Customize Proposal Styling
Customizing Your Proposals
Summary: Make your proposals stand out with custom branding, colors, fonts, and layouts that reflect your unique business identity.
Overview
Professional styling makes your proposals more memorable and reinforces brand recognition. growlio provides extensive customization options to match your proposals to your brand guidelines - from logos and colors to fonts and layouts. This guide shows you how to create visually stunning proposals that look distinctly yours.
Prerequisites
- Active growlio account with proposal access
- Administrator or Owner role for global styling
- Brand assets ready (logo, color codes, fonts)
- Started or existing proposal to customize
How to Customize Proposal Styling
Step 1: Access Proposal Settings
Navigate to your organization settings by clicking your organization name, then Settings. Find the "Proposals" or "Document Styling" section in the sidebar.
Tip: Global styling changes apply to all future proposals. Individual proposal customization only affects that specific document.
Step 2: Upload Your Logo
In the branding section, click "Upload Logo" and select your company logo file. Use PNG format with transparent background for best results.
Step 3: Set Brand Colors
Enter your primary and secondary brand colors using hex codes or the color picker. These colors appear in headers, buttons, accents, and highlights throughout proposals.
Tip: Use your official brand guideline colors for consistency across all marketing materials.
Step 4: Choose Typography
Select fonts for headings and body text from available options. Choose professional, readable fonts that match your brand personality.
Step 5: Configure Header Layout
Customize the proposal header layout: logo position (left, center, right), company information display, and header background color or image.
Step 6: Customize Cover Page
Design your proposal cover page: add a hero image, adjust title positioning, include tagline or description, and set background styling.
Tip: A strong cover page sets the tone. Use high-quality imagery that represents your work or industry.
Step 7: Style Service Sections
Configure how services and pricing display: table layout, card style, or list format. Choose colors for service headers and pricing highlights.
Step 8: Customize Footer
Design proposal footer: add contact information, social media links, website URL, and any disclaimers. Set footer background and text colors.
Step 9: Configure Button Styling
Customize call-to-action buttons (Accept Proposal, View Services, Contact Us): set colors, text, size, and positioning to match your brand.
Tip: Make acceptance buttons prominent with contrasting colors to increase conversion rates.
Step 10: Preview Styling Changes
Use the preview function to see how your customizations look in a real proposal. Test on different screen sizes to ensure readability.
Step 11: Save Style Template
Save your styling configuration as a template for reuse. Name it descriptively (e.g., "Standard Brand Template") for easy selection when creating proposals.
Step 12: Apply to Individual Proposal
When creating or editing a proposal, select your saved style template from the styling options, or customize that specific proposal independently.
Tips & Best Practices
- Maintain consistent branding across all proposals
- Use professional, high-resolution logo images
- Choose readable fonts even on mobile devices
- Keep color schemes simple (2-3 colors maximum)
- Test proposals on different devices before sending
- Create multiple templates for different service types
- Update styling seasonally or for special campaigns
- Ensure sufficient contrast between text and backgrounds
- Use white space effectively to avoid cluttered appearance
- Include social proof elements (testimonials, logos) in styling
- Save variations of templates for different audiences
- Get feedback on styling from colleagues before finalizing
Troubleshooting
Issue: Logo appears blurry or pixelated
Solution: Upload a higher resolution logo (minimum 400x400 pixels). Use PNG format for better quality. Vector logos work best but may need conversion to high-res PNG.
Issue: Colors don't match brand guidelines exactly
Solution: Enter exact hex codes from your brand guidelines rather than using the color picker. Test hex codes in a graphics program first if unsure.
Issue: Can't access styling settings
Solution: Only Administrators and Owners can modify global proposal styling. Member-level users can only customize individual proposals. Request elevated permissions or ask an admin to make changes.
Issue: Changes don't appear in existing proposals
Solution: Styling changes apply to new proposals by default. Open existing proposals and reapply the updated template to refresh their styling.
Issue: Fonts not displaying correctly
Solution: Stick to web-safe fonts or those provided by growlio. Custom font uploads may not be supported. If a font doesn't display, it falls back to a default system font.