Word footer layout breaks when viewing in Sharepoint

When I create footers for documents, I often use a borderless table and place any logos in line with text in a separate cell, instead of floating. That's more stable in more versions of Word.

Word for the web does not support all layout and formatting features that are available in the desktop app. Complex footer constructions (positioned images, logos, and page numbers aligned to opposite sides) may render differently in the browser, even though they look correct in the desktop client and after export.

In Word for the web:

• Page layout is preserved but cannot be edited.
• Columns, margins, and other advanced layout features are preserved but not fully controllable.
• Some layout elements may shift or overlap when rendered in the browser compared to the desktop app.

Because of these limitations, there is no guaranteed way to make every desktop layout behave identically in SharePoint/Word for the web. To reduce issues in this specific footer scenario:

1. Simplify the footer layout so it uses basic alignment rather than precise positioning.
2. Avoid overlapping or near-overlapping objects (for example, floating logos close to page numbers).
3. Test the template in Word for the web after each change to see how the browser renderer behaves.
4. Where pixel-perfect layout is required, instruct users to open the document in the desktop app for viewing/printing.

These steps work around the rendering differences; the underlying limitation is in the web app’s layout engine, not in the document itself.

References:

• Differences between using a document in the browser and in Word
• Office documents are not rendering as expected