Borders and background colors in Google Sheets - Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

Borders and background colors help you make your spreadsheet easier to read and look nicer. You can add lines around cells or change their background color to highlight important data or separate sections.

When you want to separate different sections of your data visually.

When you want to highlight totals or important numbers in your sheet.

When you want to make a table easier to read by adding borders around cells.

When you want to color code cells based on categories or status.

When you want to improve the overall look of your spreadsheet for presentations.

Steps

Step 1: Select the cells

- Spreadsheet grid

The chosen cells are highlighted with a blue border

💡 Click and drag to select multiple cells quickly

Step 2: Click the Borders icon

- Toolbar at the top

A border style menu appears below the icon

Step 3: Choose a border style

- Borders menu

The selected border style is applied to the chosen cells

💡 Use 'All borders' to add lines around every cell in the selection

Step 4: Click the Fill color icon

- Toolbar at the top

A color palette appears below the icon

Step 5: Select a background color

- Color palette

The chosen color fills the background of the selected cells

💡 Use light colors for backgrounds to keep text readable

Before vs After

Before

A spreadsheet with plain white cells and no borders around data

After

The same spreadsheet with black borders around each cell and light yellow background color on header rows

Settings Reference

Border style

📍 Borders icon menu on the toolbar

Choose which borders to add or remove around selected cells

Default: No borders

Border color

📍 Borders icon menu > Border color option

Set the color of the borders around cells

Default: Black

Fill color

📍 Fill color icon on the toolbar

Set the background color of selected cells

Default: No fill

Common Mistakes

Applying dark background colors without changing text color

Text becomes hard to read against dark backgrounds

Use light background colors or change text color to white for better contrast

Adding borders to only some cells in a table

The table looks uneven and confusing

Use 'All borders' option to add consistent borders around all cells in the table

Selecting too many cells before applying borders or colors

You might accidentally format cells you did not want to change

Select only the cells you want to format carefully before applying styles

Summary

Borders add lines around cells to separate and organize data visually.

Background colors fill cells to highlight or group information.

Use the toolbar icons for Borders and Fill color to apply these styles easily.

Choose colors and border styles that keep your data clear and readable.