How to Convert a Word Document to HTML: A Quick Guide

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Save your .docx as an .html web page file

Written by Kyle Smith

Last Updated: September 27, 2023 Tested

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Using Microsoft Word

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Using Google Drive

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Using Word 2 Clean HTML

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Video

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Q&A

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Tips

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If you have Microsoft Word on your computer, you can resave the DOC/DOCX file as an HTML file without installing additional software. If you don't have Word or prefer a free online option, you can upload the document to Google Drive and save it as an HTML file. Or, paste the contents of the Word file into a converter like Word 2 Clean HTML. Since Word documents and HTML files are very different, the finished HTML webpage may not contain the same formatting as the original. This wikiHow will show you how to convert a Word document to HTML on your Windows PC or Mac.

Things You Should Know

In Microsoft Word, go to File > Save As. Change the file type to Web Page.
For Google Drive, upload and open the Word file in Google Docs. Then, go to File > Download > Web Page.
Try an HTML conversion web app like Word 2 Clean HTML for additional automatic formatting options.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using Microsoft Word

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1
Open the document in Microsoft Word. Word has a built-in feature to convert .docx documents to HTML files. Although the resulting HTML code may be a bit bulkier than if you'd written the HTML from scratch, the conversion is quick and can be used for simpler projects.^{[1]
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- If you’re looking for general HTML tips, check out how to create a simple web page, create a link, and make radio buttons.
It's at the top-left corner of Word.

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A list of locations will appear.
You can save the file to any folder on your computer (or a cloud drive).
Enter the name in the textbox next to “File name:”.
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Select Web Page from the "Save as type" dropdown menu. This will save the file in HTML format.
- If you're okay with losing some of the advanced layout code in favor of a simpler file, select Web Page, Filtered instead. This keeps only the style instructions, content, and some other info.
A new version of the file is now saved in the HTML format.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Using Google Drive

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Go to https://www.google.com/drive in a web browser. Then click Go to Drive. As long as you have a Google account, you can use Google Drive to convert a Word document to a web page.
It's at the top-left corner of Google Drive.
It's the second option.
This uploads the Word document to your Google Drive.
A pop-up context menu will open.
Another menu will expand.
The contents of your Word document will display in Google Docs.
It's just below the file name at the top-left corner of the document.
Additional menu options will appear.
This allows you to save the .docx as an HTML zipped file. If prompted to do so, click Save or OK to start the download.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using Word 2 Clean HTML

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Go to https://word2cleanhtml.com in a web browser. Word 2 Clean HTML is a free, easy-to-use tool that will take the contents of a Word document and convert it to HTML code.
If you have Microsoft Word, open the document in that application. If not, you can either use the free version of Word located at https://www.office.com to open the file, or a Word alternative like Google Drive.
Press the Control and A keys (PC) or Command and A keys (Mac) at the same time to highlight everything in the file, right-click the highlighted area, and then click Copy.
Right-click the typing area and select Paste to paste the selected content.
Use the checkboxes at the bottom of the page to toggle conversion preferences, such as converting Word's Smart Quotes to regular ASCII quotes.
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Click the convert to clean html button. It's the button below the form. This converts the content to the HTML format and displays it in the text area.
- To see the regular HTML (not "cleaned up") from the conversion, click the Original HTML tab.
- To see a preview of how the code would look in a web browser, click the Preview tab.
- To copy the code so you can paste it elsewhere, click the Copy cleaned HTML to clipboard link at the top of the page.

Community Q&A

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Question

What do I do if I did this accidentally and really want to delete it now?

Community Answer

If you want to delete it, right-click on it and click delete. If you want to change it back, rename the file extension from randomfile.html to randomfile.docx.

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Question

I want to convert a Word document with controls (text box) to an HTML file, which has those controls. How do I do this?

Community Answer

Change the ending from whatever it is (ex: .txt) to .html (ex: .html).

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If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
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Question

If I save a Word document as a web page using HTML, will it have an URL?

Community Answer

Yes it will because you are basically making a website and all websites have a URL.

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Tips

If you have to convert hundreds of files to HTML, use commercial software that can convert them all at once. Some options are Doc Converter Pro (formerly Word Cleaner) and NCH Doxillion.

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It is not always possible to keep all of your Word formatting and styles during the conversion, and still have the HTML file display consistently on all browsers. You might need to use CSS to achieve this on your website.

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