Microsoft Word for the web: The Designer in Word feature will retire

We just received word (pun sort of intended) that the Designer in Word (for the web-based version) will be retired on March 31, 2025. This is a heads-up that if you use this particular feature, it won’t be available after that date. Following is the notice from Microsoft, as well as their recommendation on what to use instead…

We will retire the Designer in Word feature from Microsoft Word for the web on March 31, 2025. Instead, we recommend using the customizable templates in Microsoft Create, where we will continue to invest our development resources.

How this will affect your organization:

You are receiving this message because our reporting indicates your organization may be using this feature.

Users will no longer be able to use the “fix formatting issues” feature from Designer in Word for the web after March 31, 2025. Users don’t need to take any explicit action before the retirement, such as saving their documents that used the Design in Word feature.

What you need to do to prepare:

This change will happen automatically by the specified date. No admin action is required. Please notify your users about this change, update relevant documentation, and share Microsoft Create where users can find polished templates.

I wasn’t aware of Microsoft Create, but it looks like a great resource for templates…