Installing office

nerys20 wrote:

So can I put an older microsoft office on my laptop? I have a 2015 model

No but you can put a newer macOS on it and then install Office. A 2015 MacBook Pro or MacBook Air can be updated as far as Montery macOS 12.X but not beyond that. See: How to download macOS - Apple Support

As VikingOSX noted above, you can install a current version of Office if you have Ventura, Monterey, or Big Sur.

Be aware that if you upgrade to Catalina 10.15 or later you will also need to update any non-Apple 32-bit apps. See: https://www.macworld.com/article/232735/how-to-check-if-mac-software-is-32-or-64-bit.html

You can only install the currently supported Microsoft 365 or Office 2019/2021 Suites on Microsoft supported operating systems which is the current operating system and two previous, or Ventura, Monterey, and Big Sur.

If you are attempting to [re]install Office on older operating systems than mentioned above, Microsoft has retired the older office suites,and disabled their activation servers. You will be blocked from installing older or newer suites.

Consider the free LIbreOffice Suite or the paid (free trial) of Softmaker's Office 2021 for Mac, either of which will handle your existing Microsoft documents.

Can your laptop operating system be updated? What model (MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro), what model year, and what OS version is currently installed? All 3 of those are available at Apple menu > About This Mac.

As I stated, Office 2008, 2011, and 2016 are all retired and unsupported by Microsoft. All of their license servers are disabled and you could only install a licensed version of these retired Office suites to the same Mac from its same Time Machine backup. Failing that, Microsoft will block any installation on any version of macOS older than Big Sur, regardless of the age of the Mac hardware, and that would especially apply to El Capitan.

Current versions of the third-party applications that I mentioned are not supported on El Capitan.