the Right Google Slides Theme

If you use Google Slides for your presentation, the good news is that you don't have to look far to find a good presentation template. There are many resources available, including some from Envato's own GraphicRiver site.

In this section, we provide detailed steps on how to find and download a Google Slides theme for your needs.

Step 1. Start at GraphicRiver

While there are many Google Slides templates available for download, our own GraphicRiver site is a good place to start when looking for a professional theme.

GraphicRiver has a premium selection of presentation templates available. Here are our best-selling Google Slides themes that are available for download:

Each thumbnail shown on the screen represents a different Google Slides presentation theme. To examine a theme more closely, click on a thumbnail.  A screen appears showing more information about the Google Slides theme you clicked on:

Use the scrollbar to the right of the screen to scroll through the information about the Google Slide theme. You'll get plenty of slide design examples of the theme, information about the theme author, and details of what's included inside the download.

Step 2. Use Search to Look through Google Slides Themes

If you are having trouble finding the right presentation theme for you, use the search tool in the upper right corner to find a Google Slides theme more to your liking.

When you've typed in your search phrase, click the Search icon (it looks like a magnifying glass) in the upper right. In this example, we are searching on the phrase "google slides design". You'll see a list of thumbnails that meet your search criteria.

If you need to, use tools on the right to further narrow your search. Or, use the sort tools at the top to change the order of your search results:

You can also start in the Google Slides category page to find the newest Google Slides themes or sort those that are the best-sellers.

Step 3. Select and Download a Google Slides Theme

Once you've found a Google Slides theme you'd like to download, click on the theme's thumbnail to open it:

Note: In this example we are using the Swift Minimal Google Slides Template.

Details about the selected theme display:

In the upper right corner you'll see a button with the price of the theme. Click the price button to purchase the theme. The Customize Your Selection dialog box appears:

From the center of the dialog box, use the drop-down menu to choose between a Regular or an Extended license. 

About These Licenses

A regular license allows for a single use of the theme for yourself or an end client. With a regular license, you are not allowed to charge the end user for the use of the theme. 

An extended license also allows for a single use of the theme, but with an extended license you may also charge the end user for the theme and the end result may be sold. 

Learn more about these licenses. 

Now Add to Cart and Checkout

Click the Add to Cart button in the lower right corner. The Google Slides theme is added to your cart. Click the Go to Checkout button.

If you're not already logged into your GraphicRiver account, you'll be prompted to log in or to create an account:

Once you are logged into an account, enter your purchase information and complete the purchase. A confirmation screen displays:

Click the Download button on the lower right to complete the transaction. A popup displays asking whether you wish to open or save your download. Select the toggle button next to the Save File option and click the OK button. Your Google Slides template ZIP file is downloaded onto your computer (most likely it will be in your Downloads folder).

You can't upload a ZIP file to your Google Slides presentation. So, you need to double-click on the downloaded ZIP file to open the contents. Use the Extract All option, or other a similar tool, to unzip the ZIP file.

3. How to Modify the Google Slides Template to Create a New Presentation

If you don't have an existing presentation, get a head start on creating a new Google Slides presentation by opening the downloaded template file and editing it. Here's how:

Note: This example was created on a PC using the Windows operating system. For this example, I downloaded the Main - Swift Google Slides theme. If you use a different operating system or download a different Google Slides theme, your results may be slightly different.

Step 1. Drag Google Slides Theme File to Google Drive

After your template file is unzipped in your Downloads folder on your PC, drag the Main - Swift Google Slides folder to the your Google Drive:

A notification of the file upload appears in the lower right corner of the screen. Click the X in the upper right corner of the notification to close it.

Step 2. Open the Template File

Double-click the Main - SWIFT Google Slides folder to open it. Double-click the Presentations subfolder. You'll see three presentations themes in PowerPoint PPTX format (these will convert to Google Slides format when opened). The screen should look something like this:

Double-click the theme variation you wish to open. The file displays, but does not open. Choose the Open with Google Slides option from the center of the screen. The selected theme opens with the default text:

Step 3. Rename and Edit the Google Slides Theme

Before you begin changing the default theme, rename it. Type the name of the new presentation in the upper left corner. This creates a copy of the presentation without overwriting the original theme. This could be important if you decide to start over and return to the original theme.

To replace the existing text in the presentation, highlight it and type over it. Your presentation should look something like this:

Click the plus symbol (+) at the left of the icon menu to add new slides as needed. Continue editing and modifying the presentation. You can change the fonts, colors, and make other formatting changes just as you would for any other presentation.

For more guidance on formatting a presentation, refer to the following Envato Tuts+ tutorial:

• Presentations
  How to Use Google Slides (Quick Start Guide)
  Rebecca Tarnopol

4. How to Change a Google Slides Theme for an Existing Presentation

Now that you've found a presentation theme that you wish to use, you are ready to apply it to an existing Google Slides presentation. Let's get started: 

Step 1. Open a Presentation

Go to your Google Drive and open an existing presentation in Google Slides. Here is an existing presentation:

You can change the theme for several of the slides in the presentation or for all of the slides in the presentation.

Select the slides you wish to apply the new Google Slides theme to by clicking on them in the panel on the left. To select more than one slide, use the CTRL key.

Note: To keep your presentation uniform, I suggest that you apply the same theme to all the slides in your presentation.

Step 2. Change the Theme

With your presentation open and the slides you wish to change selected, click Slide > Change theme. A side panel appears to the right of your presentation showing all the currently available themes:

At the bottom of the side panel, click the Import theme option. The Import Theme dialog box displays:

To upload the theme from your computer, click the Upload option at the top of the dialog box, then click Select a file from your computer. If you are on a PC, File Explorer opens.

Go to the folder where downloaded template files are stored. Most likely, this will be your Downloads folder.

Open the Main - SWIFT Google Slides folder, which contains a Presentations subfolder. Double-click the Presentations folder to open it. The contents of the subfolder are visible:

Click on the template file of your choice and click the Open button. The new theme is uploaded:

Another Import Theme dialog box displays:

Click on the Default Theme thumbnail and click the Import theme button in the lower right corner of the dialog box. The new theme is automatically applied to your presentation:

Note: Swift is a minimal style theme design, so the change here is subtle. Once you apply it to multiple slides in your presentation though, you'll notice a more dramatic style transformation with your entire presentation. 

Step 3. Make Adjustments

Notice that some formatting remains from your original presentation. For example, the border around the title and the white color on the font on the first slide remain the same. To get the full effect of your new theme, you may wish to change some of your original formatting.

For example, to make sure white text is visible against a white background, you may need to adjust the text color. Likewise, you need to make sure that black text is visible against a black background. Adjust the text color by highlighting the text and using the Format > Text color option. 

Text color is just one of many adjustments and edits you can make to your presentation after the new theme is applied. You can make other adjustments to the presentation as well.

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Conclusion

The theme you use for your presentation is important. A professional presentation theme can help you to make the right impression. You can find lots of professional themes at GraphicRiver. 

Downloading a Google Slides theme and applying it to your presentation is not difficult. And the right Google Slides theme can make all the difference when it comes to the impression you make on your audience.