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Introduction to SharePoint and

OneDrive in Microsoft 365
Article • 02/21/2023

SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365 are cloud-based services that help
organizations share and manage content, knowledge, and applications to:

Empower teamwork
Quickly find information
Seamlessly collaborate across the organization

The resources on this page are designed to get you started. Depending on the needs of
your organization, you may want to read about migration and governance options
before you start rolling SharePoint and OneDrive out to your users.

If you're ready to get started with SharePoint and OneDrive, read Plan for SharePoint
and OneDrive in Microsoft 365 and follow the planning and rollout articles that are
listed in that article.

If you're just starting out with SharePoint and OneDrive, learn about the FastTrack
onboarding and adoption services , find a SharePoint certified partner , or visit the
SharePoint community .

Once you're using SharePoint and OneDrive, get the OneDrive sync app and the
mobile app .

Migration
If you have files that you need to move to SharePoint and OneDrive, the resources in
this section can help you get started.

If you're looking for this information: Go to this resource:

Learn how to include migration as part of your plan to roll Migration planning for SharePoint
out SharePoint and OneDrive and OneDrive rollout

How to migrate content from file shares or other cloud Migrate your content to Microsoft
providers using Migration Manager 365

How to migrate SharePoint Server sites and content Overview of the SharePoint
Migration Tool (SPMT)
Governance
If your organization has legal or other requirements that govern the handling of data, or
if you have sensitive or confidential information that you want to protect, these
references can help you configure SharePoint for your governance standards and
policies.

If you're looking for this information: Go to this resource:

How to plan your compliance requirements for SharePoint Plan compliance requirements for
and OneDrive SharePoint and OneDrive

How to ensure that you retain files for a specified period Overview of retention policies
of time, or delete them on a specified schedule
OneDrive retention and deletion

How to classify documents based on the sensitivity of the Overview of sensitivity labels
information
Enable sensitivity labels for Office
files in SharePoint and OneDrive

How to prevent the loss or exfiltration of important data Learn data loss prevention
in documents emails

Search for in-place items such as email, documents, and Content Search in Microsoft 365
instant messaging conversations

If you use OneDrive in your organization and you want to protect important files by
saving them to the cloud, govern how much storage space users get, or govern how
users sync file, these references will help you configure your policies.

If you're looking for this Go to this resource:

information:

Protect important files on users' Redirect and move Windows known folders to OneDrive and
desktops or in their Documents Redirect and move macOS Desktop and Documents folders to
folder OneDrive

Control how users sync files to Use Group Policy to control OneDrive sync settings and Deploy
their devices and configure the OneDrive sync app for Mac

Configure the amount of Set the default storage space for OneDrive users
storage space users have in
OneDrive

Microsoft Teams
SharePoint is deeply integrated into Teams. Files that are stored in Teams are stored in
SharePoint sites. When you administer SharePoint sites in the SharePoint admin center,
you may find that many of them are connected to teams. Use these resources to
understand how SharePoint and Teams are integrated.

If you're looking for this information: Go to this resource:

Learn about how Teams and SharePoint work Overview of Teams and SharePoint
together integration

Learn how to manage settings and permissions when Manage settings and permissions when
Teams and SharePoint are integrated together SharePoint and Teams are integrated

Collaboration
SharePoint and OneDrive provide a rich collaboration environment where people inside
and outside your organization can work together, coauthoring documents. Microsoft
365 provides a variety of options to help you create a secure and productive file
collaboration environment that meets the needs of your organization. Use these
resources to get started.

If you're looking for this information: Go to this resource:

Learn about secure collaboration in Microsoft 365 Set up secure collaboration

with Microsoft 365

Learn about file collaboration and how to plan your Intro to file collaboration in
implementation Microsoft 365

File collaboration in
SharePoint with Microsoft 365

Learn about collaborating with people outside your organization External sharing overview

Collaborate with guests

Use the security and compliance features in Microsoft 365 to Create a secure guest sharing
help secure your guest sharing environment environment

Modern intranet
SharePoint provides a rich set of tools to help you create and maintain your
organization's intranet. Use these resources to get started.
 If you're looking for this information: Go to this resource:

Learn about the different types of SharePoint sites Plan your SharePoint site

Select whether to allow users to create their own sites Manage site creation

Learn how to plan an intelligent intranet for your Plan an intelligent SharePoint
organization intranet

Planning your SharePoint hub sites

Training
Administrators are often called upon to teach others in the organization how to use new
technologies. Use these resources to help your users be successful with SharePoint and
OneDrive.

If you're looking for this information: Go to this resource:

Get a list of training resources for your users Training and change management for
rolling out SharePoint and OneDrive

Set up a customizable training portal with Microsoft Microsoft 365 learning pathways
training content for your organization

Show your users the basics of SharePoint SharePoint help & learning

Show your users the basics of OneDrive OneDrive help & learning

Customization
SharePoint provides a wide range of options for customization. We recommend using
the out-of-box features and functionality as much as possible to meet your
organization's needs. If you do need to customize SharePoint, see these references.

If you're looking for this information: Go to this resource:

Understand how to customize SharePoint using modern tools and Customizing

techniques SharePoint

Build SharePoint Framework solutions, apps, add-ins, and solutions SharePoint

development

Related topics
SharePoint Limits

Getting started with the SharePoint Online Management Shell

Microsoft Partner Center

Tips and tricks for navigating Microsoft 365 technical documentation

Intro to file collaboration in Microsoft
365, powered by SharePoint
Article • 02/21/2023

Are you getting the most out of file collaboration in Microsoft 365, or are your users still
storing files locally or on network file shares and sending them around in email? Maybe
you're paying for another cloud storage service and not taking advantage of the space
you get with your Microsoft 365 subscription. This article describes the benefits and key
features of file collaboration in Microsoft 365. It also covers the steps to plan for and
adopt Microsoft 365 file collaboration in your organization.

The file collaboration capabilities in Microsoft 365 are available to you whatever the size
of your organization. If you have a small organization, each user can store their files in
their individual library in OneDrive and you might want only a single team in Microsoft
Teams for everyone in the organization.

Why use Microsoft 365 cloud file storage?

By taking full advantage of SharePoint-powered file storage in Microsoft 365, you can
avoid purchasing cloud storage from other providers and enjoy:

Anywhere access to files

Enterprise-grade security

Secure sharing outside the organization

Real-time collaboration and file versioning

Intelligence that helps users discover files

Anywhere access
When users keep files on their local device or on a network share, they're out of luck
when they don't have the device with them or don't have a connection to your network.
If something happens to a user's device, the data might not be recoverable. If a user's
device is upgraded, local data must be migrated. By storing files in the cloud, users can
access them from all their devices, such as their phone and their home computer
(depending on what you allow). They can even access files in a browser from other
devices they trust. For example, if two colleagues travel to a customer site and one of
their two laptops runs out of battery, they can both access all their files by signing in to
portal.office.com on the other laptop. Get the SharePoint mobile app .

７ Note

If you're concerned about users signing in from kiosks or other shared, unmanaged
devices, you might want to enable idle session sign-out.

Enterprise-grade security
Files stored in SharePoint-powered storage locations in Microsoft 365 are encrypted in
transit and in rest. (You can encrypt files by using your own key if you want.) Files are
also scanned for viruses. As an admin, you can use tools in Microsoft 365 to further
secure and monitor files in the Microsoft cloud:

Microsoft Purview Data loss prevention policies. Warn or prevent users from
sharing files that have specific labels outside the organization. See Learn about
data loss prevention
 Retention labels. Classify files to be retained, permanently deleted, or marked as a
record. See Overview of retention labels

Sensitivity labels. Classify and protect highly confidential files with encryption and
permissions. See Learn about sensitivity labels

Reports. Monitor activity and usage in SharePoint and OneDrive. See Which
activity reports are available in the admin center

Microsoft 365 Advanced Threat Protection (ATP). Protect against sharing

malicious files. More info

Files Restore. If a location is affected by malicious software, or someone deletes

important files, you can restore a document library to an earlier point in time.

Plan for these features

Secure sharing outside the organization

SharePoint powers secure file sharing in Microsoft 365. You can specify if you want
people outside the organization to be able to access files without authenticating (by
signing in or providing a verification code). You can even block external sharing
altogether. We recommend using the most permissive sharing option that you can for
each set of content. If you heavily restrict sharing and it blocks user productivity, users
will typically find other ways to collaborate that provide you less oversight and control.
For more info, see Control sharing.
Real-time collaboration and version management
When users store Office files in the Microsoft 365 cloud, they can avoid the hassle of
managing changes in different copies of files. Instead, they can collaborate on a single
version by using either the desktop apps or the web versions of Office. People don't
even need to have the Office desktop apps installed to edit Office files. Learn more
about document collaboration and coauthoring . When multiple users edit an Office
file at the same time, a notification will show them that other people are working in the
file and they can see where in the file others are working.

Version history is also on by default, so users can view earlier changes and roll back as
necessary. Learn more about working with version history .
Intelligence that helps users discover files
When users in the organization regularly store files in the Microsoft 365 cloud, they can
quickly find recent files and other files that might be of interest. For example, they can
discover files that coworkers or frequent collaborators are working on. More info

Key features
Most of the file collaboration features in Microsoft 365 are available to you regardless of
your subscription type or the size of your organization.

Migration tools

Modern attachments

A hub for teamwork: Microsoft Teams

Access to all files in OneDrive

Syncing for offline access

Integration with Microsoft Office

 Private and shared channels in Teams

Auditing and reporting

Hybrid

Multi-geo

A hub for teamwork: Microsoft Teams

In the past, users would have to frequently switch between tools to collaborate. For
example, users would write a document in Word. Then they would switch to Outlook to
share the document as an attachment. Or they would open a browser to upload the
document to a SharePoint site. In Microsoft 365, users can use Teams to chat, make calls,
and have online meetings. They don't have to leave Teams to view or even edit the files
they share. Learn more .

７ Note

When a user attaches a file to a chat, it's automatically uploaded to the user's
individual library in OneDrive. When a user attaches a file to a Teams channel, it's
automatically uploaded to the library for that team. Files shared with Yammer
groups are now also saved in SharePoint.

Access to all files in OneDrive

When your users use OneDrive, they can access their SharePoint or Microsoft Teams files
on the web or in the mobile app without leaving OneDrive. Learn more

Because individual libraries in OneDrive are powered by SharePoint, users can easily
move files between locations. For example, if a user drafts a file in their individual library
in OneDrive, and later wants a team to own the file, the user can simply move the file to
the team's library.
Sync for offline access
With the OneDrive sync app , users can sync files between their computer and the
Microsoft 365 cloud. When users add, change, or delete a file or folder locally, the file or
folder is added, changed, or deleted in the cloud and vice versa. Users can work with
synced files directly in File Explorer and the apps they use. Whenever the user is online,
any changes that they or other users make will sync automatically. With Files On-
Demand (available with Windows 10 and Mac), users can easily browse and organize
files in OneDrive and SharePoint by using File Explorer or Finder, but the files don't take
up space on the local computer. Learn more about Files On-Demand .

Modern attachments in Outlook

If your users are used to sharing files as attachments in Outlook, they can use the same
steps they're familiar with to share a link to a file instead of emailing a copy. Within
Outlook, users can even change the permission they give to the recipient. Learn more
about attaching files .

Integrate with Microsoft Office

In the Office apps, users can easily open files saved in the Microsoft cloud and save
documents to OneDrive . Learn more . When users comment on an Office document
and use the @ sign with someone's name, the person mentioned receives mail with a
link to the comment. Clicking the link brings them into the document and into the
conversation.

Private and shared channels in Teams

Teams has workspaces for chat and file collaboration called channels. While standard
channels include everyone in the team, private channels allow you to collaborate with a
subset of team members and shared channels allow you to collaborate with people
outside the team. All channel types allow you to collaborate with people outside your
organization. Each private and shared channel has its own SharePoint site for file storage
and collaboration.

Migration tools
You can choose one or more of the following options, depending on the number and
location of files that you want to migrate.

Migration Manager. Copy file shares or content from other cloud providers to
Microsoft 365. Learn more about migrating content to Microsoft 365.

SharePoint Migration Tool. To migrate SharePoint Server sites and content, you
can use the SharePoint Migration Tool. For info, see Overview of the SharePoint
Migration Tool.

Known Folder Move. If your users save most of their files to their Desktop,
Documents, and Pictures folders, you can seamlessly move them to OneDrive
using Known Folder Move so users can continue working in the locations they're
used to.
 FastTrack migration benefit. FastTrack provides you with a set of best practices,
tools, resources, and experts. Guidance includes migrating content from file shares,
Box, or Google Drive source environments, and introducing capabilities at the pace
that works for you. The FastTrack data migration benefit will also perform specific
data migration activities on your behalf if you have 500 or more licenses. See more
details in the FastTrack Center Benefit Overview. To get started, go to
FastTrack.Microsoft.Com , review resources, and submit a request for assistance.

Hybrid
If your organization uses SharePoint Server, setting up a hybrid environment can help
you move to the cloud at your own pace. Hybrid features let you tie the two
environments together in a variety of ways to make a more seamless user experience.
You can consolidate search results between SharePoint Server and Microsoft 365,
consolidate user profiles in Microsoft 365, and migrate your users' individual storage to
OneDrive. Get started exploring hybrid.

Auditing and reporting

In the SharePoint admin center , you can see SharePoint activity and usage reports,
and go to the Microsoft 365 admin center for details.

Multi-geo
If you're a multinational organization with data residency requirements, you can use
Multi-Geo in Microsoft 365 to specify where files are stored. For info, see Multi-Geo
Capabilities in OneDrive and SharePoint in Microsoft 365.

Unified search
Microsoft Search helps users find files within modern SharePoint sites and from the
SharePoint start page, Office.com, Bing, and more. Learn more about the modern search
experience in SharePoint .

Management options
As a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator for your organization, you have a
couple of options for managing SharePoint sites and settings:

SharePoint admin center. In the SharePoint admin center, you can create and
delete sites, manage site settings, and manage organization-level settings for
SharePoint and OneDrive. The Active sites page of the SharePoint admin center
lets you view the SharePoint sites in your organization, including communication
sites, Teams private and shared channel sites, and sites that belong to Microsoft
365 Groups. It also lets you sort and filter sites, search for a site, and create new
sites. Get started with the SharePoint admin center.

Microsoft PowerShell. The SharePoint Online Management Shell is a PowerShell

module that lets you run command-line operations. It makes performing batch
operations more efficient, and is the only way to perform some management tasks
in SharePoint and OneDrive. Get started with the SharePoint Online Management
Shell.

Prerequisites
Purchase and assign licenses. SharePoint comes with Microsoft 365 plans and Office
365 plans. It also comes as a standalone plan. For more info about the features available
in each plan, see the SharePoint service description. Some security features, such as
Azure Information Protection, require an E3 or E5 plan. Cloud App Security, Advanced
Threat Protection, Customer Lockbox, Customer Key, eDiscovery (Premium). For info, see
Office 365 platform service description.

Assign the SharePoint Administrator role. Users assigned this role will have access to
the SharePoint admin center and can change organization-level SharePoint and
OneDrive settings, create and delete sites, and change site owners and other site
settings. Learn more about the SharePoint Administrator role.

Estimate and test your network bandwidth. Before you roll out Microsoft 365 in your
organization, make sure that your network is set up for optimum performance. Network
planning and performance tuning. Before you deploy the sync app, make sure you also
estimate the bandwidth users will need for syncing.

Limitations
For info about SharePoint limits, see the SharePoint service description.

For info about file name, size, and type limits when using the OneDrive sync app,
see Invalid file names and file types .

Manage feature changes

To learn about features coming soon, see the Microsoft 365 Roadmap .

To keep on top of the latest SharePoint features rolling out, refer to the Message
Center.

Plan user adoption

User adoption is important to the overall success of any rollout. To maximize your
investment, you need to maximize your user engagement. To do that, start by focusing
on three critical success factors:

Stakeholders. Securing the participation and buy-in of key people within your
organization is critical to successful user adoption. This support can come from
business-focused leaders, IT leadership, or anyone else who has a vested interest in
seeing Microsoft 365 file collaboration succeed in your organization. It's important
 to have both executive or business leader support and product champions to help
carry the knowledge to their peers. Whether you're formally delegating the
product champion role or allowing it to grow organically, champions are mission-
critical to user adoption.

Scenarios. Identify and define your business scenarios and how those scenarios
align with the benefits of file collaboration in Microsoft 365. Work with your key
stakeholders to identify the goals of the business scenarios, and then match those
goals against usage scenarios. For example, a business goal may be to maximize
user productivity; a key usage scenario enabling that goal would be using
OneDrive to access files from mobile devices, PCs, and Macs. For help with this
process, see the Office 365 Productivity Library .

Awareness and training. Creating awareness through awareness campaigns such

as announcements, launch events, newsletters, town hall meetings, contests, and
giveaways is a critical path to maximizing adoption. In addition, providing users
with knowledge through classroom-style sessions and self-help guides helps them
feel empowered to use OneDrive and Office 365. For more information about user
communication and training on Office 365, see the Plan your Office 365 Launch:
Communication and Training Guide .

Many resources are available from Microsoft to help you drive user adoption within your
environment. For more information about a recommended Microsoft 365 user adoption
strategy, see the Microsoft 365 End User Adoption Guide . You can also contribute to
or comment on adoption-related ideas in the Driving Adoption Tech Community .

Configure settings
To prepare for file collaboration in Microsoft 365, configure the following settings.

Create sites
When a Microsoft 365 group is created from anywhere within Microsoft 365, a
SharePoint site is automatically created. You can let all users create groups, only some
users, or you can block group creation and manage it centrally in your IT department.
For info, see Manage who can create Office groups. You can also use a naming policy for
groups and set an expiration period so that groups that are no longer being used will be
deleted. For more info, see Plan for governance in Microsoft 365 Groups. If you allow
users to create groups, you can also allow them to create team sites from the SharePoint
start page and from OneDrive and manage default site settings. For info, see Manage
site creation.
Sharing
To set up external sharing in your organization, you need to make sure that settings
across multiple admin centers are set the way you want. Sharing with people outside
your organization is enabled by default in SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams. Collaborate
with guests in a team. Set the external sharing level and the default sharing link type.

Sharing with people outside your organization in shared channels in Teams requires
additional configuration. See Collaborate with external participants in a channel for
information.

Security
 Design and deploy retention labels and DLP policies to protect sensitive and highly
confidential files. Learn how.

Block or limit access from unmanaged devices, sign out inactive users on
unmanaged devices, or allow access from only specific IP address ranges. For info
about setting up identity and device-access policies to protect content, see Policy
recommendations for securing SharePoint sites and files.

Storage
By default, file storage for team sites is managed automatically. If you prefer to control
storage manually, see Manage site storage limits. For info about setting the default
storage space for individual libraries in OneDrive, see Set the default storage space for
OneDrive users. For information about the amount of storage that comes with your
plan, see SharePoint limits.
Specify team site libraries to sync automatically
To let users easily access team site files from File Explorer (as they might have previously
accessed network file shares), you can specify particular team site libraries to sync on
your users' computers automatically. To do this, use the OneDrive Group Policy object
"Configure team site libraries to sync automatically." Your users need to be running
Windows 10 and OneDrive Files On-Demand must be enabled.
Overview of OneDrive in Microsoft 365
Article • 02/21/2023

OneDrive is a robust but simple-to-use cloud storage platform for small businesses,
enterprises, and everything in between. Unlike other cloud storage providers, most of
the advanced enterprise-focused features in OneDrive are available for every
subscription type, enabling organizations to use OneDrive in whatever way benefits
them the most. This guide describes the features available and how they can benefit
your organization.

Key OneDrive features

The features listed in this section address common customer concerns or specific
compliance requirements, or provide unique functionality available only in OneDrive. For
a full list of features available across OneDrive plans, see Microsoft OneDrive .

OneDrive Files On-Demand

OneDrive Files On-Demand enables users to view, search for, and interact with files
stored in OneDrive from within File Explorer, without downloading all the files to their
device. The feature provides a seamless look and feel for both OneDrive and local files
without taking up space on the local hard drive. As shown in the following screenshot,
files that have not been downloaded have a cloud icon for their status. For those files
that have been downloaded, the status shows a green checkmark.

By default, files are downloaded only when you need to access them. However, if you
plan to access a file while disconnected from the internet, simply make the file available
offline by right-clicking it, and then selecting Always keep on this device. Alternatively,
if you want to free space on your device and remove the downloaded copy of a file,
right-click the file, and then select Free up space. The following screenshot shows the
right-click menu for OneDrive files on a device running Windows.

For more information about OneDrive Files On-Demand, see Learn about OneDrive Files
On-Demand .

Modern attachments
OneDrive integrates with Microsoft Outlook to enable easy sharing of OneDrive files
that appear just like email attachments. This feature provides a familiar sharing
experience but centralizes storage of attachments in OneDrive. This allows your users to
all collaborate on the same file instead of sending different versions back and forth in
email. In addition, you can configure sharing permissions on the files directly from
within Outlook.
To reduce the potential for confusion when users choose to add a copy versus a link to
attached OneDrive files, you can set the default behavior of Outlook, as demonstrated in
How to control default attachment state when you attach a cloud file in Outlook 2016 .

Files Restore
The OneDrive Files Restore feature lets users restore files to any point over the past 30
days. To select the desired recovery time, OneDrive presents you with a histogram that
shows file activity so that you can determine which recovered time meets your needs.
From there, simply select the file history entry to which you want to restore, and all
changes after that point will be rolled back.
In addition, because the histogram shows individual activity on a file, users can use this
feature to quickly view their files' modification history. For more information about this
feature, see Restore your OneDrive .

Recycle bin
OneDrive has a recycle bin similar to the one available in Windows. Deleted files are
moved to the recycle bin and kept for a designated time before being permanently
deleted. For work or school accounts, deleted files are purged after 93 days unless
configured otherwise. For a demonstration of how the recycle bin works, see Restore
deleted files or folders in OneDrive .

Known Folder Move

Known Folder Move enables Windows and Mac users to select commonly used folders,
such as their desktop and documents to automatically synchronize to OneDrive. You can
add this feature during the initial setup of OneDrive or after it has been configured. This
capability provides a simple migration option for users looking to add known folders to
their existing list of synchronized folders. For more information about Known Folder
Move, see Redirect and move Windows known folders to OneDrive and Redirect and
move macOS Desktop and Documents folders to OneDrive.
Syncing files
Users can upload, download, and interact with OneDrive files from a web browser, but
the ideal OneDrive experience comes from the Windows and Mac sync apps and the iOS
and Android mobile apps. With these clients and apps, saving files to OneDrive and
interacting with them is much easier than visiting a website each time you need
something. Through this experience, you can seamlessly integrate OneDrive into your
existing file interaction experiences.

For information about planning and deploying the sync app for your organization, see
Plan file sync for SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365.

Manage OneDrive
Many organizations use OneDrive without changing any of the options. To change these
settings, use the SharePoint admin center.

Sharing. Go to Sharing to set sharing settings at the organization level. To learn

more, see Manage sharing settings.

Sync. Go to Settings and select Sync. You can require that synced computers be
joined to your domain or block uploads based on file type.

Storage limit. Go to Settings and select Storage limit. Set the default storage
space for all new and existing users who are licensed for a qualifying plan and for
whom you haven't set specific storage limits.

Retention. Go to Settings and select Retention. Configure how long to keep

data for users whose accounts have been deleted (the default is 30 days).

Access control. Go to Access control to control access from unmanaged devices

or based on network location.

Compliance. View the compliance and risk management solutions available in

Microsoft 365

Notifications. Go to Settings and select Notifications. For information about this

setting, see Control notifications.

Get help with OneDrive

If you need help with OneDrive, you have many ways to find solutions to common issues
or request help:
Tech community. Find helpful information from other customers in the community
by reviewing the discussions in the OneDrive Tech Community and the Microsoft
OneDrive Blog .

Support documentation. For a list of recent issues in OneDrive and how to resolve
or work around them, see Fixes or workarounds for recent issues in OneDrive .
For getting started info, see Get started with OneDrive , Employee file storage
(video training) and Why use OneDrive to store your docs .

Microsoft Support. If you need help from Microsoft to troubleshoot an issue or

configure or deploy OneDrive, see Contact Microsoft .
Microsoft OneDrive customer office
hours
Article • 02/21/2023

The OneDrive product and engineering team now offers monthly customer office hours
for commercial and education customers and partners. You can join this one-hour Teams
meeting to ask us questions, share your feedback, and learn more about the features
we're building for the future. You can sign up here: Sign up for OneDrive Customer
Office Hours .

OneDrive customer office hours

When: Third Wednesday of each month, 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. PST

Where: Teams meeting

How to sign up: Complete this short form to have an invite sent to you: Sign up for
OneDrive Customer Office Hours .

Agenda: The typical agenda for the meeting looks like this:

Roadmap: We'll discuss and demo upcoming features on the public roadmap (5-
10 mins)

Feedback: We'll present a topic and ask for your feedback usually via a single-
question poll in Teams (2-5 mins)

Q&A: we'll answer OneDrive questions and field your questions and suggestions.
(~45 mins)

OneDrive customer office hours is not a support tool

While you can ask how to questions, raise issues and report bugs, the office hours is not
an official support tool. To open support tickets, go to see Get support for Microsoft
365, or contact your internal support team or contact support at (800) 865-9408.
Support for educators and education customers is available
at https://aka.ms/edusupport .

You may opt out of OneDrive customer office hours at anytime

You can opt out of the meeting invitation list. This will ensure that you no longer get
office hours meeting invitations, though any information submitted prior to leaving,
such as messages in meeting chat, will persist. To opt out of office hours and receiving
invitations send an email to us at [email protected].

A note on privacy

OneDrive customer office hours are Microsoft Teams meetings. All meeting participants
including Microsoft employees will be able to see each other's name and work email
address while in the office hours meeting and in the meeting chat.
Guide to the modern experience in
SharePoint
Article • 02/21/2023

The modern experience in Microsoft SharePoint is designed to be compelling, flexible,

and more performant. The modern experience makes it easier for anyone to create
beautiful, dynamic sites and pages that are mobile-ready. But what are the differences
between the classic and modern experiences, and how do you go about creating a
modern experience for your organization? This guide is a starting point for people
familiar with the classic experiences in SharePoint to help you learn about the modern
experience and how you can begin to take advantage of it.

Information architecture and hub sites

Classic SharePoint architecture is typically built using a hierarchical system of site
collections and subsites, with inherited navigation, permissions, and site designs. Once
built, this structure can be inflexible and difficult to maintain. In the modern SharePoint
experience, every site is a site collection and can be associated to a hub, which is a flat
collection of sites that share navigation, branding, and other elements. This type of
structure is far more flexible and adaptive to the changing needs of your organization.
Learn about how to plan for Hub sites.

Navigation
The most effective SharePoint sites (and web sites in general) help visitors find what they
need quickly so that they can use the information they find to make decisions, learn
about what is going on, access the tools they need, or engage with colleagues to help
solve a problem. The fundamental principles and good practices for site and page
navigation are equally applicable to both classic and modern SharePoint architectures.
However, your options for implementing navigation differ based on the framework for
your sites and intranet. For example, the "inherited" navigation experiences available in
classic SharePoint site hierarchies (sites with subsites) are not available in the modern
experience, but hubs provide a great way to achieve the cross-site navigation features
previously available in managed navigation and site hierarchies in classic SharePoint.

No matter which framework you are using, you can use the guidance in Plan navigation
in the modern experience to help make good decisions for navigation.
Branding
In the classic SharePoint experience, there is a set of default themes and site designs
that can require a considerable amount of customization to get them to match your
organization's brand. Also, they aren't very responsive, making the experience on
different devices inconsistent. Most site branding requires the use of custom master
pages or alternate CSS configurations. SharePoint includes an updated set of default site
themes and site designs (or templates) that are responsive and look great on any device.
With site themes, you can customize your site's logo and colors to match your brand.
You can also align the mobile SharePoint app for your users to match your company
branding. Site designs provide specific layouts and other functionality for your site.
Additional branding can be achieved using custom themes or site designs without
worrying about something breaking when SharePoint is updated. To learn more about
modern branding options, see Branding SharePoint sites in the modern experience.

Publishing
If you've implemented publishing sites or publishing-enabled sites in your organization,
you know how important it is to create attractive and performant pages to distribute
communication to a large number of people. In the modern experience, communication
sites make it easy to create beautiful, dynamic, and performant sites and pages that are
mobile-ready. There are differences from classic publishing, though, and things you'll
want to think about planning your move to the modern experience. For more info, see
Moving from Publishing sites to Communication sites.

Search
Search is an important part of any site – you want people to be able to find what they
are looking for quickly and easily. SharePoint has both a classic and a modern search
experience. Microsoft Search in SharePoint is the modern experience. The most visible
difference is that the Microsoft Search box is placed at the top of SharePoint, in the
header bar. Another difference is that Microsoft Search is personal and contextual. The
results you see are different from what other people see, even when you search for the
same words. You will also see different results based on where you are when you search.
For example, searching at the root of your tenant looks across all of SharePoint.
Searching from a hub finds content in all sites associated to the hub. Searching from an
individual site finds content on that site. Searching from a list or library finds content in
the list or library. You will also see results before you start typing in the search box,
based on your previous activity and trending content in Microsoft 365, and the results
update as you type. To learn more about the Microsoft Search experience for users, see
Find what you need with Microsoft Search . There are other differences, especially
around customization. To decide which experience your organization should use, see
When to use which search experience.

Sharing and permissions

SharePoint continues to provide both SharePoint groups and security groups
maintained by Azure Active Directory. Microsoft 365 also provides a third grouping
option for SharePoint, Microsoft 365 groups . Microsoft 365 groups are similar to
security groups, although Microsoft 365 groups include many additional benefits.
Microsoft 365 groups are provided a group email address and additional tools such as a
group calendar, notebook, Planner, and a SharePoint Team site. Users assigned to a
Microsoft 365 group may also be classified as either a group owner or a group member,
in comparison to security groups where all group members have equal access under the
group. To learn about the differences, benefits, and best practices for permissions and
sharing in the modern experience, see Sharing and permissions in the SharePoint
modern experience.

Performance
The modern experience in SharePoint is designed to be compelling, flexible and –
importantly - more performant. Both SharePoint performance as a whole and the
performance of individual SharePoint components such as search, lists, and document
libraries are affected by many factors, all of which contribute to the decisive
performance metric: perceived end-user latency, or the speed with which pages are
rendered in the client browser. For more info, see Performance in the modern
SharePoint experience.

Multilingual
Classic SharePoint publishing sites can use a feature called variations to create a site
that supports multiple languages. Modern communication sites leverage a multilingual
experience to make content in your intranet sites available in multiple languages. User
interface elements like site navigation, site title, and site description can be shown in the
user's preferred language. Additionally, you can provide pages and news posts on
communication sites that you translate and that are shown in the user's preferred
language. One of the most important differences in the modern experience is that,
unlike the variations feature, which creates a separate subsite for each language, the
modern multilingual experience creates a corresponding page in the same site, but in a
language-specific folder in the Site Pages library. To learn more, see Create modern
multilingual communication sites, pages, and news .
Branding your SharePoint site
Article • 02/21/2023

In the modern SharePoint experience, you can easily change the look and feel of your
site to match your company or organizational brand. You can customize the logo, colors,
and navigation – often without writing a single line of code. Branding can be applied at
the site level, to a group of sites, or to all sites within your organization.

７ Note

Branding your SharePoint site will not change the overall look of your Microsoft
365 service. For more info about branding Microsoft 365, see Customize the
Microsoft 365 theme for your organization.

Site branding in the classic experience

In the classic SharePoint experience, there is a set of default themes that can require a
considerable amount of customization to get them to match your organization's brand.
Also, they aren't very responsive, making the experience on different devices
inconsistent. Most site branding requires the use of custom master pages or alternate
CSS configurations. Master pages provide a great deal of flexibility, but they can be
problematic. For example, anytime updates are made to SharePoint, any customizations
made to the master page may no longer work or may not work the way you expect
them to. SharePoint ignores these customizations unless you're running in classic
experience mode because they're incompatible with the modern user interface. To avoid
this, use only the recommended modern approaches to brand your SharePoint sites.

Modern site branding

SharePoint includes an updated set of default site themes that are responsive and look
great on any device. With site themes, you can customize your site's logo and colors to
match your brand. Site templates provide specific layouts and other functionality for
your site. Additional branding can be achieved using custom themes or site templates
without worrying about something breaking when SharePoint is updated. Custom
themes let you create additional color schemes beyond the defaults. Custom site
templates let you control the site theme and other customizations like the site
navigation, default applications, and other settings. Custom themes or site templates
can be applied to a new site when it's created or applied to an existing site or group of
sites.

Branding hub sites

When you brand a SharePoint hub site , you can set it so the site branding is applied
to any sites that associate with it . This includes any site theme or site template used
by the hub site. This allows you to apply common navigation and branding across a set
of sites and use accent colors to emphasize elements that need to stand out.

７ Note

Custom themes and logos in SharePoint will not automatically apply to group-
connected team sites that are associated to a hub that has a custom theme applied.
For group-connected team sites, you need to manually apply the custom theme or
logo.

Classic experience vs. modern experience

Below is a summary of the differences between branding a site in the classic experience
vs. branding in the modern SharePoint experience.
 Classic experience Modern experience

Unresponsive, OOB themes that you Responsive themes that look great on any device and can
can customize be customized to match your brand

Use custom master pages and CSS Use the SharePoint Framework to add headers and
that are ignored in the modern footers. Site templates and tenant settings offer some
experience custom options

Before you begin

Some things to consider before branding your classic experience sites in SharePoint are:

Do you need a consistent brand across all sites or will different divisions,
departments, or groups in your organization have their own?

You should compile a list of all current sites, what site templates they use, any
customizations that have been made to the master pages or CSS, and decide
which of these customizations you need to keep. You can run the SharePoint
"Modern" user interface experience scanner which will do a deep analysis of all
the sites in your organization and create reports that give you details about sites
that have incompatible master pages or alternate CSS settings. SharePoint handles
branding differently for classic site templates such as the publishing site. You'll
want to troubleshoot any custom theme issues you run into.

What areas do you want to customize (logo, colors, fonts, header/footer,

navigation)?

Who in your organization can brand a site? You will need to make sure that they
have site designer permissions or above to make these changes.

Ready to brand your classic SharePoint site

using the modern experience?
Check out the below resources that provide more details about how to use the modern
SharePoint experience to brand your site.

Branding SharePoint: The New Normal

Change the look of your SharePoint site

SharePoint site theming

Modernize site branding

Modernize your classic SharePoint sites

JSON schema

Theme generator
SharePoint governance overview
Article • 02/21/2023

Governance is the set of policies, roles, responsibilities, and processes that control how
your organization's business divisions and IT teams work together to achieve its goals.
We recommend that you consider governance first as you start working with SharePoint.
Having a governance plan in place early can help your organization stay compliant with
your business processes and regulations.

Two of the primary ways SharePoint is used in an organization are intranet sites and
collaboration. See Planning intranet governance and Overview of collaboration
governance in Microsoft 365 for a look at governance in these two areas.

Resources
Use these resources to further explore governance in Microsoft SharePoint and related
services.

SharePoint
Manage site creation for SharePoint in Microsoft 365
SharePoint site designs & site script overview
Learn about retention policies
Managing sites in the new SharePoint admin center

Related services
SharePoint is tightly integrated with other Microsoft 365 services, including Microsoft
365 Groups, Teams, and Yammer. It's important to think about SharePoint governance in
a way that's inclusive of these other services. Microsoft 365 includes a variety of options
to enable your governance policies across SharePoint and related services, including
Teams, Planner, Stream, Outlook, Yammer and Microsoft 365 Groups.

To see how SharePoint governance capabilities overlap with other Microsoft 365
services, see:

Settings interactions between Microsoft 365 Groups and SharePoint

Settings interactions between Microsoft 365 Groups, Teams and SharePoint

For lifecycle guidance for SharePoint sites together with related Microsoft 365 services,
see:

Plan organization and lifecycle governance for Microsoft 365 groups and Microsoft
Teams

End of lifecycle options for groups, teams, and Yammer

Related topics
Manage who can create Microsoft 365 Groups

Microsoft 365 reports in the admin center – Microsoft 365 Groups

Create a secure guest sharing environment

Limit accidental exposure to files when sharing with people outside your organization
Overview of Teams and SharePoint
integration
Article • 02/21/2023

In this article, learn about how Teams and SharePoint work together.

The basic parts of Teams and SharePoint

These are the basic parts of Teams and SharePoint and how they relate to each other:

Teams - Teams is a collaboration tool where you can chat with other people about
a particular subject or task. Each team is connected to other tools that you can use
to collaborate with others.

SharePoint - SharePoint is a tool for creating web sites, publishing content, and
storing files.

SharePoint site - A SharePoint site is a web site in SharePoint where you can create
web pages and store and collaborate on files. SharePoint sites can be used
independently and are also used by Teams for file storage (these are called Teams-
connected sites). A Teams-connected site is created automatically whenever you
create a team.

Team - A team is a place in Teams where you can invite others to collaborate. Each
team is connected to one or more SharePoint sites. These sites are where the
team's files are stored.

Channel - A channel is a location in a team where you can collaborate with others
on a specific thing. A team can have multiple channels for different purposes. For
example, you might have a team for marketing with different channels for different
products or events. There are three types of channels in Teams: standard, private,
and shared.

Standard channel - A standard channel is a channel that all members of a team

have access to. Each team comes with a standard channel called "General." Team
owners and members can add additional standard channels. It always shows up
first in a team's list of channels, and it can't be deleted (every team must have at
least one channel).

Private channel - A private channel is a channel that only some of the team's
members have access to. It is used for private conversations and collaboration.
Each private channel has its own SharePoint site for file storage. Only members of
the private channel can access this site.

Shared channels - A shared channel is a channel that you can add anyone to, even
if they're not a member of the team. It is used for broader collaboration with
people outside the team. Each shared channel has its own SharePoint site for file
storage. Only members of the shared channel can access this site.

Parent site - The SharePoint site that is created when you create the team. This site
is used for file storage for all standard channels. All team owners and members
have access to this site.

Channel site - The SharePoint site that is created when you create a private or
shared channel in a team. Only owners and members of the private or shared
channel have access to this site.

Public team - A public team is a team that anyone in the organization can join.
Public teams do not require a team owner to invite someone to the team.

Private team - A private team is a team that a person can only join when invited by
a team owner. Both public teams and private teams offer the same channel types -
standard, private, and shared.

Microsoft 365 group - A Microsoft 365 group is a membership group that gives
people access to multiple Microsoft 365 services at the same time. The
membership for each team is stored in a Microsoft 365 group and that group also
gives those people access to the team's parent SharePoint site.

Azure AD - Azure AD is the directory service where Microsoft 365 user accounts
are stored. (You can manage these accounts from Microsoft 365 as well.) Microsoft
365 groups are also stored in Azure AD. Azure AD allows administrators to manage
users and groups and to apply business rules to user accounts, such as requiring
multi-factor authentication.
Each team is connected to a Microsoft 365 group in Azure AD where the team
membership is stored. The files you see on the Files tab in a team are stored in a
SharePoint site. All standard channels in a team share the same SharePoint site, but each
private channel has its own site.

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autoplay=false&postJsllMsg=true

When do Teams and SharePoint get connected?

Teams and SharePoint are connected in the following scenarios:

When you create a new team from scratch, a new SharePoint site is created and
connected to the team.
When you create a new team from an existing Microsoft 365 group, the team is
connected to the SharePoint site associated with the group.
When you add Teams to an existing SharePoint site, that site is connected to the
new team.
When you create a new private or shared channel, a new SharePoint site is created
and connected to that channel.

In Teams, the Files tab on each standard channel is connected to a folder in the parent
site's default document library. The Files tab on each private and shared channel is
connected to the default document library in the corresponding channel site. Whenever
you add or update a file on the Files tab, you are accessing the SharePoint site.

Example of a team with multiple channel types

Contoso has a team called Mark 8 Project Team. This team has several standard
channels, and one private channel called Compete Analysis.

The standard channels display as folders in the parent site. The private channel has its
own channel site that is separate from the parent site.

Teams-connected sites and channel types

Teams-connected sites are a specialized type of SharePoint site that's been optimized
for a Teams connection. These include the parent site that is created when you create
the team, and any channel sites that are created when you create a private or shared
channel.

This table describes how site, file, and folder sharing work for each type of channel in
Teams.

Channel SharePoint Site sharing File and folder sharing

type site

Standard One Team owners and members are Files and folders can be shared
SharePoint automatically included in the site with anyone in the
site is owners and members permission organization by using sharable
shared by all groups. Sharing the site separately is links. If guest sharing is
standard possible but managing access enabled, Anyone and Specific
channels. through Teams is recommended for people links can be used to
There is a easiest user management and the share with people outside the
separate best user experience. organization.
folder for
each
channel.

Private Each private Channel owners and members are Files and folders can be shared
channel has automatically included in the site with anyone in the
its own owners and members permission organization by using sharable
SharePoint groups. The site can't be shared links. If guest sharing is
site. separately. enabled, Anyone and Specific
people links can be used to
share with people outside the
organization.

Shared Each shared Team owners and members are Files and folders can be shared
channel has automatically included in the site with anyone in the
its own owners and members group. The organization and external
SharePoint site can't be shared separately. participants in the channel by
site. using sharable links. Sharing
with people outside the
organization who are not
channel members is not
supported.

Where to manage Teams and SharePoint

settings
Teams-connected sites are managed differently than the typical SharePoint site. Certain
site settings can only be managed from Teams. For channel sites, some settings are
inherited from the parent site and can't be changed. This table describes where
SharePoint settings are managed for Teams-connected sites.

Setting Parent site Channel site

Site Team permissions are synced with the Channel site permissions are inherited
permissions site. Team and site owners can add from the channel itself. Site
additional people directly to the site. permissions can't be managed in
(Managing all permissions through Teams SharePoint, but will display
is recommended.) permissions in read-only mode.

Site sharing Team and site owners can set the sharing
settings settings for files, folders, and the site. This
is a SharePoint-specific setting.

Guest Guest access expiration can be set in the

access SharePoint admin center.
expiration

Sensitivity Sensitivity labels can be applied either to Sensitivity of channel sites is inherited
the team or the parent site. The same from the parent site.
label is used for both and a change made
in either location is reflected in the other.

Site quota The site quota can be set in the The site quota can be set in the
SharePoint admin center. SharePoint admin center.

Default The default sharing link type can be set in The default sharing link type can be
sharing link the SharePoint admin center. set in the SharePoint admin center.
type

Related topics
Create a Microsoft Team from SharePoint

Teams can have standard or private channels

Overview of security and compliance

Manage teams policies in Teams

Manage team settings and permissions in Teams

Manage settings and permissions when
SharePoint and Teams are integrated
Article • 02/21/2023

In this article, learn how to manage settings and permissions when Teams and
SharePoint are integrated together. Learn more about integrations between SharePoint
and Teams, basic terminology, and structure.

How to identify and navigate between

SharePoint and Teams
Teams-connected sites include additional information to indicate the connection to
Teams. In the SharePoint site header, you will see the Teams icon following the site logo
and site title.

In the site, the Go to channel link is available in the command bar when viewing
document libraries. For the parent site, this link redirects to Teams and the general
channel for the team. For the channel sites, it links to the channel in teams.
In the parent team site, the Go to channel link will be available in the command bar
when viewing document libraries.

Additionally, from teams and channels in Microsoft Teams, you can select the ellipsis (...)
at the top-right of the channel and then Open in SharePoint to navigate to the Teams
connected team site or channel site in SharePoint.

Manage settings and permissions

When SharePoint sites and Teams are integrated, certain setting and classifications need
to be managed in the settings in Microsoft Teams . You'll notice that when you
navigate to Settings in SharePoint site, certain options are not editable, like Permissions.
Learn more about viewing and managing settings in Microsoft Teams .

Settings managed in SharePoint Settings managed in Teams

- Site name - Site permissions

- Site description - Sensitivity classification
- Hub association - Private channel membership

７ Note

Channel sites display site permissions in the SharePoint site permissions panel in
read-only mode. Site owners can access and update site sharing or guest expiration
 options in the panel, but they need to go to Microsoft Teams to manage site
permissions.

Channel site home page layout

For private and shared channel sites, you'll find a unique home page layout that is
designed to encourage and guide usage of typical SharePoint tasks. You'll find easy
access to the News web part , Documents web part , and links to documentation for
creating lists, automating tasks, and changing the look of your site.

Channel sites and hub associations

Just like typical SharePoint sites, channel sites can be associated to a SharePoint hub
sites from the parent team site. Upon associating the parent team to the hub, all
channel sites (private and shared) are also associated to the hub.

When channel sites get associated with a hub, the hub navigation gets inherited across
the parent team and channel sites. The entire team (parent team and channels) is
treated as one entity.

７ Note

Hub site association doesn't appear in the Site information panel for channel sites.
Hub site associations are managed from the parent team site.
How to maximize the benefits of SharePoint
and Teams integration
Upload and share files in Teams - Share a file in a team or channel and the file will
become accessible to everyone in the team. The file will also automatically sync to
the corresponding SharePoint site document library. Learn more about file sharing
in Teams and how to coauthor content with your team .
Pin resources from SharePoint as a tab in Teams - Add published SharePoint
pages, lists, and document libraries as individual tabs in a Teams channel. Learn
more .
Use team templates in Teams and SharePoint - Teams has team templates that
can be used to quickly create a new team and connected site that come pre-
populated with resources and folders. Learn more about how to create a new team
using a template

Learn more
Overview of SharePoint and Teams integration

Manage policies in Teams

Manage settings and permissions in Teams

Create a Microsoft Team from SharePoint

Microsoft Teams can have standard or private channels

Plan for SharePoint and OneDrive in
Microsoft 365
Article • 02/22/2023

This article and the other articles in this section include the core planning considerations
for rolling out OneDrive and SharePoint in a medium to large organization.

SharePoint is deeply integrated with Microsoft Teams. As part of your SharePoint and
OneDrive rollout, we recommend that you review Microsoft Teams deployment
overview.

As you plan your rollout, in addition to the technical planning considerations provided
here, consider these questions:

What are your high-level goals for rolling out OneDrive and SharePoint?
What are the file storage and collaboration needs of your organization?
How do you want to transition from your current tools to OneDrive and
SharePoint?
How important is migration of content as part of your rollout?
Should your administrators specialize in a particular area of OneDrive or
SharePoint or should they work from a shared queue of tasks?

After you review this article, see these articles for additional planning information:

Identify business requirements for SharePoint and OneDrive

Hybrid OneDrive and SharePoint in Microsoft 365

Plan file sync for SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365

Migration planning for SharePoint and OneDrive rollout

Create a compliant SharePoint and OneDrive environment

Plan sharing and collaboration options in SharePoint and OneDrive

Training and change management for rolling out SharePoint and OneDrive

Roll out SharePoint and OneDrive

Migrate content
An important part of rolling out SharePoint and OneDrive is migrating content from
your existing storage locations. This may include gradual migration of content over time
as you roll SharePoint and OneDrive out to different groups in your organization. You
can find complete information about migration at Migrate your content to Microsoft
365.

Migrate with FastTrack

FastTrack is a Microsoft benefit that is included in your subscription. FastTrack provides
you with a set of best practices, tools, resources, and experts committed to helping you
deploy Microsoft 365. Guidance around SharePoint and OneDrive onboarding,
migration, and adoption are included in the benefit offering. This guidance includes:
help to discover what's possible, creating a plan for success, and onboarding new users,
providing guidance on migrating content, and introducing capabilities at a flexible pace.

FastTrack guidance provides enablement of both SharePoint and OneDrive as well as

getting the source environment ready for your transition. For more details, see FastTrack
Center Benefit Overview. Interested in getting started? Visit the FastTrack web site ,
review resources, and submit a Request for Assistance.

Sites, hubs and architecture

You can let your users create and administer their own SharePoint sites, choose what
kind of sites they can create, and specify the location of the sites. By default, users can
create communication sites and Microsoft 365 group-connected team sites. You can
restrict this if you want to manage this through IT or a business process. Plan sharing
and collaboration options in SharePoint and OneDrive for more information.

SharePoint uses hub sites to help you organize sites in a hierarchy that matches your
organization or business processes. While it's not critical to plan your hub site layout as
part of your SharePoint rollout, we recommend reviewing Planning your SharePoint hub
sites to understand how hub sites work.

We recommend including planning for hub sites as part of your process for rolling out
an intelligent intranet.

Network utilization
Various factors can impact the amount of network bandwidth used by SharePoint and
OneDrive. For the best experience, we recommend that you assess this impact before
you start your rollout. The article Network utilization planning for the OneDrive sync app
includes the recommended process for determining your network bandwidth needs for
OneDrive. Be sure to include this as part of your deployment plan.

These references can also help with planning your rollout:

Networking roadmap for Microsoft 365

Office 365 URLs and IP address ranges

Use the Office 365 Content Delivery Network (CDN) with SharePoint Online

Change management
Rolling out SharePoint and OneDrive means new processes and procedures for the users
in your organization. An important part of the rollout is making sure users are trained in
the new ways of doing tasks as well as entirely new tasks that SharePoint and OneDrive
enable. See Training and change management for rolling out SharePoint and OneDrive
for considerations around change management and resources that you can share with
your users on how to work with SharePoint and OneDrive.

Customizing SharePoint
SharePoint offers many customization options, including:

Branding SharePoint sites

Navigation between sites
Custom page layouts
Custom apps
Workflows

We recommend that you review Customizing SharePoint to determine if you want to

include any of these customizations as part of your SharePoint rollout.

Next steps
Identify business requirements

Related topics
OneDrive Adoption
SharePoint Adoption
Identify business requirements for
SharePoint and OneDrive
Article • 02/21/2023

This article provides an overview of SharePoint and OneDrive capabilities that can help
you determine how to best take advantage of these services you your organization. Use
this information to help you plan your rollout and also to find new capabilities that your
current solutions might not offer.

Best practices for requirements gathering

Define user journeys and core use cases. How do people in your organization
collaborate now? Where do they store files? How do they share news and other
information? An important part of planning for SharePoint and OneDrive is
documenting how your organization does collaboration tasks today. You can then map
those tasks to new processes using SharePoint and OneDrive. These tasks can then
become test cases for your initial pilot rollout. For information about how Microsoft 365
improves productivity for different industries, see the Productivity Library .

Evaluate your migration needs. Most organizations have files and other content that
they want to move to Microsoft 365. Some of this content may be in use every day by
the people in your organization. Moving it all can take time. As you plan your rollout,
plan for how you can migrate content while keeping the people in your organization
productive. See Migration planning for SharePoint and OneDrive rollout for more
information. If you use SharePoint Server on-premises, see Hybrid OneDrive and
SharePoint in Microsoft 365. If you have paper records to import, see Introduction to
Microsoft SharePoint Syntex.

Involve legal and compliance teams early. Most organizations have legal or compliance
requirements around how they handle various kinds of data. Microsoft 365 offers many
options to help you maintain compliance in your organization. As you plan your rollout,
involve your legal or compliance team early in the process to help maintain your
compliance requirements as you transition to SharePoint and OneDrive. See Create a
compliant SharePoint and OneDrive environment for more information.

Drive agreement across stakeholders. Securing the participation and buy-in of key
people within your organization is critical to successful user adoption. This support can
come from business-focused leaders, IT leadership, or anyone else who has a vested
interest in seeing Microsoft 365 succeed in the organization. It is important to have both
executive or business leader support and product champions to help carry the
knowledge to their peers. Whether you're formally delegating the product champion
role or allowing it to grow organically, champions are mission critical to user adoption.

Core SharePoint and OneDrive use cases

Core use cases for SharePoint and OneDrive include:

File storage
File collaboration
Sites for team collaboration
Sites for news and intranet

If you're currently using other software or services to enable these use cases in your
organization, we recommend mapping each of your current use cases with the
capabilities of SharePoint and OneDrive. This will help ensure a smooth transition as you
roll SharePoint and OneDrive out and provide you with a list of process changes to
communicate with your users. (Training and change management for rolling out
SharePoint and OneDrive provides a list of resources that you can share with your users
to help them get started with SharePoint and OneDrive.)

The sections below provide an overview of these use cases with links to more in-depth
information.

File storage
The file storage options in Microsoft 365 are SharePoint and OneDrive.

Personal work files are stored in OneDrive. With OneDrive, each user has a location
where they can store their personal work files. These files are not shared with anyone by
default, but can be easily shared with others for collaboration.

Shared files are stored in SharePoint. SharePoint sites can be used to store files that will
be accessed by multiple people. People who have access to the site have access to the
files.

Microsoft Teams uses SharePoint sites to store files. When you upload a file to the
Teams Files tab, it's stored in a SharePoint site. (For more information about how Teams
and SharePoint interact, see Overview of Teams and SharePoint integration)

File collaboration
In SharePoint and OneDrive, user can use Microsoft 365 Apps (a version of Office that's
available through many Microsoft 365 plans) to create and edit documents. Other
applications can be used to create and edit other file types. These files can easily be
shared with others - including people outside your organization (if you allow it).

Share OneDrive files using sharable links. In OneDrive, a user's files are private by
default. Users can share OneDrive files with others by using sharable links which give
others access to the file. Links can be created that grant access to particular people or to
anyone in your organization. The person who shared the file can remove others' access
by editing or deleting the link.

Collaborate in a site or team. In a SharePoint site or a Microsoft Teams team, all the
members of the site or team have access to - and can easily collaborate on - the files
stored there.

Share SharePoint files using sharable links. If a user needs to share a SharePoint file
with someone outside the site or team, they can use sharable links in the same way that
they do in OneDrive.

Sync files for offline access. With the OneDrive sync app, users can sync files between
their computer and the Microsoft 365 cloud. When users add, change, or delete a file or
folder locally, the file or folder is added, changed, or deleted in the cloud and vice versa.
Users can work with synced files directly in File Explorer or Finder and the apps they use.
Whenever the user is online, any changes that they or other users make will sync
automatically.

For more details on file collaboration in SharePoint and OneDrive, see Intro to file
collaboration in Microsoft 365, powered by SharePoint and File collaboration in
SharePoint with Microsoft 365.

Intranet
One of the core capabilities of SharePoint is a wide variety of options and tools to create
intranet sites for your organization. Your intranet might include your organization's main
landing page, portals for corporate communications, and individual sites for
departments or divisions (like IT or HR).

Moving your intranet to SharePoint in Microsoft 365 might take a while, particularly if
you already have extensive intranet content. We recommend undertaking this task after
you've completed your rollout of SharePoint and OneDrive.

For details about how to create an intranet using SharePoint, see Intelligent intranet
introduction and roadmap and Plan an intelligent SharePoint intranet.
Governance and compliance
Governance and compliance are key for many organizations. As part of planning for
SharePoint and OneDrive, consider which compliance features you want to roll out
ahead of time. By having compliance features in place ahead of time, you can reduce the
risk of compliance incidents. See Create a compliant SharePoint and OneDrive
environment for details on which compliance features to consider as part of your
SharePoint and OneDrive rollout.

Keys to successful user adoption

User adoption is important to the overall success of any new application or service.
Ideally, to feel that you have maximized your investment in SharePoint and OneDrive,
you need to maximize user engagement with them.

Creating awareness through awareness campaigns such as announcements, launch

events, newsletters, town hall meetings, contests, and giveaways is a critical path to
maximizing adoption. In addition, providing users with knowledge through classroom-
style sessions and self-help guides helps them feel empowered to use OneDrive and
SharePoint.

For more information about user adoption and change management when rolling out
SharePoint and OneDrive, see Training and change management for rolling out
SharePoint and OneDrive

Next steps
Plan for hybrid OneDrive and SharePoint

Related topics
Plan for SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365
Hybrid OneDrive and SharePoint in
Microsoft 365
Article • 02/21/2023

If you use SharePoint Server on-premises, there are several options for integrating that
environment with SharePoint in Microsoft 365 to provide your users with a more
seamless environment when navigating back and forth between the two. You can
configure these options to improve your users' experience during a migration from on-
premises to the cloud, or you can use them in the long term if you plan to continue
using SharePoint Server.

If you have a SharePoint Server environment, we recommend setting up SharePoint

Server hybrid as part of your SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365 rollout. For
complete details on setting up SharePoint and OneDrive hybrid, see Hybrid for
SharePoint Server and Explore SharePoint Server hybrid.

Hybrid features
The following hybrid features are available for integrating SharePoint Server with
Microsoft 365:

OneDrive - OneDrive links are provided in SharePoint Server which direct users to
OneDrive in Microsoft 365.

Site following - Followed sites from both locations are consolidated in the
SharePoint in Microsoft 365 followed sites list.

Profiles - Profiles exist in both locations, but SharePoint Server links to users'
profiles redirect to profiles in Microsoft 365.

Extensible app launcher - The SharePoint Server app launcher includes several tiles
that link to Microsoft 365.

Hybrid self-service site creation - Users going to the default SharePoint Server site
creation page are redirected to the Microsoft 365 Groups creation page, allowing
them to create sites in SharePoint in Microsoft 365.

Search - Cloud hybrid search crawls on-premises content and indexes it in the
search index in Microsoft 365. Users can search the Microsoft 365 index from
either location.
 Taxonomy and content types - Enables you to have a single taxonomy and
content types list that spans SharePoint Server and SharePoint in Microsoft 365.
See Plan hybrid SharePoint in Microsoft 365 taxonomy and hybrid content types
for more information.

See SharePoint hybrid sites and search for more details on these options.

Hybrid OneDrive
If you currently use OneDrive or MySites in SharePoint Server, we highly recommend
deploying hybrid OneDrive. With hybrid OneDrive, users are redirected from their on-
premises OneDrive to OneDrive in Microsoft 365. Hybrid OneDrive allows for seamless
navigation to OneDrive in the cloud from both SharePoint Server and Microsoft 365.

When you deploy hybrid OneDrive, the OneDrive links in the SharePoint Server ribbon
and app launcher will point to OneDrive in Microsoft 365.

If you don't use OneDrive in SharePoint Server, but you do have an on-premises
SharePoint environment, you may still want to consider deploying hybrid OneDrive.
Doing so will update the OneDrive navigation links in SharePoint Server to point to
OneDrive in Microsoft 365 – again, giving your users seamless navigation to OneDrive in
the cloud from either location.

） Important

If your users have files in on-premises OneDrive, they may have trouble accessing
them unless they've bookmarked the old URL. It's important to have a migration
plan for these files before you deploy hybrid OneDrive.

For more info about how to configure OneDrive in a hybrid scenario and how it works,
see Plan hybrid OneDrive.

Next steps
Plan file sync

Related topics
Plan for SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365
Plan file sync for SharePoint and
OneDrive in Microsoft 365
Article • 02/21/2023

Even though users can upload, download, and interact with SharePoint and OneDrive
files from a web browser, the ideal experience comes with the OneDrive sync app for
Windows and Mac, and the iOS and Android mobile apps.

The OneDrive sync app has a variety of configuration options for compliance,
performance, user experience, and disk space management. While these can be
configured at any time, it's important to consider some of them as part of your rollout
plan.

Key decisions for sync:

How do you want to deploy the sync app?

How do you want to manage sync on Windows computers?
Which update ring do you want to use?
Do you want to limit network utilization for sync?
Do you want to sync commonly used folders with OneDrive
Do you want to limit which organizations users can sync with?
Do you want to allow users to sync their personal OneDrive?
Do you want to block certain file types from being uploaded?
Do you need to sync files in a hybrid environment with SharePoint Server?
Do you want to limit sync to computers joined to a specific domain?

For information about the recommended configuration options for the sync app, see
Recommended sync app configuration.

How do you want to deploy the sync app?

You have several different options for deploying the OneDrive sync app: manually, using
scripting, using Windows Autopilot (for the sync app on Windows), using a mobile
device management solution such as Intune, or using Microsoft Endpoint Configuration
Manager.

The OneDrive sync app is included as part of Windows 10, Windows 11, and Office 2016
or higher. You do not need to deploy the sync app to devices running these, though you
may need to update the sync app to the latest version.
To deploy the OneDrive sync app to Windows using Microsoft Endpoint Configuration
Manager, see Deploy OneDrive apps by using Microsoft Endpoint Configuration
Manager.

If you need to install the sync app on a single computer, see Install the sync app per
machine.

For a full list of OneDrive sync app requirements, see OneDrive sync app system
requirements .

How do you want to manage sync on Windows

computers?
You can manage OneDrive sync app settings on Windows computers using Windows
Group Policy or by using administrative templates in Intune. Using group policy requires
that Windows computers be joined to an Active Directory domain. Using Intune requires
that the device be managed by Microsoft Endpoint Manager.

For information, see:

Use OneDrive policies to control sync settings

Use administrative templates in Intune

Mac settings are configured using .plist files. For information, see Deploy and configure
the OneDrive sync app for Mac.

Which update ring do you want to use?

You can select how soon your users receive updates we release for the sync app.

Insiders ring - In this ring, users get the first changes that are released to the
public. We recommend selecting several people in your IT department to join this
ring.

Production ring – In this ring, users get fixes and new features in a timely fashion.
We recommend leaving everyone else in the organization in this ring.

Enterprise ring – In this ring, you have more control over the deployment of
updates, but users have to wait longer to receive fixes and new features.

Configure the following policy to set the sync app update ring.
 Policy Windows GPO Mac

Set the sync app update ring GPOSetUpdateRing Tier

For details about the update process for the OneDrive sync app, see The OneDrive sync
app update process.

Do you want to limit network utilization for

sync?
Depending on your network capacity, you may want to consider limiting how much
network bandwidth the sync app can use. This can be useful during a migration phase
when large amounts of content are being synced.

Use the following policies to limit the network bandwidth used by the sync app.

Policy Windows GPO Mac

Limit the AutomaticUploadBandwidthPercentage AutomaticUploadBandwidthPercentage

sync app
upload rate
to a
percentage
of
throughput

Enable EnableAutomaticUploadBandwidthManagement N/A

automatic
upload
bandwidth
management
for OneDrive

Do you want to sync commonly used folders

with OneDrive?
Users often save files to their documents folder or desktop. They may not realize that
they should save these files in OneDrive. You can automatically sync these commonly
used folders to OneDrive, prompt users to do so, or prevent them from doing so.

Use the following policies to configure how users commonly used folders are synced
with OneDrive.
 Policy Windows GPO Mac

Silently move commonly used folders to KFMSilentOptIn KFMSilentOptIn

OneDrive

Prompt users to move their commonly used KFMOptInWithWizard KFMOptInWithWizard

folders to OneDrive

Prevent users from stopping sync of their KFMBlockOptOut KFMBlockOptOut

commonly used folders to OneDrive

Prevent users from moving their commonly used KFMBlockOptIn KFMBlockOptIn

folders to OneDrive

For more information about syncing commonly used folder with OneDrive, see Redirect
and move Windows known folders to OneDrive and Redirect and move macOS Desktop
and Documents folders to OneDrive.

Do you want to limit which organizations users

can sync with?
By default, users can sync shared libraries from other organizations. You can limit this to
specific organizations or disable it all together.

Use the following policies to configure which organizations users can sync with.

Policy Windows GPO Mac

Allow syncing OneDrive accounts for only specific AllowTenantList AllowTenantList

organizations

Block syncing OneDrive accounts for specific BlockTenantList BlockTenantList

organizations

Prevent users from syncing libraries and folders shared BlockExternalSync BlockExternalSync
from other organizations

For more information about syncing with other organizations, see B2B Sync.

Do you want to allow users to sync their

personal OneDrive?
Depending on your governance practices, you can prevent users from syncing their
personal OneDrive accounts to devices managed by your organization.
Use the following policies to specify if users can sync personal OneDrive accounts.

Policy Windows GPO Mac

Prevent users from syncing personal OneDrive DisablePersonalSync DisablePersonalSync

accounts

Do you want to block certain file types from

being uploaded?
You can specify if you don't want users to be able to upload certain types of files using
the sync app. Use the following policy to configure this.

Policy Windows GPO Mac

Exclude specific kinds of files from being EnableODIgnoreListFromGPO EnableODIgnore

uploaded

This can also be configured in the SharePoint admin center. For more information, see
Block syncing of specific file types.

Do you need to sync files in a hybrid

environment with SharePoint Server?
If your organization uses SharePoint Server 2019 or SharePoint Server Subscription
Edition, you can sync files using the OneDrive sync app. For information, see Configure
syncing with the new OneDrive sync app.

If you are using the previous OneDrive sync app (Groove.exe), see Transition from the
previous OneDrive for Business sync app for information on how to move to the new
OneDrive sync app.

Do you want to limit sync to computers joined

to a specific domain?
To make sure that users sync OneDrive files only on managed computers, you can
configure OneDrive to sync only on PCs that are joined to specific domains. for more
information, see Allow syncing only on computers joined to specific domains.
Next steps
Plan for content migration

Related topics
Plan for SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365
Migration planning for SharePoint and
OneDrive rollout
Article • 02/21/2023

A key task in deploying SharePoint and OneDrive for your organization is a plan to
migrate your users' existing files. Depending on where these files are kept, there are
several options, discussed below. You can choose one or more of these options
depending on the number and location of files that you need to migrate.

The following types of data can be migrated with Microsoft tools:

Files and folders (from on-premises or other cloud providers)

SharePoint Server sites and content
SharePoint Server 2010 workflows

We recommend that you have the people in your organization review the content that
they're planing to migrate to SharePoint and OneDrive. There may be old content that
isn't needed anymore and can be deleted or archived. This can help you save migration
time and storage space in Microsoft 365.

Keep in mind that migrating content may result in a surge of network activity as large
amounts of data is moved to SharePoint and OneDrive.

For complete information on migrating content to SharePoint and OneDrive, see

Migrate your content to Microsoft 365.

Automation and workflows

If you have automated processes or workflows around files or other content, you may
need to consider how to integrate those processes with Microsoft 365 or migrate them
there entirely. Consider using SharePoint Framework solutions or Microsoft Power
Platform.

If you have SharePoint Server 2010 workflows, you can migrate them to Power
Automate by using the SharePoint Migration Tool. See Overview: Migrate SharePoint
Server 2010 workflows to Power Automate for more information.

Hybrid
If you use SharePoint Server on-premises, you may want to set up a hybrid environment
with SharePoint in Microsoft 365 while you migrate or as a long term solution. See
Hybrid OneDrive and SharePoint in Microsoft 365 for more information.

Migrating users' personal work files to

OneDrive
As part of your rollout, you may be migrating your users' personal work files to
OneDrive. As part of this process, you may need to pre-provision users' OneDrive
libraries.

Normally, a user's OneDrive is created the first time they access OneDrive. If you will be
migrating your users' files on their behalf before they begin using OneDrive, you'll need
to pre-provision OneDrive for each of them. See Pre-provision OneDrive for users in
your organization for details.

Files in on-premises OneDrive or MySites libraries

If users' existing files are in on-premises SharePoint Server, OneDrive, or MySites, you
can use the SharePoint Migration Tool to migrate the files to Microsoft 365. For info, see
Overview of the SharePoint Migration Tool (SPMT).

Files in users' commonly used folders

If user files are located in their Windows or Mac Desktop or Documents folders, you can
move and redirect these locations to OneDrive. You can enable this feature during the
initial rollout of OneDrive or sometime later. For more info, see Redirect and move
Windows known folders to OneDrive and Redirect and move macOS Desktop and
Documents folders to OneDrive.

Files in other local disk folders

If users have other work files in various locations on their computers, it's often easiest
for them to manually move the files to OneDrive. After you deploy the OneDrive sync
app to your users' computers, you can instruct them to move their work files to the
OneDrive folder on their computer. For more information, see Move files from OneDrive
to OneDrive for work or school .

Migrating sites from SharePoint Server to

SharePoint in Microsoft 365
If you have sites in SharePoint Server, you can migrate them to SharePoint in Microsoft
365 by using the SharePoint Migration Tool. You can do this as part of your SharePoint
and OneDrive rollout, or you can do it later. For details, see Overview of the SharePoint
Migration Tool (SPMT).

Migrating files in file shares or hosted on other

cloud providers
For files located in file shares or other cloud providers, you can use Migration Manager
to migrate them to SharePoint and OneDrive. For details, see Migrate files shares to
Microsoft 365 with Migration Manager.

See these references for specific instructions on how to migrate from different locations:

Migrate from file shares

Migrate from Box
Migrate from Google Workspace
Migrate from Dropbox
Migrate from Egnyte
Migrate SharePoint Server sites and content
Migrate SharePoint Server workflows

Next steps
Create a compliant SharePoint and OneDrive environment

Related topics
Plan for SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365
Plan compliance requirements for
SharePoint and OneDrive
Article • 02/21/2023

Most organizations have business or legal requirements that govern how data is used,
shared, and retained. Some organizations also have data residency requirements or
regulatory requirements that restrict communication between certain users and groups.

Microsoft 365 has a wide range of governance and compliance features to address these
needs. This article provides an overview of features you may want to consider as part of
your OneDrive and SharePoint rollout.

Data lifecycle management

Use data lifecycle management capabilities in Microsoft Purview to govern your
OneDrive and SharePoint content for compliance or regulatory requirements. The
following table describes the capabilities to help you keep the content you need you
and delete what you don't need.

Capability What problems does it solve? Get started

Retention policies and Retain or delete content with policy Create and configure
retention labels management for SharePoint and retention policies
OneDrive documents
Learn about retention Create retention labels for
for SharePoint and exceptions to your retention
OneDrive policies

Deleted users' data

When a user leaves your organization and you've deleted that user's account, what
happens to the user's data? When considering data retention compliance, determine
what needs to happen with the deleted user's data. For some organizations, retaining
deleted user data could be important continuity and preventing critical data loss.

If a user's Microsoft 365 account is deleted, their OneDrive files are preserved for 30
days. To change this setting, Set the OneDrive retention for deleted users.

By default, when a user is deleted, the user's manager is automatically given access to
the user's OneDrive. To change this, see OneDrive retention and deletion.
Information protection
Microsoft Purview Information Protection capabilities help you discover, classify, and
protect sensitive information in OneDrive and SharePoint. The following table describes
these capabilities. Consider if you want to implement any of these capabilities as part of
your OneDrive and SharePoint rollout.

Capability What problems does it solve? Get started

Sensitive Identifies sensitive data by using built-in or custom Customize a built-in

information regular expressions or a function. Corroborative sensitive information type
types evidence includes keywords, confidence levels, and
proximity.

Trainable Identifies sensitive data by using examples of the data Get started with trainable
classifiers you're interested in rather than identifying elements in classifiers
the item (pattern matching). You can use built-in
classifiers or train a classifier with your own content.

Sensitivity A single solution across apps, services, and devices to Enable sensitivity labels
labels label and protect your data as it travels inside and for Office files in
outside your organization. SharePoint and OneDrive

Sensitivity labels can be used to protect files Use sensitivity labels to

themselves or individual SharePoint sites and teams. protect content in
Microsoft Teams,
Microsoft 365 Groups,
and SharePoint sites

Data loss Helps prevent unintentional sharing of sensitive items. Get started with the
prevention default DLP policy

File sync
The OneDrive sync app has policies that you can use to help you maintain a compliant
environment. Consider configuring these policies before you roll out SharePoint and
OneDrive.

Policy Windows GPO Mac

Allow syncing OneDrive accounts for only AllowTenantList AllowTenantList

specific organizations

Block syncing OneDrive accounts for BlockTenantList BlockTenantList

specific organizations
 Policy Windows GPO Mac

Prevent users from syncing libraries and BlockExternalSync BlockExternalSync

folders shared from other organizations

Prevent users from syncing personal DisablePersonalSync DisablePersonalSync

OneDrive accounts

Exclude specific kinds of files from being EnableODIgnoreListFromGPO EnableODIgnore

uploaded

Data residency
Multi-Geo is Microsoft 365 feature that allows organizations to span their storage over
multiple geo locations and specify where to store users' data. For multinational
customers with data residency requirements, you can use this feature to ensure that
each user's data is stored in the geo location necessary for compliance. For more info
about this feature, see Multi-Geo Capabilities in OneDrive and SharePoint.

Features such as file sync and mobile device management work normally in a multi-geo
environment. There's no special configuration or management needed. The multi-geo
experience for your users has minimal difference from a single-geo configuration. For
details, see User experience in a multi-geo environment.

For more information about Microsoft 365 Multi-Geo, see Microsoft 365 Multi-Geo.

Information barriers
Microsoft Purview Information Barriers is a compliance solution that allows you to
restrict two-way communication and collaboration between groups and users in
Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive. Often used in highly regulated industries,
information barriers can help to avoid conflicts of interest and safeguard internal
information between users and organizational areas.

When information barrier policies are in place, users who shouldn't communicate or
share files with other specific users won't be able to find, select, chat, or call those users.
Information barrier policies automatically put checks in place to detect and prevent
unauthorized communication and collaboration among defined groups and users.

If your business requires information barriers, see Learn about information barriers and
Use information barriers with SharePoint to get started.
Next steps
Plan sharing and collaboration options

Related topics
Plan for SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365

B2B Sync

Implement compliance in Microsoft 365

Protect your enterprise data using Windows Information Protection (WIP)

Control OneDrive and SharePoint access based on network authentication or app

File collaboration in SharePoint with
Microsoft 365
Article • 02/21/2023

With Microsoft 365 services, you can create a secure and productive file collaboration
environment for your users. SharePoint powers much of this, but the capabilities of file
collaboration in Microsoft 365 reach far beyond the traditional SharePoint site. Teams,
OneDrive, and a variety of governance and security options all play a role in creating a
rich environment where users can collaborate easily and where your organization's
sensitive content remains secure.

In the sections below, we call out the options and decisions that you as an administrator
should consider when setting up a collaboration environment:

How SharePoint relates to other collaboration services in Microsoft 365, including

OneDrive, Microsoft 365 Groups, and Teams.

How you can create an intuitive and productive collaboration environment for your
users.

How you can protect your organization's data by managing access through
permissions, data classifications, governance rules, and monitoring.

This is part of the broader Microsoft 365 collaboration story:

Secure collaboration with Microsoft 365

Collaboration governance

Meetings and conferencing in Microsoft Teams

We recommend that you download the Microsoft Teams and related productivity
services in Microsoft 365 for IT architects poster and refer to it while you read this
article. This poster provides detailed illustrations of how the collaboration services in
Microsoft 365 relate to each other and interact.

Also see the File Protection Solutions in Microsoft 365 diagram for an overview of
recommended solutions to protect your data.

Creating a successful collaboration experience

The technical implementation options that you choose for file collaboration in Microsoft
365 should balance what can seem to be contradictory requirements:

Protecting your intellectual property

Enabling self-service

Creating a smooth user experience

Protecting your intellectual property

There are several options discussed later in this article for protecting your intellectual
property. These include limiting who files can be shared with, applying governance
policies by using sensitivity labels, and managing the devices that users use to access
content.

In considering which options to choose, we recommend a balanced approach:

A configuration that allows users to share content freely can lead to accidental sharing
of confidential data. However, a user experience that is difficult to use or too restrictive
can lead to users finding alternative collaboration options that circumvent your
governance policies, ultimately leading to even greater risk.

By using a combination of features – depending on the sensitivity of your data – you can
create a collaboration environment that's easy to use and provides the security and
auditing controls that you need.

Enabling self-service

In SharePoint Server on-premises, many organizations chose an IT-focused model where

users must request sites and provide a business justification. This was done to prevent
site sprawl and to apply governance policies around access to sensitive data.

In Microsoft 365, we recommend allowing users to create Teams, Microsoft 365 Groups,
and SharePoint sites as needed. You can use sensitivity labels to enforce permissions
governance, take advantage of compliance features that protect your content, and use
expiration and renewal policies to make sure unused sites don't accumulate.

By choosing options that favor user self-service, you can minimize the impact on your IT
staff while creating an easier experience for your users.

Creating a smooth user experience

The key to creating a smooth user experience is to avoid creating barriers for your users
that they don't understand or that they must escalate to your help desk. For example,
turning external sharing off for a site might cause user confusion or frustration; whereas
labeling the site and its contents as confidential and using data loss prevention policy
tips and emails to educate your users in your governance policies, can lead to a much
smoother experience for them.

SharePoint, Microsoft 365 Groups, and Teams

In Microsoft 365, SharePoint is integrated with a variety of other services to provide a
much richer experience than is possible with on-premises solutions such as SharePoint
Server. These integrations affect how you manage user permissions and what your users
can do in a collaboration scenario.

Traditionally, SharePoint permissions have been managed through a set of permissions

groups within a site (Owners, Members, Visitors, etc.). In SharePoint in Microsoft 365,
each SharePoint team site is part of a Microsoft 365 group. A Microsoft 365 group is a
single permissions group that is associated with a variety of Microsoft 365 services,
including a SharePoint site, an instance of Planner, a mailbox, a shared calendar, and
others. When you add owners or members to the Microsoft 365 group, they are given
access to the SharePoint site along with the other connected services.

While you can continue to manage SharePoint site permissions separately by using
SharePoint groups, we recommend managing permissions for SharePoint by adding
people to or removing them from the associated Microsoft 365 group. This provides
easier administration as well as giving users access to a host of related services that they
can use for better collaboration.

Microsoft Teams provides a hub for collaboration by bringing together all the Microsoft
365 group-related services, plus a variety of Teams-specific services, in a single user
experience with persistent chat. Teams uses the associated Microsoft 365 group to
manage its permissions. Within the Teams experience, users can directly access
SharePoint along with the other services without having to switch applications. This
provides a centralized collaboration space with a single place to manage permissions.
Teams uses the SharePoint site that is connected to the Microsoft 365 group for files in
standard channels and creates separate SharePoint sites for each private or shared
channel. For collaboration scenarios in your organization, we highly recommend using
Teams rather than using services such as SharePoint independently.

For details about how SharePoint and Teams interact, see How SharePoint and OneDrive
interact with Microsoft Teams.

Collaboration in client applications

Office applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint provide a wide variety of
collaboration features, including coauthoring and @mentions, and are also integrated
with sensitivity labels and data loss prevention (discussed below).

We highly recommend deploying Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. Microsoft 365 Apps
for enterprise provides an always up-to-date experience for your users, with the latest
features and updates delivered on a schedule that you can control.

For details about deploying Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, see Deployment guide
for Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise.

OneDrive libraries
While SharePoint provides shared libraries for shared files that teams can collaborate on,
users also have an individual library in OneDrive where they can store files that they
own.

When a user adds a file to OneDrive, that file is not shared with anyone else. OneDrive
provides the same sharing capabilities as SharePoint, so users can share files in
OneDrive as needed.

A user's individual library can be accessed from Teams, as well as from the OneDrive
web interface and mobile application.

On devices running Windows or macOS, users can install the OneDrive sync app to sync
files from both OneDrive and SharePoint to their local disk. This allows them to work on
files offline and also provides the convenience of opening files in their native application
(such as Word or Excel) without the need of going to the web interface.

The two main decisions to consider for using OneDrive in collaboration scenarios are:

Do you want to allow Microsoft 365 users to share files in OneDrive with people
outside your organization?

Do you want to restrict file sync in any way – such as only to managed devices?

These settings are available in the SharePoint admin center .

OneDrive is an important part of the Microsoft 365 collaboration story. For information
about how to deploy OneDrive in your organization, see OneDrive guide for enterprises.

Securing your data

A big part of a successful collaboration solution is making sure your organization's data
remains secure. Microsoft 365 provides a variety of features to help you keep your data
secure while enabling a seamless collaboration experience for your users.

To help protect your organization's information, you can:

Control sharing – by configuring sharing settings for each site that are appropriate
to the type of information in the site, you can create a collaboration space for
users while securing your intellectual property.

Classify and protect information – by classifying the types of information in your

organization, you can create governance policies that provide higher levels of
security to information that is confidential compared to information that is meant
to be shared freely.

Manage devices – with device management, you can control access to information
based on device, location, and other parameters.

Monitor activity – by monitoring the collaboration activity happening in Teams

and SharePoint, you can gain insights into how your organization's information is
being used. You can also set alerts to flag suspicious activity.

Protect against threats – by using policies to detect malicious files in SharePoint,

OneDrive, and Teams, you can help ensure the safety of your organization's data
and network.

These are each discussed in more detail below. There are many options to choose from.
Depending on the needs of your organization, you can choose the options that give you
the best balance of security and usability. If you are in a highly regulated industry or
work with highly confidential data, you may want to put more of these controls in place;
whereas if your organization's information is not sensitive you may want to rely on basic
sharing settings and malicious file alerts.

Control sharing
The sharing settings that you configure for SharePoint and OneDrive determine who
your users can collaborate with, both inside and outside your organization. Depending
on your business needs and the sensitivity of your data, you can:

Disallow sharing with people outside your organization.

Require people outside your organization to authenticate.

Restrict sharing to specified domains.

You can configure these settings for the entire organization, or for each site
independently (except private or shared channel sites). For detailed information, see
Turn sharing on or off and Turn sharing on or off for a site.

See Limit accidental exposure to files when sharing with guests for additional guidance
around sharing with people outside your organization.

When users share files and folders, a shareable link is created which has permissions to
the item. There are three primary link types:

Anyone links give access to the item to anyone who has the link. People using an
Anyone link do not have to authenticate, and their access cannot be audited.

An anyone link is a transferrable, revocable secret key. It's transferrable because it

can be forwarded to others. It's revocable because by deleting the link, you can
revoke the access of everyone who got it through the link. It's secret because it
can't be guessed or derived. The only way to get access is to get the link, and the
only way to get the link is for somebody to give it to you. Anyone links can't be
used with files in a Teams shared channel site.

People in your organization links work for only people inside your Microsoft 365
organization. (They do not work for guests in the directory, only members).
Like an anyone link, a people in my organization link is a transferrable, revocable
secret key. Unlike an anyone link, these links only work for people inside your
Microsoft 365 organization. When somebody opens a people in my organization
link, they need to be authenticated as a member in your directory. If they're not
currently signed-in, they'll be prompted to sign in.

Specific people links only work for the people that users specify when they share
the item.
 A specific people link is a non-transferable, revocable secret key. Unlike anyone and
people in my organization links, a specific people link will not work if it's opened by
anybody except for the person specified by the sender.

Specific people links can be used to share with users in the organization and people
outside the organization. In both cases, the recipient will need to authenticate as
the user specified in the link. For files in a Teams shared channel site, specific
people links can only be sent to others in the channel.

It's important to educate your users in how these sharing links work and which they
should use to best maintain the security of your data. Send your users links to Share
OneDrive files and folders and Share SharePoint files or folders , and include
information about your organization's policies for sharing information.

Unauthenticated access with Anyone links

Anyone links are a great way to easily share files and folders with people outside your
organization. However, if you're sharing sensitive information, this may not be the best
option.

If you require people outside your organization to authenticate, Anyone links will not be
available to users and you'll be able to audit guest activity on shared files and folders.
Though Anyone links do not require people outside your organization to authenticate,
you can track the usage of Anyone links and revoke access if needed. If people in your
organization frequently email documents to people outside your organization, Anyone
links may be a better option than emailing an attachment.

If you want to allow Anyone links, there are several options for a more secure sharing
experience.

You can restrict Anyone links to read-only. You can also set an expiration time limit, after
which the link will stop working.

Another option is to configure a different link type to be displayed to the user by

default. This can help minimize the chances of inappropriate sharing. For example, if you
want to allow Anyone links but are concerned that they only be used for specific
purposes, you can set the default link type to Specific people links or People in your
organization links instead of Anyone links. Users would then have to explicitly select
Anyone links when they share a file or folder.

You can also use data loss prevention to restrict Anyone link access to files that contain
sensitive information.

People in your organization links

People in your organization links are a great way to share information within your
organization. People in your organization links work for anyone in your organization, so
users can share files and folders with people who aren't part of a team or members of a
site. The link gives them access to the particular file or folder and can be passed around
inside the organization. This allows for easy collaboration with stakeholders from groups
that may have separate teams or sites – such as design, marketing, and support groups.

Creating a People in your organization link does not cause the file or folder to show up
in search or give everyone direct access to the file or folder. Users must have the link in
order to access the file or folder. The link does not work for guests or other people
outside your organization.

Specific people links

Specific people links are best for circumstances where users want to limit access to a file
or folder. The link only works for the person specified and they must authenticate in
order to use it. These links can be internal or external (if you've enabled guest sharing).

Classify and protect information

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention provides a way to classify your teams, groups,
sites, and documents, and to create a series of conditions, actions, and exceptions to
govern how they're used and shared.

By classifying your information and creating governance rules around them, you can
create a collaboration environment where users can easily work with each other without
accidentally or intentionally sharing sensitive information inappropriately.

With data loss prevention policies in place, you can be relatively liberal with your sharing
settings for a given site and rely on data loss prevention to enforce your governance
requirements. This provides a friendlier user experience and avoids unnecessary
restrictions that users might try to work around.

For detailed information about data loss prevention, see Learn about data loss
prevention.

Sensitivity labels

Sensitivity labels provide a way to classify teams, groups, sites, and documents with
descriptive labels that can then be used to enforce a governance workflow.

Using sensitivity labels helps your users to share information safely and to maintain your
governance policies without the need for users to become experts in those policies.

For example, you could configure a policy that requires Microsoft 365 groups classified
as confidential to be private rather than public. In such a case, a user creating a group,
team, or SharePoint site would only see the "private" option when they choose a
classification of confidential. For information about using sensitivity labels with teams,
groups, and sites, see Use sensitivity labels to protect content in Microsoft Teams,
Microsoft 365 groups, and SharePoint sites

Conditions and actions

With data loss protection conditions and actions, you can enforce a governance
workflow when a given condition is met.

Examples include:

If customer information is detected in a document, then users cannot share that

document with guests.

If a document contains the name of a confidential project, then guests cannot

open the document even if it has been shared with them.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps offers additional granular conditions, actions, and
alerts to help you secure your content. These include the ability to remove a user's
permissions or quarantine the user when the specified condition is met.

User notifications

User notifications provide a way to communicate to your users – via email or policy tips
– that data loss prevention has detected something that they should be aware of. The
user can then decide the best course of action depending on the situation. For example,
if a user unknowingly attempts to share a document that contains a credit card number,
the user is prompted that a credit card number has been found and advised of your
organization's policy regarding this.

Manage access
Microsoft 365 provides a variety of governance features to help you create an intuitive
but secure collaboration environment for your users.

Use device management to ensure your organization's information is accessed

only by compliant devices.

Use conditional access to ensure your confidential data is accessed only from
locations and apps that you trust.

Monitor information sharing in real time and through reports to ensure your
governance requirements are met and sensitive information is being kept secure.

Additionally, you can use Azure Active Directory access reviews to automate a periodic
review of group and team ownership and membership.

Device Management

Through device management, you can take additional steps to secure your
organization's information. You can manage pretty much any device that your users
might have – PCs, Macs, mobile devices, and Linux computers.

Examples include:

Ensure devices have the latest updates before allowing access to Microsoft 365

Prevent copy and paste of confidential data to personal or unmanaged apps

Erase company data from managed devices

As you consider your options governing access to information through device
management, keep in mind that guests are likely to have unmanaged devices. For sites
where you've enabled guest sharing, be sure to provide the needed access to
unmanaged devices, even if that's just web access via a PC or Mac. Azure Active
Directory conditional access (discussed below) offers some options to reduce the risk of
guests with unmanaged devices. Some settings can be configured directly from
SharePoint.

Microsoft Intune provides detailed device profiling options and can also deploy and
manage individual apps such as Office apps and OneDrive. For detailed information
about Intune and device management, see Microsoft Intune overview.

You can configure device management from the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin
center .

Conditional access

Azure Active Directory conditional access provides additional controls to prevent users
from accessing your organization's resources in risky situations, such as from untrusted
location or from devices that aren't up to date.

Examples include:

Block guests from signing in from risky locations

Require multi-factor authentication for mobile devices

You can create access policies that are specifically for guests, allowing risk mitigation for
people who most likely have unmanaged devices.

For detailed information, see What is Conditional Access?.

Real-time monitoring with alerts

Microsoft 365 Defender services provide an extensive policy infrastructure that you can
use to monitor activity that you consider to be risky for your organization's data.

Examples include:

Raise an alert when a confidential file is shared externally.

Raise an alert when there's a mass download by a single user.

Raise an alert when an externally shared file hasn't been updated for a specified
period of time.
Microsoft 365 Defender can also watch for anomalous behavior such as unusually large
uploads or downloads, access from unusual locations, or unusual admin activity.

By configuring alerts, you can be more confident in allowing an open sharing experience
for your users.

You can see the alerts on the Microsoft 365 Defender alerts page .

For detailed information about alerts in Microsoft 365 Defender, see Investigate alerts in
Microsoft 365 Defender.

Monitoring with reports

A variety of reports are available in Microsoft 365 to help you monitor site usage,
document sharing, governance compliance, and a host of other events.

For info about how to view reports on SharePoint site usage, see Microsoft 365 Reports
in the Admin Center - SharePoint site usage.

For info about how to view data loss prevention reports, see View the reports for data
loss prevention.

For info about how to view Defender for Cloud Apps reports, see Generate data
management reports.

Manage threats
You can use Safe Attachments for SharePoint, OneDrive, and Microsoft Teams in
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 to protect against users uploading malicious files to
OneDrive, SharePoint, or Teams.

When Safe Attachments for SharePoint, OneDrive, and Microsoft Teams discovers a
malicious file, that file is locked so that users cannot open, move, or copy the file.

The locked file is included in a list of quarantined items that you can monitor. You can
then delete or release the file as appropriate.

For detailed info, see Safe Attachments for SharePoint, OneDrive, and Microsoft Teams.

Migrate files from on-premises

Microsoft 365 offers much greater versatility in collaboration scenarios than on-
premises solutions such as SharePoint Server. If you have files in document libraries on
SharePoint Server or in file shares, learn about migrating them to Microsoft 365. If your
users have files in local Windows known folders, you can also move them to OneDrive
for enhanced collaboration capabilities. Learn about Known Folder Move.

If the content that your users are collaborating on is located in SharePoint Server or in
file shares, we recommend that you migrate it to Microsoft 365 to take advantage of the
broader range of collaboration capabilities.

As part of your migration, you can use the Azure Information Protection scanner to scan
and label sensitive information in your on-premises environment. With this information,
you can reorganize your data if needed before migrating it to similarly labeled sites in
SharePoint.

Related topics
Create a secure guest sharing environment

Best practices for sharing files and folders with unauthenticated users

Understanding how Microsoft Information Protection capabilities work together

Tutorial: Automatically apply Azure Information Protection classification labels

Sharing and permissions in the
SharePoint modern experience
Article • 02/21/2023

Traditionally, SharePoint permissions have been managed through a set of permissions

groups within a site (Owners, Members, Visitors, etc.). In SharePoint in Microsoft 365,
this remains true for some types of sites, but additional options are available and
SharePoint is part of a much broader set of capabilities for secure collaboration with
Microsoft 365.

The main types of sites in SharePoint are:

Team sites - Team sites provide a collaboration environment for your teams and
projects. Each team site, by default, is part of a Microsoft 365 group, which
includes a mailbox, shared calendar, and other collaboration tools. Team sites may
also be part of a team in Microsoft Teams. Permissions for team sites are best
managed through the associated Microsoft 365 group or Teams team.
Channel sites - Channel sites are team sites that are associated with a specific
channel in a Teams team. Both private and shared channels create separate
SharePoint sites just for the channel.
Communication sites - Communication sites are for broadcasting news and status
across the organization. Communication site permissions are managed by using
the SharePoint Owners, Members, and Visitors groups for the site.
Hub sites - Hub sites are team sites or communication sites that the administrator
has configured as the center of a hub. They're designed to provide connection
between related sites through shared navigation. Permissions for hub sites can be
managed through the Owners, Members, and Visitors groups, or through the
associated Microsoft 365 group if there is one. Special permissions are needed to
associate sites to a hub.

Team site permissions and Microsoft 365

Groups
By default, each SharePoint team site is part of an Microsoft 365 group . a Microsoft
365 group is a single permissions group that is associated with various Microsoft 365
services. This includes a SharePoint site, an instance of Planner, a mailbox, a shared
calendar, and others.
When you add owners or members to the Microsoft 365 group, they're given access to
the SharePoint site along with the other group-connected services. Group owners
become site owners, and group members become site members.

It's possible to manage SharePoint site permissions separately from the Microsoft 365
group by using SharePoint groups, unless it's a channel site. (We recommend against
this for the simplest management experience.) In such a case, group members will
continue to have access to the site, but users added directly to the site won't have
access to any of the group services. The exception is view-only access - Microsoft 365
groups don't have view-only access, so any users you wish to have view permissions on
the site must be added directly to the Visitors group on the site.

７ Note

When you create a new team or private or shared channel in Microsoft Teams, a
team site in SharePoint gets automatically created. To edit the site description or
classification for this team site, go to the corresponding channel’s settings in
Microsoft Teams .

Using team sites with Teams

Microsoft Teams provides a hub for collaboration by bringing together various services
including a SharePoint team site. Within the Teams experience, users can directly access
SharePoint along with the other services. Each team is associated with a Microsoft 365
group and Teams uses that group to manage its permissions.

For scenarios where a SharePoint site is used with Teams, we recommend doing all
permission management through Teams. As with Microsoft 365 groups, team owners
become site owners and team members become site members.

For private or shared channel sites, permission management must be done in Teams.
Channel owners become sites owners in SharePoint and channel members become site
members. Permissions in SharePoint can't be managed separately and will display in
read-only mode.

For details about how SharePoint and Teams interact, see Overview of Teams and
SharePoint integration and Manage settings and permissions when SharePoint and
Teams are integrated.

Communication site permissions

Communication sites aren't connected to Microsoft 365 groups and use the standard
SharePoint permissions groups:

Owners
Members
Visitors

Normally with communication sites, you'll have one or more owners, a relatively small
number of members who create the content for the site, and a large number of visitors
who are the people you're sharing information with.

You can give people permissions to the site by adding individual users, security groups,
or Microsoft 365 groups to one of the three SharePoint groups. (Nested security groups
can cause performance issues and are not recommended.)

If a communication site is used by members of a team in Teams, you may want to add
the Microsoft 365 group associated with the team to the members group of the
communication site. This will allow members of the team to create content in the
communication site.

The visitors group is a good place to use security groups. In many organizations, this is
the easiest way to add large numbers of users to a site.

For information about how to share a site, see Share a site .

Hub site permissions

Managing the permissions of a hub site is dependent on the underlying type of site. If
the site is a group-connected team site, then you should manage permissions through
the Microsoft 365 group. If it's a communication site, then you should manage
permissions through the SharePoint groups.

Hub site owners define the shared experiences for hub navigation and theme. Hub site
members create content on the hub as with any other SharePoint site. Owners and
members of the sites associated with the hub create content on their individual sites.

The SharePoint Administrator must specify which users can connect other sites to the
hub. This is done in the SharePoint admin center and cannot be changed by site
owners.
Shareable links
Giving people permissions to a site, group, or team gives them access to all site content.
If you want to share an individual file or folder, you can do so with shareable links. There
are three primary link types:

Anyone links give access to the item to anyone who has the link, including people
outside your organization. People using an Anyone link don't have to authenticate,
and their access can't be audited. Anyone links can't be used with files in a Teams
shared channel site.
People in your organization links work for only people inside your Microsoft 365
organization. (They don't work for guests or external participants in Teams shared
channels).
Specific people links only work for the people that users specify when they share
the item. For files in a Teams shared channel site, specific people links can only be
sent to others in the channel.

You can change the type of link that is presented to users by default for each site.

For more about the different types of sharing links, see Securing your data.

Guest sharing
The external sharing features of SharePoint let users in your organization share content
with people outside the organization (such as partners, vendors, clients, or customers).
Planning for external sharing should be included as part of your overall permissions
planning for SharePoint.

SharePoint has external sharing settings at both the organization level and the site level
(previously called the "site collection" level). To allow external sharing on any site, you
must allow it at the organization level. You can then restrict external sharing for other
sites.

Whichever option you choose at the organization or site level, the more restrictive
functionality is still available. For example, if you choose to allow sharing using Anyone
links, users can still share with guests, who sign in, and with internal users.

External sharing is turned on by default for your organization. Default settings for
individual sites vary depending on the type of site. See Site level settings for more
information.

Shared channels in teams do not use guest accounts for sharing with people outside the
organization. However, external sharing must be enabled for people outside the
organization to be invited to shared channels.

Guest sharing for private and shared channel sites can only be changed by using
PowerShell.

To set up guest sharing for a site, see Collaborate with guests in a site.

Security and privacy

If you have confidential information that should never be shared externally, we
recommend storing the information in a site that has external sharing turned off. Create
additional sites as needed to use for external sharing. This helps you to manage security
risk by preventing external access to sensitive information.

SharePoint and OneDrive integration with

Azure AD B2B
Azure AD B2B collaboration provides authentication and management of guests.
Authentication happens via one-time passcode when they don't already have a work or
school account or a Microsoft account (MSA).

With SharePoint and OneDrive integration, the Azure B2B collaboration one-time
passcode feature is used for external sharing of files, folders, list items, document
libraries and sites. (Shared channels in Teams don't use Azure B2B collaboration, but
rather Azure B2B direct connect.)

With Azure B2B collaboration integration, all guests are added to the directory and can
be managed using Microsoft 365 security and compliance tools. We encourage you to
try the SharePoint and OneDrive integration with Azure AD B2B.

See also
External sharing overview

Manage sharing settings

Collaborating with people outside your organization

Share SharePoint files or folders

Limit sharing in Microsoft 365

Shared channels in Microsoft Teams

Microsoft 365 guest sharing settings reference

Plan sharing and collaboration options
in SharePoint and OneDrive
Article • 02/21/2023

SharePoint and OneDrive provide a platform for collaboration through file and folder
storage and sharing.

As you plan your SharePoint and OneDrive rollout, these are the primary decision areas
around collaboration:

Site creation - do you want to allow your users to create SharePoint sites or do
you want to manage this through IT or a business process?
External sharing - do you want to allow users to share files, folders, or sites with
people outside your organization?
File and folder sharing defaults - what sharing defaults do you want to use to
make sharing easy while you help protect sensitive information?

For details about collaboration governance in Microsoft 365, see What is collaboration
governance?.

For an in-depth look at file collaboration in SharePoint, see Intro to file collaboration in
Microsoft 365, powered by SharePoint and File collaboration in SharePoint with
Microsoft 365.

Keep in mind that the settings you choose for collaboration in SharePoint can also affect
Teams. For more information, see Overview of Teams and SharePoint integration.

Site creation and lifecycle

By default, users can create new team sites and communication sites in SharePoint and
shared libraries in OneDrive. We recommend keeping this setting and using expiration
policies to manage the number of unused sites.

If you don't want to allow users to create sites directly, you can disable user site
creation. For details, see Manage site creation in SharePoint.

Even if you turn off sites creation for users in SharePoint, they can still create Microsoft
365 group-connected team sites by creating a Microsoft 365 group or any of its related
services, such as a team in Microsoft Teams. If you don't want to allow users to create
Microsoft 365 Groups or related services, including group-connected team sites, see
Manage who can create Microsoft 365 Groups.
As part of your SharePoint rollout, we recommend that you create your own custom
guidance for SharePoint site owners on how sites are set up and managed in your
organization. See Create guidelines for site usage for more information.

External sharing
External sharing in SharePoint and OneDrive uses Azure Active Directory B2B
collaboration to create guest accounts for people outside the organization. Guests can
be given access to SharePoint sites or to individual files and folders in SharePoint and
OneDrive.

External sharing is enabled by default in Microsoft 365, including SharePoint and

OneDrive. We recommend leaving external sharing enabled. Microsoft 365 external
sharing options can provide a more secure and governable sharing environment than
sending attachments though email or using consumer sharing services.

Use the Sharing page in the SharePoint admin center to configure your sharing
options. For details, see Manage sharing settings.

For details about how to configure guest collaboration in SharePoint sites, see
Collaborate with guests in a site.

Organization level sharing settings

The organization level sharing settings for SharePoint and OneDrive provide a default
setting for sites and OneDrive libraries. Individual sites can be locked down further, but
cannot be made more permissive than, the organizational settings.

A key decision for your SharePoint and OneDrive rollout is who content can be shared
with:

Anyone - Users can share files and folders using links that don't require sign-in.
New and existing guests - Guests are added to the directory when an item is
shared and must sign in or provide a verification code to access the content.
Existing guests - Users can only share with guests already in your organization's
directory. (This setting is not recommended because guests can be added to the
directory in various ways outside of SharePoint and OneDrive.)
Only people in your organization - No external sharing is allowed.

These settings can be set separately for SharePoint and OneDrive, though the OneDrive
setting cannot be more permissive than the SharePoint setting.

Important decisions:
 Do you want to allow external sharing? If not, choose the Only people in your
organization option.
Do you want to allow users to create sharing links that allow unauthenticated
(anonymous) people to access files or folders? If so, choose Anyone.

External sharing restrictions

You can restrict external sharing with these options:

Restrict which domains users can share with.

Limit external sharing to people in a specific security group.
Expire guest access after a specified period.
Require reauthentication after a specified period for users using a verification code.

If you want to restrict which domains users can share with, you can choose the Limit
external sharing by domain setting. For details, see Restrict sharing of SharePoint and
OneDrive content by domain. Note that this setting only affects SharePoint and
OneDrive. If you want to set this for all the services in Microsoft 365, you can configure
the restriction in Azure AD. See Allow or block invitations to B2B users from specific
organizations for details.

If you don't want all of your users to be able to share externally, you can restrict external
sharing to specific security groups. Choose the Allow only users in specific security
groups to share externally option and choose the groups you want to allow.

If you want guest access to expire after a given period, use the Guest access to a site or
OneDrive will expire automatically after this many days setting. The users who shared
the content will have the option to extend the expiration by the period you specify
before guests lose access. For more information see, Manage guest expiration for a
site .

Guests with non-Microsoft email addresses, such as Gmail, are sent a verification code
when they attempt to access shared content. You can require that these guests
reauthenticate after a specified period. Use the People who use a verification code
must reauthenticate after this many days setting to configure this.

File and folder sharing

To create an easy sharing experience for your users while reducing the risk of
oversharing, you can choose from these options for file and folder sharing links:

Choose the default link type that users see when they share a file or folder.
 Choose if the default sharing link allows recipients to edit the files.
Choose if Anyone links expire after a given period.
Choose if Anyone links allow recipients to edit the files.

When users share a file or folder, they can choose from several types of sharing links
that offer different levels of permissions. You can choose which link type is shown by
default:

Specific people links require the user to specify a list of people who will have access
to the file or folder.
Only people in your organization links provide access to the file or folder to anyone
in your organization who has the link.
Anyone links (if you've enabled them in your organization level sharing settings)
provide anonymous access to anyone who has the link, including people outside
your organization.

You can also choose the default permission level - view or edit - for sharing links.

These options can also be configured for individual sites. See Change the sharing
settings for a site for details.

If you've enabled Anyone links, you can choose if these links should expire after a given
period and if they should allow edit access or just view access.

Next steps
Training and change management

Related topics
Plan for SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365

Set up secure file sharing and collaboration with Microsoft Teams

Overview of external collaboration options in Microsoft 365

SharePoint and OneDrive file sync

Create a more secure guest sharing environment

Training and change management for
rolling out SharePoint and OneDrive
Article • 02/21/2023

Using SharePoint and OneDrive can be a big change for your users, depending on what
your current systems are. Spend time understanding your user journeys - those
sequences of tasks that users regularly follow in the course of their work. Determine
how using SharePoint and OneDrive fit into these journeys and use that information to
create a transition plan and resources to help your users.

As part of your change management plan, review how your users do core tasks such as:

Where to save personal work files

Where to save shared files
How to share files with others in the organization
How to share files with people outside the organization
How to create a site or other location for collaboration with others

Your users will need to learn how to do these tasks in SharePoint and OneDrive. The
resources in this article can help users learn how to do these and other tasks. If you have
specific business processes around these tasks, you may need to create separate
documentation for your users to incorporate that.

If you'll be using both your existing solution and Microsoft 365 during your rollout,
consider how users will navigate back and forth and include that in the guidance you
give your users.

Consider these options for helping your users navigate the transition to SharePoint and
OneDrive:

Office hours where users can attend or call in to ask questions.

Special support channels for users in the process of migrating to SharePoint and
OneDrive.
Single-page or very brief printouts or electronic documents that give steps to core
tasks.
Before and after guidance that shows the old and new way of doing tasks.

Resources for your users

The training resources in this section can help your users learn the everyday tasks they'll
need to know to be successful with SharePoint and OneDrive.
Getting started
These resources can help your users learn the basics of SharePoint and OneDrive.

SharePoint help & learning

OneDrive help & learning

Get started with OneDrive

Should I save files to OneDrive or SharePoint?

Save a file to a SharePoint library

Protect your files by saving them to OneDrive

Transfer files to your personal OneDrive with the Mover Transfer Wizard

Training
OneDrive training - Intro to OneDrive

SharePoint training - SharePoint Quick Start

SharePoint video training

Use OneDrive in Microsoft 365

Collaboration spaces
If you choose to allow your users to create SharePoint sites and other related
collaboration spaces such as teams, these resources can help them learn how.

Create a team site in SharePoint

Create a communication site in SharePoint

Create a team from scratch

Training

Collaborate with SharePoint in Microsoft 365

Sharing
These references can help your users learn how to use the sharing and collaboration
options in SharePoint and OneDrive.

Share SharePoint files or folders

Share OneDrive files and folders

SharePoint sharing and permissions

Share and collaborate with OneDrive

Viva Learning
Viva Learning is a centralized learning hub in Microsoft Teams where your users can
discover, share, recommend, and learn from content libraries provided by both your
organization and others. Viva Learning makes it easy to create learning resources for
your users about how to use OneDrive and SharePoint in your organization.

For more information about Viva Learning, see Overview of Microsoft Viva Learning and
Viva Learning Overview .

Next steps
Roll out SharePoint and OneDrive

Related topics
Plan for SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365
Guided Walkthrough - Create a
communication site for your
organization
Article • 02/21/2023

In this article, we show you elements of a communication site to inspire you and help
you learn how to create similar sites for your own organization. In this example, the site
is optimized to communicate your strategy and guide employees in how to express your
brand in their work.

First, if you haven't already created a Communication site, check out the Create your site
section in this article.

Once you have your created your site and know how to edit pages, you can use the
steps below to add the elements shown.

Example communication site

Image of the homepage Customization instructions

1. Make discovery of content easy Quickly

guide visitors with navigation. Learn how

2. Set the mission A text web part

highlights the mission. Learn how

3. Feature content Emphasize ideas with

the Hero web part. Learn how

4. Display topical news Show the latest

news. Learn how

5. Offer important links Show related

resources with Quick links. Learn how

6. Call-to-action Combine web parts to

increase impact. Learn how
 Image of the homepage Customization instructions

Create your site

To make a site like the one shown here, you'll create a Communication site . To do this,
click Create site from the SharePoint start page (or, if you're going to associate this site
with a Hub site, navigate to the hub site and click Create site there so that the
communication site is automatically associated with that hub site).

Next, choose Communication site, and then the Topic layout. Fill out your site name,
description, and other information, and click Finish.
For more details, see Create a communication site in SharePoint Online .

Back to top

Create a clear and useful navigation

Phases of change management:

Make your site easy to get around so users can find what they're looking for, or to help
users discover more content.

Click Edit to the right of the top menu, hover over the location in the menu where you
want to add a link, and click +. Then add the type of link, your link, and a name to
display in the navigation bar in the Add a link dialog box. Want to reorder your
navigation links? Just drag them into the position you want. Learn more about how to
customize the navigation on your SharePoint site .
Mega menu
When a communication site is associated with a hub site , site owners can quickly and
easily customize the organization and navigation of a SharePoint site. Learn what you
need to know about mega menus in Create a mega menu in hub sites .

Clicking Edit on the top menu opens a three-level outline list on the left. The example
site uses only two of three possible levels on its mega menu: the main menu and a sub
menu.
 Click the ... control on the right of the item name to set the item's link and outline
level.

Back to top

Manage sections and web parts

Start editing by clicking Edit on the top right of the page.

While editing, on the left, below the header your drafts can be saved for later or
discarded.

The + symbol before or after a section will add a section using one of several layouts.

Sections make up your page, and are you place one or more web parts. While editing
the page, each section will show controls to edit the layout, move, or delete the sections.
For information on working with sections, see Add or remove sections and columns on a
page .

Click the plus symbol in a section, which may appear before or after a web part in
a section, to see the many types of web parts available. For more information on all web
parts, see Using web parts on SharePoint pages .

Web parts may be edited, moved, or deleted within sections. The Edit web part icon
opens detailed controls unique to each web part type.

When your page updates are ready, click Publish to make them visible to everyone in
your organization who has permissions to view the content.

 Tip

To manage all of your pages on the site, click Pages on the top menu.

For more details on using pages, see Create and use modern pages on a SharePoint
site .

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Add formatted text with the Text web part

For more details on using the Text web part, see Add text and tables to your page with
the Text web part .

Enhance the message

The example site creates a balance of text and imagery using several different web parts.
At its core, the site is designed to inspire visitors to adopt branding guidelines and
provide the tools needed to follow through.

Layout matters
The first section of the page uses the section layout tools with a Text web part to create
impact by enforcing white space to the right of the mission statement.

Refined typography
The Text web part builds on style of the built-in site template. The Text web part is using
the Normal text style. Clicking the ... control at the right end of the formatting toolbar
offers additional options to the right of the web part.

In this example, the web part is in a two-column section.

Back to top

Focus on priorities with the Hero web part

Let your team know what's most important with high-impact hero images, company
branding, and important news. The initial impact of the site home page is created by
large and eye-catching images of the Hero web part. The page uses the Hero web part
in its Layers option.

Hero layout
Editing the web part presents layout options. The Layers option, such as the one shown
above, sets each image as a layer with the image next to the title. Up to five layers are
possible, so that you can use the web part to fill the entire page.

In this example, the Hero web part uses one layer and is in a full-width section.

Customize each layer

Options for adding a heading and a linked call to action allow each layer to be a starting
point for a deeper message.

It is possible to create an entire visual homepage with just the Hero web part using
Layers.

For more details on using the Hero web part, see Use the Hero web part .

Back to top

Add important news with the News web part

Automatically collect news and timely content

The News web part provides controls to choose the News Source and Layout, and to
Organize and Filter the content to keep the content topical.
For more details on using the News web part, see Use the News web part on a
SharePoint page .

Refine impact with news layouts

Changing the layout will change impact a news feed has. Under Layout, there are five
options to adjust how news items are presented. In this example, news stories are using
the Hub News layout. The stories are presented side-by-side with three equal-sized
images because only three news stories on the site are published.

In this example, the web part is in a one-column section.

Back to top

Use color and icons with the Quick Links web

part
The Quick links web part provides dozens of professional styles for links created from a
few easy-to-use options.

Start with the six base layouts, then adjust by color and alignment. Optionally, you can
add icons or text descriptions to increase the menu impact. In this site example, this web
part uses the Button layout.

For more details on using the Quick Links web part, see Use the Quick Links web part .
Back to top

Create call-to-action elements

The example site uses images to enhance the page look. It combines the Image web
part with the Text and Quick links web parts to create a high visibility call-to-actions
menu guiding visitors to key branding actions.

In the example shown below, the web parts are in the second column of a three-column
section. For more details on using the Image web part, see Use the Image web part .

Back to top
Want more?
Get inspired with more examples in the SharePoint Look Book
Guided walkthrough: Creating a Team
site
Article • 02/21/2023

In this article, we show you elements of an example SharePoint Team site to inspire you,
and help you learn how to create similar sites for your own organization.

Use a team site when you want to collaborate with other members of your team or with
others on a specific project. With a team site, typically all or most members can
contribute content to the site and the information is limited to only the members of the
team or project and specific stakeholders. Additionally, team sites are connected to
groups and a Teams channel . This makes it easy for your team to have group
permissions, as well as a Teams space to chat, meet, and share files.

First, if you haven't already created a Team site, check out Create a team site in
SharePoint .

If you need to learn how to edit and publish the page on your site, check out the section
Manage sections and web parts in this article.

Once you've created your site and know how to edit pages, you can use the guidance
below to add the elements shown.

Example Team site

1. Team highlights and news Get visual while sharing information. Learn how
2. Quick launch Add links to more content around the site. Learn how
3. Inform the team Offer links, events, and content related to team work. Learn how

4. Share news about the team Offer news items of interest to the team. Learn how
 5. Highlight important information Increase visibility of key information with the
Hero web part. Learn how

6. Display project status Use the Planner web part to show team progress on
projects. Learn how

7. Display recent activity Automatically show the most recent updates to team site
content. Learn how

Manage sections and web parts

Sections make up your page, and are where you place one or more web parts. While
editing the page, each section will show controls to edit the layout, move, or delete the
sections.

Start editing by clicking Edit on the top right of the page.

The + symbol before or after a section will add a section using one of several layouts.

For information on working with sections, see Add or remove sections and columns on a
page .

To add web parts to sections, select the plus symbol in a section, which may
appear before or after a web part in a section. Then select a web part to use. For more
information on all web parts, see Using web parts on SharePoint pages .

Web parts may be edited, moved, or deleted within sections. The Edit web part icon
opens detailed controls unique to each web part type.

Back to top
Team highlights and news
The first section of this example page uses a two-column layout. In the first column is a
Hero web part that uses a one-tile layout to link to information introducing a new team
member. Above that is a Text web part with a title. In the second column is a News web
part that uses a list layout. Above that is a Spacer web part to help align the two web
parts.

Learn how to use the Hero web part and the News web part .

Quick launch
You can quickly and easily customize the organization and navigation of your SharePoint
site. Edit the Quick launch menu by selecting Edit at the bottom of the menu.

Select the ... on the right side of each menu item to Edit, Move, or Remove an item.
While editing, your drafts can either be saved for later or discarded. When your page
updates are ready, select Publish to make them visible to site viewers.

Back to top

Inform the team

The second section in this example is in a three-column layout and includes the Quick
links web part, the Group calendar web part, and the Document library web part.
Quick links
The Quick links web part offers several easy-to-use menu formats for listing links to
other pages or sites. In this Team site example, this web part uses the Tiles layout with
small icons for quick and easy reference.

For more details on using the Quick links web part, see Use the Quick links web part .

Group calendar
The Group calendar web part automatically shows meetings and appointments that are
on your Office 365 group calendar. Office 365 groups and their associated calendars
are created automatically when you create a team site.
For more information on the Group calendar web part, see Use the Group calendar web
part .

List web part

Display site content including documents where the team can easily find it. You can use
lists either as a document library or to track information.

For more details on using the List web part, see Using the List web part .
Back to top

Add important news with the News web part

Team sites allow you to show news for the entire team or filter news tailored to the
interests of specific users. In this example, the News web part uses Recommended for
current user as the source and a Side-by-side layout in a one-column section with a
background.

For more details on using the News web part, see Use the News web part on a
SharePoint page

Back to top

Highlight important information

Let your team know what's most important with high-impact hero images, company
branding, and important news. The Hero web part allows you to use large and eye-
catching images to draw immediate attention to the most important information on
your site. The layout used in this example is Two tiles.

The power of tiles

Tiles can include images, topic headings, titles, descriptions, and a call to action link.
Other adjustments include image scaling and setting the focus for the image zoom
animation.

Each tile can be edited

Use the Move item control on the left to rearrange the tiles within the Hero web part.
Controls on the right allow you to Edit details to adjust the text and image, Set focal
point for the hover animation, and Zoom in and Zoom out of the image.

In this example, the Hero web part is in a full-width section.

For more details on using the Hero web part, see Use the Hero web part

Back to top

Show project status

If you use Microsoft Planner to manage your projects, and have a plan created, you
can use the Planner web part to show status for that plan on your SharePoint site.
For more details on using the Planner web part, see Use the planner web part

Back to top

Show team activity with the Site activity web

part
The activity web part has only one setting - how many items to show. Activity shown by
the web part includes page updates and all documents stored on the team site.

In this example, the web part is in a one-column section.

For more details on using the Site activity web part, see Use the site activity web part

Back to top

Want more?
Get inspired with more examples in the SharePoint look book .

See other guided walkthroughs for creating sties for your organization.
Guided walkthrough: Create a giving
site for your organization
Article • 02/21/2023

In this article, we show you elements of an example Giving site to inspire you, and help
you learn how to create similar sites for your own organization. In this example, the
Giving site provides an example of how a page with thoughtful design and messaging
can inspire your organization. This example page is also deployed as part of a Human
Resources Hub site.

First, if you haven't already created a Communication site, check out the Create your site
section in this article.

Once you have your created your site and know how to edit pages, you can use the
steps below to add the elements shown.

Example Giving Site

Image of the homepage Customization instructions

1. Make your site easy to get around Customize navigation

to make it easy for people to discover important content on
your site. Learn how

2. Inspire with imagery and information Use eye-catching

and inspiring images that link to content at the top of the
page. Learn how

3. Make a statement Create professional, consistent text with

multiple formatting choices. Learn how

Call to action Make it easy for people to take action right

away. Learn how

4. Spread the news Share ideas and stories that enhance

your message. Learn how

5. Get events on the calendar Add an event calendar to keep

people up to date on related events. Learn how

Create your site

To make a site like the one shown here, you'll create a Communication site . To do this,
select Create site from the SharePoint start page (or, if you're going to associate this site
with an existing Hub site, navigate to the hub site and select Create site there so that
the communication site is automatically be associated with that hub site).

Next, choose Communication site, and then the Topic layout. Fill out your site name,
description, and other information, and select Finish. Then you'll get a template with the
same type of layout as the example in this article.

For more information, see Create a communication site in SharePoint Online .

Back to top

Make your site easy to get around

You can quickly and easily customize the organization and navigation of your SharePoint
site to make it easy for your visitors to navigate the site and find the information they
need.
 Add and edit the main menu Easily edit the top menu to link the page to other
SharePoint pages or on the Internet.

Mega menus When a site is deployed as part of a hub site, you can create
powerful mega menus .

For more detailed information on working with navigation, see Customize the
navigation on your SharePoint site .

Back to top

Inspire with imagery and information

Let your team know what's most important with high-impact hero images, company
branding, and important news. The initial impact of the Giving site home page is created
by large and eye-catching images of the Hero web part. The layout used in this example
is Four tiles.

Hero layout
Editing the web part presents layout options. The Tiles option, such as the one shown
above, presents layouts for between one and five tiles. The Layers option sets each
image as a layer with the image next to the title. Up to five layers are possible, so that
you can use the web part to fill the entire page.

In this example, the Hero web part is in a full-width section.

Use the Move item Move web part button on the left to rearrange the tiles within
the Hero web part.
Customize each tile
When you select a tile, you'll see a toolbar at the bottom of the tile where you can select
Edit details where you can change the link and image used. With the larger tile, you can
also set call to action text and link. On the same toolbar, you can set focal point for the
hover animation, plus zoom in and zoom out of the image.
For more details on using the Hero web part, see Use the Hero web part .

Back to top

Make a statement with the text web part

Uniform, professional-looking typography is a feature of this site, and the Text web part
provides tools to refine the impact of text used in several locations on this page. In this
example, the Text web part is using the Normal text style. Selecting the ellipses (...) at
the right end of the formatting toolbar offers additional options.

In this Giving site example shown below, the web part is in a one-column section.
For more details on using the Text web part, see Add text and tables to your page with
the Text web part

Back to top

Call to action
In this example, the Giving site has a section using a three-column layout with images
and links within the section.

Here, the Image web part is paired with a text web part to create a call to action.
For more details on using the Image web part, see Use the Image web part .

Working with sections

To create sections, start editing by clicking Edit on the top right of the page.

The + symbol before or after a section will add a section using one of several layouts.

Sections make up your page, and are you place one or more web parts. While editing
the page, each section will show controls to edit the layout, move, or delete the sections.
For information on working with sections, see Add or remove sections and columns on a
page .

Working with web parts

Select the plus symbol in a section, which may appear before or after a web part
in a section, to see the many types of web parts available. For more information on all
web parts, see Using web parts on SharePoint pages .

Web parts may be edited, moved or deleted within sections. The Edit web part icon
opens detailed controls unique to each web part type.

When your page updates are ready, Selecting Publish to make them visible to your
audience.
  Tip

To manage all of your pages on the site, click Pages on the top menu. For more
details on using pages, see Create and use modern pages on a SharePoint site.

Back to top

Spread the news with the News web part

The News web part provides controls to choose the News Source and Layout, and to
Organize and Filter the content. Under Layout, there are five options to adjust how
news items are presented. In this example, news stories are using the site as the source,
and the Top story layout. The stories are presented side-by-side with one large image
and two smaller images because only three news stories on the site are published.

In this example, the web part is in a one-column section.

For more details on using the News web part, see Use the News web part on a
SharePoint page .

Back to top
Add a calendar of events with the Events web
part
The Events web part allows you to easily display upcoming events on your Giving page.
You can use this web part to draw attention to Giving-related events, ranging from
planning sessions to the actual events, and viewers can easily select the event to add it
to their calendars.

In this Giving site example, this web part uses the Filmstrip layout.

For more details on using the Events web part, see Use the Events web part .

Back to top

Want more?
Get inspired with more examples and the ability to add an example Giving site with the
SharePoint Look Book .
Guided walkthrough: Creating a
leadership site for your organization
Article • 02/21/2023

In this article, we show you elements of an example leadership site to inspire you, and
help you learn how to create similar sites for your own organization. In this example, the
leadership site provides your organization insight into the goals and priorities of the
leadership team. Watch this video to see how it's built, or read the article below.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/videoplayer/embed/RE4xd93?postJsllMsg=true

Let's get started

First, if you haven't already created a Communication site, check out the Create your site
section in this article. If you need to learn how to add sections and web parts, check out
the section Add sections and web parts in this article.

Once you have your created your site and know how to edit pages, you can use the
steps below to add the elements shown.

Example leadership site

1. Showcase your company branding Make it yours with a logo and theme. Learn how

2. Make your site easy to get around Customize navigation to make it easy for people
to discover important content on your site. Learn how

3. Focus on priorities Feature curated content that's a priority for the organization.
Learn how
4. Share timely news Share the most recent news, like vision statements and blog
postings. Learn how

5. Connect to important resources Link to pages and sites that cover key topics. Learn
how

6. Engage with video Add video to keep people updated on the latest talks, updates,
and more. Learn how
7. Keep communication fresh Share recent conversations and comments from your
organization. Learn how

8. Showcase images Add more images with text and links to make your page look great
and engage users. Learn how

9. Keep everyone up-to-date Show a calendar of the latest events. Learn how

10. Create a call to action Create a call to action for sign-ups, surveys, or other
important actions. Learn how
11. Use text Use the Text web part to add a quote or share a message. Learn how

Create your site

To make a site like the one shown here, you'll create a Communication site . To do this,
select Create site from the SharePoint start page (or, if you're going to associate this site
with a Hub site, navigate to the hub site and select Create site there so that the
communication site is automatically associated with that hub site).

Next, choose Communication site, and then the Blank layout. Fill out your site name,
description, and other information, and select Finish.

For more information, see Create a communication site in SharePoint Online .

Back to top

Showcase your company branding

You can quickly and easily customize the look of your SharePoint site to reflect your
professional style and brand.

Change the look settings are located under Settings in the top right corner of your
SharePoint site.

You can select the site theme you want, and even customize it.

You can change your header layout and logo when you select Header under Change the
look.
Under Change the look, you can also find options for navigation (cascade or mega
menu) and footer options. For more details on changing the look of your site, see
Change the look of your SharePoint site .

Back to top

Make your site easy to get around

Easily edit the left and top menus to link the page to other SharePoint pages or on the
Internet.
Select Edit on the bottom of the left navigation to manage links there, or on the top
menu to manage links there. Hover over the location in the menu where you want to
add a link, and select +. Then add the type of link you want to add, your website
address, and name to display in the navigation bar in the Add a link dialog box. Want to
reorder your navigation links? Just drag them into the position you want.

For more detailed information on navigation, see Customize the navigation on your
SharePoint site .

Back to top

Add sections and web parts

Sections make up your page, and are where you place one or more web parts. While
editing the page, each section will show controls to edit the layout, move, or delete the
sections.

Start editing by clicking Edit on the top right of the page.

The + symbol before or after a section will add a section using one of several layouts.

For information on working with sections, see Add or remove sections and columns on a
page .
To add web parts to sections, select the plus symbol in a section, which may
appear before or after a web part in a section. Then select a web part to use. For more
information on all web parts, see Using web parts on SharePoint pages .

Web parts may be edited, moved, or deleted within sections. The Edit web part icon
opens detailed controls unique to each web part type.

Back to top

Focus on priorities with the Hero web part

Let your team know what's most important with high-impact hero images, company
branding, and important news. The initial impact of the Leadership site home page is
created by large and eye-catching images of the Hero web part. The layout used in this
example is Three tiles.

Hero layout
Editing the web part presents layout options. The Tiles option, such as the one shown
below, presents layouts for between one and five tiles. The Layers option sets each
image as a layer with the image next to the title. Up to five layers are possible, so that
you can use the web part to fill the entire page.

In this example, the Hero web part is in a full-width section.

Use the Move item button on the left to rearrange the tiles within the Hero web
part.
Customize each tile
When you select a tile, you'll see a toolbar at the bottom of the tile where you can select
Edit details where you can change the link and image used. With the larger tile, you can
also set call to action text and link. On the same toolbar, you can set focal point for the
hover animation, plus zoom in and zoom out of the image.

For more details on using the Hero web part, see Use the Hero web part .

Back to top

Share timely news with the News web part

The News web part provides controls to choose the News Source and Layout, and to
Organize and Filter the content. Under Layout, there are five options to adjust now
news items are presented. In this example, news stories are coming the site as the
source, and the Top story layout. The stories are presented side by side with large
images because only two news stories on the site are published.

In this example, the web part is in a one-column section.

For more details on using the News web part, see Use the News web part on a
SharePoint page .

Back to top

Connect to important resources with the Quick

Links web part
With the Quick links web part, you have the ability to easily create professional, on-page
menus for listing links to other pages or sites. In this example, the web part is using the
Compact layout, but other layouts, like Button and Filmstrip, are available.

In this Leadership site example shown above, this web part is in the second column of a
two-column section.

For more details on using the Quick links web part, see Use the Quick Links web part .

Back to top
Add video with the Stream web part
Using the Microsoft Stream service, you can add Stream videos to your page for
enhanced visuals and higher user engagement.

In this Leadership site example shown above, this web part is in the first column of a
two-column section.

For more details on using the Stream web part, see Use the Stream web part .

Back to top

Keep communication fresh with the Yammer

web part
With Yammer, you can have organization-wide conversations. Now you can have those
conversations right on your page with the Yammer Conversations web part. In this
example, the conversation is being pulled from a Yammer group called Leadership.

In this Leadership site example shown above, this web part is in the first column of a
two-column section.
For more details on using the Yammer web part, see Use a Yammer web part in
SharePoint Online .

Back to top

Engage users with a second Hero web part

The Hero web part doesn't have to be for the top of the page only. In this example, a
second hero web part further down the page uses the Layers layout with two rows to
display larger images.
Learn more about the Hero web part .

Back to top

Keep everyone up to date with the Events web

part
The Events web part allows you to easily display upcoming events on your page. In this
example, leadership events are highlighted.

In this Leadership site example, the web part is in the second column of a two-column
section.
Learn more about the Events web part in Use the Events web part .

Back to top

Add a Call to action web part

The Call to action web part allows you to create a button with a call to action for users.
In this example, it's used to encourage and direct employees to sign up for a speaker
session.

In this Leadership site example, the web part is in the second column of a two-column
section.

For more details on how to use this web part, see Use the Call to action web part .

Back to top

Make words matter using the Text web part

Enhance the message

The leadership quote uses the Text web part. This web part allows basic text formatting,
including styles and tables, for creating fixed sections of formatted text. In this example,
the Text web part is using the Pull quote style. Clicking the ... control at the right end of
the formatting toolbar offers more options to the right of the web part.

In this Leadership site example shown above, the web part is in a one-column section.
For more details on using the Text web part, see Add text and tables to your page with
the Text web part .

Back to top

Want more?
Get inspired with more examples in the SharePoint look book .

See other guided walkthroughs for creating sties for your organization.
Guided walkthrough: Creating a Training
site for your organization
Article • 02/21/2023

In this article, we show you elements of an example Training site to inspire you, and help
you learn how to create similar sites for your own organization. This example site
provides info about a specific event and guides the user toward learning and
registration. It relies on visual impact to engage and motivate the visitor.

First, if you haven't already created a Communication site, check out the Create your site
section in this article. If you need to learn how to edit and publish the page on your site,
check out the section Edit, work with sections and web parts, and publish in this article.

Once you have your created your site and know how to edit pages, you can use the
guidance below to add the elements shown.

Example Training site

Image of the homepage Customization instructions

1. Logo and site classification Customize your

logo and classify your site. Learn how

2. Create impact Use the hero web part to

visually communicate your value. Learn how

3. Guide users to key action Lead visitors to

register or discover more. Learn how

4. Describe the event Use text to describe the

"what" and "why" of the event. Learn how

5. Use images with links Increase visibility and

link to detailed agenda pages. Learn how

6. Highlight detailed information Images can

define areas of important information. Learn
how

7. Show event dates Provide an event calendar

so users can plan their schedules. Learn how

8. Add a map Use a map to help users get to

where they need to be. Learn how
 Image of the homepage Customization instructions

9. Provide on-page registration Add a form for

easy registration. Learn how

Create your site

To make a site like the one shown here, you'll create a Communication site . To do this,
select Create site from the SharePoint start page (or, if you're going to associate this site
with a Hub site, navigate to the hub site and select Create site there so that the
communication site is automatically associated with that hub site).
Next, choose Communication site, and then the Topic layout. Fill out your site name,
description, and other information, and select Finish. Then you'll get a template with the
same type of layout as the example in this article.

For more details, see Create a communication site in SharePoint Online .

Back to top

Logo and site classification

In this example, the header area does not contain any navigation because it is intended
to be a "stand-alone" page. However, the header area does contain a custom logo, and
shows a label indicating that the site is classified as "Internal Only." Site classification
uses values such as internal, confidential, high business impact, low business impact, and
so on. These values can pertain to sensitivity of information or to the life cycle of
information.
To learn how to change the logo and classify your site, see Manage your SharePoint site
settings .

Back to top

Manage sections and web parts

Start editing by clicking Edit on the top right of the page.

While editing, on the left, below the header your drafts can be saved for later or
discarded.

The + symbol before or after a section will add a section using one of several layouts.

Sections make up your page, and are you place one or more web parts. While editing
the page, each section will show controls to edit the layout, move, or delete the sections.
For information on working with sections, see Add or remove sections and columns on a
page .
Select the plus symbol in a section, which may appear before or after a web part
in a section, to see the many types of web parts available. For more information on all
web parts, see Using web parts on SharePoint pages .

Web parts may be edited, moved, or deleted within sections. The Edit web part icon
opens detailed controls unique to each web part type.

When your page updates are ready, select Publish to make them visible to your entire
organization.

 Tip

To manage all of your pages on the site, click Pages on the top menu.

For more details on using pages, see Create and use modern pages on a SharePoint
site .

Back to top
Create impact with the Hero web part
Let your visitors know the focus of your Workshop with the Hero web part. The layout
used in this example is Two tiles.

Hero layout: Tiles or Layers:

Editing the web part presents layout options. The Tiles option presents layouts for
between one and five tiles. The Layers option sets each image as a layer with the image
next to the title. Up to five layers are possible allowing one web part to create an entire
page.

Each tile can be edited:

Use the Move item control on the left to rearrange the tiles within the Hero web part.
Controls on the right allow you to Edit details adjusting the text and image used, Set
focal point for the hover animation, plus Zoom in and Zoom out of the image.

In this example, the Hero web part is in a full-width section.

For more details on using the Hero web part, see Use the Hero web part .

Back to top

Show event dates

The Events web part automatically displays event information. The events shown are
controlled by filters for Source, Event list, Category, and Date range. Events can be
shown with detailed summaries in Filmstrip view or in a Compact view.

In this Workshop site example, this web part uses the Filmstrip layout.
For more details on using the Events web part, see Use the Events web part .

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Describe the event with the Text web part

The leadership drop quote and the Monthly Q&A descriptions use the Text web part.
This web part allows basic text formatting for creating fixed sections of formatted text.

When editing text, this web part will offer basic formatting tools to set styles and add
enhancements like bold and italics. Clicking the ... control at the right end of the
formatting toolbar offers additional options to the right of the web part.

In this Workshop site example shown above, the web part is in a one-column section.

For more details on using the Text web part, see Add text and tables to your page with
the Text web part .
Back to top

Guide users to key actions with Quick links

The Quick links web part offers several easy to use menu formats for listing links to
other pages or sites.

In this site example, the web part uses the Button layout for quick and easy reference.

For more details on using the Quick Links web part, see Use the Quick Links web part .

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Use images with links

The Image web part places a fixed image on the page. Images can be photographs,
diagrams, or even used to bring impact to text. Captions and alt-text keep images
accessible.
For more details on using the Image web part, see Use the Image web part .

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Add maps with the Bing Maps web part

The Bing Maps web part offers an easy visual map reference and quick link to allow
visitors to plan their route to your workshop.

For more details on using the Bing Maps web part, see Use the Bing Maps web part .
Back to top

Add forms for registration

If you created a form for registration using Microsoft Forms , you can place that form
directly on the page with the Microsoft Forms web part. It's an easy way for attendees to
fill out their information, and an easy way for you to collect it.

For more details on using the Microsoft Forms web part, see Use the Microsoft Forms
web part .

Back to top

Want more?
Get inspired with more examples in the SharePoint Look Book .
Guided walkthrough: Creating an
organization site
Article • 02/21/2023

In this article, we show you elements of an example SharePoint enterprise landing site to
inspire you and help you learn how to create similar sites for your own organization. In
this example, the site emphasizes news, resources, and personalized content. You'll see
which web parts on used in different sections, along with links for more information on
each web part.

First, if you haven't already created a Communication site, check out the Create your site
section in this article.

Once you have your created your site and know how to edit pages, you can use the
steps below to add the elements shown.

Example SharePoint enterprise landing site

Web part Description

1 Navigation
Quickly guide visitors to the information
they're looking for with site navigation.
Learn how

2 News and events

Keep everyone up to date on the latest
happenings.
Learn how

3 Quick links
Format the Quick links web part with icons,
images, and descriptions.
Learn how

4 Important information
Display important documents and files.
Learn how

5 Personalization
 Web part Description

Use web parts designed to dynamically

provide personalized information for the
user.
Learn how

Create your site

To make a site like the one shown here, you'll create a Communication site . To do this,
select Create site from the SharePoint start page (or, if you're going to associate this site
with a Hub site, navigate to the hub site and select Create site there so that the
communication site is automatically associated with that hub site).

Next, choose Communication site, and then the Topic layout. Fill out your site name,
description, and other information, and select Finish. Then you'll get a template with the
same type of layout as the example in this article.
For more information, see Create a communication site in SharePoint online .

Back to top

Manage sections and web parts

Sections make up your page, and are where you place one or more web parts. While
editing the page, each section will show controls to edit the layout, move, or delete the
sections.

If your page isn't already in edit mode, select Edit on the top right of the page.

The + symbol before or after a section will add a section using one of several layouts.
For more information on working with sections, see Add or remove sections and
columns on a page .

To add a web part to a section, select the plus symbol , which may appear before
or after a web part in a section. For more information on all web parts, see Using web
parts on SharePoint pages .

Web parts may be edited, moved, or deleted within sections. The Edit web part icon
opens detailed controls unique to each web part type.

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Navigation
You can quickly and easily customize the organization and navigation of your SharePoint
site.

Select Edit on the top menu to add and arrange links.

Learn more about customizing the navigation on your SharePoint site .

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Keep everyone up to date

The Enterprise Landing page uses two different News web parts . One uses the
Carousel layout, and the other uses the Top story layout. In the example at the
beginning of the article, these layouts are both in the first column of two-column
sections on the page. The second column contains an Events web part that you can
use to display upcoming events and activities. The second example photo below
includes the Countdown timer web part to generate excitement for things like an
upcoming event, activity, or launch.
Back to top

Quick links
You can use buttons, icons, and descriptions to turn simple links into engaging guidance
to help visitors find the sites they need.

In the example below, the Quick links web part is in a separate, one-column section .

In this Enterprise landing site example at the beginning of the article, this web part uses
the List layout with icons and descriptions added. To get this look, choose Show
descriptions when you choose the List layout for the Quick Links web part . Then, use
the Edit pencil under each individual link where you can add your own description. Then,
use the Edit pencil icon under each individual link to add your own description.
Back to top

Documents and files

Display a file on the page with the File viewer web part . You can display Word,
PowerPoint, Excel, PDF, and 3D model files, and many more types. In the example, two
File viewer web parts are shown in two columns. One displays a Word document, and
one displays a PowerPoint presentation.
Back to top

Personalized web parts

Recent sites (left column), Highlighted content (middle column), and News (right
column) web parts are in a separate, three-column section. Each can filter content based
on the current viewer of the site. These kinds of web parts used in this way can help
draw viewers back to the page to see their latest visited sites, content, and news.

For more information on using these web parts, see Use the Sites web part , Use the
Highlighted content web part , and Use the News web part on a SharePoint page .

Back to top

Want more?
Get inspired with more examples in the SharePoint look book .
See other guided walkthroughs for creating sites for your organization.
Guided walkthrough: Create a hub site
for your organization
Article • 02/21/2023

In this article, we show you elements of an example Hub site to inspire you, and help
you learn how to create similar sites for your own organization. Hub sites empower
visitors to find information and resources fast. This example Hub site offers news, links
to key resources, events, and contacts. This example of a Human Resources hub site also
suggests a custom app for employee time-off requests

First, if you haven't already created a Communication site, check out the Create your site
section in this article. If you need to learn how to edit and publish the page on your site,
check out the section Edit, work with sections and web parts, and publish in this article.

Once you have your created your site and know how to edit pages, you can use the
steps below to add the elements shown.

Example Hub Site

Image of the homepage Customization instructions
 Image of the homepage Customization instructions

1. Mega menus and edit controls Quickly guide visitors to

the information they seek. This area also provides admins
access to editing tools. Learn how

2. Share news Collect important news relevant to the

site's area of focus. Learn how

3. Feature important content Easily share financial

presentations, charts, and reports. Learn how

4. Keep up-to-date on events Offer quick access to

information on upcoming events. Learn how

5. Create visual impact Add visual impact with banner

images. Learn how

6. Guide visitors to tools Add custom tools to streamline

process like requesting time off. Learn how

7. Provide a clear path Guide users to the correct

information and tools with icons and text summaries.
Learn how

8. Feature the experts Guide visitors to the experts who

can help them resolve issues effectively. Learn how

Create your site

To make a site like the one shown here, you'll create a Communication site . To do this,
select Create site from the SharePoint start page (or, if you're going to associate this site
with an existing Hub site, navigate to the hub site and select Create site there so that
the communication site is automatically associated with that hub site).

Next, choose Communication site, and then the Topic layout. Fill out your site name,
description, and other information, and select Finish. Then you'll get a template with the
same type of layout as the example in this article.
For more information, see Create a communication site in SharePoint Online .

Back to top

Managing the Mega Menu

The Hub site is optimized to organize and present links to other locations effectively.

Clicking Edit on the top menu opens a simple three-level outline list on the left. The
outline level equates to the menu parts: Main menu, Header item, or Menu item.
 Select the ... control on the right of the item name to set the items link and outline
level.

On the right, below the header, select Edit to begin editing your page. While editing,
your drafts can either be saved for later or discarded. When your page updates are
ready, select Publish to reveal them to your entire organization.

Back to top

Manage sections and web parts

To create sections, start editing by clicking Edit on the top right of the page.

The + symbol before or after a section will add a section using one of several layouts.

Sections make up your page, and are you place one or more web parts. While editing
the page, each section will show controls to edit the layout, move, or delete the sections.
For information on working with sections, see Add or remove sections and columns on a
page .
Select the plus symbol in a section, which may appear before or after a web part
in a section, to see the many types of web parts available. For more information on all
web parts, see Using web parts on SharePoint pages .

Web parts may be edited, moved or deleted within sections. The Edit web part icon
opens detailed controls unique to each web part type.

When your page updates are ready, select Publish to make them visible to your
audience.

 Tip

To manage all of your pages on the site, click Pages on the top menu.

For more details on using pages, see Create and use modern pages on a SharePoint
site .

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Add important news with the News web part

The News web part provides controls to choose the News Source and Layout, and to
Organize and Filter the content. Hub sites bring information and resources together so
visitors can find what they need and move forward in completing tasks efficiently. This
site uses the Hub News layout, which is one of five options. Once a layout is chosen,
explore the Organize tools to refine priorities in how the news is displayed.

In this example, the web part is in a one-column section.

For more details on using the News web part, see Use the News web part on a
SharePoint page .

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Style links to match the page with the Quick

Links web part
The Hub site features the Quick links web part, and while it's lower on the Hub page, it is
a key feature of the page. The Quick links web part provides several Layout options that
use icons and text to help visitors locate the link they need.

In this site example, the Compact layout is used for Career resources, and the List layout
is used for Tools, which allows short text summaries for each link.
For more details on using the Quick Links web part, see Use the Quick Links web part .

Back to top

Add graphics with the image web part

Use images to create impact:

On this hub, an image with text guides visitor eyes to important links, information, and
tools. This site also uses an image to suggest implementing a tool for employee time off
requests.

Flexible controls:

The image can come from a location on the site, the cloud, or uploaded. Text options
enhance communication and accessibility.

For more details on using the Image web part, see Use the Image web part .

Back to top
Share files interactively with the File Viewer
web part
The File viewer web part allows important files in many formats to be posted to the
page. The viewer allows visitors the choice to view and interact with the files using
several methods. Visitors may:

Download full copies

Print to PDF

View the files full screen in the browser

For more details on using the File viewer web part, see Use the File viewer web part .
Back to top

Add a calendar of events with the Events web

part
Inform visitors of important events. The Events web part can summarize events from all
over the organization or from a specific list or calendar, and viewers can easily click the
event to add it to their calendars.

In this Hub site example, this web part uses the Compact layout.
For more details on using the Events web part, see Use the Events web part .

Back to top

Feature people with the People web part

When visitors need to find stakeholders or expertise, make it easy by featuring them on
the site. People tiles can be simple or provide extra detail, and one click brings up key
details from their profile.
For more details on using the People web part, see Show people profiles on your page
with the People web part .

Back to top

Want more?
Get inspired with more examples and the ability to add an example Giving site with the
SharePoint Look Book .
Guided walkthrough: Setting up news
for your organization using a hub site
Article • 02/21/2023

With SharePoint, you can share news content across your organization in a meaningful
and discoverable way. By default, SharePoint news is shown on the SharePoint start
page, on team sites, communication sites, hub sites, and on the mobile app according to
how relevant the news is for the user. For example, if an important news story is posted
by someone in your close sphere of work or posted to a site where you're active, it will
be shown to the user.

Organizations have many options as to the kind of news shown, where it's shown, who
can author posts, and more.

In this article, we'll show you how to implement a comprehensive strategy for setting up
news at all levels of your organization.

The strategy
In this walkthrough, we'll do more than just set up News web parts on various sites.
We'll show you a comprehensive strategy that includes setting up an "official" news site
for news that is visually distinguished as organization news; setting up categories for
different types of news; and even setting up an approval process for news posts. We'll
display news on an intranet hub site that comes from a corporate communication
site , a department communication site, and a department team site .

The hub site homepage displays all approved news stories for any site associated with
the hub. That means users see all news posts created in the Corporate News site, all
news posts created in departmental communication sites, and news stories for just their
department’s team site.

1. News from an official corporate communication site that's part of the hub site
 2. News from a department communication site that's part of the hub site
3. News from a department team site that's part of the hub site

Content is displayed in the following way on the sites in the hub:

Each departmental communication site displays news posts for just that
department.
Each departmental team site displays news posts created in that team site and
posts created in the Corporate News site.

Here's how the news flow works:

All employees have permission to create news on their team sites. Posts can be
tagged as being a “milestone” or simply “departmental.”
Each department has one or more employees assigned the task of creating news
posts in their department’s communication site.
All news stories created in departmental communication sites go through a page
approval flow in which a designated person from the Corporate
Communications department approves posts.
Official news posts from the Corporate Communications department are created in
a special site called Corporate News, which is not associated with the hub site. This
site is designated as “official” news .
On a monthly basis, a newsletter containing selected news stories from Corporate
Communications is emailed to all employees .

The hub site structure

All team and communication sites, except for the Corporate communication site, are
associated with a single hub site.

Each department has a communication site to share information with the rest of the
organization, and a team site for internal communication among department
employees.
Implementing the strategy
In this section, you'll walk through the process of setting up your SharePoint
environment to meet the requirements of this news strategy. This process involves
setting up the News web part and creating a Page approval process in a Pages library,
creating categories for news, and designating one site as "official news."

In this example, the assumption is that each of the communication and team sites is
already associated with a hub site (except for Corporate Communications) and there are
already several news posts in the Corporate Communications site. If you need to know
how to set up these types of sites, see Set up your SharePoint hub site , Create a
communication site in SharePoint Online , and Create a team site in SharePoint .

Set up your corporate communications site for official

organization news
Setting up your corporate communication site for "official" organization news allows
news stories from Corporate Communications to appear with emphasis so your users
know immediately that this is official company news, like in this example:
To enable this feature and specify the site for organization news, a SharePoint
Administrator must use the SharePoint Online PowerShell commands:

Get-SPOOrgNewsSite

Set-SPOOrgNewsSite

Set up news on a department team site

In your department team site, you'll add the News web part to the page three times.
Each web part will display different news information based on news source and
categories. To create the categories, add a column to the Pages library to allow authors
to tag their pages with the appropriate category .

Create columns for categories

1. On your department team site, select the Pages link in the site navigation to go to
the pages library.

2. Select + Add column or the + to the right ot the last column name at the top of
the pages.
 3. In the Name field, enter the name Post Type.

4. In the dropdown menu, choose Choice as the type of column.

5. Provide two choices: "Department News" and "Milestone."

6. Select Save.

Next, we'll add News web parts to the department team site home page to show
department news, milestone news, and news from your organization's website.

Add Department news

1. Add a one-third right section to the home page.
2. In the first column, add the News web part, and title it “Department News.”

3. Select Edit in the web part toolbar.

4. Set the following options in the web part property pane:

News source: This site

Show title and commands: On
Layout: Top story
Filter: Page properties
Property name: Post type Equals Department News

5. Select Apply to save your changes.

Add Milestone news

1. In the same column, beneath the web part you just added, add the News web part
again, and title it “Milestones.”

2. Select Edit in the web part toolbar.

3. Set the following options in the web part property pane:

News source: This site

Show title and commands: On
Layout: Side-by-side
Filter: Page properties
Property name: Post type Equals Milestones

4. Select Apply to save your changes.

Add Corporate news

 1. In the second (right) column, add the News web part again, and title it “Corporate
news.”

2. Select Edit in the web part toolbar.

3. Set the following options in the web part property pane:

News source: Choose Select sites, and then select your corporate news site.
Show title and commands: On
Layout: Side-by-side
Filter: Page properties
Property name: Post type Equals Milestones

4. Select Apply to save your changes.

To test what you've done so far, create several news posts in the department site. Set
the page properties on your news story pages so that in some the Post Type is set to
Department News, and in others, set the Post Type to Milestone. For a refresher on
setting properties for pages, see View, edit, and add page details .

This is what the department homepage looks like after it's complete:

Set up your department communication site

In this example, news posts created in the communication site must be approved. You
can set up page approval using Power Automate . Give the Flow a name that includes
the site name such as “Human Resources Page Approval” and set the approver to an
employee in the Corporate Communications department.
Next, set up the site home page to display news stories from this site.

1. On the home page of your department communication site, add a News web part.

2. Select Edit in the web part toolbar.

3. Set the following options in the web part property pane:

News source: This site

Layout Top story

4. Create a news post you'd like to display on your home page. When you're done,
submit the page for approval by selecting Submit for approval at the top right of
the page.

The employee designated as an approver when you set up the Flow will receive an email
that the page is waiting for approval. Once they approve the page, it will appear in the
News web part on your department communication site.

Go ahead and create several news posts in this site. Ensure that each page is submitted
for approval and then approved.

In this example, you can see the kind of news displayed on departmental
communication site for the Human Resources department:
Set up the Intranet hub site homepage
1. Add a two-column section to your hub site home page.
2. In the left column, add the News web part.

3. Select Edit in the web part toolbar.

4. Set the following options in the web part property pane:

News source: Choose Select sites, and then choose Corporate

Communications site.
Layout: Top story

5. In the right column, add the News web part again.

6. Set the following options in the web part property pane:

News source: All sites in the hub

Layout: Hub news

When you're done, you should see just the news posts from Corporate Communications
on the left side of the page, and news posts from every site associated with the hub in
the web part on the right.
Developing your own news strategy
Now that you've seen how to put one specific strategy to work, you can think about
your own strategy. Here are some questions to ask yourself, and your organization, to
help you prepare:

How is news currently communicated? How can you use the same people or
processes that you already have in place when utilizing the new approach?
What kind of news content do you want to share?
Who will be authoring content?
Does news need to be approved? If so, what should the approval process be?
How is news currently communicated?

Organization- and department-wide

communications
In many organizations, there's already a formal means of communicating information to
employees organization-wide. Additionally, in many cases, employees within a
department communicate with one another in a less formal way. It’s important to think
through these processes because, in some cases, you can continue to utilize the same
people or processes within SharePoint.

When thinking about communication organization-wide, ask yourself the following

kinds of questions:

Does someone at your organization create and send newsletters?

Are they emailed? If so, what's the current process for letting that person know
which news needs to be included? How often are the newsletters sent out?
 What's the process for determining which news gets included and which doesn’t?
Who makes that decision?
What's the process for editing the content?
What's the process for deciding which images get included in stories?

At the departmental level, ask yourself these kinds of questions:

Is there someone whose job responsibility includes sharing information with the
rest of the department?
Do employees share information informally with each other using tools such as
email or messaging one another?
What content is being shared?

Types of content and its relevance

The next step in building your news strategy is to evaluate the kind of news content
being produced by your organization. Types of news stories might include:

“In the news” stories that notify employees that your company or organization got
public press, such as appearing in a trade publication or on a news program
Company announcements or milestones, such as releasing a new product or
starting a new initiative
Employee milestones, such as when an employee gets married, has a child, or
retires
Information that requires employees to take action, such as signing up for benefits
or attending training

As you think about this content, it’s important to think about relevance and importance
for various groups within your organization. For example:

Everyone in your organization needs to know when they can sign up for benefits.
This is important and relevant for everyone.
People in the Finance department need to know about new laws that relate to their
accounting practices. This is relevant and important to them. However, it's not
relevant or important for anyone else in the organization.
The Sales department is having a cooking competition in the break room on
Friday. This might be relevant to those in the Sales department, but it doesn’t
qualify as important, and no one else in the organization would consider it relevant
or important.

The purpose of thinking through your content is to make a note of which content needs
to be surfaced in a more predominant way, a secondary way, or not at all. How you
answer this question may depend on factors such as the size of your company. If you're
a small company, you may decide that employee milestones should be displayed
company-wide, while a larger company may only show this to employees in a particular
department.

Who's doing what

Who's authoring news content?

In some organizations, news content is created and managed by a central person or

group of people, such as the Corporate Communications department. This centralized
approach creates a simple approach to authoring and managing news content, ensuring
that only important and relevant content is published for employees company-wide.
However, this approach reduces the amount of news content typically generated
because it requires the intensive time of one individual or one group of people. By
opening up the publication process to others in your organization, you're empowering
others to author news content. News content created by users in their own departments
will be newer and more focused on their department activities, increasing the content’s
relevance.

Who's approving news content?

Once you allow others to create news content, it’s possible that content will be created
that doesn't fit your criteria for quality content. That may include content that has
spelling and grammatical errors, uses inappropriate language, or is irrelevant. You may
decide to implement an approval process to ensure that content meets the criteria
necessary for publication.

How will users consume news using SharePoint?

Traditionally, intranet sites were built with the assumption that users would navigate to
the intranet homepage and consume news there. In this scenario, important company
news would be presented on the homepage, with an additional news feed of stories that
were aggregated from departmental sites. This is a “pull” scenario, where “official”
content (often important and relevant to all employees) is displayed and aggregated
content is “pulled” from other departmental sites. In many cases, however, users don’t
navigate to the intranet homepage anymore. Users may simply navigate directly to their
departmental site homepage, since that site contains most of the information they find
relevant. In some cases, organizations may choose to implement a “push” scenario,
where official information is “pushed” down to their departmental site and is displayed
alongside news stories that were created just in their department.

If your organization is using hub sites, you can aggregate news content at the hub level.
If your organization has implemented multiple hubs, it’s important to think about how
these hubs play into your overall news strategy. It’s common practice to create both an
internal and external department site. The internal departmental site is typically a group-
connected SharePoint team site. That site is only intended for members of that
department. However, there's also a public SharePoint communication site, which is
used to communicate information from that department outward to the whole
organization.

Using this model, all users will see all news posts created in departmental
communication sites, but users will only see news posts created in team sites to which
they belong.

It’s also important to think about the other places where users might consume news
content. Users can read news stories using the SharePoint app on their mobile device
and on the SharePoint page in Office 365. Additionally, a site owner can create a
newsletter of recent news stories, which can be sent to users. Also, users can post news
stories from a group-connected SharePoint site to a Microsoft Teams channel.

Want more?
Get inspired with more examples in the SharePoint look book .

See other guided walkthroughs for creating sites for your organization.
Add featured links to the SharePoint
start page
Article • 02/21/2023

As a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in Microsoft 365, you can feature

the sites and content you want on the SharePoint start page by changing the Featured
links list in the left pane. To add links to a SharePoint Server page, see Video: Add a link
to a page .

７ Note

To learn more about the SharePoint start page, see Find news, sites, and portals in
Microsoft 365 .

To view the SharePoint start page:

1. Sign in with your work or school account at https://www.office.com/signin .

2. Select SharePoint from the list of apps.

If you don't see the list of apps, select the app launcher icon in the top-left
corner of the page, and then select SharePoint.
Can't find the app you're looking for? From the app launcher, to see an
alphabetical list of all the available Microsoft 365 apps, select All apps. From there,
search for a specific app.

On the left side of the page, a Featured links list appears.

Add a link
1. Select Edit.
 ７ Note

If you don't see Edit, you don't have permission to change the Featured links
list. Contact your administrator.

2. To add a link, choose + Add.

3. Fill in the Text to display and Address in the New link dialog.

4. Select Try link to check the link.

5. Select Save.
 The new link will appear at the top of the list. To change where the link appears,
you can drag and drop it within the list.

6. To leave edit mode, select Done when you're finished.

Edit a link
1. Select Edit at the top of the list.

７ Note

If you don't see Edit, you don't have permission to change the Featured links
list. Contact your administrator.

2. Select the link you want to change.

3. Fill in the Text to display and Address in the Edit link dialog.
 4. Select Try link to check the link.

5. Select Save.

6. To leave edit mode, select Done when you're finished.

To change where the link appears, you can drag and drop it within the list.

Change the order of links

1. Select Edit at the top of the list.

７ Note

If you do not see Edit, you don't have permissions to change the Featured
links list. Contact your administrator.

2. Drag each link to the place you want within the list.

3. To leave edit mode, select Done when you're finished.

Delete a link
1. Select Edit at the top of the list.

７ Note

If you don't see Edit, you don't have permission to change the Featured links
list. Contact your administrator.

2. Select X.

3. Select Delete in the confirmation dialog.

4. To leave edit mode, select Done when you're finished.

７ Note

If you had custom promoted sites in classic view of the SharePoint Sites page, the
Featured links section of the SharePoint start page is pre-populated with those
sites. The pre-population of promoted sites in the Featured links list happens only
once when the first user visits the new SharePoint start page. If you go back to
classic view and change the promoted sites, the changes will not be reflected in the
Featured links list on the SharePoint start page.
Roll out SharePoint and OneDrive
Article • 02/21/2023

Be sure you've reviewed these SharePoint and OneDrive deployment resources before
you start your rollout.

Plan for SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365

Identify business requirements for SharePoint and OneDrive
Create a compliant SharePoint and OneDrive environment
Plan sharing and collaboration options in SharePoint and OneDrive
Plan file sync for SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365
Training and change management for rolling out SharePoint and OneDrive

Also, make sure your migration plans are in place as you roll out.

We highly recommend rolling SharePoint and OneDrive out to a pilot group before
rolling them out to your entire organization. A pilot program can help you test your
business processes and determine if there's further change management or training
needed to help your users succeed with SharePoint and OneDrive.

Pilot rollout of SharePoint and OneDrive

We recommend that you start with a small pilot and then increase in scope and speed of
rollout as you review feedback from the pilot group and make changes where needed.

For each phase of the pilot, you'll need to train the users in your pilot group, and then
give them access to SharePoint and OneDrive. This may include migrating content for
them (or allowing them to do so themselves) or setting up SharePoint Server hybrid.

Create success criteria so you'll know when it's time to expand the pilot and when to roll
out SharePoint and OneDrive more broadly.

Be sure there's a process to collect information from pilot users and allow them to
report issues. If your help desk or support personnel are involved in the pilot process,
they may be able to manage this with existing processes.

Do a small initial pilot

For the initial pilot phase, consider the following:

Depending on how technical your users are, you may want to do the initial pilot
with highly technical users, such as people in your IT department.
 Exclude users who need to interact with your customers regularly. Pilot users will
be using new processes for the first time. To give your customers the best service,
you may want to leave customer-facing people out of the initial pilot.

Use this initial pilot phase to validate some core business processes and workflows and
to train your support or help desk personnel.

Expand the pilot

Once the initial pilot users are successfully using SharePoint and OneDrive, extend the
pilot to a wider variety of users. We recommend that you create a group of
knowledgeable stakeholders across departments and disciplines to specifically test the
core use cases you've identified for SharePoint and OneDrive.

Monitor the pilot as it proceeds. When the people involved are able to easily accomplish
the expected tasks, consider rolling the pilot out to a larger group.

Once the people in your pilot group are able to validate the expected use cases and the
number of issues reported is low, consider scheduling the remaining rollout for the rest
of the organization.

Rolling out SharePoint and OneDrive broadly

Once your pilot program has concluded successfully, you can roll SharePoint and
OneDrive out to the rest of your organization.
Moving from publishing sites to
communication sites
Article • 02/21/2023

Being able to communicate broadly using attractive sites and pages is a key feature of
organization intranets. For example, you might have an HR department home page that
serves up important communication to hundreds or thousands of employees.

In the modern SharePoint experience, communication sites fulfill the same purpose as
traditional publishing sites: to communicate broadly to a large audience while
maintaining a level of control on the creation side. Communication sites support most of
the same scenarios as publishing sites, and more capabilities are coming soon. Best of
all, communication sites are easier to build and maintain and include new features such
as a modern authoring canvas. They allow you to share news, reports, statuses, and
other information in a visually compelling format. To sum up: you can quickly create
beautiful pages that look great on mobile devices and that are accessible by default - all
without heavy developer investment. You can get inspired with some great examples in
the SharePoint look book .

Traditionally, sites and pages like this have been designed and built using the publishing
features of Microsoft SharePoint – either team sites with publishing enabled or fully
structured publishing sites. You could specify page layouts, design pages, and set up
content approval workflows. Publishing features allowed for a tight level of control by a
small number of people while allowing broad communication to many people. But with
traditional design and deployment of publishing sites, developer involvement is usually
required for customization of site functionality, navigation elements, and included
investment in master pages, CSS, JavaScript, and web parts. Additionally, traditional site
types designed for a PC browser may not work well or look attractive on mobile devices,
and design and development efforts are needed to provide proper interaction with tools
like screen readers or high-contrast color schemes. With all this, it commonly takes more
time and resourcing to build, test, and deploy when using the classic publishing
infrastructure.

Classic publishing site features that are not

supported in modern communication sites
Classic Publishing Feature – Turning on the classic publishing feature for a
modern communication site is not supported. Instead, modern versions of the
 publishing features will be available outside of the publishing infrastructure. For
more info, see Enable publishing features .
Community Site Feature – The Community Site feature is not supported for
modern communication sites.
Video Content Type – Video content type features are not supported for a modern
communication site. Use the Stream web part as the modern replacement.
Classic Web Parts – Classic web part features are not supported on a modern
communication site. This includes script editor and content editor web parts. For
more info, see Using web parts on SharePoint pages .
Save Site as a template – The save site as a template feature is not supported on a
modern communication site. For more info, see Save, download, and upload a
SharePoint site as a template.
Save List/Library as a template – The save list as a template feature will only work
when custom scripts are allowed. For more info, see Allow or prevent custom
script.
Reset to Site Definition – The reset to site definition feature is not supported on a
modern communication site.
Classic Record Center – The Record Center feature is not supported on a modern
communication site. Instead, use the modern records management capabilities. For
more info, see Microsoft Purview Records Management and Learn about Records.
SharePoint 2010 and 2013 Workflows – SharePoint 2010 and 2013 Workflows are
not supported with modern communication sites. Instead, use Microsoft Power
Automate. For more info, see Microsoft Power Automate and SharePoint 2010
workflow retirement .
Subsites – The subsite feature is not supported on modern communication sites
but is supported on Teams sites. Creation of subsites is available but not
recommended. Consider using the modern hub site feature instead. For more info,
see What is a SharePoint hub site? .

Get started: Move from a publishing site to a

modern communication site
So, how you do move from publishing sites to communication sites? First, know that you
don't have to change all your site collections and sites at once. If you have a very large
collection of publishing sites, you can gradually begin using modern sites, pages, and
web parts. For example, you can start with creating one or more new communication
sites as home pages for existing sites. If you have several departments in your
organization, you can create modern sites and implement modern features one
department at a time. You can choose a strategy that works best for the size and scale
for your organization. To help with determining your strategy, you can use the
SharePoint Modernization scanner tool to find out which classic publishing features are
used in your organization or in a subset of site collections. Find this tool and more
information about it in Modernize classic publishing portals.

When you are ready to begin creating new communication sites and using modern
features, here are some areas to consider:

Structure and navigation

Branding and site design

Pages

Web parts

Sharing news

Permissions and sharing

Audience targeting

Multilingual communication sites

Structure and navigation

Let's say your organization has a publishing site for Human Resources, with subsites for
Benefits, Policies, Training, and Careers. It might be organized like this:

In this example, Human Resources is your site collection that includes four subsites for
Benefits, Policies, Training, and Careers.

In the modern experience, you can use a hub to mimic the same structure while carrying
design elements across related sites:
This structure is no longer hierarchical in the technical sense. Instead, it is a flat structure
where each site is connected because they are part of the Human Resources hub. In this
scenario, each site can be a communication site. But you can also include team sites for
collaboration within the hub, while limiting their availability to the entire organization.
With a hub, you can:

Apply common navigation and branding across associated sites.

Search across all associated sites.

Easily aggregate news and other types of content across all sites.

The best part about hubs is that they are so flexible. As your organization changes, your
intranet organization can change just as quickly, just by associating or disassociating a
site.

To learn more about planning hubs, see Planning your SharePoint hubs. To create a hub,
see Create a hub site. To learn more about navigation options and planning, see
Planning navigation for modern SharePoint.

Branding and site design

In the modern SharePoint experience, it is easy to change the look and feel of your
sites to match your company or organizational brand. You can customize the logo,
colors, navigation, header, and footer – often without writing a single line of code.
Branding can be applied at the site level, to a group of sites, or to all sites within your
organization. SharePoint includes an updated set of default site themes and site designs
(or templates) that are responsive and look great on any device. With site themes, you
can customize your site's logo and colors to match your brand.

Coming soon are multiple options for headers and footers on communication sites, and
options for navigation such as a mega menu. For these and other features that are in
development, rolling out, or launched, check the Microsoft 365 Roadmap . To learn
more about branding options, see Branding your SharePoint site. To learn more about
planning navigation, see Planning navigation for modern SharePoint.
Classic site templates and modern site designs
SharePoint handles branding differently for classic site templates, like the publishing site.
Instead of a site template, communication sites have three out-of-the-box layout
designs: Topic, Showcase, and one open layout: Blank.

When you create a communication site in SharePoint , you can start with a blank site
or choose one of the other site designs, each of which comes with a default set of web
parts . The options available are:

Topic to share information such as news, events, and other content. The home
page includes a Hero web part , to highlight and link to important content; a
News web part , to distribute announcements, reports, status, and more; an
Events web part based on a calendar list; and a Highlighted content web part
to dynamically show documents based on your criteria.

Showcase to use photos or images to showcase a product, team, or event. This is a

highly visual design that includes a Hero web part with large imagery in a
layered layout, and an Image gallery that can be displayed in several different
layouts, such as a tiled layout or carousel layout.

Blank to create your own design.

 If you want more customized branding and theming applied to each new site, you
can use site designs with site scripts to provide custom configurations to apply
when new sites are created. They can be used each time a new site is created to
apply a consistent set of actions. Common site design actions typically affect the
site itself, such as setting the theme or logo, creating lists, or configuring
navigation. You can find more information on how to use site designs and scripts
at SharePoint site design and site script overview.

Pages
Master pages and page layouts are components of a publishing site. Page layouts and
master pages work together to create the layout for a traditional SharePoint web page.
Modern communication sites do not utilize master pages or page layouts, but do
provide a greater level of flexibility for site owners and page authors.

In the classic experience, you may have created web part pages based on page layouts.
Page layouts can be locked down to control what is authored on a page. However, they
are inflexible in that pages based on page layouts are confined to the layout and
options provided by the page layout.

Modern pages provide a fast, easy way to build responsive pages using the functionality
of modern web parts. Pages are similar to classic web part pages and publishing pages,
but are less structured and easier to create. And, each page's layout is flexible in that it
can be changed anytime to align to the content for the page and the experience you are
trying to create for your readers.

Classic web part page:

Modern web part page:

Pages are made up of a title area and sections. Sections can include a full-width column
for full-bleed images or hero web parts or up to three regular columns. You can add a
variety of web parts to the page, and easily move them around on the page to get the
look you want. Check out this short video to see how to create, layout, and publish a
page:
https://videoplayercdn.osi.office.net/hub/?csid=ux-cms-
msoffice&uuid=RE2ZpSP&AutoPlayVideo=false
Publishing: On a classic publishing site, commands for Publish and Check in/Check out
are available on the ribbon. In the modern experience, it is even easier for authors to
discover how to edit and make their content visible with buttons to Edit, Save, and
Publish right on the page. When a modern page is in edit mode, it is automatically
checked out to the person who is editing. When a page is saved or published, it is
automatically checked in. If someone has a page open for editing but hasn't made any
changes to it for at least 5 minutes, it is automatically saved and taken out of Edit mode
so that others can access and edit the page.

To learn more about how to create and edit pages, see Add a page to a site .

Content approval for pages

Content approval ensures that edits to pages meet company policies or standards.
Classic publishing allows for content approval on pages using out-of-the-box workflows.
Modern pages also provide for content approval and once it is enabled, users need only
to press a Submit button on the page to start the approval flow. The recommended way
to do this is to use the built-in Power Automate commands. Learn more at Page
approval flow .

Scheduling
Scheduling content to "go live" at specific times is a feature of classic publishing sites
and now a feature of modern pages. To learn more about modern page scheduling, see
Schedule a SharePoint page or news post to go live at a specific time .

Moving from classic to modern pages: At this time, there is not a way to change a
classic page into a modern page without using a multi-step code solution, which may
work well for IT Admins and developers. If you are neither of those, we recommend you
gradually start planning for and creating modern pages, as needed.
If you are using a classic publishing site, you should know that it is possible to create
modern pages in a classic publishing site, but there is not an automated way to move
from a publishing site to a communication site. To move to a communication site, we
recommend you begin creating modern pages in a new communication site rather than
in a classic publishing site.

There are several important advantages to moving to a new communication site. One of
the most important advantages is that you can use the upgrade as an opportunity to re-
think the "story" of your site and validate that the content is needed, up-to-date, and
relevant to users. In addition, you can use the move as a time to look at the content that
is no longer needed it and remove it. Cleaning up your unused content improves both
user experiences and search outcomes – so consider the move as an opportunity to
clean up legacy content and establish new governance practices to make sure that your
content is kept up-to-date going forward.

Wiki pages
Wiki pages are a content type available in publishing sites, but they are not available in
communication sites. However, you can create modern pages using either a Text web
part or Markdown web part to cover many of the same scenarios as Wiki pages.
Note that Wiki syntax is not available in a Text web part, with the exception of adding a
hyperlink with the use of brackets "[[".

Web parts
Modern pages use modern web parts. Modern web parts are designed to be easier to
use, faster, and look great on all devices. It is important to note that for security reasons,
modern out-of-the-box web parts do not allow for the insertion of custom code
including JavaScript.

） Important

Classic web parts cannot be used on modern pages and modern out-of-the-box
web parts cannot be used on classic pages. Developers may create custom modern
web parts that may work on both classic and modern pages. Additionally, there is
not a 1:1 mapping of classic to modern web parts, but there are web parts that
have similar purposes.

To learn about all of the modern web parts, see Using web parts on SharePoint pages .
To learn about modern web parts that have similar purposes to classic web parts, see
Classic and modern web part experiences .

For developers, the SharePoint Framework allows for the building of custom modern
web parts that appear alongside out-of-the-box web parts in the web part toolbox. The
SharePoint Framework also allows for custom extensions, the use of the Microsoft Graph
API, as well as secure access to third-party solutions and APIs secured by Azure Active
Directory. Developers are encouraged to consult the SharePoint starter kit , where
you'll find a fully built sample solution that includes numerous web parts, extensions,
and other components that you can use as an example and inspiration for your own
customizations. Additionally, find design guidance and standards for web parts at
Designing great SharePoint experiences.

Web parts unique to publishing sites

Publishing sites include a variety of web parts that enable authors to insert video, rich
text, forms, and dynamic content onto a site page. Three web parts that have been
unique to publishing sites are the Content query web part to show dynamic content, the
Summary links web part, and the Table of contents web part to display links to important
content. The following are a selection of modern web parts that help fulfill the same
purposes as these web parts.

Content query: The Highlighted content web part serves a similar purpose as the
Content Query web part. It dynamically displays content from a document library, a site,
a site collection, or multiple sites. With the Highlighted content web part, many of the
advanced and confusing search/query options of the Content Query web part have been
replaced with streamlined query options. However, unlike its classic counterparts,
custom display templates are not allowed.

Summary links, Table of contents: There is not a 1:1 mapping of these web parts to
modern web parts. However, there are several modern web parts that can fulfill the
same purpose, which is to help your users navigate from a page level to important
content. These are:

Quick links

With Quick links, you can add links to a page and set display options like a carousel
format called filmstrip, list, or a smaller compact format. Each of the links in the
compact format can be arranged and displayed with or without images. It is
currently not possible to populate Quick links based on a SharePoint list.

Link
 The Link web part shows one complete URL link and adds the ability to show or hide
a preview pane with the link target.

Hero

The Hero web part is, by default, included on both the Topic and Showcase
communication site templates. It is an attractive way to bring focus and visual
interest to your page. You can display up to five items in the Hero web part and use
compelling images, text, and links to draw attention to each. You can use the Hero
web part at the top of a page or anywhere in the page as well. In general, you don't
want to use more than one hero web part on the same page. And, if you have more
than 5 critical items to emphasize, consider using a different method to feature this
content, such as the Quick links web part in a grid view.

Text

In the Text web part, you can add links within your content using the toolbar.
Additionally, with the Text web part you can create a link that opens in a new tab.

To learn more about modern web parts that have similar purposes to classic web parts,
see Classic and modern web part experiences .

Sharing news
The News feature is an effective distribution system created to deliver relevant content
across your organization.

Built on modern pages and web parts, you can tell stories with rich, attractive content
that can be dynamically shown on the SharePoint start page, on team sites,
communication sites, hubs, and even on the SharePoint mobile app. You can also
choose to show News in a Teams channel.

Where news can be distributed

News posts can be created from the SharePoint start page, from a team site or
communication site, and from pages that have the News web part on them already. You
can customize sources and layouts of news, and you can also organize and order news
posts as well as target specific audiences for news. To learn more about how to create
and share News, see Create and share news on your SharePoint sites .

Users and permissions

You probably don't want a large group of people having the ability to make changes to
your site that communicates information to a whole department or organization.
Publishing portal sites included roles such as Approvers and Designers. Communication
sites present a simplified experience, so not all these roles are present by default. While
you could set up roles like these manually, we recommend that you use the new sharing
interface, which also can provide you with needed controls.

To help you limit who has permissions to change the site, communication sites are not
group-enabled like modern team sites. This means that a communication site is not
automatically connected to a group of people with edit permissions. However, you can
give specific people permission to make changes to your communication sites by
selecting Site permissions under Settings and then Share a site. You can use Advanced
permissions to give even more granular permissions if needed. For more in-depth
information on the differences between classic and modern permissions, see
Permissions and Sharing in the SharePoint modern experience.

You can also share a communication site externally if needed from the SharePoint admin
center .
Audience targeting
In the classic experience, many types of content can be targeted to appear only to
people who are members of a particular group or audience. This capability is available in
the modern experience with modern Pages and documents, the News web part, the
Highlighted content web parts, and navigation. For example, if you have two
departments within your organization that have different policies, you can choose to
show a News post about a policy to just the people in the department that the policy
applies to. To learn how to enable audience targeting, see Target content to specific
audiences .

Multilingual communication sites

If your organization spans a diverse population, you may want to make content in your
intranet sites available in multiple languages. User interface elements like site
navigation, site title, and site description can be shown in the user's preferred language.
Additionally, you can provide pages and news posts on communication sites that you
translate and that are shown in the user's preferred language.

To create pages on communications sites in different languages, you use the translation
feature to make copies of pages created in your default language. The copies can then
be manually translated. Published translation pages are automatically shown in the
appropriate language site, including in the News and Highlighted content web parts for
each language.

To learn how to set up and use the multilingual feature for communication sites, see
Create multilingual communication sites, pages, and news .

７ Note

At this time, the multilingual feature is available for communication sites only.
Customizing SharePoint
Article • 02/21/2023

In earlier versions of SharePoint, it was possible to make changes to a SharePoint

environment by deploying custom code that would run in the physical SharePoint server
environment. Changes made to SharePoint that didn't require the deployment of
custom code were referred to as "customizations", because the changes were not
fundamentally changing the product's functioning but were rather configuring the
existing product in a unique way. Examples of customizing SharePoint Server have
included deploying custom branding elements such as master pages and style sheets to
a site collection; deploying pre-configured web parts to a web part gallery; creating
custom workflows in SharePoint Designer; changing the look and feel of list forms using
InfoPath; and more. Because of the shared nature of the SharePoint infrastructure,
Microsoft does not allow the deployment of custom code to its environment. As a result,
the concept of customizing SharePoint as opposed to deploying custom code is no
longer a relevant paradigm. However, it's still helpful to think of ways that SharePoint
can be customized, or configured uniquely, in a broader sense of the word.

The purpose of this document is to help you understand how you can customize your
SharePoint environment using modern tools and techniques.

Branding
Modern SharePoint sites allow you to change the look of the site by modifying
elements such as the site logo and the colors used throughout the site. Branding your
SharePoint site can help you match a site to a brand as well as help users differentiate
between multiple SharePoint sites. While several themes options are available by
default, it's also possible to specify unique theme colors by supplying SharePoint with a
custom configuration file. Older, "classic" SharePoint sites allow administrators to apply
custom branding and page layouts to a SharePoint site by applying a custom master
page, applying a custom theme to a site, deploying custom page layouts, and more.
Because classic sites are not as fast and mobile-friendly as modern sites, Microsoft
recommends using modern sites going forward.

Navigation
Navigation helps users find the information they need quickly by providing links to
pertinent information in a persistent manner. Planning your navigational strategy in
modern sites is a critical element in the usability of your SharePoint environment.
Modern SharePoint sites provide a streamlined model for adding navigational
elements using the browser. The position of the navigation is determined by the kind
of site being viewed, the size of a user's screen, and whether the megamenu option
has been enabled for the site. Additionally, modern sites can take advantage of hub site
navigation.

Note that earlier versions of SharePoint allowed navigational elements to be dynamically

generated using the structured navigation and managed metadata navigation providers.
These options are no longer available in modern sites. However, if you are using a
classic site with modern pages, you can still use these providers and the modern pages
will reflect the correct navigational links. In terms of layout, because modern sites do not
allow you to customize the site's master page or style sheet, it's not possible to move
the position of the navigation elements on the page as could be done in classic
SharePoint sites.

Page content
Nearly every version of SharePoint has had a way of creating custom layouts for web
pages, whether that was by selecting a web part page, a wiki page layout, or a
publishing page layout. Modern sites also provide a similar functionality. However,
rather than providing a static layout that provides a set number of editable regions on
the page, modern pages provide the ability for page editors to "stack" column layouts
on a row-by-row basis . Page editors can also choose various options related to how
the title region of the page is displayed. Finally, the most fundamentally way to
customize a modern page is to place custom content on the page. This can be done by
adding modern web parts to the page. Note that web parts used in classic web sites
will not work in modern sites. However, it is possible to create and deploy custom
("client-side") web parts that were created using the SharePoint Framework.

Workflows
We recommend using Power Automate for configuring and executing all workflows in
your Microsoft 365 environment, including SharePoint. For example, it's possible to
create unique approval workflows for content stored in SharePoint. Additionally, it's
possible to use Power Automate as the default workflow engine for approving
SharePoint page content , directly from the SharePoint user interface. Flows can be
triggered by SharePoint actions (such as when an item is created in a list), or perform
actions within SharePoint (such as update a list item). While SharePoint Designer
workflows are still supported, new workflows should be created using Power Automate.
Forms
Power Apps can be used to create custom forms for use in modern SharePoint sites.
There are several ways in which these Power Apps forms can be used in your SharePoint
site:

As a custom SharePoint list form

As a custom SharePoint list view
As a stand-alone app that uses a SharePoint as its data source

You can embed a Power App form in a modern page using the Power Apps web part.

Forms that were previously created using InfoPath and hosted in SharePoint using
InfoPath Forms Services should be converted to Power Apps forms, as Microsoft has
announced the deprecation of InfoPath .

Microsoft Forms can also be used for easily creating light-weight forms . Like Power
Apps, it's possible to embed a Microsoft Form in a page using the Microsoft Forms
web part.

Customize your SharePoint site

programmatically
Legacy versions of SharePoint Server relied on solution packages to deploy content and
make configuration changes to SharePoint sites. It's still possible to programmatically
provision sites as well as customize team sites, lists and libraries, and site pages. There
are various methods for making programmatic changes to your SharePoint
environment, including using the Office Developer Patterns and Practices APIs, the
Microsoft 365 CLI , the Microsoft Graph API, the SharePoint Framework, and more.

Use the SharePoint Framework (SPFx) to render custom web parts on a modern
SharePoint page. Additionally, Extensions to the SPFx provide the ability to add scripts
to pages, create modified views of data, and surface new commands in the SharePoint
user interface. SPFx application packages can be deployed to SharePoint sites using the
SharePoint App Catalog.

Use third-party apps and solutions

Not only can you deploy custom apps to your environment, but you can also get apps
from the SharePoint Store. For more information, see Use the App site to make custom
business apps available for your SharePoint environment and Add an app to a site .
If you want to change the settings for whether or not site users can acquire apps from
the SharePoint Store, see Configure settings for the SharePoint Store.

If you are interested in exploring services or applications from Microsoft partners that
are available for SharePoint, browse Microsoft 365 apps on Microsoft AppSource .
There are also many open-source solutions developed by the collective SharePoint
community, including Microsoft, MVPs, Partners, and Customers on the Microsoft 365
Developer Patterns and Practices GitHub site .

Examples of modern customization approaches

The following table gives an example of older methods for customizing sites along with
a current recommended approach:

Legacy Modern

Implement branding using custom master pages, page Use the "apply a look" option to
layouts, and themes customize branding elements like
logo, header, footer and colors

Use custom navigation providers such as structured Manually specify navigational links
navigation or managed metadata navigation to
dynamically generate navigational elements

Create a wiki page and choose a text layout option to Create a modern page and add
modify the layout of the page section layouts to the page to arrange
web parts on the page.

Create a workflow using SharePoint Designer Create a workflow using Power

Automate

Customize a SharePoint form using InfoPath Customize a SharePoint form using a

Power App

Deploy a web part to a site using a sandbox solution Use the SharePoint App Catalog to
deploy a client-side web part to a site
Change the default list and library
experience
Article • 02/21/2023

The new SharePoint list and library experience is faster, simpler, and responsive on
mobile devices. It also supports many new capabilities that are not available in the
classic experience, including Power Apps and Power Automate integration, the Filters
pane, and column formatting. Many sites that have features or customizations that don't
work in the new experience will automatically switch back to the classic experience. For
more information about this behavior, see Differences between the new and classic
experiences for lists and libraries . To detect lists that won't work well with the new
experience, run the SharePoint Modernization scanner.

It's no longer possible to select the classic experience as the default for all sites in your
organization. Instead, we recommend setting it for only the specific sites that need it.
You can activate the site collection feature SharePoint Lists and Libraries experience to
turn off the new list and library experience for a site collection. To learn how, see Enable
or disable site collection features . For info about changing this setting using
PowerShell, see Opting out of the modern list and library experience.

７ Note

Users can select the default experience for an individual list or library, overriding
what you set. For info, see Switch the default experience for lists or document
libraries from new or classic .
Classic home page modernization
Article • 02/21/2023

Modernizing the home page of a classic SharePoint team site makes the page look great
on any device and makes it easier for users to customize the layout and see news and
activity. This article covers all the details on how automatic modernization works and the
controls you have as an administrator.

How it works
If a classic team site meets the following criteria for being updated, the home page will
automatically modernize the next time a user visits. When users first experience the
change, they’ll see a walkthrough that highlights the new capabilities and includes a link
to a help article with more details.

We encourage users to adopt the change in order to benefit from the power of
modernized pages. However, if site admins or site owners want to revert to the classic
home page, they can. Instructions are available in the support article .

Update criteria
Classic team site (STS#0) only.

Home page name in any language is ‘Home.aspx’.

Contains default web parts only: getting started (GettingStartedWebPart),

Newsfeed (SiteFeedWebPart), and document library (XsltListViewWebPart).

No text is present (wiki HTML is not customized).

DisplayFormTemplateName = "WikiEditForm".

ModernizeHomepageOptOut feature is not activated.

No custom master pages are detected.

The classic publishing feature is turned off.

７ Note

All update criteria must be met for a team site home page to qualify for the
automatic upgrade.
The technical details
Applies to both STS#0 site collections and all corresponding subsites.

The update applies only to the home page. No other classic pages will be changed.
We recommend using the SharePoint PnP modernization framework for all other
site pages.

The new modern home page is named ‘Home.aspx’ and the classic page gets
renamed to ‘Home(old).aspx’.

This update does not create a Microsoft 365 Group for the team site.

Classic site themes may not be identical once your page is updated to modern.
Learn how to apply custom styles and color to your site.

Only site admins can revert to the classic home page through the link appearing in
the left navigation. Site owners can revert to the classic page by visiting site pages
and marking the classic page as their home page.

Update happens on demand based on next site access. If a subsite is accessed, it

will trigger the update for its root site collection and its other subsites. Remember,
the update only applies to the root site collection and subsites if the criteria are
met.

We do not check the state of custom actions, therefore they will not transfer to
your new modern page.

We do not check the state of modern SharePoint lists and libraries for classic sites.

Why update classic team site home pages to

modern?
Over the years, SharePoint modern pages have become powerful tools for collaboration
and productivity at work and we want more users to take advantage of these
capabilities. Automatically modernizing team site home pages that are not customized is
the first step to helping classic site users get more out of SharePoint.

What to expect after a classic team site home

page is updated to modern
When users first experience the change, they’ll see a walkthrough that highlights the
new capabilities and includes a link to a help article with more details like this:

For more training, download the classic to modern walkthrough .

How to prevent specific sites from being

updated
To disable the update on specific sites, use one of the following options:

Option 1: Use PnP PowerShell to prevent a specific site from being upgraded by
enabling a web scoped feature on each site and sub site that’s being impacted.

Connect to the site using Connect-PnPOnline. For example,

Connect-PnPOnline -Url https://[tenant].sharepoint.com/sites/siteurl -Credentials

$cred

To prevent modernization of an uncustomized home page, run:

Enable-PnPFeature -Identity F478D140-B148-4038-9CB0-84A8F1E4BE09 -Scope Web

If you later want to re-enable modernization of that page, run:

Disable-PnPFeature -Identity F478D140-B148-4038-9CB0-84A8F1E4BE09 -Scope Web

Option 2: Don’t know what sites will be impacted by this change? You can use the
SharePoint Modernization Scanner and run the scanner in “HomePageOnly” mode. The
output of the modernization scanner run contains a file called
SitesWithUncustomizedHomePages.csv. Use this file to get a list of sites and sub sites
that will get a modern homepage. This tool will enable you to message users impacted if
desired. If needed, use the PowerShell cmdlet above, or the following sample script to
opt multiple sites out of the update: https://github.com/SharePoint/sp-dev-
modernization/tree/dev/Scripts/HomePageModernizationOptOut

Option 3: Add an out-of-the-box SharePoint web part , a custom web part, or text to
your team site home page.

７ Note

It's highly recommended that you modernize home pages to benefit from the latest
SharePoint features and to improve the viewing experience for users on desktop
and mobile. Another option for modernizing classic sites is to enable the
communication site experience on a specific classic site. For info, see Enable the
communication site experience on classic team sites.

What about new classic team sites STS#0

created after this change?
Classic team sites (STS#0) created after May 1, 2020 will not get updated.

Can I also modernize the other pages in my

sites?
For a more consistent user experience, we recommend that you modernize all pages on
classic team sites. This can be self-service done via the open-source SharePoint PnP
Page Transformation solution.

Getting excited about modern?

For more help in transitioning to modern, refer to the following resources:

Guide to modern experience in SharePoint

SharePoint modern inspiration

Modernizing your classic sites

Transform classic pages to modern pages

Enable the communication site experience on classic team sites
Enable the communication site
experience on classic team sites
Article • 02/21/2023

A SharePoint communication site is a great tool for sharing information with others in
your organization. Your users can share news, reports, statuses, and other information in
a visually compelling format. Now, any classic team site can have this capability too. By
running a PowerShell cmdlet, you can bring modern communication site features to
your classic team sites.

Requirements
The site must be a classic team site that's not connected to a Microsoft 365
group (the STS #0 site template).
The site must be the top-level site in the site collection. It can't be a subsite.
The user who runs the PowerShell cmdlet must have full owner permission on the
target site.
The site must not have SharePoint Server Publishing Infrastructure enabled at the
site collection level or SharePoint Server Publishing enabled at the site level. Learn
how to enable and disable publishing features . If these features were previously
enabled but have been deactivated, go to the site contents page and make sure
it doesn't still contain a Pages library. Learn more about features enabled on a
publishing site

Effects of this change

A new modern page is created in the site and set as the home page. Open the site
in a new tab to see the changes.
Any user that has access to the site will see the new home page with the default
web parts and content immediately. Until you're ready to launch the new
communication site experience, you can change the home page back to the former
page.
Full width pages with horizontal navigation are available. (The top navigation from
classic view is hidden, but can be seen on classic pages like the site settings page.)
You can now customize the navigation on this site.
Custom script isn't allowed on the site.
Minor versioning on the Site Pages library is enabled. Learn more about
versioning
 Site Pages are the default content type in the Site Pages library
No site permissions are changed.
The SharePoint lists and libraries experience isn't changed.
Any content types enabled in the site aren't changed.
If the classic site collection had subsites, they aren't changed.
If you intend to launch this site as a high traffic portal experience or share the site
with a large number of users, make sure to follow the portal launch guidelines.

Run the PowerShell cmdlet

You can use either the SharePoint Online Management Shell OR SharePoint PnP
PowerShell to enable the communication site experience on a classic team site. We
recommend that you test the experience with a minimally used classic site before
running it on popular classic sites in your organization.

） Important

After you enable the communication site experience on a classic site, you can't
undo the change.

SharePoint admin instructions

1. Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell . Version 20122.1200
or later is required.

７ Note

If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell,

go to Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management
Shell."

2. Connect to SharePoint as a global admin or SharePoint admin in Microsoft 365. To

learn how, see Getting started with SharePoint Online Management Shell.

3. Run the following command:

PowerShell

Enable-SPOCommSite -SiteUrl <URL of target site>

For more info about this cmdlet, see Enable-SPOCommSite.

Site admin instructions

1. Learn how to use SharePoint PnP PowerShell commands.

2. In Windows 10, run the following commands in PowerShell:

PowerShell

Install-Module SharePointPnPPowerShellOnline
Connect-PnPOnline –Url <Url of Targetsite> –Credentials (Get-
Credential)
Enable-PnPCommSite

Frequently asked questions

Will this cmdlet change all my classic sites?

No. The cmdlet can be run on one site at time.

Will this cmdlet change the site template?

No. The cmdlet enables communication site features, but the site still has the
STS#0 site template. The site will continue to appear as "Team site (classic
experience)" in the SharePoint admin center .

Why can't I use this cmdlet on publishing sites?

The modern communication site experience isn't compatible with SharePoint

Server publishing features.

Can I run this command on the root site in my organization?

Yes, if you meet the requirements listed at the beginning of this article.

How can I get a list of all classic sites that have the communication site experience
enabled?

PowerShell

function Get-CommsiteEnabledSites{

$adminUrl = Read-Host "Enter the Admin URL of O365 (eg. https://<Tenant

Name>-admin.sharepoint.com)"
$userName = Read-Host "Enter the username of O365 (eg.
admin@<tenantName>.onmicrosoft.com)"
$password = Read-Host "Please enter the password for $($userName)" -
AsSecureString

# set credentials
$credentials = New-Object -TypeName
System.Management.Automation.PSCredential -argumentlist $userName, $password
$SPOCredentials = New-Object
Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.SharePointOnlineCredentials($userName,
$password)

#connect to to Office 365

try{

Connect-SPOService -Url $adminUrl -Credential $credentials

write-host "Info: Connected succesfully to Office 365" -
foregroundcolor green

catch{

write-host "Error: Could not connect to Office 365" -foregroundcolor

red
Break connectToO365

}
get-siteCollections
}

function get-siteCollections{

write-host "----- List of classic sites with comm site feature enabled
-------" -foregroundcolor green

#Get all site collections

$siteCollections = Get-SPOSite

#loop through all site collections

foreach ($siteCollection in $siteCollections){

#set variable for a tab in the table

$pixelsweb = 0
$pixelslist = 0
$enabledCommSite = Get-SPOIsCommSiteEnabled($siteCollection.url)
$background = "white"
if($enabledCommSite -ne ""){
$background = "cyan"
}
}
}
 function Get-SPOIsCommSiteEnabled($url){

#fill metadata information to the client context variable

$featureID = "f39dad74-ea79-46ef-9ef7-fe2370754f6f"
$context = New-Object Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.ClientContext($url)
$context.Credentials = $SPOcredentials
$web = $context.Web
$context.Load($web)
$context.load($web.Features)

try{

$context.ExecuteQuery()
$isCommSiteEnabled = $web.Features | Where {$_.DefinitionID -eq
$featureID}
$webTemplate = $web.WebTemplate

if($webTemplate -ne "SITEPAGEPUBLISHING" -AND $isCommSiteEnabled){

write-host "Found $($web.url)" -foregroundcolor green
return "Enabled"

}
}
catch{

write-host "Could not find web" -foregroundcolor red

return ""
}

Get-CommsiteEnabledSites

See also
For info about automatically modernizing the home page on classic sites, see Classic
home page modernization.
Differences between the classic and
modern search experiences in
SharePoint
Article • 03/09/2023

SharePoint in Microsoft 365 has both a classic and a modern search experience.
Microsoft Search in SharePoint is the modern search experience. Both search
experiences use the same search index to find results.

As a search admin, you can’t enable or disable either search experience, both are
enabled by default. Users get the classic search experience on publishing sites, classic
team sites, and in the Search Center. Users get the Microsoft Search experience on the
SharePoint start page, hub sites, communication sites, and modern team sites. Learn
about classic and modern sites

The most visible difference is that the Microsoft Search box is placed at the top of the
SharePoint, in the header bar. Another difference is that Microsoft Search is personal.
The results you see are different from what other people see, even when you search for
the same words. You'll see results before you start typing in the search box, based on
your previous activity and trending content in Microsoft 365, and the results update as
you type. Learn more about the Microsoft Search experience for users .

Search admin can customize the classic search experience, but not the Microsoft Search
experience. As a search admin you can tailor Microsoft Search to your organization so
it's easy for your users to find often needed content in your organization.

For example, if your organization has Microsoft Search fully deployed, custom result
sources at site collection or tenant level won't affect the search result. The search admin
can use Microsoft search verticals instead. To learn more, see Manage search verticals.

You use the SharePoint admin center to manage classic search and the Microsoft 365
admin center to manage Microsoft Search. Certain aspects of the classic search settings
also impact the modern search experience:

The search schema determines how content is collected in and retrieved from the
search index. Because both search experiences use the same search index to find
search results, any changes you make to the search schema, apply to both
experiences. The Microsoft Search experience doesn't support changing the sort
order of results or building refiners based on metadata. Therefore, the following
search schema settings don’t affect the Microsoft Search experience:
 Sortable
Refinable
Company name extraction (deprecated since November 15, 2019)

In environments where vertical configuration is available the modern search

experience only shows results from the standard result source (Local SharePoint
Results). To learn more, see Manage search verticals.

In environments where vertical configuration is not available the modern search

experience only shows results from the default result source. If you change the
default result source, both modern and classic search experiences are impacted.

Depending on the search scenario, some Microsoft Search features might not work
if the classic global Search Center URL is not set to point to the URL of the default
classic Search Center. Depending on your tenant, this URL is
"yourcompanyname.sharepoint.com/search" or
"yourcompanyname.sharepoint.com/search/pages". Furthermore, ensure that the
Search Center site collection exists and that all users have read access to it.

If you temporarily remove a search result, the result is removed in both search
experiences.

The classic search experience lets admins define promoted results to help users
find important content, while the Microsoft Search experience uses bookmarks to
achieve the same. When you create a promoted result at the organization level,
users might also see it on the All tab on the Microsoft Search results page if they
searched across the whole organization. For example, when users search from the
search box on a hub site, they're only searching in the sites associated with the
hub and therefore they don't see any promoted results even if they are on the All
tab. But when users search from the SharePoint start page, they might see
promoted results on the All tab. If you have defined both a promoted result and a
bookmark for the same content (same URL), only the bookmark will appear on the
All tab.
About the SharePoint Administrator role
in Microsoft 365
Article • 02/21/2023

Global Administrators in Microsoft 365 can assign users the SharePoint Administrator
role for help with administering Microsoft SharePoint. The global admin role already has
all the permissions of the SharePoint Administrator role. For info about assigning a user
the SharePoint Administrator role, see Assign admin roles in Microsoft 365 for business.

For info about adding or removing a site admin (previously called "site collection
administrator"), see Manage site admins.

Users assigned the SharePoint Administrator role have access to the SharePoint admin
center and can create and manage sites (previously called "site collections"),
designate site admins, manage sharing settings, and more.
 ） Important

SharePoint Administrators can now manage Microsoft 365 groups, including

creating, deleting, and restoring groups, and changing group owners.
If a user’s role is changed so they gain or lose access to the SharePoint admin
center, it takes about an hour for the change to take effect.

Global Administrators and SharePoint Administrators don't have automatic access to all
sites and each user's OneDrive, but they can give themselves access to any site or
OneDrive. They can also use Microsoft PowerShell to manage SharePoint and OneDrive.
See more about this role's Key tasks of the SharePoint admin below.

Site admins are users that have permission to manage sites, including any subsites. They
don't need to have an admin role in Microsoft 365, and aren't given access to the
SharePoint admin center .

７ Note

Global Administrators, SharePoint Administrators, and site admins all need to be

assigned a SharePoint license. If you have a standalone OneDrive for Business plan,
admins can access the SharePoint admin center without a SharePoint license.

There is a separate role within SharePoint called the Term Store administrator.
Users assigned this role can add or change terms in the term store (a directory of
common terms you want to use across your organization). To learn more, see
Assign roles and permissions to manage term sets.

Key tasks of the SharePoint admin

Here are some of the key tasks users can do when they are assigned to the SharePoint
Administrator role:

Create sites

Delete sites

Manage sharing settings at the organization level

Add and remove site admins

Manage site storage limits

Related topics
About Microsoft 365 admin roles

Getting started with SharePoint Online Management Shell

Get started with the SharePoint admin
center
Article • 03/14/2023

Go to the SharePoint admin center , and sign in with an account that has admin
permissions for your organization.

７ Note

Microsoft Partners can't access the new SharePoint admin center.

Report data is not available for US Government GCC High and DoD customers.
If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in to the Microsoft 365
admin center , then browse to the SharePoint admin center.

７ Note

Some functionality is introduced gradually to organizations that have opted in to

the Targeted release option in Microsoft 365. This means that you might not yet
see some features described in this article, or they might look different.

Help us improve the SharePoint admin center! Tell us what you like or don't like, send a
suggestion, or file a bug. To send us feedback, in the lower-right corner, select
Feedback.

Home page dashboard

  Tip

You can choose which lines you want to appear on charts. To hide a line, select the
line's label in the legend. For example, on the SharePoint site usage chart, select
Total sites.
To see values for a specific day, point to that day on the chart.

７ Note

Cards typically don't include data from the last 24 to 48 hours.

SharePoint site search

This card lets you search active sites from the home page.

Message center
This card helps you manage upcoming changes to SharePoint and OneDrive. Select a
post to open it in the details panel. To view the full list of messages across all Microsoft
365 services, select Show all. More info about the message center

SharePoint file activity

This card shows how many files you have in SharePoint. It also shows a chart of files by
activity type over the past 30 days. (If an activity occurs multiple times in one day on the
same file, the file is counted only once for that day.) To view the full report in the
Microsoft 365 admin center, select the card title. More info about SharePoint activity
reports in the Microsoft 365 admin center

Sensitivity labels
If your organization has enabled and set up sensitivity labels to protect SharePoint sites,
this card shows the usage of the labels across all sites.

Service health
This card shows whether the SharePoint service is healthy, or if it's experiencing an
active advisory or incident. For more info about an advisory or incident, select it to open
the Service health page of the Microsoft 365 admin center.

OneDrive usage
This card shows the percentage of active OneDrive accounts in your organization and a
chart of total and active accounts over the past 30 days. To view the full report in the
Microsoft 365 admin center, select the card title. More info about the OneDrive usage
report in the Microsoft 365 admin center

OneDrive file activity

This card shows how many files you have in OneDrive. It also shows a chart of files by
activity type over the past 30 days. (If an activity occurs multiple times in one day on the
same file, the file is counted only once for that day.) To view the full report in the
Microsoft 365 admin center, select the card title. More info about OneDrive activity
reports in the Microsoft 365 admin center

SharePoint storage usage

This card shows how much of your SharePoint storage you've used and a chart of your
storage usage over the past 180 days. To view all SharePoint site usage reports in the
Microsoft 365 admin center, select the card title. More info about SharePoint site usage
reports in the Microsoft 365 admin center

SharePoint site usage

This card shows the percentage of active sites in your organization and a chart of total
and active sites over the past 30 days. To view the full report in the Microsoft 365 admin
center, select the card title. More info about SharePoint site usage reports in the
Microsoft 365 admin center

Term store operations

This card shows how many term store operations are being performed and a chart of
operations by type over the past 15 days.

Microsoft 365 active users report

This card shows the usage of each Microsoft 365 service. To view the full report, select
View full report. More info about the Active users report in the Microsoft 365 admin
center

Customize your dashboard

To add available cards that aren't already on the dashboard, select Add cards. Tap
or click a card to add it to the page, or drag it to a specific location on the page.

To remove a card, select More actions (...), and then select Remove.
 To move a card to a different location on the page, drag the card title.

Customize the navigation pane

７ Note

This feature isn't available if you're signed in as a global reader.

1. At the bottom of the left pane, select Customize navigation.

2. Select the items you want to appear in the pane, and then select Save.

 Tip

To minimize the left pane, select the icon with the three horizontal bars
(Collapse navigation menu).

Where to find things in the new SharePoint

admin center
If you're used to working in the classic SharePoint admin center, to learn where you can
find features and tasks in the new SharePoint admin center , use the following table.

Classic page New page Notes

site collections Sites > The new SharePoint admin center refers to site
Active collections as "sites." Learn where to find tasks from
sites the classic site collections page

term store Content

services >
Term
store

sharing Policies > The new page includes the most common settings,
Sharing and others will be added.

settings Settings The new page includes the most common settings,
and others are coming soon. At the bottom of the
new Settings page, to access all the classic settings,
select classic settings page.
 Classic page New page Notes

geo locations Advanced >

Geo
locations

access control Policies > The new SharePoint admin center contains all the
Access classic settings and more.
control

data migration Migration The new Migration Manager lets you migrate from
on-premises file shares and SharePoint Server sites
as well as popular cloud providers. This feature isn't
available if you're signed in as a global reader. Learn
more about Migrating content to Microsoft 365

User profiles, Search, Apps, More

BCS, Secure store, Records features
management, InfoPath,
Configure hybrid (Hybrid
Configuration Wizard).

See also
Manage sites in the new SharePoint admin center
Manage sites in the SharePoint admin
center
Article • 04/03/2023

The Active sites page of the SharePoint admin center lets you view the SharePoint
sites in your organization, including communication sites, channel sites, and sites that
belong to Microsoft 365 groups. It also lets you sort and filter sites, search for a site, and
create new sites.

The Active sites page lists the root website for each site collection. Subsites and the
following sites aren't included.

Sites with these URLs:

URL Description

/sites/contentTypeHub Content hub host

/sites/CompliancePolicyCenter Policy center

/portal/hub PointPublishing hub

/search Search site

/personal/ OneDrive sites

Sites with these templates:

ID Name Description
 ID Name Description

6000 REVIEWCTR# Review center

10043 FunSite# SharePoint tenant fundamental site

65 POINTPUBLISHINGHUB# PointPublishing hub

66 POINTPUBLISHINGPERSONAL#0 Personal blog

67 POINTPUBLISHINGTOPIC#0 PointPublishing topic

3500 POLICYCTR# Compliance policy center

30003 TestSite# Test site

3 CENTRALADMIN# Central admin site

54 SPSMSITEHOST# My Site host

21 SPSPERS# SharePoint Portal Server personal space

16 TENANTADMIN# Tenant admin site

301 REDIRECTSITE# Redirect site

70 CSPCONTAINER# CSP container

For more info about tasks on the Active sites page, see:

Create a site
Register a site as a hub site and Unregister a site as a hub site
Change sharing settings for a site
Delete a site
Manage site storage limits

Add or remove site admins and group owners

For all site types except channel sites, you can add or remove site admins and change
the primary admin. For group-connected team sites, you can also add and remove
group owners. Note that if you remove a person as a primary admin, they will still be
listed as an additional admin. For info about each role, see About site permissions.

1. In the SharePoint admin center, select Sites > Active sites or browse to the Active
sites page .

2. In the left column, select a site.

 3. Select Membership on the command bar to open the details panel to update the
permissions of the members.

4. Add or remove people or change their role, and then select Save.

Change a site's hub association

1. In the SharePoint admin center, select Sites > Active sites or browse to the Active
sites page .

2. In the left column, select a site.

3. Select Hub on the command bar. The options that appear depend on whether the
site you selected is registered as a hub site, or associated with a hub. The Hub
menu lets you register a site as a hub site, associate it with a hub, change its hub
association, and unregister it as a hub site. For more information, see More info
about hubs.

View site details

For more info about a site, select the site name or click anywhere on the site row except
on the URL column to open the details panel or for channel sites select the link in the
Channel sites column and then select the site name.
To view site activity including the number of files stored and storage usage, select the
Activity tab. Activity information is not available for US Government GCC High and DoD
customers.

To view site admins, owners, members, and visitors, select the Membership tab.

For info about the roles in this panel, see About site permissions.
Related topics
Manage site storage limits
Customize the SharePoint admin center
site list
Article • 03/01/2023

The Active sites page in the SharePoint admin center lets you view the SharePoint
sites in your organization. You sort and filter sites, search for sites, and customize the
columns and views.

Sort and filter the site list

Sorting and filtering the site list is just like sorting and filtering other lists in SharePoint.

1. Select the arrow next to the column header.

2. Select how you want to arrange the items. The options vary depending on the
column. For example, you might have options to sort alphabetically, in numeric
order, or chronologically.

If the column allows filtering, a "Filter by" option appears. Select the value or
values that you want to show. Your selections appear with a check mark beside
them. To remove a selection, select that value again. To clear all filters on the
column, select Clear filters.
Customize columns
1. Select the arrow next to any column header, and then select Customize columns.

2. To show and hide columns, select and clear check boxes.

3. To rearrange the columns, point to a column, and select the up or down arrow to
move the column up or down.

７ Note

Data in the following columns is not available for US Government GCC High
and DoD customers:

Last activity
 File views or edited
Page views
Page visits
Files
Storage used

Switch views and create custom views

The SharePoint admin center comes with a few standard views: All sites, Sites
connected to Teams, Microsoft 365 Group sites, Sites without a group, Classic sites,
Largest sites, Least active sites, and Most popular shared sites.

To select a different view:

On the far right of the command bar, select the Change view arrow next to the
name of your current view, and then select a different view.
To create and save a custom view:

1. Customize columns, sort, and filter your view the way you want. (Views that are
filtered through search can't be saved.)

2. On the far right of the command bar, select the Change view arrow next to the
name of your current view.

3. Select Save view as.

4. In the Save as dialog box, enter a name for the view.

７ Note
 To set the view as default, in the list of views, select Set current view as
default.

Track a view
When you select a built-in or custom view, you can add a card to your home page that
shows the number of sites in the view and summarizes info about the set of sites.

1. Select the Change view arrow, and then select the view you want to track.

2. Select Track view on the command bar.

3. Select Add card.

4. Go to your home page to see the card for the tracked view.

７ Note

If you remove a tracked view card from your home page, you can't add it back from
the Add cards panel. You need to open the view on the Active sites page and select
Track view.

Search for a site

You can search for a site by name, URL, primary admin, or template. To do this, enter
keywords in the Search box, and press Enter.

７ Note
 Search doesn't look in hub site display names for the keywords you enter.
All characters you enter are treated as part of the query. Search doesn't recognize
operators or wildcards (*).

Export to CSV
To export the site list you're viewing as a .csv file that you can work with in Excel, go to
Active sites page and select Export on the command bar.

７ Note

The .csv file lists the hub as a GUID and the template as an ID (for example, STS#0).
Performance in the modern SharePoint
experience
Article • 10/03/2022

The modern experience in Microsoft SharePoint is designed to be compelling, flexible

and – importantly - more performant. Both SharePoint performance as a whole and the
performance of individual SharePoint components such as search, lists and document
libraries are affected by many factors, all of which contribute to the decisive
performance metric: perceived end user latency, or the speed with which pages are
rendered in the client browser. The SharePoint modern experience incorporates key
performance improvements that help to minimize latency and improve SharePoint page
responsiveness:

Client-side processing and data requests

Microsoft 365 Content Delivery Network (CDN)

More powerful computers and modern advancements in network architectures and web
browsers have made it possible to improve the overall SharePoint user experience by
shifting much of the data caching and processing from the server to the client machine.
In this article, you will learn about how the SharePoint modern experience leverages
client-side processing and the Microsoft 365 CDN to improve performance.

Client-side processing and data requests

In the classic SharePoint architecture, the SharePoint server farm executes data requests
and other processing operations, returning results and rendered pages to the client. This
model was intended to reduce the load on the client machine and browser, and also to
reduce network traffic between the client and server farm, factors which were critical
performance bottlenecks in legacy environments.

The SharePoint modern experience is designed to take advantage of the computing

power of user computers and modern web browser capabilities to allow the client
computer to directly perform certain data requests and processor-intensive operations
such as page rendering.

The SharePoint modern experience client-side processing model can provide dramatic
improvement in perceived end user latency over the classic SharePoint architecture.
Keep in mind that there may be a greater dependency on the client-side execution
environment as compared to the classic SharePoint architecture. As with any change to
your network architecture, you should conduct a limited pilot to identify and resolve
potential bottlenecks before rolling the SharePoint modern experience into your
production environment.

Microsoft 365 Content Delivery Network (CDN)

SharePoint latency is affected in part by the physical distance between your users and
the location of your SharePoint environment (tenant). This consideration is particularly
important for organizations that have a global presence where a site may be hosted on
one continent while users on the other side of the world are accessing its content.

You can use the built-in Microsoft 365 Content Delivery Network (CDN) to host static
assets to provide better performance for your SharePoint sites. The Microsoft 365 CDN
improves performance by caching static assets closer to the browsers requesting them,
which helps to speed up downloads and reduce latency. Also, the Microsoft 365 CDN
uses the HTTP/2 protocol for improved compression and download speeds.

The Microsoft 365 CDN is composed of multiple CDNs that allow you to host static
assets in multiple locations, or origins, and serve them from global high-speed networks.
Depending on the kind of content you want to host in the Microsoft 365 CDN, you can
add public origins, private origins or both.

Content in public origins within the Microsoft 365 CDN is accessible anonymously, and
can be accessed by anyone who has URLs to hosted assets. Because access to content in
public origins is anonymous, you should only use them to cache non-sensitive generic
content such as JavaScript files, scripts, icons and images. The Microsoft 365 CDN is
used by default for downloading generic resource assets like the Microsoft 365 client
applications from a public origin.

Private origins within the Microsoft 365 CDN provide private access to user content
such as SharePoint document libraries, sites and media such as videos. Access to
content in private origins is secured with dynamically generated tokens so it can only be
accessed by users with permissions to the original document library or storage location.
Private origins in the Microsoft 365 CDN can only be used for SharePoint content, and
you can only access assets through redirection from your SharePoint environment.

The Microsoft 365 CDN service is included as part of your SharePoint subscription.

For info about how to use the Microsoft 365 CDN, see Use the Microsoft 365 Content
Delivery Network (CDN) with SharePoint.

For more info about the Microsoft 365 CDN, see Microsoft 365 CDN.
Related topics
Performance guidance for SharePoint portals

Tune SharePoint performance

Content Delivery Networks

Use the Microsoft 365 Content Delivery Network (CDN) with SharePoint
Creating and launching a healthy
SharePoint portal
Article • 04/03/2023

A portal is a Microsoft SharePoint site on your intranet with many site viewers who
consume the content. In large organizations, you could have several, such as a company
portal and an HR portal.

Typically portals have relatively few people who create and author the site and its
content. Most visitors to the portal only read and consume the content. We don't
recommend using SharePoint portals to host a town hall or live event.

 Tip

Are you wanting to host a live event or town hall? Here are the options we
recommend:

Learn about Microsoft Teams live events

Learn about hosting events with Yammer
Link directly to the live event you are streaming (not through your portal)

What type of site should I use as my portal?

SharePoint Online has several types of sites and page types. For portals, we highly
recommend using a communication site with a site page for the home page, the
default configuration when you create a communication site. Site pages allow you to
use out-of-the-box web parts, custom web parts, and extensions.

To learn more, see Create communication sites in SharePoint .

） Important

Modern Team sites are designed for use on collaboration sites, like projects /
interest groups / focus areas or when you would like to collaborate with other team
members. To learn more, see Create team sites in SharePoint .

The App page type was designed to be used for specific business applications
within SharePoint Online. It was not designed to be used as a SharePoint Team site
 or a SharePoint Portal. To learn more, see Creating application pages in
SharePoint.

Guidance
This set of guidance will walk you through best practices and recommendations before
you launch your portal and how to keep your portal healthy.

Icon What to do Follow this

Plan the rollout of your portal Launch in waves

Portal design guidance Review the guidance while designing your sites

Run the Page Diagnostics for Validate your pages and follow the guidance
SharePoint tool

Optimize your Performance Follow the guidance below and run the Page
Diagnostics for SharePoint tool

Use CDN for better performance Implement Public and Private Content Delivery
Networks (CDN)

Batch REST API calls to Combine operations into fewer requests

SharePoint

Improve performance for slow Follow guidance to remediate common issues

web parts

Review page weight Follow guidance to reduce page weight in your site
pages

Limit the number of requests to Limit the number of web parts and calls into
a page SharePoint

Limit the number of search Follow the guidance to limit the number of search
requests on a page requests on a page.

Optimize your images Follow basic image optimization for the web

Limit and use Iframes carefully Don't use more than two Iframes on a page

Optimize extensions Follow the guidance to optimize and limit your custom
extensions
Icon What to do Follow this

Modern portal limits Follow the limits for modern portals to further
optimize performance

Network optimization Configure your URLs and IP endpoints

Intelligent intranet overview
Article • 04/03/2023

Keep employees informed and engaged by providing a shared place to securely view
and collaborate on content, and to connect and communicate with colleagues. Build
community and culture within your organization by bringing people together through
events, networking opportunities, and strategic communication channels. Personalize,
share, and manage organizational news and shared content to drive organizational
efficiencies securely on any device.

In this solution

Build an intelligent intranet

Learn how to move through the process of creating an intranet for your organization.
Get familiar with common intranet planning and creation roles, design stages, and the
intranet lifecycle . Learn how to align goals into priority scenarios that you can get
started implementing quickly. Then, learn how to engage with viewers and maintain
your intranet over time as the organization changes and scales.
Help your organization engage and inform
Use SharePoint and other Microsoft 365 products to create communication channels
that serve specific audiences. Learn how to create and share organizational news and
use the News web part into key landing pages and portals.

Integrate Yammer and the Yammer web parts to embed conversations and
highlights in sites. Use the power of video to share pre-recorded messages and record
organizational events for later viewing. Use content services like audience targeting to
make sure key audience are targeted specific content.

Enhance collaboration and sharing

Create and increase opportunities to collaborate across your organization. Use Microsoft
Lists and document libraries to securely store and dynamically display content that
can be accessed on any device. Then, users can view, share, and coauthor content in
real time.

Use SharePoint team sites to create secure collaboration spaces for teams to share
content, get updates, and news. Consider adding Microsoft Teams to your team site to
add real-time chat and virtual meetings.

Achieve specific outcomes

Use SharePoint to achieve specific business outcomes like narrowing the distance
between leadership teams and individual contributors by creating a leadership site
that encourages sharing news and starting conversations. Use SharePoint to unite and
inform groups of people with related interests by setting up news for a hub site. View
custom solutions in the look book to help inspire your next site design or get help
with new employee onboarding , crisis communication , and more.

Overview of how to set up an intelligent

intranet
Harness the power of the intelligent intranet to communicate effectively across the
organization, engage employees, and connect with relevant information and knowledge.
Learn more about intranet planning and implementation phases and how to get
started, and considerations like how to design your home site and use multi-lingual
features. Then, use the intranet roadmap to prepare business owners, stakeholders, site
owners, and content authors.
1 - Explore what's possible
Start by getting inspired by what you can accomplish with SharePoint by viewing
compelling business scenarios , the SharePoint look book , and guided
walkthroughs .

Identify your key sponsors and stakeholders

Organize priorities
Align goals with SharePoint capabilities
Document and share the vision with others

Learn more about how to think about your intelligent intranet.

2 - Understand and align

Get started planning your intelligent intranet. Learn more about intranet governance
before you start building and ensure you have a plan in place to manage intranet
governance. Explore various opportunities to engage viewers in workplace
communications using Yammer, Teams, live events, and site templates.

Work with business owners and IT to prioritize projects

Audit existing content before migrating
Establish a governance plan
Plan intranet hubs and branding

Get familiar with the intranet lifecycle and basic SharePoint intranet and site building
blocks .

3 - Implement plans and start building

Start building the home site, hubs, sites , and pages that will make up the framework
of your intranet. Consider using Microsoft Purview Information Barriers to ensure
confidential content is seen by the right users or use audience targeting to target
specific content to certain groups of users.

Get feedback from stakeholders and users along the way

Test site architecture with real users
Use engaging communication apps like Yammer and Stream
Plan launch communications

Learn more about intranet way finding and how to implement multi-geo features if
needed.

4 - Engage and manage

Measure intranet effectiveness by reviewing Microsoft 365 usage analytics and
SharePoint hub and page usage analytics . Make sure site owners and authors have
appropriate training to create, build, and maintain sites.

Ensure site owners have access to SharePoint training materials

Plan to review site and hub metrics
Consider using Microsoft Learning Pathways to surface training content on
SharePoint pages

Design process Learn more

Plan sites - Help site owners understand how to plan to Plan your SharePoint
create high impact sites that meet objectives. communication site
Get inspired with the SharePoint
look book
Guided Walkthroughs: Creating
sites for your organization

Build sites - Learn how to create and customize sites that Create and use modern pages on a
align with your organization. SharePoint site
Customize your SharePoint site
Customize the navigation on your
SharePoint site
Using web parts on SharePoint
pages
 Design process Learn more

Manage sites - Show site owners how to maintain site Management and life cycle of a
content and use site analytics to engage viewers. SharePoint modern page
Manage your SharePoint site
settings
View usage data for your
SharePoint site

Learn more about forming a site owner or intranet champions community to ensure
that site owners stay up to date of new capabilities and guidance. Learn more about
how to improve SharePoint adoption .

SharePoint intranet key capabilities by

enterprise product license
Capability or Description Licensing
feature

Office apps Office client apps – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Publisher, and Microsoft
Access on up to 5 PC/Macs, tablets, or mobile devices per person. 365 E5
Microsoft
365 E3

Social and Use SharePoint and Yammer to connect and engage across your Microsoft
intranet organization with an intelligent, mobile intranet and enterprise social 365 E5
networking. Microsoft
365 E3

Files and OneDrive helps you work on a file and save it directly to OneDrive or Microsoft
content SharePoint and changes are updated across synced devices. Stream 365 E5
lets you easily create engaging video content. Access and sync files on Microsoft
PC or Mac and mobile devices. Share files with external contacts by 365 E3
providing access or guest links.

Work Efficiently manage work across individuals, teams, and organizations. Microsoft
management Create and automate business processes. 365 E5
Microsoft
365 E3

Learn more about Microsoft licensing

Get more information about Microsoft 365 for enterprise
Microsoft 365 small business license options
More intelligent intranet resources
How to think about your intelligent intranet

Plan an intelligent SharePoint intranet

Introduction to SharePoint information architecture

Planning intranet governance

Branding your SharePoint site

SharePoint adoption resources

How to think about your intelligent
intranet
Article • 02/21/2023

These days, there's an abundance of discussions about best practices to modernize your
intranet - designing an intranet the new way, in the “modern” way, in the intelligent way
- and so on. There aren't many discussions about what modern means as a concept,
how modern thinking relates to technology, and how to apply modern principals to your
organization's intranet.

Use this guide to understand how to leverage SharePoint to meet your organization's
needs through integrating modern concepts into the design of your intranet, portals,
and sites.

What does intelligent mean?

In the modern world, the intranet should be the center of your workplace. An intelligent
SharePoint intranet is engaging, informative, personalized, and integrated with the other
portals and sites in your intranet as well as other Microsoft 365 apps like Microsoft
Teams and Yammer. Modern intranets take many shapes and sizes depending on the
ever-evolving needs of the business.

Hallmarks of what constitutes an intelligent intranet:

Rapid deployment: Adaptable designs can be built using out of the box pages and
web parts and no longer solely depends on IT to deploy.

Built with the UX in mind: Accessible design principals are built into the modern
experience enabling viewers to securely access the intranet on any device.

Personalized experience: Features like audience targeting, news, the Highlighted

Content web part, and the My Feed web part make it easy to dynamically display
personalized content.

Software as a service: Updates are automatic, ensuring you are using the latest
technology.

Why invest in the modern approach?

Investing in the modern approach looks different depending on the condition of your
current intranet but no matter the path it will require strategic planning and a team to
implement changes. By spending resources modernizing your intranet now, you will
enable your organization to move faster and more efficiently than before.

What makes modernizing your intranet worth the effort:

Move at the speed of your business: Display content dynamically using flexible
designs that scale as your business grows.

Meet employees where they are: Target relevant content to specific viewers on
any device.

Reduce the cost of technical resources: Security, permissions, sharing, and other
governance components can be centrally managed across Microsoft 365 apps.

Improves the likelihood of intranet success: Viewers are more likely to use the
intranet when content is relevant, easy to navigate, and mobile.

How to think about intelligent intranets

Secure and accessible

Traditional New How to get started

Deployed Relies on a collaborative approach Instead of assigning intranet tasks to a

solely by IT with several stakeholders across few IT members, assemble a team that
departments of the organization represents the needs of your viewers and
business to create intranet solutions.
Learn more about modern intranet teams

Manually Uses governance models that Instead of asking for permission to create
governed by provide flexibility for users in a a site from IT, site owners can create their
IT compliant way based of the own sites using SharePoint's out-of-the-
organization's goals - sharing, box responsive designs and custom
provisioning, risk mitigation theming.
Learn more about managing site creation

Resources Work anytime, anywhere, any place, Instead of limiting access to content, use
can only be on any device SharePoint security and compliance
accessed in features to make sure viewers have access
the office or to the right information on any device.
on a SharePoint works by default on mobile
computer devices.
Informs and engages

Traditional New How to get started

Communication Communicate primarily through Instead of sharing a project update in

primarily SharePoint news, community portals, a newsletter, announce your update on
through email and Yammer your project's site and in the Yammer
feed to start an engaging
conversation.
Learn more about using the Yammer
web part

Outdated news SharePoint news posts transform Instead of communicating big

is shared in a news into a visually engaging announcements through an org-wide
corporate news experience that can be created email, create a news post that will
feed or quickly and distributed to specific dynamically display to your relevant
newsletter audiences in real-time audience.
Learn more about creating a news site

Disjointed Multi-lingual and audience targeting Instead of creating separate

experience for features ensure users relate to experiences for unique viewers, target
international relevant information navigational links to specific audiences.
organizations Learn more about targeting content to
specific audiences

Builds community and culture

Traditional New How to get started

Intranet Role and task-based portals house Instead of separating content by

structure is community initiative-driven projects organizational structure, use
based on hubs to organize content based
organization on business initiatives.
structure Learn more about planning hubs

In-person Frequent engagement through online Instead of semi-annual

gatherings to events that showcase people, celebrate gatherings, record online events
build team and milestones, and maintain consistent and embed the event recording
organizational conversation using Yammer and Microsoft using Microsoft stream in a news
culture Stream post.
Learn more about using the
Stream web part
 Traditional New How to get started

Infrequent Aligns organizations with leadership Instead of formal engagements

interaction through live events, dynamic content like with leadership, create accessible
between the news, and social connection outlets in the form of live events
organization in Yammer.
and leadership Learn more about organizing a
live event in Yammer

Creates and extends knowledge

Traditional New How to get started

Static Dynamic Instead of creating a FAQ page, embed a Yammer web

information like information that's part that connects viewers to subject matter experts
FAQ community and provides insights into previous conversations.
generated in Learn more about using the Yammer web part
Yammer

Browse to find Search and browse Instead of limiting viewers access to content, use
to find SharePoint modern search features that protect
sensitive content while increasing search success.
Learn more about search in SharePoint

Collection of Collection of Instead of organizing your internet by area of business,

websites experiences organize by business outcomes and initiatives.
Learn more about planning hubs

Limited number Find subject matter Instead of relying on finding subject matter experts in
and access to experts and siloed organizations, surface expertise in social
subject matter communities of communities like Yammer and Teams.
experts expertise Learn more about organizing a live event in Yammer

Moving in the modern direction

Understand that your intranet is an ever-evolving component of your business that will
need to grow and scale alongside your organization. Focus on incorporating modern
changes that will have the greatest impact to your business first. Plan and schedule
when changes will be incorporated and how you will track progress. Use site analytics to
understand user behavior and collect feedback from users along the way.

Signals your intranet is moving in the modern direction:

It's where you start your workday

It's always with you
 Promotes collaboration
It makes your job easier
Everything is in one place

Signals your organization can benefit from modern:

Currently sharing documents in shared folders on a server

It's difficult to be productive on-the-go
Your business is growing faster than you can keep up with
Unmanageable volume of emails
Your organization has offices in multiple locations

More modern resources

Modern inspiration in the SharePoint look book

Information architecture in modern SharePoint

Modernize your classic SharePoint sites

Modernize your classic SharePoint pages

SharePoint modernization scanner

Intelligent intranet introduction and
roadmap
Article • 02/21/2023

Your intranet might include your organization's main landing page, portals for corporate
communications, and individual sites for departments or divisions (like IT or HR). In this
article, we look at the high-level tasks needed to create and maintain a successful
intranet with SharePoint in Microsoft 365.

Whether you're the organization intranet owners, an IT Professional or administrator, a

site owner, or a content creator you're in the right place. Use this article as a guide to
help you find the resources that you need for your role and the goals that you have for
your intranet. As you read the sections below, follow the links for more detailed
information on the areas that you're working on.

Roadmap contents:

Introduction to key success factors and considerations

Review of the different roles and tasks
How to get started

Who should use this roadmap?

Organization intranet owners — This is the person managing the overall direction
and coordination of your organization's intranet.
IT pros and admins—One or more IT and SharePoint Administrators who will be
responsible for managing the backend configuration and implementation for your
organization's intranet.
Business owners and site owners—The various stakeholders who will be
responsible for creating and maintaining portions of the intranet.
Content authors — The people creating and managing content on sites and
pages.

What you'll learn:

Understand, at a high level, the various roles and responsibilities of creating an

intelligent intranet.
See what you can do with SharePoint out-of-the-box sites and web parts.
Framework for planning and aligning your intranet around strategic business
outcomes.
 Known success factors for creating engaging intranet experiences.

Keep in mind:

Intranets are a constant work in progress and are never really considered done. Make
sure you have a plan to keep your content relevant, otherwise your intranet will start
losing value on the day that you launch. Celebrate your initial launch, plan to monitor
and maintain your intranet and its content over time as the organization changes and
business goals evolve.

How to think about an intelligent vs traditional

intranet design
The new, modern experience in SharePoint is designed to be compelling, flexible, and
more performant. The modern experience makes it easier for anyone to create beautiful,
dynamic sites and pages that are accessible and mobile-ready. Modern SharePoint
supports intelligent workplaces — those that apply the collective knowledge of current
users, share and collaborate easily, and engage audiences with targeted content and
news.

Traditional intranet Intelligent intranet

Communication primarily Communication primarily through SharePoint sites and

through email community portals

Static information like FAQ Dynamic information that's community generated in Yammer

Corporate news dominates Personalized news and content is targeted to specific

the newsfeed audiences

Hierarchical collection of Dynamic collection of experiences and services provided by

websites independent site collections

Key success factors

Over the years, we have learned about what makes an intranet successful. These factors
can help accelerate the creation, adoption, and overall success of your intranet:

Ensure that your intranet goals are directly tied to key business outcomes.
Have an executive sponsor and identify intranet champions.
Establish KPIs that are regularly communicated from the project's start to finish.
Design for simplicity and longevity.
 Involve your business owners and users to get feedback during all stages of the
design process.
Establish a governance plan that defines roles and responsibilities, guidelines, and
best practices, compliance and retention, provisioning sites, and expectations for
content management.
Audit existing content to ensure quality and relevancy before migrating to a new
intranet.
Align your intranet with your organization brand and culture.
Enable social connection that encourages communication, engagement, and
collaboration.
Train your content creators and your users.

Up next
Review the different roles and responsibilities when creating your intelligent intranet.

Related topics
Create and launch healthy portals

Ways to work with SharePoint

Guide to the Modern experience in SharePoint

Intelligent Intranet Envisioning Workshop PowerPoint deck

Introduction to roles, tasks, and
timelines
Article • 02/21/2023

When planning to create, or update, your organization's intranet, there will be several
people involved. The best intranet teams are not very large but contain the right
partners and stakeholder who can make decisions that serve the entire organization.

Roles and tasks at-a-glance

Your role Aligning tasks Implementation Management
tasks tasks

Organization Strategy, branding, adoption,

intranet governance, information architecture,
owners and change management

IT pros / Platform integration, content Site creation,

Admins migration, performance, scalability, navigation, search,
user training branding, publishing

Business Business objectives, permissions, Site creation, Site

owners / site content audit, and migration navigation, branding, management,
owners audience targeting scheduled
content audits

Content Content best practices, content, and Create and maintain Update existing
authors site design content, content content, publish
collaboration new content

See what the intranet lifecycle looks like.

Learn more about basic site building blocks.

Organization intranet owners

The intranet owners work with business owners and IT to prioritize the intranet projects
in your portfolio for the greatest business benefit.

Start by getting inspired with the SharePoint look book . The look book provides
examples of intranet pages that you can build in SharePoint and will give you an idea of
the possibilities. Keep these in mind as you proceed through the planning and
implementation process.
Next, start to plan your intelligent SharePoint intranet by working with your key
stakeholders to understand your key business and intranet goals. Do research with
intranet users to discover key personas and scenarios. Review your existing intranet and
determine which initiative to start with for your best return on investment. As you
prioritize your intranet initiatives, consider how to get the best performance and
scalability from the portals that you build. If your existing intranet is using SharePoint
server, consider how migrating your content to SharePoint fits into your overall plan. To
troubleshoot page performance issues, use the page diagnostics tool.

Choose one or more opportunities to start with and meet with the business owners in
that area of your organization to plan the solution. Some solutions may require
coordination among different parts of the organization.

As you plan and implement your intranet, keep in mind these key success factors:

For your intranet, as a whole:

Have a sponsor for each initiative and an executive sponsor from the business
for the intranet as a whole.
Ensure that your intranet goals are directly tied to key business goals.
Get a core team together to think about governance — make sure you align
your governance decisions to business goals.
Align your intranet with your organization brand and culture.
Don't assume you have to launch with a "big bang" — align communications
and training with your launch plan.

For each initiative:

Gather outcomes, not requirements — be sure to talk to site users, not just
owners.
Design to align to your organization standards — but allow the site "story" to
dictate the navigation and page layouts.
Establish success goals for each site and review them regularly.
Test your proposed navigation with site visitors — make sure that visitors can
easily get to their top tasks.

Key tasks

Organize your intranet

A critical part of your SharePoint intranet is your site architecture. By using a series of
communication sites and hubs, you can create an intuitive intranet with common
navigation across related sites and an easy-to-manage permissions structure. For a
detailed look at site navigation in SharePoint, see Planning navigation for the modern
SharePoint experience.

Start by — Developing an understanding about what you need your intranet to

accomplish and start organizing content assets to align with key outcome goals.
Organize depending on the needs of the business — by region, department, or function
— and by the topics that your users care about.

You'll know you're done when — Business owners and users confirm they can find and
have access to the content that makes their jobs more productive.

Brand your intranet

Branding provides a way to align your intranet with your organizational culture. With
SharePoint, you can add branding to your SharePoint site, and also customize the
Microsoft 365 theme for your organization.

Start by — Answer, do you need a consistent brand across all sites or will different
divisions, departments, or groups in your organization have their own look and feel?
Then, collect approved brand assets like brand colors, logos, and images depending on
your organization's branding requirements.

You'll know you're done when — You've determined the end-to-end look of the intranet
from the home page to hubs to individual sites.

IT pros and admins

IT Pros and admins implement the needed platform integration steps needed by your
business owners for their intranet portals — such as with databases or line-of-business
applications. This may include content migration from existing systems. They also work
with other stakeholders and the business to determine a governance strategy for the
intranet and train people in the organization to use SharePoint and other tools to
manage the intranet.

As you plan and implement your intranet, keep in mind these key success factors:

Establish a governance plan that supports business needs as well as your retention,
security, and compliance goals.
Make sure all site owners, content authors, and visitors understand how
governance applies to their roles.
Clean up existing content prior to migration. Only migrate content that is relevant,
current, and supports the outcome goals of each site.
 Enable social connection that encourages communication, engagement, and
collaboration.
Train your content authors and your users.

Key tasks

Plan and align the governance strategy

Governance is the set of policies, roles, and processes that control how your
organization's business divisions and IT teams work together to achieve its goal —
ensuring organization content and communications are secure and viewers benefit from
a consistent experience. Every organization has unique needs and goals that influence
its approach to governance. Some details to consider when planning your governance
strategy: naming conventions, guest access, classification of sites, groups, and files.

Start by — Understanding the rules and requirements of your organization, in

combination with the needs of business owners and site owners. Then, develop a plan
alongside IT, HR, and senior leadership that allows employees to maximize the value of
SharePoint with minimal oversight in a way that's compliant.

You'll know you're done when — When governance stakeholders, business owners, and
content creators can work effortlessly in SharePoint without slowing the rhythm of
business.

Migrate content from your existing intranet

Your existing intranet may contain content from various sources located on different
platforms. A key task in creating your intelligent SharePoint intranet is determining the
state of your existing content and deciding which content to migrate to the new
intranet.

Your current business owners and site owners may be best suited to evaluate if content
should be migrated and you may want to have them perform the actual migration,
depending on what's involved. They may need your assistance depending on the
quantity and location of the content to be moved. Learn about options for migrating
from file shares, SharePoint Server, and other cloud providers.

Start by — Working with business leaders and other content stakeholders to review your
existing content for relevance and accuracy.

You'll know you're done when — A curated set of content has been migrated to
SharePoint.
Customize SharePoint to meet your business needs
With the SharePoint intelligent experience, you can create an engaging, easy to maintain
intranet without the need for customization. We highly recommend using SharePoint
default experiences where possible. This will provide easier change management over
time.

If you do need to customize SharePoint, SharePoint provides Framework solutions, apps,

add-ins, and solutions to help you meet your business needs. For more info, see
SharePoint development.

Train your content authors

Depending on their background, the people in your organization may need some help
getting started with SharePoint. Microsoft 365 learning pathways provides a way to
bring a curated set of Microsoft content to your users. Other references that can help
your content creators manage updates to the site include:

Create a document library in SharePoint

Create a list in SharePoint
Add text and tables to your page
Add content to your page using the Embed web part
Use the image web part
Use the News web part on a SharePoint page

Start by — Determining your users' needs for training on SharePoint and making these
references known.

You'll know you're done when — Questions about SharePoint intranet usage on
organization social media channels and through the help desk have decreased to a
modest level.

Business owners and site owners

As a business owner, you may be responsible for intranet content for a specific area of
your organization such as HR or operations. You may also be the site owner, the person
who has the permissions in SharePoint to create and maintain the content and
experiences on the site. Before you start configuring individual sites, for some ideas,
look over the SharePoint look book . As part of your overall governance plan, you may
decide that sites need to follow consistent patterns to ensure that readers to not have to
spend too much time orienting themselves as they go from site to site or topic to topic
in the intranet.
Keep in mind these key success factors as you plan and implement your intranet:

Have a relentless focus on user experiences as you implement your site — check
labels for relevance, ensure images relate to the content, don't assume — test!
Clean up existing content prior to migration. Only migrate content that is relevant,
current, and supports the outcome goals of the site.
Involve your users to get feedback during all stages of the build process.
Make sure the site owner or contact is visible in a consistent place on the home
page of the site so that visitors know to whom they should reach out for feedback.
Plan launch communications, which might include a launch event or activity.
Celebrate your success!

Key tasks

Migrate your data

One of the largest tasks in creating a new intranet site is migrating your existing data to
SharePoint. We highly recommend doing a content audit to see what's being used,
what's up to date, and what's no longer needed and can be deleted or archived.

Look for opportunities to eliminate prior versions of documents that you no longer
need. If you migrate files ending .v1, .v2, and so on, you will create confusion for your
users who won't be able to rely on search to consistently find the latest version of
documents.

Train your users to take advantage of SharePoint's automated versioning — and remove
version IDs and dates from file names wherever possible, migrating only the latest and
most accurate version. Better still, see if you can convert legacy documents to modern
pages to create more engaging and easier to consume content. You will get better
search experiences and achieve higher user satisfaction and easier maintenance by
removing content that's no longer needed prior to migration.

Learn about options for migrating from file shares, SharePoint Server, and other cloud
providers.

Video is a great way to communicate to the people in your organization for executive
briefings or when sharing ideas through video can lead to greater engagement. Use
Microsoft Stream to deliver live and on-demand meetings, events, and training. If you
have existing video content that you want to make available on your new intranet site,
upload it to Stream as part of your content migration process.
Start by — Understanding the full scope of content that might need to be migrated and
then define the criteria used to target content that should be migrated, should be
edited and then migrated, and should be retired.

You'll know you're done when — You've got the minimum amount of content necessary
to create and launch an effective SharePoint site.

Determine your permissions and sharing strategy

SharePoint permissions are managed through a set of roles within a site — owners,
members, and visitors. Depending on the type of site, there may be additional
permission and sharing options available like using Microsoft 365 groups.

Start by — Determining who needs access, who should not have access, and how you
will grant access requests.

You'll know you're done when - All site owners and users have access to the content they
need, while securing confidential content when appropriate.

Design the intranet portal page, also known as the home site
The main intranet portal for your organization is a big part of your new SharePoint
intranet. You can create this page at any time during your intranet development project.
You can still point to your legacy intranet sites with an intelligent portal home page. If
you have an existing communication site that you want to use as your main portal page,
you can move it to the root site.

The mega menu , news web part , and Yammer feeds can all be used to make your
main portal page an engaging and productive destination for your users. For an end-to-
end look at creating this page, read Guided walkthrough: Creating an Enterprise Landing
site for your organization .

Start by — Considering the goals from the perspective of your organization's

communications team, your executive sponsor, your IT department, and end users.
Design the portal home page with simplicity and scalability in mind.

You'll know you're done when — You've created a launch plan using the Portal launch
scheduler for redirecting from your current portal page to the new page and have
shared this plan with all stakeholders and users.

Design your business, or topic-specific intranet site

As you start designing the intranet sites for your services and functions, make sure you
have done research with your users to better understand their needs and how they
currently interact with your content. To create custom surveys and questionnaires and
spend time observing users and meeting with them, you can use Forms.

We recommend developing your intranet pages using communication sites . With

communication sites, you can share news, reports, statuses, and other information
through various templates and web parts. For an end-to-end look at setting up a
communication site, see Guided walkthrough: Creating a communication site for your
organization . Learn more about how to plan your sites .

To post important or interesting stories, announcements, people news, status updates,

and more that can include graphics and rich formatting, you can use the news web
part . Within the news web part, to prioritize specific content for specific audiences,
you can set up audience targeting . For an end-to-end look at using news in
SharePoint, see Guided walkthrough: setting up news for your organization .

To align your organization's branding requirements, you can change the look of your
site .

Start by — Prioritizing business objectives, and then decide the type of sites and web
parts that will be needed initially.

You'll know you're done when — Business and site owners have dedicated areas in
SharePoint that can be owned and maintained with little oversight.

Content authors
Content authors are the people who create content on sites. Content authors can take
on many responsibilities such as creating and publishing news, creating topic-specific
pages, or serving as subject matter experts and thought leaders for special projects and
initiatives. Content authors should get familiar with SharePoint design fundamentals .

As you create and manage content for your intranet, keep in mind these key success
factors:

Consider whether content is best presented as a page or a document. Use pages

when your content is dynamic and most easily communicated with engaging web
parts such as images, video, or links. Use documents when your content is
designed to be downloaded or printed.
Summarize up front — place the information readers must have for your
communication to be successful at the top of the page before you focus on the
design.
 Use sections and heading styles to visually separate topics and concepts to make
your pages more readable and accessible.
Create custom page templates to drive consistency and simplify page creation.
Ensure you follow image and video guidelines to keep page performance high.

Key tasks:

Inform and engage

Collect and manage content using SharePoint pages . Use lists for information you
might collect in Excel. Lists enable you and your audience to gather, track, and share
information. Improve the display of lists with column and list view formatting using the
List web part . Use libraries to store documents. Easily add, reorder, sort, filter, and
create custom views of libraries using the Document library web part .

Dynamically display content from a document library, a site, a site collection, or all sites
using the Highlighted content web part .

Create and curate news relevant to your audience using the News web part . Quickly
create eye-catching posts like announcements, people news, status updates, and more
that can include graphics and rich formatting.

Customize the way your users view content and news by using audience targeting .
Audience targeting enables specific content to be prioritized to specific audiences on
the SharePoint start page, news on the mobile app, and in News web part when
audience targeting is enabled.

Enable users to work on any device. When users keep files on their local device or on a
network share, they're out of luck when they don't have the device with them or don't
have a connection to your network. If something happens to a user's device, the data
might not be recoverable. Get the SharePoint mobile app .

Start by — Organizing content into topics, creating pages for each topic. Determine
whether the page content should include text, links, list, or libraries. Align the content to
the story to ensure that the reader can get the information that they need efficiently by
quickly scanning or skimming the page.

You'll know you're done when — You can confirm users have access to the right
information at the right time by using site usage and analytics , and asking users for
feedback.

Build culture and community

Help work groups connect and engage across your organization using Yammer. Learn
more about the Yammer Highlights and Yammer Conversations web parts . Sometimes
content needs to be delivered through video - like when organization-wide
announcements are made or when senior leaders host a live event or when you want to
provide examples on pages that provide instructions. Microsoft Stream is your
organization's own video site. To display video content, use the Stream web part on
your site.

Start by — Finding news, announcements, and events to amplify on your site.

You'll know you're done when — You are regularly promoting news and events that start
conversations and engage and connect wide audiences.

Up next
Learn more about how you can get started creating or updating your organization's
intranet.

Related topics
Create and launch healthy portals

Guide to the Modern experience in SharePoint

Intelligent Intranet Envisioning Workshop PowerPoint deck

Plan your intranet

Plan your communication site — get started

Get started creating your intelligent
intranet
Article • 02/21/2023

Now that you are familiar with the key success factors, phases, roles, and tasks needed
to create an intelligent intranet, review next steps and get started planning.

Explore

Identify your key sponsors and stakeholders and review key organizational
priorities. Document a vision that will help provide direction and help you prioritize
opportunities.
Align key outcome goals with SharePoint capabilities to identify where you may
need to invest in customization. Consider whether an “intranet in a box” solution
might be appropriate for your organization.
Think about governance. What processes will you need to create to provision,
manage, and maintain sites and content? Do you have security, retention, or
compliance goals that need to be considered?
Think about branding and architecture—do you want all sites to share a common
look and feel?
Analyze possible opportunities to identify priorities.

Role Exploration tasks

Organization Identify your key sponsors and stakeholders and review key organizational
intranet priorities. Document a vision that will help provide direction and help you
owners prioritize opportunities.

IT pros / Organize a core team to plan governance—make sure you align your governance
Admins decisions to business goals.

Business Help identify key organizational opportunities and priorities.

owners / site
owners
Align and plan

Work with business owners and IT to prioritize the intranet projects in your
portfolio for the greatest business benefit in the shortest time.
Start by developing an understanding about what you need your intranet to
accomplish and start organizing content assets and business outcomes. Organize
depending on the needs of the business—by region, department, or function—and
by the topics that your users care about.
As you prioritize your intranet projects, consider how to get the best performance
and scalability from the portals that you build.

Role Aligning tasks

Organization Communicate goals and progress from project start to finish. Director of the
intranet branding direction, governance strategy, information architecture, change
owners management, and product adoption.

IT pros / Responsible for platform integration, content migration, performance, scalability,

Admins and user training.

Business Develop and plan solutions to business objectives. Responsible for site
owners / site permissions, content audit, and content migration.
owners]

Content Authority on content best practices, content creation, content management, and
authors page design.

Create and implement

 Communicate goals progress regularly
Measure, learn, and pivot as you go
Get feedback regularly

Role Implementation tasks

Organization Get user feedback along the way. Use findings from user feedback to learn
intranet owners and pivot your intranet plan.

IT pros / Admins Implement decisions made by the intranet stakeholders regarding site
creation, navigation, search, branding, and publishing.

Business owners / Use business objectives to drive decisions around site creation, navigation,
site owners branding, and audience targeting.

Content authors Create solutions to business objectives by creating and sharing relevant
content with the right audiences.

Engage, manage, and maintain

Celebrate the launch of your new intranet

Use metrics to measure progress
Communicate what's new
Maintain high-quality content
Educate users

Role Management tasks

 Role Management tasks

Organization Celebrate the launch of your new intranet. Communicate goals and progress
intranet regularly after the launch.
owners

IT pros / Communicate what's new with intranet stakeholders and business owners.
Admins Educate users about publishing rules like site creation and content retention
policies.

Business Schedule content audits and use site usage metrics to measure progress.
owners / site
owners

Content Refresh existing content, publish new content and participate in scheduled
authors content audits to keep content up-to-date and compliant.

Up next
Get started planning your intranet around initiatives that solve specific problems, can be
implemented quickly, and will yield a high return on investment.

Related topics
Create and launch healthy portals

SharePoint adoption resources

Intelligent Intranet Envisioning Workshop PowerPoint deck

Plan your intranet

Plan your communication sites

Plan an intelligent SharePoint intranet
Article • 03/20/2023

Microsoft SharePoint offers a wide variety of options and tools to create intranet sites
for your organization. Moving your intranet to SharePoint in Microsoft 365 might take a
while, particularly if you already have extensive intranet content. In this article, we'll look
at how to plan a new SharePoint intranet with a focus on quickly bringing sites online
and getting a return on your investment.

We'll cover how to:

Understand your key organizational priorities

Understand your audience
Plan for governance
Review your current intranet
Identify and prioritize your business initiatives
Identify one key scenario to prototype and pilot
Launch the pilot and engage with your users

What's possible with SharePoint?

With SharePoint, any user can create highly functional intranet pages quickly without the
need for writing code or other difficult customizations. These sites look great on any
device or screen and provide deeply engaging experiences for your users.

If you're currently using SharePoint Server for your intranet, you'll find SharePoint in
Microsoft 365 to be much easier to work with. Responsive, dynamic pages are easy for
anyone to create, and the requirements for IT to build and maintain custom solutions
are much less.

As a first step, to see examples of what's possible with SharePoint, we recommend that
you review the SharePoint look book . The look book provides a variety of examples
about how to include news, events, resources, and personalized content in SharePoint
sites that anyone can create and maintain.

For an understanding about how the different component parts work together, review
the Guide to the Modern experience in SharePoint.

For an interactive workshop to learn how to succeed with a SharePoint intranet, look for
an Accelerator workshop in a city near you.
In the following sections, we look at how to find the best starting point for your
SharePoint intranet and how to prioritize the different intranet solutions that you may
need for your organization. Keep these references handy as you work with your
stakeholders - they can help you get the most value and best time to value for your
intranet solutions.

Understand current business goals and key

stakeholders
The most successful intranets don’t just look good, they are primarily focused on
helping people get work done and often on promoting engagement. The look book can
help inspire you to think about how your content might appear, but your business
outcome goals are important to understand what content and functionality are most
important for your users and your organization.

All organizations have important strategic goals that drive behavior and investments. If
you want to be sure that your intranet is successful – and gets the right level of funding
– you need to ensure that it is aligned with these goals. You can also use these goals to
help prioritize your intranet initiatives. Unlike many technology projects, an intranet
project is never “done” because your organization priorities and interests will change
over time. But, at any given time, you want to focus on the intranet initiatives that are
most closely aligned with your organizational priorities and key business stakeholders.

In addition, take a look at recent employee satisfaction survey data. A good way to
become more informed about the information and tools that your employees need is to
look at the pain points identified in these surveys.

Understand your audience

A good place to start thinking about your new intranet is what it will be like when the
intranet is in place. What will people be able to accomplish? How will they start their
day? What will people say about the intranet? One potentially helpful exercise to frame
the overall objectives for the intranet is to engage your key intranet stakeholders in a
cover story exercise. This is an exercise in imagination. The purpose is to think broadly
about an ideal future state by imagining a magazine cover story about the new intranet,
including the key headlines, sidebars, and quotes from users.

With the end in mind, it can also be helpful to create personas for your key users. A
persona is a fictional but realistic description of a typical intranet user (for example, new
starter/new employee, knowledge worker, field worker, sales rep, people manager, or
content author). You’ll want to do some research to engage with people who represent
these different personas to understand their information requirements. You can’t build
an intranet without an understanding of the people for whom you are building it. Site
owners alone are not enough – their perspective is what they want to publish. That is
often not the same thing as what their users want to consume.

Think about governance

If your users complain that search is not successful because too much irrelevant content
is discovered, this can indicate a governance problem. Before you think about your new
intranet project, think about how you will govern the architecture and the content.
These are decisions that are a lot easier to make and enforce if they are decided early in
your intranet project. For example, you will want to think about:

Who can provision new sites and when they are provisioned, what is the process to
ensure that sites are discovered in navigation or as key bookmarks in search?
Do you want all sites to follow a similar pattern so that users can easily find key
content as they move from site to site?
Who is accountable and responsible for the content on sites? How often does
content need to be reviewed?
Is content management for intranet sites in the performance goals or job
descriptions for people with edit or owner permissions?
Does intranet content need to be retained based on your retention policies or
classified based on its sensitivity?

You do not need to make every governance decision up front, but if you don’t have a
plan for how you will govern your new, intelligent intranet, it can quickly become a
wasteland of information that fails to achieve your critical business goals.

Review your existing intranet

Your current intranet may be composed of sites from different business groups, such as
HR, IT, Facilities, Engineering, and others. As a first step to planning your new SharePoint
intranet, we recommend taking an inventory of your existing sites and meeting with the
owners of each to determine their business outcome goals for new sites. Take stock of
where your content is located and how much content you would need to move when
creating a new intranet site. Look at your current content to understand if it is current or
needs to be updated prior to moving to a new site. It’s not unusual to find a migration
strategy where existing content is left behind. You don’t have to migrate anything – you
may find that it is more effective to create new content that is optimized for the modern
SharePoint experience rather than migrate existing, out-of-date content to the new
location.

As part of these meetings, you can identify the business needs that are addressed by
each existing site as well as any requirements you might have for new sites.

In addition to meeting with current site owners, you may also want to convene a focus
group of new employees. New employees are a key audience for the intranet and
people who have joined the organization in the past two to three months can provide
some valuable insights about what is missing or hard to learn in your current intranet, or
resources they wish they had when they first started. They may also provide you with
some valuable ideas from the organizations where they previously worked to help you
think about new and important capabilities to incorporate.

Think of this step as an opportunity to learn. You are learning about what is important to
your users and to the business. You will use this information to identify initiatives for
your intranet.

Identify initiatives
Using the information you gathered during your research, work with your key intranet
stakeholders to identify initiatives that reflect your organizational priorities – as well as
any barriers that might exist when you are implementing them.

While you may ultimately implement solutions to address all of the identified initiatives,
prioritizing which project to do first will help you achieve early success and user
engagement as efficiently as possible.

Review each initiative you have identified for the following criteria:

Does it solve a real problem?

How many people will use it?
Can it be built in a reasonable time frame?
What's the return on investment?

Analyze each initiative for its positive impact on your users with respect to the ease of
implementation. A high impact initiative that can be built with a minimum of
customization can be an ideal first project.

Consider plotting your business initiatives on a grid, like the following, and review with
your intranet stakeholders and IT department to choose the best option to start with.
To help decide which initiative to address first, work with the business leaders for that
area to work out the objectives for the solution, who will be responsible for driving
success in this area, and the metrics that you'll use to measure success. Don’t just focus
on system metrics. Think about actual business impact. For example:

Initiative Key content Business System Business success

owner success metric
metric

Educate employees about - HR - News post Help requests are

benefits (Benefits site) Announcements views reduced by x%
- Training - Training
videos video views

Weekly news post by a - Streaming Engineering - Training Training

senior leader events content completed
- Formal produced for successfully by x%
training all aspects of of engineering
coding staff
excellence
- Monthly
streaming
events
 Initiative Key content Business System Business success
owner success metric
metric

Foster positive employee News posts HR Ongoing - Yammer

agreement about - Streaming monthly conversations
company strategy events activity posts show positive
(Executive Leadership - Yammer by sentiment
Yammer Community) conversations leadership - Comments
and addressed within
comments 24 hours – “no
by question/comment
employees left behind”
- x% increase in
employee
satisfaction scores
for executive
communications

Improve timeliness - Company Marketing - Slide x% reduction in

consistency in proposal business value downloads the time to create
development (Marketing slides - Sales team proposals
site) - Proposal alignment
templates

Choose pilot scenarios

Work with the owner of each scenario to determine what an ideal solution would look
like to them:

Who are your visitors?

What do the visitors to the site want to accomplish or learn?
What tools or technology do they use today?
What information do you want to promote?
What tools or technology do you want visitors to use to accomplish their key
tasks?
Who are the champions who will help them transition to the new site or solution?
How will you know if your solution is successful?

For example, create a table like the following to list business scenarios that you want to
address with intranet sites across your organization:

As an... I need to... So that... I know this is successful

when...
 As an... I need to... So that... I know this is successful
when...

Employee Understand and be I can take advantage of a key Help requests are
able to update my lifecycle benefit reduced
benefits

Employee Learn about how to Make updates on my own Help requests are
use the self-service reduced
benefits portal

HR Promote the use of I can spend more time working All of my employee
employee the self-service with employees on unique interactions are about
benefits portal benefits questions and scenarios individual critical
scenarios

From the high priority scenarios, identify which ones meet these three key criteria:

Can you build a prototype quickly (a few days)?

Is there a committed sponsor?
Is there enough up-to-date content to demonstrate key capabilities?
Is there a specific audience for a pilot?

After you have compiled this information, create a design brief to help map out the user
journey about how you want the site to operate. For example:

User Description
journey
component

Scenario Leadership site: One-stop site for employees to hear from company leadership,
learn the company's goals, and hear the latest news from customer meetings and
industry events.

Users All company employees.

Value Increase employee awareness and alignment with company strategy and business
initiatives.

User - News post is sent to the company announcing a leadership Q&A meeting
journey - Allan goes to the leadership portal to watch the event live
- Allan uses Yammer to ask a question at the meeting
- Allan shares the recording link with coworkers.

Metrics - Live event views

- Event recording views
- Yammer engagement
 User Description
journey
component

Stretch - Continued Yammer engagement

goals - Improving employee sentiment (survey)

Choose solution components

SharePoint offers a variety of building blocks that you can use to create an intranet:

Communication sites - Use communication sites to share news, reports,

statuses, and other information through a variety of templates and web parts.
Home site - A home site is a communication site that you set as the intranet
landing page for your organization.
Hub sites - Use hub sites to organize related sites and teams and centralize news,
search, and content management.
SharePoint news - Use the news web part to post important or interesting
stories, announcements, people news, status updates, and more that can include
graphics and rich formatting.
Yammer - Use Yammer to connect with people across your organization beyond
the boundaries of projects, functions, and departments.
Forms - Use forms to create custom quizzes, surveys, questionnaires, registrations,
and more.
Stream - Use Stream to deliver live and on-demand meetings, events, and training.

For the scenario that you've decided to build, choose the components that you'll need
to use to meet the site's business objectives. We recommend creating a rapid prototype,
and granting access to your key stakeholders. This provides a substantive framework for
further discussions and revisions of the design.

At this stage, we recommend that you involve your help desk so that they are prepared
to answer questions after the site rolls out to a larger audience.

For best practices for launching an intranet site, review Creating and launching a healthy
SharePoint portal.

Roll out the pilot

When the prototype has evolved to a point where you want to share it more broadly,
you can roll it out to a pilot group, or even to the whole organization. User adoption is a
critical part of success for a new intranet site. To drive site usage, we recommend that
you use both a top down and bottom up approach:

Recruit executive sponsors who can ensure that the intranet project is funded, and
can help message the importance of the new site to others in the organization.
Empower champions throughout the organization to promote the new site on a
grass roots level.

Other things you can do to drive success include:

Have launch events and communications campaigns.

Provide formal training.
Hold regular office hours where users can ask questions.

As the site rolls out and more users engage, watch your success metrics and make
adjustments as needed to drive additional engagement and user satisfaction.

When the site is on its way to success, take stock of any lessons learned in the process
and proceed on to the next intranet project that you want to undertake.

Related topics
SharePoint look book
Considerations when planning for a
global intranet
Article • 02/21/2023

If your organization has team members in multiple locations around the world, you have
additional considerations and options as you plan for your SharePoint intelligent
intranet. For example, you may want different branding for individual regions. You may
want to target content to team members in certain regions or countries. You may want
to provide sites in multiple languages. Or you may need to comply with data residency
requirements in certain countries. Here are options to consider which can be used
independently or in combination to meet the needs of your global intranet and create
the best experience for your users.

Hub sites

Multilingual sites and pages

Regional settings

Audience targeting

Multi-Geo for data residency requirements

Hub sites
The advantage to using hub sites is that they provide a flat architecture that is flexible
and carries branding and navigation across multiple sites connected to the hub.
If you have subsidiaries in different regions that have thei\nr own branding and
navigation, an option for you is to create a hub site for each region.

Learn how to plan for hub sites

Multilingual sites and pages

A separate consideration for a global or regional intranet is whether you want to set up
sites on your intranet to be multilingual so that users can read and work with content in
their preferred languages.

User interface elements like site navigation, site title, and site description can be shown
in the user's preferred language . Additionally, you can provide pages and news posts
on communication sites that you translate to users' preferred languages. For example,
you may have provisioned your site with a default language of English, but you have
users who have set their language preference to Spanish, and users who have set their
language preference to French. You can set up your site(s) to view in the site default
language as well as in French and Spanish.

７ Note
 User interface elements and pages are not translated automatically. Each page
created in your default language can have a corresponding page in a chosen target
language that you, or someone you assign, manually translates. After you translate
such a page and publish it, it will automatically be displayed to users who have set
a preferred language in their Office personal profile.

Next steps for multilingual sites and pages

Site owners determine which languages to support on their sites

Site owners enable multilingual features and choose languages

Create multilingual communication sites, pages, and news

Set up a multilingual site name, navigation and footer

Regional settings for sites

Site owners can change regional settings for a site to specify calendar settings and
how numbers, dates, and times are shown for all users of a site. Individual users can
choose to specify their own personal settings .

Audience targeting
Audience targeting helps the most relevant content get to the right audiences. By
enabling audience targeting, specific content will be prioritized to specific audiences
through SharePoint web parts, page libraries, and navigational links.

For example, you might want to prominently display news about a sales meeting in Asia
to users in that region rather than display it prominently to all regions.

Next steps for audience targeting

Learn how to set up audience targeting

Learn more about creating groups for audience targeting

Microsoft 365 Multi-Geo

Some countries have laws requiring that user data be stored within that country. To
accommodate these requirements, you can set up a Microsoft 365 Multi-Geo tenant.
With a Multi-Geo tenant, your tenant may be provisioned in one country, but user data
for SharePoint, OneDrive, and Exchange can be stored in other countries. For example,
you may have 5,000 employees in Europe and 8,000 employees in North America. All
the users are working within the same tenant, but data for the 5,000 employees are
stored in Europe while data for the 8,000 employees is stored in North America. This
allows for seamless collaboration across your organization while still meeting data
residency requirements.

After Multi-Geo is enabled for your tenant, you can set up and manage geo locations on
the Geo locations page in the SharePoint admin center.

７ Note

Due to the unique nature of data requirements in China, a differentiated version of

Office 365 is available and operated by a partner from datacenters inside China.
This service is not considered a Multi-Geo service. It is powered by technology that
Microsoft has licensed to 21Vianet. For more information, see Office 365 operated
by 21Vianet - Service Descriptions.

A differentiated service called Microsoft Cloud Germany is being migrated to Office

365 services in the new German datacenter. For more information, see Migration
 from Microsoft Cloud Deutschland to Office 365 services in the new German
datacenter regions.

Next steps for Microsoft 365 Multi-Geo

Learn how to plan and set up Multi-Geo for your organization

Learn how to set up Multi-Geo in the SharePoint admin center to enable Multi-
Geo features across the user experience
Planning intranet governance
Article • 02/21/2023

As you plan your new intranet project, think about how you’ll govern the site
architecture and the content. Your intranet governance plan should be created in the
context of the overall governance plan for Microsoft 365. As a key business solution in
your digital workplace, your intranet will have its own unique governance requirements
and expectations, especially because of its organization-wide focus and impact.

Planning intranet governance should happen during the exploration phase - to ensure
that all stakeholders have shared vision and goals. Envisioning is only the beginning.
Your intranet governance plan will evolve as your organization evolves and as new
capabilities are added to SharePoint and Microsoft 365.

A good governance plan helps define the priorities for the intranet and helps to prevent
content sprawl. It also ensures that roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and
communicated – and ideally, incorporated into job descriptions or performance goals.
One aspect that often separates your intranet from other solutions is the number of
people who are involved in creating and maintaining content. To ensure ongoing
success, it is important to make sure that each of your intranet stakeholders and users
understand their roles and responsibilities.

Intranet governance also includes policies and procedures but it is so much more than
that. Intranet governances should include a plan for user training, monitoring usage,
user behavior, and communicating expectations to all of the diverse stakeholders
involved. This is what makes creating a governance plan document is challenging. It is
difficult to create a single document that addresses these multiple audiences and can be
communicated in a way that encourages adherence and adoption.

Instead of creating a document or series of documents, consider creating a resource site

that incorporates training and governance in a single place. Think about how you can
combine “how to” (training) with “how should” (governance) so that when your intranet
users visit your user resource destination, they understand both “why” and “how” your
intranet is designed and governed the way you have implemented.

You can consider using the Microsoft 365 Learning Pathways site as a possible starting
point or create your own user resource center that integrates with or complements the
Learning Pathways content.

Having an effective governance plan in place enables the decision-making process for
the intranet. By reviewing and revising the governance plan regularly, you can help
ensure that your intranet remains a critical asset for your organization.
Governance Team
As a key business asset, intranet governance needs to reflect the goals of business
stakeholders and the legal and regulatory environment for your organization – not just
the expectations of your IT department. Create a governance team that includes core
members from key business stakeholder groups in your organization in addition to IT.

There is no magic size for the governance team, but it should be small enough to make
it easy to make decisions and representative enough to incorporate the “voice of the
business” and IT. When you have specific topics to review that extend beyond the
expertise of the team, you can bring in outside members (such as legal or records
management) to ensure that your decisions are aligned with organizational constraints.

Your governance team may meet on a frequent basis during intranet planning and then
less frequently over time. The goal is to establish a rhythm that works for your intranet
and team members. Since governance has an ongoing role for your intranet success, the
governance team should not be disbanded when you launch.

Governance Plan Elements

There is no “one size fits all” model when it comes to intranet governance. In fact, your
intranet governance plan may be different for different types of content. For example,
you may want to have more formal policies and stricter governance guidelines for sites
that face the entire organization and less strict policies for content that is more targeted,
such as content for an individual department or a one-time event (see Figure 1). The
best approach is to look at the different elements and think about what is critical or
necessary for your organization. Consider your audience and the culture of your
organization to guide your decisions and approach, as well as your overall Microsoft 365
governance expectations.
Figure 1. Your governance decisions may be different (and stricter) based on the "reach" of
your content.

At a minimum, consider each of these elements as part of your intranet governance

planning effort.

Vision
Policies and guidelines
Site provisioning and decommissioning
Information architecture and search
Branding
Content management
Security and information management
Roles and responsibilities
Feedback
Training and support
Measurement

Vision
The vision statement describes, at a high level, what you want to achieve with your
intranet - essentially how the solution delivers value to the organization and to each
individual employee. Use the intranet vision statement to guide your governance plan.
Be sure that the vision is clear because the degree of formality and the depth to which
you need to document the governance plan should align with the outcomes you want
to achieve.
A clear vision statement provides critical guidance to the inevitable decision tradeoffs
you will need to make for your governance plan. For example, you probably do not want
a completely uncontrolled environment with unstructured and “unfindable” content if
your intranet vision is to provide a key source of organizational knowledge and
information. In this case, the unstructured environment with no controls is unpredictable
and will likely misalign with desired business outcomes. In a different scenario, some
users may have a goal to create an experimental place where new site owners can create
“practice” sites to try out new skills or test alternative approaches to solve specific
business problems. For this use case, an overly restrictive governance plan may not
make a lot of sense. You may determine that you don’t want to support an unlimited
number of “practice” sites, so you may want a governance policy that says that all “test”
sites are deleted after a specific period of time. But, for these practice or test sites, the
unstructured environment is fine. You can only know what is level of governance is ideal
because you have a clear vision. The vision provides a framework for both the context
and your investment in governance. Once you are clear about your intranet vision, your
governance team can use that vision to guide the governance decisions.

Your intranet vision includes defining ownership. There is no right answer about which
organizational entity should “own” the intranet – and often, intranet ownership is shared
by more than one organizational unit. However, most intranet professionals agree that
there is one organization that should not be the exclusive intranet owner – IT. IT cannot
build an intranet for the business. IT can only build an intranet with the business and
with a commitment from the business. Successful intranets have a champion and owner
from the business, ideally at an executive level.

Policies and guidelines

Policies define the rules and guidelines for your intranet. From a governance
perspective, policies are usually driven by statutory, regulatory, or organizational
requirements. Users are expected to meet policies without deviation. If your
organization is subject to regulatory oversight, be sure you can enforce your policies as
a failure to do so may target your organization as being “non-compliant.” Guidelines are
usually established to encourage consistent practices. In many cases, guidelines are
more recommendations, but policies are requirements.

For example, consider the topic of site ownership. A policy might state, “All SharePoint
sites will have a primary and secondary contact responsible for the site and its content.”
A related guideline might state, “The site contact is listed in a web part in the lower left-
hand corner of the site home page.” The guideline might become a policy for major
functional sites but remain a guideline or recommendation for topic-specific microsites.
Another example of a policy is whether people outside the organization can have access
to the intranet as a whole or only to individual sites. The policy might have a default
value of no external access but there could be a process that allows for exceptions to
allow specific partner users to have access to some intranet sites.

Each organization will have its own set of policies and guidelines. General topics should
include content oversight, site design, branding and user experience, site management,
and security.

Steps to ensure success:

Verify that your intranet policies and guidelines do not conflict with broader
organizational policies and your overall governance decisions for Microsoft 365.
Publish policies and guidelines where users can easily find and follow them. Some
policies may need to be published for “all users,” while others may need to be
secured to protect the integrity of the application. Consider creating a governance
site rather than a document to facilitate publishing and “consuming” governance
policies and guidelines.
Leverage capabilities to automatically apply policies and guidelines wherever you
can. For example, you can enforce content management and retention policies
with information protection capabilities in Microsoft 365. You can encourage
following design guidelines by using site designs to embed best practices in sites
as they are created. The best way to ensure that your policies are followed is to
ensure that site owners and authors don’t have to think about them. Try to
automate as much as you can and where you can’t automate, plan to provide
training to ensure that site owners and content authors clearly understand
governance expectations.
Regularly review and revise policies and guidelines to keep them aligned to
organizational needs.

Consider these topics for your intranet policies and guidelines:

External sharing – can people outside the organization access intranet sites?
Default sharing links for intranet documents - consider setting the default for all
intranet sites to be “People with existing access” to ensure that site owners don’t
accidentally create links that allow visitors to edit key intranet documents.
Site navigation – for individual sites and the intranet as a whole.
Site designs - including guidance for items like the positions of key web parts on
departmental home pages. Do you want all sites to follow a similar pattern so that
users can easily find key content as they move from site to site? If so, then you may
want to apply site designs to ensure that it is easy for site owners to follow your
design patterns.
 Metadata architecture and content types - for example, policies for enterprise
content types and organization-wide metadata).
Guidelines for Teams chat and Yammer conversations - including more than just
messaging policies for Teams and how to participate in a Yammer conversation ,
but also conversation guidelines (such as using @mentions sparingly and
organization-specific “do’s and don’ts”).
User profiles – including expectations for the About me statement and
expectations for skills and expertise (for example, how well do you have to know a
topic to list it in the skills and expertise area of your profile?).
Organizational policies and guidelines for intranet site names, file names, Microsoft
365 group names, etc.

Site provisioning and decommissioning

A key intranet governance decision involves determining who can create a new intranet
site. Your modern intranet architecture will be “flat” which means that your intranet will
contain many sites. Do you want to provide a self-service model for new intranet sites or
do you want to manage site creation through a form submission and workflow? There is
no right answer to this question – but no matter which approach you choose, you need
to think about governance. There are two popular solutions to governing new site
creation:

Implement a site request process for intranet sites

You can easily hide the option to create a new site in the SharePoint admin center . If
you do so, you will want to create a process for users to request a new intranet site.
Having a request process makes it easy to review and track site requests and ensures
that your environment remains “tidy,” but if your review and approval process takes too
long, it could be frustrating for your users. Your provisioning process can leverage a site
design to ensure consistency or you can manually create sites to follow your design
patterns. A key part of your provisioning process will be to ensure that new site owners
have the appropriate guidance and training that they need to be successful when you
fulfill their site requests.

Allow self-service site creation

If you enable self-service site provisioning, you will want to consider providing site
designs that embed your best practices so that new site owners start with a “template”
that aligns to your governance guidelines. You will also want to track new sites in the
Admin Center so that you can follow up with new site owners to provide the information
that they need to be successful after the site has been created.

In addition to providing a process to provision new sites, you will also want to think
about a process to provision new hubs and associated hubs. Hubs must be provisioned
by the Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator so you will need to think about
how you will plan and govern the creation of new hubs.

When an intranet site is no longer needed, there may be cases where your records
management process prohibits deletion of the site and/or content. Another key
governance decision is planning how you will delete or decommission intranet sites in
the context of both legal holds and records management requirements. Learn more
about Microsoft Purview compliance documentation, including records management
and eDiscovery (Premium).

Information architecture and search

Well-planned information architecture is a prerequisite for a successful and well-
performing intranet. It is difficult to separate planning your intranet information
architecture from planning your intranet governance. These two planning tasks go
together and you will likely find that you are thinking about the two aspects of your
intranet iteratively and simultaneously. Intranet governance should cover several key
aspects of your information architecture:

Navigation architecture – how your sites and hubs will be associated to support
users who navigate or browse for content.
Page architecture – guidelines for pages, especially site home pages, to help
create consistent experiences across all intranet sites.
Metadata architecture – columns and content type planning to support consistent
approaches for organizing content and pages.
Search experiences – understanding how users will find content when they don’t
know where it might be in the architecture and how they will discover content. You
can help users discover content and improve search outcomes by leveraging
several features in search, including acronyms, bookmarks, Q&A, floor plans, and
locations. For more information, learn how to make content easy to find and how
search experiences work in SharePoint. Your governance plan should include how
you will support and manage the creation of the search discovery attributes.

Branding
Brand standards help to define the look and feel of your intranet. These standards are
reflected in site and page designs. Your brand standards can include standards for the
use of imagery, including requirements to use only brand-compliant images or icons
from an organization assets library on intranet pages, as well as requirements to
leverage only brand-compliant custom themes for sites. Your standards might prescribe
a specific theme for different types of sites or sites with different access levels. Your
standards might also include content authoring standards such as tone of voice, spelling
conventions, accessibility standards , and other guidelines that support your
organizational brand. Learn more about branding in SharePoint.

Content management
Content management is one of the most important parts of your intranet governance
plan. Many intranet users complain about intranet search – that they can’t find what
they are looking for. Most often, the problem is not with search; the problem is that
there is no content management in the governance plan!

Some common content issues include: Files are often duplicated rather than linked – so
search finds multiple copies of the same document and the searcher doesn’t know
which one is the correct version. File names often include version numbers instead of
allowing SharePoint to manage versions – so search finds all the various versions of a
document and not just the most recent, making it harder for the searcher to find the
current version of a file.

Your governance plan should include these key content management concepts:
Content creation

Where should content be published? For example, if I am not the “owner” of a

document, should I publish it to my intranet site? Or instead, should I find the
owner and ask them to publish it so that I can add a link?
Are there guidelines for creating intranet content? For example, what is the
appropriate tone of voice and are there specific guidelines organizing content on
pages? When should content authors create documents for the intranet and when
should they create pages?
Are there accessibility standards that content authors need to follow? Consider
these 8 tips to create accessible SharePoint pages (from the Humans of IT Blog
on the Microsoft Tech Community).
How should files be named? Should your governance content include file naming
recommendations such as not including version numbers in file names?

Information protection
 Does your organization have a requirement to protect certain types of sensitive
information? If so, can your governance plan (and deployment) leverage Microsoft
365 information protection capabilities such as sensitivity labels and retention
policies?

Content review

Do you want to set up flows using Power Automate to trigger intranet content
review at a specific time interval?
Who is accountable to review content and at what frequency? Is it the site owner
or the content author or another role? Is the expectation different for different
types of sites or different types of content?

Content disposition

Do you have requirements to implement records retention policies on some or all

content to prevent accidental deletion?

Security and information management

Your governance plan should not only include what should be posted on the intranet –
but it should also include guidelines for content that should not be posted on the
intranet. You may be able to enforce some policies using automated information
protection capabilities, but you will want to provide training and guidance for site
owners and content authors to ensure that they understand their responsibilities when it
comes to security and information management for both sites and content.

Roles and responsibilities

Roles and responsibilities describe how each employee as an individual or in a role (such
as Site Owner) is responsible for ensuring success of the intranet. Documenting roles
and responsibilities is a critical aspect of your intranet governance plan. To ensure that
intranet responsibilities are treated seriously, it is helpful to partner with your human
resources organization to ensure that intranet responsibilities are part of job
descriptions or performance goals.

It “takes a village” to successfully support an intranet in any organization. You will need a
team - and the team may include specialized roles that you leverage on an occasional
basis, such as developers to create a custom web part, permanent roles such as site
owners for whom intranet site management is a small part of their job, and other
permanent roles for people whose entire job responsibilities involve intranet
management. Some organizations find it helpful to organize their intranet resources in a
center of excellence, which may include full time members of the IT staff supplemented
with virtual members who work in different business groups around the organization.
Others extend their centralized staff to include “intranet champions ,” who extend the
support team into various departments and geographic locations by volunteering to
help ensure intranet success.

No matter who is in your “village,” it is critically important that everyone understands

their role and for which aspects of the intranet they are responsible. Figure 2 shows an
example of a role and responsibilities description for an intranet Site Owner.

Some of the key roles to consider for your intranet governance

plan include:

Intranet Steering Committee

Intranet Business Owner
Intranet Technology Owner
Corporate Communications
Training
Intranet Governance Team
Site Owners
Hub Owners
Site Members/Editors
Site Visitors
Yammer Community Owners
Yammer Community Members
Team Owners
Team Members
Intranet/SharePoint/Microsoft 365 Champions

Feedback channel
Your intranet governance plan should incorporate a mechanism to collect feedback from
intranet users. This includes a vehicle to collect feedback – for example, a Microsoft
Form linked from the footer of your home site – but also mechanisms to gather and
process the feedback and take actions based on the feedback. It is a good idea to
acknowledge all feedback, even if you don’t plan to take an immediate action.

Training and support

Your intranet will not be successful if you don’t incorporate a way to provide training
and support for all users, but most especially, Site Owners. The best way to reinforce
your governance policies and guidelines is to build them in to your training. In other
words, don’t provide training that only shows “how to” – make sure that your training
also includes your policies and guidelines – the “how should” aspect of your governance
plan.

It is helpful to provide a dedicated site where Site Owners and other intranet users can
find training and governance information. You can create your own “user resource
center” as described earlier or leverage a third-party or Microsoft-provided training
environment. To ensure that your training content is always current, you can link to
content at Microsoft’s training platforms such as Microsoft Office Help and Training
and Microsoft Learn. You can also embed the support.office.com training into your own
environment by deploying Microsoft 365 Learning Pathways in your tenant and
adapting the content to include your governance policies and guidelines.

You can help your intranet users find your training content by adding a custom tile to
your Organization Profile or adding a custom help link directly in Microsoft 365.

Measurement
Your intranet measurement plan should be aligned to the criteria for success defined for
the intranet vision. It should define the metrics and analytics used to track success, any
associated KPIs, and processes for evaluating metrics and taking action to make
improvements.

Look for metrics that are more than just page views. Just because a page is viewed does
not mean it is adding value to users. Instead, look at metrics that measure business
value. For example, are you seeing fewer support tickets related to expense processing
because your intranet was updated to include better and more up-to-date content
about expense reports? Are you seeing fewer help desk calls regarding how to upload
documents because you have updated your training content and made it more
accessible? Are HR representatives spending more time on unique issues because the
HR content is organized more effectively?

If your initial design plan identified key business outcomes or surveyed users to ensure
they had easy access to the information they need for their job, repeat the process after
you have deployed or updated your intranet to identify the business impact of your
intranet update or investment. Supplement this data with qualitative feedback from site
owners and users to create a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of your
intranet and your governance plan. Don't be afraid to decommission content or sites
that are no longer relevant. You can optimize your intranet value by using metrics to
identify duplicate, out-dated, and irrelevant content and sites.
Additional intranet governance resources:
SharePoint governance overview

How to think about your modern intranet

Organizational communications:
Guidance, methods, and products
Article • 02/21/2023

Employee engagement is a significant contributor to workplace satisfaction, loyalty, and

productivity at any organization. Across Microsoft 365, there are multiple ways to
communicate. Knowing which method (or combinations of methods) to use and when
to use them depends on your audience and the communication culture of your
organization.

Learn how to keep everyone informed and engaged using SharePoint, Microsoft Teams,
Yammer, Stream, and Viva Connections. Learn more about the powerful strategies and
communication tools available to you that help drive engagement in your organization.

In this solution:

Discover applications best suited for your communication goals and audience
Get started planning for specific scenarios like Viva Connections, holding a town
hall, or distributing organizational news
Understand technical and license requirements before getting started
Learn how to launch, manage, and maintain corporate communications over time

Overview of setup
Start by learning about Microsoft 365 tools that are designed for your specific scenario.
Then, learn how to scope your audience. Finally, get started planning by learning how to
create, launch, measure, and maintain a one-time communication or communications
over time.

Step 1: Learn Step 2: Identify the Step 3: Plan, build, Step 4: Manage and
about tools and scenario(s) to meet and launch your maintain
define your your communication communication communication and
audience profile goal strategy content over time

Review common Select a scenario(s) Gather requirements Update permissions and

scenarios & and content settings as needed
outcomes
 Step 1: Learn Step 2: Identify the Step 3: Plan, build, Step 4: Manage and
about tools and scenario(s) to meet and launch your maintain
define your your communication communication communication and
audience profile goal strategy content over time

Review Microsoft Learn how to get Align with partners Maintain relevant
365 tools started planning content

Scope your Review considerations Prepare and test Maintain performant

audience based on audience environment sites, pages, and lists
preferences

Check technical and Learn how to use and Determine success Retire content when it’s
license integrate M365 apps metrics & plan the no longer needed
requirements launch

Step 1: Learn more about communication tools and define your

audience profile
Start by getting familiar with common corporate communications scenarios. Next,
review Microsoft 365 communication apps to make sure you understand engagement
opportunities and analytics options. Then, learn how to define and scope your audience.
After following these basic steps, you will be ready to select the right communication
solution that fits your organization's needs.

Step 2: Identify the scenario(s) to meet your communication goal

Once you have defined your audience profile and scoped the size of your audience,you
can choose a corporate communication solution or combination of solutions. Each
communication solution covers step-by-step guidance and includes best practices to
ensure your success.

Step 3: Plan, build, and launch your communication strategy

Once you've selected a solution or combination of solutions, you'll learn how to plan,
build, and launch. Each communication solution can be customized and integrated with
other communication solutions depending on your goals. Understanding your
audience's needs and how they currently use M365 apps will heavily influence how you
make decisions.

Step 4: Manage and maintain communication and content over

time
Some communication solutions are a one-time event while others may have several
occurrences over time. Depending on the communication solution, there may be some
maintenance requirements and next steps. Learn how to prepare for the long-term
success of your communication strategy.

Overview of corporate communication

solutions:
Learn how to plan your communication strategy by reviewing common communication
scenarios, solutions, and outcomes. Next, review how Microsoft 365 tools and apps can
engage and inform the audiences you want to reach. Then determine which
communication scenario meets your communication goals and get started planning,
launching, and maintaining your communication solution.

This poster illustrates how Relecloud keeps employees informed and engaged across
popular communication scenarios. Relecloud uses a variety of M365 apps, including a
new offering, Viva Connections.

Download the PDF version of this poster or download this poster as a Visio file to
make custom edits for your organization.
Icon Scenario Solution details

Plan your strategy Review common communication scenarios

Learn about tools and solutions
Scope your audience and determine your specific
scenario

Get started planning your strategy

Use Viva Connections Create employee experiences that connect your

organization
Provide an easy way to catch up on news
Create a branded company app within Microsoft Teams

Set up Viva Connections

Get a home site for your Take the first step in getting ready for Viva Connections
intranet Schedule and launch a healthy portal
Set up global navigation in the SharePoint app bar

Get a SharePoint home site

Plan and produce a town hall Bring your organization together for a live or
prerecorded event
Record, share, and keep the conversation going
Measure engagement and expand reach using news

Plan a town hall

Distribute organizational news Share organization news and announcements across

your company
Create news site, news posts, and use the News web
part
Measure engagement and expand reach using Viva
Connections

Distribute organizational news

Leadership connection Create communication channels and networking

opportunities
Create engaging experiences in Yammer and live events
Expand reach using Viva Connections

Connect your organization with leaders

 Icon Scenario Solution details

New employee onboarding Create an end-to-end experience to onboard new

employees
Create a home base to welcome new employees and
share resources
Expand reach using Viva Connections

Onboard new employees

Build a learning and training Build a scalable learning and training experience
experience Surface training opportunities to specific audiences
Use tools like Viva Learning to deploy learning
experience

Build a learning and training experience

End-user guidance and support

Give end users a head start by helping them use and engage using popular M365
communication apps that may be a part of your solution. Consider using existing
training playlists in Microsoft 365 Learning Pathways to help end users learn more about
M365 apps like Teams and SharePoint. Or, help train people at your organization who
will be managing corporate communications using Microsoft Learn training.

Logo Communication app Guidance

Teams Learn more about teams and channels

Tips for meetings in Teams
Share content in Teams meetings
Use @mention's to get someone's attention

Teams live events Attend a live event in Teams

Participate in a live event Q&A
Use live captions in a live event

SharePoint Get started with SharePoint

Upload, view, and share files

Yammer Introduction to Yammer

Join a Yammer community
Use reactions in Yammer
Use topics and hashtags in Yammer
Use Q&A in a Yammer community
Pin, report, and close conversations

Yammer live events Attend a live event in Yammer

 Logo Communication app Guidance

Outlook Set up email on a mobile device

Use @mention's to get someone's attention

Stream Introduction to Microsoft Stream

Follow channels in Stream

Viva Introduction to Microsoft Viva

Get started with Viva Connections

Key capabilities by product license

Capability or Description Licensing
feature

Outlook email and Connect and stay organized with business-class email, M365 E5
calendar calendaring, and contacts all in one place. M365 E3

Microsoft Teams Deliver elevated meeting experiences with sophisticated call M365 E5
meetings, chats, functionality and a central hub for meetings, chat, content, M365 E3
and voice and calling.

SharePoint and Connect and engage across your organization with an M365 E5
Yammer intelligent, mobile intranet and enterprise social networking. M365 E3

Files and content Access files from any device, at any time. Engage with M365 E5
management in intelligent video and create visually striking content in M365 E3
OneDrive minutes.

Live events in Product and host a live event for people inside your M365 E5
Yammer organization. Keep the conversation going with live and M365 E3
moderated Q&A.

Live events in Host and record public or private live events. Decide how you M365 E5
Microsoft Teams want event attendees to participate. M365 E3

Microsoft Viva Bring together organizational news, tools, knowledge, Learn

learning, and insights with a full employee experience suite. more

Up next:
Step 1: Learn how to plan for your communication scenario

Step 2: Review Microsoft 365 communication tools and methods

Step 3: Scope audience size and preferences

Step 4: Get started planning for your scenario

Step 1: Review popular communication
scenarios and solutions
Article • 02/21/2023

Review popular communication scenarios to get familiar with the different types of
organizational structures and details that will help narrow down potential solutions.
Then, learn about Microsoft 365 communication applications, how to scope your
audience(s) and determine the audience profile. Finally, pick a solution and get started
planning for your specific scenario.

Review scenarios and Learn about methods Scope audience Get started planning
solutions

Learn about common Review Microsoft 365 Identify audience, Get started planning
communication communication preferences, and for your specific
scenarios applications size scenario

Scenario A: Use Viva Connections as a gateway to

employee experiences

Goals: You need to engage, inform, and connect thousands of frontline and hybrid
workers while in the field on a mobile device or at their desk. You want to streamline
and target content from across SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Yammer, and Stream into
one curated and branded employee experience.

Considerations: Your organization currently uses SharePoint news posts to share

essential and time-sensitive information and event recordings that need to reach
frontline workers. Additionally, building community and culture among the
organizational is a priority and you want to make sure workers in the field can easily
engage and participate in social channels. Some tools, resources, conversations, and
news are more important to specific audiences and need to be highlighted in the mobile
experience.

Outcome: The outcome will allow frontline and hybrid workers to feel connected and
informed while providing easy access to common tasks and tools all in one place.

Get started: Learn more about setting up Viva Connections.

Scenario B: Plan, build, and launch a home site in

SharePoint

Goals: You need to create a landing place in your organization’s internal networking of
sites – also called an intranet. You want to create a gateway to the intranet to help
everyone at your organization get easily orientated to the tools, resources, and news
available to them.

Considerations: The same resources and functionality need to be available on a mobile

device. Your organization has many offices in more than one country, so this landing
destination needs to be available in more than one language. Additionally, some portals,
news, and resources will be more relevant to certain regions and departments and
should be highlighted to groups of viewers.

Outcome: The outcome of the landing experience allows all employees to easily catch
up on organizational news, access popular resources, and find help and support.

Get started: Learn more about how to set a SharePoint home site.

Scenario C: Plan and produce a town hall for your

organization
Goals: You want to host a live or pre-recorded event in the form of a town hall event for
a large sales and support department of more than 1,000 people. The goal of the town
hall is to update everyone on the state of the business and announce new products.

Considerations: The typical employee talks to customers regularly, and needs be up to

date on all offerings. Both sales and support employees need technical information and
specifications to share with customers, but support agents tend to want more in-depth
information to help resolve customer issues. Both audiences like to ask questions--and
get answers--during these types of events.

Outcome: The outcome of this scenario is a large region or division of an organization

engages with new information, resources, messages, and direction during a live event
that’s recorded and can be viewed later.

Get started: Learn more about how to plan and produce a town hall using Yammer.

Scenario D: Distribute organizational news for your

organization

Goals: You need to share news that engage and inform all employees in your
organization using more than one distribution method. The goal is to keep everyone at
the organization up to date on initiatives, programs, events, and training opportunities.

Considerations: You need to reach remote workers, frontline workers, and people in
offices in more than one region. Also, most news will need to be in more than one
language.
Outcome: The outcome will allow for relevant news to show up to the right audience on
devices and in apps that are already being used in the flow of work.

Get started: Learn more about how to distribute organizational news.

Scenario E: Connect leadership and teams across the

organization

Goals: You need to find a way to connect leadership teams with the rest of the
organization. The goal is to provide consistent and ongoing communication and
connection from your top leadership representatives.

Considerations: The audience is broad and involves multiple disciplines doing various
jobs from all types of devices - both remotely and in the office. They might also span
multiple geographical regions and time zones.

Outcome: The outcome will be a sustainable communications channel that connects

people and provides learning opportunities beyond typical leadership announcements.

Get started: Learn more about how to connect leadership with your organization.

Scenario F: Plan, build, and maintain a new employee

onboarding program

Goals: You need to develop a scalable method of welcoming and orienting new
employees. The goal is to help new employees get set up with onboarding paperwork,
acquiring work devices, tools, and help understanding company policies and benefits.

Considerations: Twice a month this organization welcomes anywhere from 25 to 100

new hires across many offices in different countries. During the event, participants can
ask questions, get answers, and meet other people in their new organization.
Information shared at the event will also need to be organized in one central place so
afterwards new employees can access resources as needed.

Outcome: The outcome makes new employees feel welcome and understand who and
where to go to for help and more information.

Get started: Learn more about how to plan and launch a new employee onboarding
program.

Scenario G: Build a learning and training experience for

employees

Goals: YoYour organization is full of different types of disciplines. In order to make sure
every employee is equipped with the most up-to-date industry or job-related
knowledge and proficiencies, you’d like to build an experience that allows your
organization to administer learning modules and experiences and track the progress
and performance of each employee.

Considerations: This experience will also need to be accessible to people in all regions,
across multiple devices, and in all necessary languages. Your experience will need to be
able to reach remote workers, front line workers, as well as those working in an office.
This experience will also need to be accessible to people in all regions, across multiple
devices, and in all necessary languages.

Outcome: The outcome is a high functioning organization comprised of highly skilled

and knowledgeable employees who are equipped with the most up-to-date skills and
know where to go to find the training opportunities.

Get started: Learn more about how to build a learning and training experience for
employees.
Up next:
Step 2: Review Microsoft 365 communication tools and methods

Step 3: Scope audience size and preferences

Step 4: Get started planning for your scenario

Step 2: Review Microsoft 365
communication tools
Article • 02/21/2023

Learn more about how Microsoft 365 tools and applications can help you create the
right communication channels for the right audiences. Review communication tools and
learn more about engagement options, maintenance requirements, analytics, and other
details to help you decide which tool is best for your scenario and desired outcome.

Logo App Description

name

Teams Channels, teams, and live events

Communicate and collaborate across the organizations in teams and
channels
Add intranet resources, pages, and lists as tabs in teams channels
Review usage and engagement analytics to measure reach

SharePoint Intelligent intranet and knowledge management

Create durable content on sites and pages targeted to specific
audiences
Use news posts to distribute news across Microsoft 365 apps
Integrate web parts like Stream and Yammer to create a cohesive
experience

Yammer Social networking and live events

Use Yammer communities to create a dialogue with certain groups
Post messages, interact, and search for conversations and key words
Collect feedback and answer questions during live events

Outlook Mail, calendar, tasks, and contacts

Send mail and newsletters to specific audiences
Get reply receipts and usage analytics to track correspondence
Access engagement analytics to learn about user behavior

Stream Intelligent video services

Create groups and channels to target content to specific audiences
Use video to create engaging communication experiences
Integrate video into SharePoint using the Stream web part

Viva Suite of apps that focus on employee experiences

Apps display in Teams and integrate across M365 apps
Experiences can be combines and targeted towards distinct roles and
regions
 ７ Note

Access to app analytics and usage reports depends on the permission settings and
your organization's usage data policies.

Teams: Video conferencing, chat, and live

events
Set up, customize, and collaborate in teams and channels. Get work done using channel
posts, chats, calls, and online meetings. Teams is a great place to target information to
smaller or more specific teams in your organization. Integrate resources from SharePoint
like pages, lists, and document libraries as tabs in Microsoft Teams. For example, you
might have a team for your sales department with a channel for event announcements
that includes resources from your Sales team site in SharePoint.

Logo Details

Engagement options:
- Post news and announcements to specific teams and channels
- Use @mentions for names of people or the channel so get attention
- Integrate popular SharePoint pages as tabs in Teams channels
- Reach broad audiences using Teams live events
- Communicate with up for 10,000 people at once in a team or channel
- Integrate resources from SharePoint, conversations in Yammer, and news from across
the organization using Viva Connections

Set up and maintenance options:

- Help manage channel content and context by adding chat moderators
- Create a Teams template to standardize the way Teams are created across the
organization
- Set up secure collaboration for Teams that will allow guest or external users
- Set up Viva Connections for Teams desktop

Analytics:
- Users can view analytics for teams and channels that they are part of
- Access more in-depth analytics and reporting in the Teams admin center

SharePoint: Engage, learn, and collaborate

SharePoint is the center or your organization’s internal knowledge base, or intranet, and
is composed of portals, sites, and pages. Many communication apps can be integrated
with SharePoint to create dynamic experiences that can be easily viewed on a mobile or
desktop device.
 Logo Details

Engagement options:
- Share durable information with dozens or hundreds of people – or your entire
organization using SharePoint communication or team sites
- Share news in a visually compelling format on a site or email across the organization
- Integrate other communication outlets like Yammer , Stream , and Twitter using
web parts on SharePoint pages
- Use SharePoint sites and pages to make recorded events, meetings, resources, and
related contacts available to the rest of the organization
- Use audience targeting on SharePoint sites, pages, lists, links, and web parts to help
users find content
- Bring intranet resources into Microsoft Teams desktop and the mobile app to help
employees find resources and collaborate in the form of dashboard cards using Viva
Connections

Set up and maintenance options:

- Setting up a home site for your organization is a good starting place since it will be the
gateway to the rest of your organization, and enables you to customize global navigation
in the SharePoint app bar
- Set up Viva Connections for Teams desktop - Over time, manage and maintain
SharePoint content and site settings for relevance and ensure users have the right
access to content
- Consider using SharePoint hub sites to create associations between related sites and
content

Analytics:
- View usage data for your SharePoint site
- View usage data for a SharePoint page or news post

Yammer: Social networking and live events

Build communities of interest, gather ideas, request feedback, and keep everyone
moving forward with help from Yammer. Yammer slows you to create social network
inside and outside of your organization. Conversations and highlights in Yammer can be
integrated into SharePoint and Viva Connections.

Logo Details
 Logo Details

Engagement options:
- Join and create a community in Yammer to bring people together
- Create polls, praise, announcements, and questions in Yammer
- Integrate Yammer into Microsoft Teams by adding a Yammer page to a Teams channel
- Use a Yammer web part to integrate conversations and highlights into a relevant
SharePoint site
- Learn how to organize a live event in Yammer
- Use the Yammer community app in Microsoft Teams

Set up and maintenance options:

- Enable people at your organization to [report concerns about Yammer conversations or
replies]/yammer/manage-yammer-groups/configure-conversation-reporting.md)
- Plan to engage new Yammer communities until the conversation picks up naturally
over time

Analytics:
- View insights about questions and answers in Yammer
- View insights about Yammer community or group activity
- Determine how many people have seen a Yammer conversation

Outlook: Email and calendars

Outlook is a tried-and-true form of communication for many organizations. Email is still
a popular form of communication (especially for broad and diverse audiences) and can
be viewed on any device. Email is often used in combination with other communication
tools to share news, event information, and organizational updates.

Logo Details

Engagement options:
- Reach an unlimited number of recipients
- Use @mentions to get the attention of somebody in an email
- Get more out of your email by sharing the same message in Microsoft Teams
- Choose when the message by be received by scheduling email messages

Set up and maintenance options:

- Consider setting up Outlook message templates to standardize corporate
communications
- Create Microsoft 365 groups in Outlook to make reaching specific audiences more
easily

Analytics:
- Add and request read receipts and delivery notifications
- Create polls and view results in an email message
Stream: Securely upload, organize, and share
videos
Microsoft Stream is video service where people in your organization can upload, view,
and share videos securely. You can share recordings of meetings, presentations, training
sessions, or other videos that aid your team's collaboration. Use Stream for live events,
or embed Stream content in Microsoft Teams or SharePoint .

Logo Details

Engagement options:
- Share Stream videos in email, Teams channels and chats, or in Yammer
- Use the Stream web part to embed a video in a SharePoint page or news post
- Upload recordings from Teams meetings into Stream to organize and store content
- Consider using Stream for live events when you need to reach large audiences and
want to record the session to share with others

Set up and maintenance options:

- Stream uses Microsoft 365 groups and channels to make it easy to share and collaborate
on content and manage access
- There are video quotas and limitations depending on your organization’s license.

Viva: Personalized employee experiences

Microsoft Viva is made up of several apps that focus on specific employee experience
areas and can be accessed in Teams. Viva apps are integrated with existing M365 apps
like SharePoint, Yammer, and Teams. Some Viva apps can help organize, personalize, and
amplify organizational communications. Other Viva apps will compliment popular
business scenarios and can be combined to create more powerful experiences. Learn
more about Microsoft Viva.

Logo Details
 Logo Details

Engagement options:
- Use Viva Connections to create one central place where organizational news can be
viewed
- Integrate the Viva Connections experience by using the Dashboard and Feed web parts
on the home site
- Add cards to the Viva Connections Dashboard that integrate with other communication
tools like Yammer
- Use complimentary Viva apps like Viva Learning to create well-rounded employee
experiences

Set up and maintenance options:

- Learn more about how to set up Microsoft Viva and the different roles involved.
- Get more information about Viva Connections and how to meet requirements.

Up next:
Step 3: Scope audience size and preferences

Step 4: Get started planning for your scenario

Step 3: Scope audience size and
determine audience preferences
Article • 02/21/2023

Learn about the needs and preferences of your audience before you get started
planning your communication strategy. Consider who needs the information you will be
communicating and the best way to reach them. Scope the size of your audience and
then determine the right channels for communications.

Best practices when scoping audience:

Estimate the size of your audience
Know the general size of your target audience so that you can choose the right
tools and methods to reach them. For example, some live event options have a
maximum capacity of 25,000 people.
Understand where your audience usually gets information
It's best to meet users in apps they are already using to get work done. For
example, if your audience is frontline workers who generally use Microsoft Teams,
you'll want to make sure your communication will be shared and can be viewed in
Teams.
Learn more about how your target audience typically communicates
Some audiences will not be able to attend a live event or watch an event recording
so alternative communication methods will be needed. For example, if your
audience is remote workers who primarily get news in SharePoint, you may decide
to only post news in SharePoint and then promote news in Yammer and Teams for
the rest of the organization.
Target specific audiences using Microsoft 365 groups
Organize your audience into Microsoft 365 Groups. Users are likely to be in more
than one group. This will make it much easier to send email messages and use
tools like audience targeting in SharePoint.

Start by understanding your audience's work

environment and device preferences
Audience size will help you narrow down potential communication solution(s) in
combination with considerations for how, when, and where your audience gets work
done. Corporate communications should aim to meet workers where they are and make
it easy to engage and participate. Keep in mind that a given individual in your
organization may be in more than one group.

Frontline workers

Frontline workers are team members who do not sit at a desk or in front of a desktop
computer for most of their work. This audience includes healthcare workers, factory
workers, retail personal, sales teams, and support teams.

This audience is likely using their mobile device most of the time to get work done
Communications need to be concise, easy to access, and visually engaging
It is unlikely that this audience will be able to attend an event all at once, therefore
you should plan to record and share the event in a news post or email
Consider using Viva Connections to create an engaging communication experience
that helps organizations stay connected

In-office workers
In-office workers typically sit at a desk and use a computer for most their work in a
traditional office setting. In-office workers may not work in the office everyday, and may
even work in more than one office.

This audience is likely to use a desktop device most of the time but may take
certain meetings on a mobile device
This is the only audience that could attend an in-person event but schedules will
vary

Remote audiences
Remote audiences do not work in a centralized office location and may even work from
their home. This audience includes full-time employees and vendor and contract
workers like gig workers, agencies, consultants, and other roles where most work takes
place at a desk or in front of a computer.

This audience uses a combination of devices but primary uses a desktop device
Remote audiences are good candidates for live events, moderated Q&A, and live
chats in Yammer or Microsoft Teams since most people can participate together
Remote audiences are more likely to suffer from meeting fatigue and looking at a
screen most of the day, so diversified communications that do not require a
camera or desktop screen is ideal
Hybrid audiences
Most organizations consist of various audiences, and plan communication for a hybrid
audience. Hybrid audiences are a blend of audiences. Common blends are remote
workers and in-office workers and in-office workers and frontline workers. Some
organizations may have frontline workers, in-office workers, and remote workers. In
some scenarios, you may be trying to reach a similar audience, but they work in different
time zones or locations, which also make them a hybrid audience.

Hybrid communication needs to be especially inclusive to accommodate other

working schedules, access to internet, languages, and time zones
Consider using more than one channel or communication method to reach team
members with different working styles
Create feedback channels that allow people to participate in conversations, share
their perspective, and network with others

Then, scope the size of your audience

Understanding the size of your audience will help you narrow down what Microsoft 365
applications will help you reach your goals. Once you’ve determined your audiences,
you can use one - or a combination of methods - to share news, announcements, and
more.

Audience example Size Potential apps and method

Specific teams, roles, 300 to Send an email

regions, departments, and 20,000 Publish SharePoint news
projects Post in a Teams channel
Schedule a Teams meeting
Post in a Yammer community
Host a Teams live event
Host a Yammer live event

Entire departments or 5,000 All of the above, in addition to:

regions to
20,000 Stream channel or live event in Stream

All employees Up to All of the above, in addition to:

25,000
Use Viva Connections to bring news, events, and tools
into one place
 Audience example Size Potential apps and method

25,000 Microsoft 365 live events*

to Publish SharePoint news
100,000 Send an email
*Live events with up to 100,000 attendees can be planned
through the Microsoft 365 live events assistance
program

Considerations for large audiences

Learn more about considerations as you scope your audience size. Small audiences are
straight forward and relatively low risk when it comes to data protection and content
durability. As your audience size grows, so do the risks and considerations like
accessibility, multilingual options, and data security.

Accessibility
Accessibility is important for all organizations, and especially corporate communications.
Ensuring content is accessible benefits everyone. Accessibility includes making sure
content in SharePoint can be easily consumed, limiting background noise in Teams
meetings, turning on-screen captions for live events, and more. Learn more about
accessibility, and apply learnings to meet the needs of your audience(s):

10 Habits to create accessible content

Use live captions in a live event
Accessibility tips for inclusive Microsoft Teams meetings and live events
Accessibility overview of Microsoft Teams
Get ready to build an accessible SharePoint site

Multilingual options

Part of ensuring content is accessible is knowing when content should be available in

more than one language. This is especially important for communications that cover
more than one region and country.

Learn more about how to create SharePoint communication sites, pages, and news
posts in more than one language
Create Microsoft form in more than one language
Use the Translator app to translate conversations in Microsoft Teams chat and
meetings
Data protection and compliance
Sharing confidential information and documents with large audiences always imposes
data risks. Microsoft has many tools that help protect data, prevent data loss, and
ensure the right people have the right access to information. Review how to classify
SharePoint sites and documents, guest sharing, and how to set up teams and channels
in Microsoft for conversations that will include sensitive or confidential data.

Classify confidential information using sensitivity labels

Managing SharePoint Security: A Team Effort
Set up Microsoft Teams with protection for highly sensitive data
Set up secure external sharing in SharePoint
Use approval flows for content updates to high traffic SharePoint pages

Finally, learn to target content, conversations,

and events to specific audiences
Regardless of the app you choose to drive your communications, there are more
Microsoft 365 services that can be used to ensure the right content gets to the right
audience.

Organize and create Microsoft 365 Groups

Planning and organizing Microsoft 365 Groups into different audiences based on role,
region, department, and division will be helpful when producing and launching
corporate communications. Most applications rely on Microsoft 365 Groups to target
content, for example email in Outlook, virtual meetings in Teams, permissions to
SharePoint sites, and more.

Learn more about how to manage Microsoft 365 Groups and how to create Microsoft
365 Groups .

Use audience targeting in SharePoint

For communication that takes place in SharePoint, you’ll have access to a feature called
audience targeting . Audience targeting helps the most relevant content get to the
right audiences. By enabling audience targeting, specific content will be prioritized to
specific audiences using Microsoft 365 Groups through SharePoint web parts, page
libraries, and navigational links.
Audience targeting can be applied to many components in SharePoint and can be
especially helpful:

Target SharePoint news posts using the News web part to specific audiences
who would benefit from the information
Make sure the right audiences is aware of an upcoming event by applying
audience targeting to the Events web part
Help audiences discover relevant content by apply audience targeting to
navigational links in hub site or site navigation
Surface-specific content in the Quick links web part with a relevant audience

Up next:
Step 4: Get started planning for your scenario
Step 4: Choose your communication
solution
Article • 02/21/2023

Now that you understand the communication tools available and how to determine
your audience’s profile, you are ready to select a scenario and learn more about the
technical requirements, options for set-up, and how to start planning with your
communications team.

Get step-by-step guidance for popular

scenarios

Icon Scenario Goal Requirements Optional

apps and
tools

Use Viva Create personalized employee Microsoft Teams, Yammer,

Connections experiences using Viva Connections SharePoint, Viva
and different Viva modules in Teams. SharePoint home Learning,
site, Global Viva
Learn more about Viva Connections. navigation Insights,
enabled, Viva Viva Topics
Connections

Get a home Take your intranet to the next level SharePoint Microsoft
site for your by creating a home site that expands Teams,
intranet the search experiences, prioritizes Yammer,
organizational news, and enables Stream
Viva Connections integration.

Learn more about SharePoint home

sites.

Hold a town Bring large portions, or your entire Microsoft Teams SharePoint,
hall organization, together to share and/or Yammer Stream
essential information and resources
through live or pre-recorded events.

Learn more about town halls.

 Icon Scenario Goal Requirements Optional
apps and
tools

Distribute Use SharePoint news to create SharePoint Microsoft

organizational engaging news post that can be Teams,
news shared in across SharePoint, Outlook, Yammer,
Teams, and Yammer. Outlook

Learn more about organizational

news.

Leadership Connect leadership teams with the SharePoint, Microsoft

connection rest of the organization by Yammer and/or Teams,
establishing new communication Microsoft Teams Yammer,
channels, events, and networking Outlook,
opportunities. Stream

Learn more about leadership

connection.

New Welcome and orient new employees SharePoint, Outlook,

employee by providing a landing place to learn Yammer and/or Stream
onboarding more about the organization, Microsoft Teams
training opportunities, and where to
find support.

Learn more about new employee

onboarding.

Build a Learn how to build a training and SharePoint, Viva Outlook,

training and learning experience that will keep Learning, and Yammer
learning employees and team members up to Teams
experience date with important skills and
proficiencies required for
professional success.

Learn more about learning and

training.

Get started planning for your scenario

Many communication solutions will follow a similar path to get started – plan, build, and
launch. Follow best practices and considerations to ensure your communication solution
meets your organization’s goals.

Stage Tasks
 Stage Tasks

Plan - Check licensing requirements and prepare your Microsoft 365 tenant environment
- Understand the needs of your audience and determine the audience profile
- Align with key stakeholders and partners
- Consider multilingual and accessibility needs

Build - Use SharePoint and Microsoft Teams templates to save time

- Check SharePoint site and page performance where applicable
- Recruit help moderating the conversation or Q&A where needed
- Plan the communication’s launch

Launch - Make the communication method known through various channels

- Ensure one-time communications can be accessed by the entire organization
- Review engagement metrics

More Resources
Overview of corporate communications
Set up and launch Viva Connections
Article • 03/06/2023

Microsoft Viva Connections is an employee experience app in Microsoft Teams that

brings together relevant news, conversations, and resources in one place for your
organization. It's built on your current Microsoft 365 ecosystem to help you engage,
inform, and empower your hybrid workforce. The Viva Connections experience is
deployed and accessed in Microsoft Teams.
Use these step-by-step instructions to help you set up and launch Viva Connections on
desktop and mobile devices to create an engaging user experience.

７ Note

Content in this article reflects the latest release of the Viva Connections desktop
experience that will become available to all customers by the end of March 2023.
Some users in your organization may see the new experience before others.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to

Set up Viva Connections

Set up Viva Connections and a SharePoint home site
Add a home site after setting up Viva Connections

Follow the instructions that are relevant for your organization. If you are unsure if your
organization has a SharePoint home site, ask your SharePoint admin. Home sites can be
added after you’ve set up Viva Connections, but it’s recommended that you do it before
to reduce the risk of needing to manually copy content in some cases. Learn more about
how Viva Connections and home sites work together to create employee experiences.

Get more detailed guidance that focus on tasks in the plan, build, and launch phases. Or,
review the Viva Connections learning path get more in-depth guidance that includes
fictitious business stories, examples, and knowledge checks.

） Important

To complete these step-by-step instructions, ensure that you have permission

to the SharePoint admin center (for customers who have a home site) and the
Microsoft Teams admin center. Get more information about permissions in
SharePoint and permissions in Microsoft Teams.
Viva Connections is not supported on the Linux operating system.
Viva Connections is not currently supported on tablet devices. Continue to
check the Microsoft 365 Roadmap for the status of tablet support.

Set up Viva Connections without a home site

Follow these instructions when your organization only wants to set up Viva Connections.
 

Step 1: Enable the Viva Connections app in the Microsoft

Teams admin center
Viva Connections does not have any requirements to get started. Start by adding the
Viva Connections app, and then customize app settings to add your organization's logo,
pre-install, and pre-pin the app for end users.

Get started

1. Add the Viva Connections app in the Teams admin center (TAC).
2. Then customize app settings like the app name and logo and decide user policies.
Consider pre-pinning and pre-installing the app to improve app discoverability
and adoption.
3. Finally, make the app available to end users by enabling the app.

Permissions Teams administrator (or higher) permissions are required to add the Viva
Connections app to the Teams Admin Center (TAC).

Step 2: Choose app settings

The Viva Connections app creates a custom app in Microsoft Teams. Your organization’s
custom app will appear as a branded company app in the Microsoft Teams app center.
Once the app is added, your organization’s icon will appear in the Teams app bar in the
desktop and mobile Microsoft Teams experience. Users won’t see the app by default if
you don’t pre-install and pre-pin.

Get started

1. If you have pre-pinned the app for your users with Teams app set-up policies in
step 4, then the app will automatically appear in users’ Teams mobile client apps
on iOS and Android.
2. If you have not pinned the app via policy, then users will first need to search for
and install Viva Connections from the Teams desktop application. Learn more
 about Viva Connections settings .

Permissions Teams administrator (or higher) permissions are required.

Step 3: Assign owners and members

Decide who should get access to editing elements of the landing experience. Assign at
least 2 owners and a few members. If you are setting Viva Connections up for the first
time, only owners of the SharePoint root site will be able to edit. When the home
experience is edited for the first time, a SharePoint site on the backend will get created.
You’ll want to assign (at least two) owners and members from this site to give
permissions to others so they can edit the experience for the rest of the organization.
Learn more about what each role can do.

Get started

1. Navigate to the Viva Connections app in Teams.

2. Select the ellipsis (...) in the top-right and select Manage permissions and assign at
least 2 owners and a few members.

3. Alternatively, assign owners and members from the backend SharePoint site:

Select Edit in the dashboard section.

Then select Dashboard details.
Copy the link to the dashboard under Properties > Name.
Paste the link in a browser and then go to Settings > Permissions.

Step 4: Finish customizing the experience

After getting the app in Teams, choose the primary audience for this experience
between employees who are generally frontline workers or information workers to select
a set of default dashboard cards that can be edited or removed later. Add a custom
banner image, add more cards to the dashboard (if desired), and set up navigational
links to popular destinations in the navigation section.

Get started

1. Learn more about what content can be customized.

2. Upload a banner image, add more dashboard cards (if desired), and customize the
navigation section.

Permissions Member or owner permissions are required to change banner image, edit
the dashboard, and edit navigational content.
Step 5: Let your users know how to access and use Viva
Connections

Viva Connections End-user guidance

dashboard
interaction

Help make end users aware of this new resource and provide guidance on
what icon in the Teams app bar is your organization's instance of Viva
Connections. Then, help end users understand how to use the desktop and
mobile experiences .

Learn more about how to help your organization adopt Viva Connections .

Set up a SharePoint home site and Viva

Connections
Follow these instructions when your organization plans to use a SharePoint home site in
combination with Viva Connections to create a complementary employee experience.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/videoplayer/embed/RE53Exu?postJsllMsg=true

Step 1: Set a home site in SharePoint

A home site is a SharePoint communication site that acts as the front door to your
organization’s intranet and has special capabilities such as the ability to prioritize news
posted from the home site across the rest of the intranet. When you deploy Viva
Connections, the SharePoint home site is automatically detected and a prominent link to
the home site will display in the top-right corner of the Viva Connections experience.
Alternatively, you can choose to use the home site as the default landing experience if
desired.

） Important

Home sites are generally high-traffic sites that should be optimized for
performance.
Only modern SharePoint sites will open within the context of Microsoft Teams,
classic sites, for example, will open in a separate browser window.

Get started:

1. If your organization does not already have a home site, learn more about how to
plan a home site and consider using this home site design.
2. Then, set the home site in the SharePoint admin center.

Permissions SharePoint administrator (or higher) can set a home site.

Step 2: Enable the SharePoint app bar and customize

global navigation
The SharePoint app bar allows users to find important content, resources, and
dynamically displays personalized sites, news, and files. Viva Connections uses elements
from the SharePoint app bar and global navigation for desktop and mobile experiences.
SharePoint app bar elements will display in Microsoft Teams and includes global
navigation, followed sites, and recommended news. On mobile devices, Viva
Connections uses global navigation for the Resources tab.

） Important

If your app bar is not set up, you won’t see a navigation links in the desktop
experience, and global navigation resources in the Resources tab of the Viva
Connections mobile app will not display.
A home site is required before you can enable and customize the SharePoint
app bar.

Get started
 1. Learn more about how to think about home site navigation and global
navigation .
2. Learn how to set up the SharePoint app bar and global navigation.

Permissions Site owner (or higher) permissions to the home site are required to enable
and customize global navigation in the SharePoint app bar.

Step 3: Create your dashboard, add cards, and apply

audience targeting in SharePoint
The dashboard brings it all together – it provides a personalized landing experience and
is designed to be the central destination where everyone can discover your
organization's resources and complete daily tasks. Apply audience targeting to
dashboard cards to give your users an experience tailored to their role and interests.
Once you set up the dashboard, you will be able to use the Dashboard web part on the
home site.

The dashboard can be set up and edited from the home site, or you can edit dashboard
content in Teams from the Viva Connections desktop app.

Get started

1. Learn how to author your dashboard, add cards, and apply audience targeting.
2. Optional - Develop your own custom cards using Adaptive Cards.

Permissions Site member (or higher) permissions to the home site are required to create
and edit dashboard content.

Step 4: Enable the Viva Connections app in the Microsoft

Teams admin center
After you have prepared your home site, global navigation, and dashboard for Viva
Connections in SharePoint, you are ready to add the Viva Connections app in the
Microsoft Teams Admin Center. Add the Viva Connections app, and then customize app
settings to add your organization's logo, pre-install, and pre-pin the app for end users.

Get started

1. Add the Viva Connections app in the Teams admin center.

2. Then customize app settings like the app name and logo and decide user policies.
Consider pre-pinning and pre-installing the app to improve app discoverability
and adoption.
3. Finally, make the app available to end users by enabling the app.
Permissions Teams administrator (or higher) permissions are required to add the Viva
Connections app to the Teams Admin Center (TAC).

Step 5: Choose app settings

The Viva Connections app creates a custom app in Microsoft Teams. Your organization’s
custom app will appear as a branded company app in the Microsoft Teams app center.
Once the app is added, your organization’s icon will appear in the Teams app bar in the
desktop and mobile Microsoft Teams experience. Users won’t see the app by default if
you don’t pre-install and pre-pin.

Get started

1. If you have pre-pinned the app for your users with Teams app set-up policies in
step 4, then the app will automatically appear in users’ Teams mobile client apps
on iOS and Android.
2. If you have not pinned the app via policy, then users will first need to search for
and install Viva Connections from the Teams desktop application. Learn more
about Viva Connections mobile settings .

Permissions Site member (or higher) permissions to the home site are required to
choose settings for the mobile experience.

Step 6: Finish customizing the experience

After getting the app in Teams, finish setting up the experience by selecting a custom
banner image. Viva Connections content can be edited from the Teams app and
dashboard and navigational content can still be edited from the home site.

Get started

1. Change the banner image in the header and set the focal point for the image. The
banner image only displays in the desktop app.

Permissions Site owner (or higher) permissions to the home site are required to change
the banner image.

Step 7: Let your users know how to access and use Viva
Connections
 Viva Connections End-user guidance
dashboard
interaction

Help make end users aware of this new resource and provide guidance on
what icon in the Teams app bar is your organization's instance of Viva
Connections. Then, help end users understand how to use the desktop and
mobile experiences .

Learn more about how to help your organization adopt Viva Connections .

Add a SharePoint home site after setting up

Viva Connections
Follow these instructions if your organization has already set up Viva Connections and
now you want to add a home site. Learn more about how Viva Connections and home
sites work together to create employee experiences.

Step 1: Set a home site in SharePoint

A home site is a SharePoint communication site that acts as the front door to your
organization’s intranet and has special capabilities such as the ability to prioritize news
posted from the home site across the rest of the intranet. When you deploy Viva
Connections, the SharePoint home site is automatically detected and a prominent link to
the home site will display in the top-right corner of the Viva Connections experience.
Alternatively, you can choose to use the home site as the default landing experience if
desired.

） Important

If your app bar is not set up, you won’t see a navigation links in the desktop
experience, and global navigation resources in the Resources tab of the Viva
Connections mobile app will not display.
A home site is required before you can enable and customize the SharePoint
app bar.

Get started

1. If your organization does not already have a home site, learn more about how to
plan a home site and consider using this home site design.
2. Then, set the home site in the SharePoint admin center.

Permissions A SharePoint administrator (or higher) can create a home site.

Step 2: Copy content from the dashboard and navigation

if needed
The home site will automatically be in draft mode so that content can be manually
copied from the existing Viva Connections experience in Microsoft Teams if needed.

After you’ve manually copied content (if needed) from the experience in Teams, turn the
toggle off and select Save to activate the home site settings. Then, Viva Connections
content will be sourced from the home site and can be edited either from the home site
or the Viva Connections experience in Teams.

Get started

1. Copy content (if needed) from the dashboard in Teams to the dashboard that can
be found from the home site’s settings panel Settings > Manage Viva
Connections > Create dashboard.
2. Copy content from navigation (if needed) to global navigation from the home
site’s settings panel Settings > Global navigation.

Permissions SharePoint site member permissions (or higher) to the home site can edit
Viva Connections content from the home site and in Teams.
Step 3: Publish the home site to share it with
others
After you’ve finished setting up your home site and Viva Connections content in the
dashboard and global navigation sections, publish the home site and share it with
others to complete your organization's employee experience offering. After the home
site has been published, the Viva Connections experience will automatically detect it and
will display a link to the home site in the top-right corner.

Get started:

1. Consider running a health check to ensure site performance for a high-traffic site.
2. Add the intended audience to the Settings > Site permissions as site viewers.
3. Share the site with the intended audience.

Permissions SharePoint site member permissions (or higher) to the home site can
publish the home site and add site visitors.

Learn more
Overview of Viva Connections

Customize and edit the Viva Connections home experience

Microsoft Viva adoption center

Plan, build, and launch a home site for
your organization
Article • 03/07/2023

A SharePoint home site provides a customized landing experience that reflects the
organization’s brand, voice, and priorities. A home site also serves as the gateway to
other portals in your organization’s intranet. Learn more about how Viva Connections
and home sites work together to create employee experiences.

７ Note

A home site is not required for the latest release of the Viva Connections desktop
experience . Learn more about the new experience , how to customize it, how
to choose the default landing experience, and how to onboard new users .

If you’ve already created the communication site and are ready to specify it as your
home site now, learn how to Set a site as your home site.

Use a SharePoint home site to:

Provide a gateway to other high-traffic portals

Connect people with an intranet-wide search experience
Showcase targeted news and content
Take advantage of the new people engagement tool, Viva Connections

Example of a home site: View in the SharePoint mobile app:

 Example of a home site: View in the SharePoint mobile app:

What is a SharePoint home site?

You only need one home site to take advantage of home site features. Home sites do
not replace communication or team sites, but instead provide a landing place for your
organization. Think of home sites as an add-on to your intranet design. Home sites are
SharePoint communication sites that have special capabilities such as being marked as
an official source of news in the organization. Consider making your tenant's root site
the home site. Next, review key differences between standard SharePoint
communication sites and home sites.

Creating a home site so your organization can use Viva Connections? Consider following
this design guidance.

Home site features explained:

Home sites are unlike any other site in SharePoint. When you set a SharePoint
communication site as a home site, you’ll automatically apply special capabilities that
make the home site an ideal landing destination for your intelligent intranet.

Search for content across the entire intranet

Home sites allow users to search for content (such as sites, news, and files) across the
entire intranet rather than searching just the site like typical SharePoint sites. This
becomes possible because the search scope for the home site searches the entire
intranet instead of just the site collection like a typical site.

Official source of organizational news

By default, a home site is set as the organizational news source. News posts that are
created from the home site automatically become official organizational news and take
priority on the SharePoint start page and in the home section of the SharePoint
mobile app. Administrators can set sites as official organizations news sources in the
admin center.

Enable and customize global navigation in the SharePoint app bar

The SharePoint app bar features a global navigation option that displays intranet
navigational nodes and resources no matter where users are in SharePoint. To take full
advantage of this feature, you must have a home site. Learn more about how to enable
and customize global navigation in the SharePoint app bar.

Use Viva Connections to integrate your intranet into Microsoft

Teams

Viva Connections is designed to drive engagement, build community, and enable your
organization to stay connected. To take advantage of this solution, you’ll need a home
site. Then, you can integrate the home site into Microsoft Teams. Learn more about Viva
Connections.

Before getting started

Before you get started planning and building your home site, review best practices and
considerations.

Best practices for creating home sites:

Because a home site is used by the entire organization, the site needs to be
inclusive and easily accessible on all devices .
Because the site needs to be inclusive and easily accessible on all devices, consider
other languages that might be needed .
 The home site will be viewed by high volume of users. Make sure you manage site
performance through the planning and building phases.
Links in the home site's navigation can direct users to content in addition to global
navigation which can be used to lead users to universally used resources and
portals.
Make sure the home site is discoverable by adding an entry point to the Microsoft
365 app launcher and a featured link on the SharePoint start page.
News published from the home site should be relevant to the entire
organization.

Considerations:

Align the branding on the home site to the overall intranet brand where possible.
For organizations with many portals and resources, consider making your home
site a hub site to expand navigational options and easily sync permissions and
branding across many sites.
If the site you want to be your home site isn't currently the root site and you want
it to be, first swap the home site with the root site location, and then set the site as
your home site. If you set up a home site first, and then swap it with the root site,
you may lose home site settings and need to reapply them.
Use a home site template from the SharePoint look book called The Landing to
jump-start the design process.

Summary of how to get a home site for your

organization
Since home sites are the gateway to your intranet, you’ll want to prioritize content and
resources that are relevant to most employees. Work with business owners and
stakeholders to organize and align the flow of information and the navigational design.
Then, use the Page diagnostics for SharePoint tool to ensure to best viewing experience.
Next, set your communication site as a home site in the SharePoint admin center. Finally,
use the Portal launch scheduler to plan the launch of your new site and make the site
discoverable by adding links to key entry-points in the Microsoft 365 experience.

Before you get started planning your home site, hear from the Microsoft product team
on how to think about and approach the design of your organization’s home site.

Plan Build Launch and manage

 Plan Build Launch and manage

- Align objectives with - Upload and organize site - Share the site with your
partners and business assets and content like organization
owners logos and files - Use the Portal launch scheduler
- Organize priority content - Customize the site to align to release the new site in phases
- Design way finding for the with the rest of the intranet - Make the home site discoverable
home site and global - Apply audience targeting - Announce the launch of the
navigation - Turn on a content home site using various
- Think about branding approval flow communication channels
- Use audience targeting on - Use PowerShell to turn the - Monitor site usage and analytics
navigational links, news, and comm site into a home site
web parts - Swap the root site location
with the home site
- Measure site health and
performance
- Test on all devices

Plan your home site

A great home site starts with a plan. Because your home site is essentially the gateway
to your intranet, you'll want to collaborate with other business owners such as human
resources, leadership teams, and even your legal team to ensure the most important
and universal resources are accessible for everyone in the organization.

Icon Action Get started

Get Start by aligning objectives with stakeholders and organizing priority

organized content and resources. Consider details specific to your organization like if
the home page needs to be available in more than one language. Use
modern SharePoint sites for the home site. Learn more about how modern
SharePoint sites and how to create a multi-lingual site and pages .

Plan Then, organize the navigational structure for the home site itself and
navigation global navigation. Consider making the home site a hub site if you need to
add an extra layer of navigation and make it easier to sync associated site
permissions and branding. Learn more about planning site navigation and
how to make your home site a hub site. Then, review guidance on how to
set up global navigation on the home site.

Personalize Next, think about the difference audiences that your organization serves.
content Consider how elements on your home site like navigational links and
certain web parts could benefit from audience targeting to specific
audiences. Learn more about audience targeting .
 Icon Action Get started

Gather Finally, start gathering assets needed to apply custom branding and other
branding details to your home site, like logo files, color themes, and any custom
assets solutions. Learn more about how to change the look of your site .

Consider site Even before you build your site, understand the main elements that will
performance make sure your home site is healthy. A healthy home site optimizes
performance to ensure the best possible viewing experience. Use the Page
diagnostics for SharePoint tool to make sure the home page is healthy
before sharing with end users.Learn more about healthy portals and using
the Page diagnostics tool for SharePoint.

Build your home site

When you've prepared a plan, you're ready to start creating the home site in SharePoint.
Start with a communication site, and after you have the general layout finalized, set the
communication site as a home site in the SharePoint admin center.

Icon Action Get started

Create a Start by creating a SharePoint communication site and build out the site
modern by using sections, web parts, and pages. Consider using a mega menu
communication and footer to enhance way finding. Web parts that are useful for a
site home site include: News web part, My feed web part, Yammer web
parts, Quick link web part, and the Highlighted content web part.Learn
how to create a communication site , use modern web parts , and
customize your site .

Apply audience Next, turn on audience targeting on for the home site. By enabling
targeting audience targeting, specific content will be prioritized to specific
audiences in navigational links, news, and certain web parts. Learn more
about how audience targeting works and how to apply it to
navigational links, news, and web parts.

Set up a page Then, make sure the home site is set up for regular content updates.
approval flow Turn on content approval to ensure only high-quality content is
published on the home site. Learn how to turn on a page approval
flow .

Swap the root Before you set a communication site as the home site, swap the
site location communication site in place of the root site of your tenant as a best
with the home practice. The root site for your organization is one of the sites that's
site provisioned automatically when you purchase and set up a Microsoft
365 plan. If you set up a home site first, and then swap locations with
your root site, you may lose home site settings and need to reapply
them. Learn how to swap the root site with the home site.
 Icon Action Get started

Set the home Next, set the home site.

site

Set up global Then, enable global navigation to allow users to easily navigate to
navigation important intranet resources anywhere in SharePoint. Global navigation
can only be customized from the home site’s home page.Learn how to
enable and customize global navigation.

Test site health Finally, review portal launch guidance and understand the main
and the elements that will make sure your home site is healthy. A healthy home
viewing site optimizes performance to ensure the best possible viewing
experience experience. Use the Page diagnostics for SharePoint tool to make sure
the home page is healthy before sharing with end users. Learn more
about healthy portals and using the Page diagnostics tool for
SharePoint.

Launch your home site

After you've set your home site, it’s time to plan the launch and make sure the rest of
the organization can find and use the home site.

Icon Action Get started

Share the site Start by ensuring your home site is healthy, and then its time to share the
and schedule site with the rest of the organization and schedule the launch. Use the
the portal Portal launch scheduler tool to gradually roll out the home site to
launch batches of end users. Using a phased approach is ideal to manage any
performance issues that may arise and to ensure a positive viewing
experience. Learn how about how to use the Portal launch scheduler tool.

Improve Next, make sure people in your organization can easily find the home
discoverability site through a few different entry points in the Microsoft 365 experience.
Add a link to the home site in the Microsoft app launcher (sometimes
called the waffle) and on the SharePoint start page. Learn more about
how to add a custom tile to the app launcher and how to add a featured
link to the SharePoint start page.

Engage your Then, let your organization know about the new home site resource, and
audience other new elements like global navigation. Consider multiple
communication options like a SharePoint news post that can also be
shared in email and in Microsoft Teams. Learn more about how to create
and post SharePoint news and share it in an email .
 Icon Action Get started

Manage and Finally, when the site is healthy, launched, and being used by the
maintain your organization, monitor site usage and maintain the site. Site maintenance
home site should include making sure site content is relevant, there aren’t any
broken links, and that the site stays healthy and performant. Learn how
to view usage data and analytics for your site and how to maintain
your site over time .

Integrate the Expand the reach of the home site and help meet users where they're
home site into already working by making it easy to access and share content all in one
Microsoft place. After you have a home site and the global navigation enabled and
Teams using customized in the SharePoint app bar, you’ve met the requirements to
Viva integrate the home site into Microsoft Teams using Viva Connections.
Connections Learn more about the Viva Connections end-user experience .

Home site FAQs

Q: I have a new site that I want to use as my home site. What do I do?
As long as your site is a communication site, you can set the site as a home site.

Q: What’s the difference between a home site and the SharePoint start page?
The content on the SharePoint start page is driven and managed by Microsoft Graph.
Content is personalized to the individual users’ recent activity, followed sites, and
content that is saved for later. The home site is a landing experience for your entire
organization. It displays universally relevant content and directs users to other important
portals like Human Resources and company directories.

Q: Can I integrate the SharePoint start page with my home site?

Integration between the home site and SharePoint start page (where the branding,
theming, header, navigation, and footer elements from the home site are applied to the
start page and users can easily navigate between the pages) isn't available at this time.
However you can add a featured link to the SharePoint start page to increase home site
discovery.

Watch for updates in the Microsoft 365 roadmap .

Q: Can my organization have more the one home site?

At this time, each organization can have only one home site.

Resources
Watch: Build and launch a SharePoint Home Site: Tips and Tricks From The Product
Team
Planning your SharePoint hub sites

Creating and launching a healthy SharePoint portal

Use and customize the The Landing template from the SharePoint look book

Design a SharePoint home site for Viva Connections

Distribute corporate news to your
organization
Article • 02/21/2023

When you have organization-level announcements, CEO messages, philanthropic

highlights, quarterly growth reports, or any other important stories that you want to
share with your entire organization, you can create an organization news site where
“official” or authoritative news can be posted and then distributed to your organization.

News can be distributed on the SharePoint start page, on your home site, or on any
page of a site where you want the news to be displayed. It’s also tightly integrated into
Viva Connections for Teams Desktop and in the Viva Connections Feed where people
can engage with corporate news wherever they are.

When news is distributed from an organization news site, it gets special visual treatment
(see the "NEWS @ CONTOSO" color block below).

Places news is distributed

News is distributed across SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and Viva Connections.
Location Details

SharePoint start page Automatically displayed in the News from sites section, based on
relevance to the user

SharePoint Displays on a page in the site when the News web part is used
communication sites,
team sites, and hub
sites

Viva Connections for Displays news on the home site in a feed

Microsoft Teams
Desktop

Viva Connections Displays in the Feed based on relevance to the user

Mobile app

Viva Connections Add one or more cards that highlight news from the organization or
Dashboard different departments. Decide your audiences and where and when
you want to share the news.

Email in Outlook News digest automatically sent with your branding.

Steps to distribute organization news

To distribute news across your organization, follow these steps:

1. Decide your audience and when and where you want to share the news.
2. Create an organization news site.
3. Create news posts on sites.
4. Add the news web part on your home site or other sites where you want your news
to appear, and set options for your news posts, like ordering, audience targeting,
and more.
5. Boost news for greater discoverability.
6. Send news in email.
7. Display SharePoint news in Teams using Viva Connections: If you’re using Viva
Connections for Teams Desktop, news that you add to your home site will be
available in Teams.
8. Create a personalized news stream on in the Teams mobile app: Add one or more
cards to your dashboard that opens a news story. Additionally, if you have the
Feed enabled for your app, news will automatically display there, based on
relevance to each user.

Decide your audience

You may have different audiences for different messages. Understanding your audience
helps you determine where and how you want messages to be shown. For example, you
can use news web parts on specific sites, and target your news to full-time employees
or employees of specific groups.

Learn more about determining your audience.

Create an organization news site

SharePoint Administrators can specify any number of organization news sites. For multi-
geo tenants, organization news sites would have to be set up for each geo location.
Each geo location could use the same central organization news site, and/or have its
own unique site that shows organization news specific to that region.

To enable and specify the site for organization news, a SharePoint Administrator must
use the latest SharePoint Online PowerShell commands:

Get-SPOOrgNewsSite
Set-SPOOrgNewsSite

For more information see Create an organization news site.

Create news posts on sites

Create news posts on your organization news site. Anyone with permission to create
pages on the site can author news posts. A news post is actually a SharePoint modern
page with special properties that allow the post to be distributed as news.

To learn how to create a news post, see Create and share news on your SharePoint
sites .

To learn how to turn a page into a news post, see Change a SharePoint modern page
into a news post or create a modern page from a news post .

Use the news web part to distribute news on

the sites you want

SharePoint news will automatically show on SharePoint Start page, and in the Viva
Connections feed. If you want news to show on the page of a specific site (like on a
home site), add the news web part to that page.

With the news web part, you choose your organization site as the source of your news,
and you can audience target your news. By using audience targeting, you can show
news content to specific groups of people. This approach is useful when you want to
present information that is relevant only to a particular group of people. For example,
you can target your news stories about a specific project to only team members and
stakeholders of the project. You can also choose the layout of news and how to order
the posts.
To learn how to use the news web part on a SharePoint page, see Use the News web
part on a SharePoint page .

Boost news for greater discoverability

Boost important news and announcements from your organization to prioritize their
visibility and to increase readership. Boosted news posts display with a lightning bolt
icon. You can order your boosted news to determine which shows first, and you can set
an expiration date for the boosting of individual posts.

You can boost news posts from organization news sites only.
Boosted news posts are currently shown in auto news digests only. Soon, boosted
posts will be shown in additional types and locations of news feeds.
A maximum of 10 news posts can be boosted at a time.
You must have edit permissions on the organization news site to boost news posts.

To learn more boosting news, see Boost news from organization news sites .

Send news in email

Many organizations send "newsletters" in email. With auto-news digest, emails are sent
automatically to users with stories that are relevant to them that they may not have
viewed yet. You can customize these emails with your own branding.

To learn more about the automatic news digest feature, see Automatically sending
news post digests with branding .
You can also manually curate a news digest and send it when you want. To learn
how, see Create and send a news digest .
To learn about email notification settings, see SharePoint email notifications .

Display SharePoint news in Teams using Viva

Connections
Viva Connections is an employee experience app in Microsoft Teams. Use Viva
Connections to engage and empower frontline workers and information workers across
your organization. Viva Connections integrates Microsoft 365 apps and tools to create
experiences that meet users where they are, keeps them updated on news and
announcements, and provides access to resources from a desktop or mobile device.

When you use Viva Connections for Teams Desktop, your home site in Teams displays
news just like it does when viewed in SharePoint. To learn about adding Viva
Connections, see Add Viva Connections for Microsoft Teams desktop.

Create a personalized news stream on in the

Teams mobile app
Viva Connections is a customizable app in Microsoft Teams that gives everyone a
personalized destination to discover relevant news, conversations, and the tools they
need to succeed. In the Viva Connections app, users will see a personalized Feed with
relevant information from across their organization.
The Feed automatically balances fresh and engaging content with corporate
communications to keep users interested, while also ensuring that they see the most
important messages. The Feed can also be incorporated into the home site to create a
desktop view by using the Feed web part.

Ways to influence the order of content in the Feed:

1. Promote important and ‘official’ communications - Use News boost to raise the
visibility of crucial news posts.
2. Highlight Yammer community discussions - Feature posts in public Yammer
communities that you’d like seen by the entire organization.
3. Publish from official news sources - Official news sources are news posts
published from SharePoint sites that are [official news
 sites]/sharepoint/organization-news-site). News from these types of sites will be
prioritized in the Feed.
4. Use Video news links in SharePoint - Videos are an engaging way to reach users
in your organization. Official organizational news sites have the option to post a
Video news post that will take priority over other content in the Feed.

More Resources
Learn how to plan for your communication scenario

Create an official organizational news site in SharePoint

Overview of Viva Connections

Leadership connection: Use Microsoft
365 to connect leaders and teams
Article • 02/21/2023

Microsoft 365 can help your organization's leadership teams connect with employees to
build community around a common purpose and goal. Learn how to create a culture
and internal place to help engage and connect leadership teams with the rest of your
organization.

Help unite your organization by:

Creating a sustainable, two-way dialogue between leadership and the rest of the
organization by removing communication barriers
Hosting organizational or department-wide meetings with live Q&A sessions so
everyone is up-to-speed on leadership initiatives
Sharing relevant news, ideas, and updates to encourage employees to engage and
network with leadership teams
Using analytics to gain insights on engagement and understand the impact of
activities
Bringing elements of the experience together using Viva Connections

Stage Tasks

Plan - Define audience profile and scope audience size

- Align with stakeholders
- Develop a support team that ensures content is relevant, plan future events, and
publish news
- Consider multi-geo and multi-lingual options
- Find corporate sponsorship and champions
- Determine success metrics

Build - Create a SharePoint leadership site

- Start a new community in Yammer
- Set up news that can be shared in SharePoint, Teams, and Outlook
- Use M365 groups to provide access to large audiences
- Use audience targeting to make sure your audience can find the right content
- Get user feedback before launching your communications
- Plan a kickoff event and identify promotional channels
 Stage Tasks

Launch - Share the leadership SharePoint site, Yammer community, and event invites with
their intended audiences
- Send email invites to the kickoff event
- Use Microsoft Teams and Yammer to post messages about the kickoff event
- Equip champions and corporate sponsors with promotional materials
- Produce and host a live event with Q&A
- Create feedback channels
- Post the event recording on the leadership connection site

Maintain - Ensure content stays relevant

- Audit M365 group membership, access, and settings periodically
- Develop a news publishing cycle
- Schedule regular events and share them in advance

Plan your leadership connection strategy

Start by making sure you understand your audience's needs and preferences. Review
how to profile and scope your audience. This scenario will have the most successful
outcome when multiple communication methods are combined. Start with a SharePoint
communication site and a Yammer channel that connects the organization with
leadership. Then, plan and host a live event that is recorded and shared with others.
Finally, bring all these communication elements together into an engaging mobile
experience using Viva Connections.

1. SharePoint communication site - Create a SharePoint communication site that

houses all things leadership – everything from news and announcements to events,
people profiles and networking opportunities. Use the Leadership connection site
template.
2. Yammer community - Use Yammer to instantly connect, ask questions, and
share ideas with the leadership team. Then, use the Yammer web part to embed
the conversation on the leadership connection SharePoint site.
3. Yammer live events - Use the Yammer community for live events and questions
and answers.
 4. Viva Connections - Bring the SharePoint site and Yammer conversation into one
place where users can catch up and connect with leaders in the Microsoft Teams
mobile app. Learn more about Viva Connections.

Planning considerations
Multiple communication solutions can be combined to provide opportunities
across the organization to connect with leadership regardless of worksite location
or time zone.
Create opportunities outside of a live event to allow everyone within the
organization to connect, network, and learn from leadership teams.
Develop communication channels that collect feedback and questions for the
leadership team, and save responses for the next live event.
Create a practice of recording live events that can be shared and viewed later.
Build durable communication methods that do not require organized events to
generate content.
Identify other opportunities across the organization to spread awareness about the
leadership connection initiative such as new. employee orientation, regular
communications to networking groups, and promotion in employee resource
groups.

Build your communication strategy

Start by creating or using an existing SharePoint communication site. Then connect a
new or existing Yammer community to the SharePoint site using the Yammer
conversations web part. Then, plan and host live events, share the recordings on the
leadership site, and keep the conversation going in Yammer channels.

Step 1: Create a SharePoint leadership site

SharePoint communication sites are a great tool to create a landing place to share
leadership news, initiatives, and opportunities to network and connect. This is an ideal
opportunity to use the Yammer web part on the home page to connect to an existing
Yammer community that connects leadership team members with the rest of the
organization. Use the Events web part to post and target leadership events to specific
audiences .

Image of the Leadership connection site template:

Share recording from leadership events:

Showcase leadership profiles:

Get started creating your SharePoint leadership site
There are several resources that can help you quickly create a leadership site:

Use a SharePoint site template provided by Microsoft. Apply the Leadership

connection template , then customize the site to for the needs of your
organization.
Create your own leadership site following step-by-step instructions in this guided
walkthrough .
Use the Leadership connection template in the SharePoint look book. The
SharePoint look book Leadership connection template requires the use of
SharePoint PowerShell and administrative credentials.

Publish news from the leadership site

Once your leadership site has been created and shared with the right audiences, you can
publish news from this site . Then, use the News web part on the home page to
display leadership news and target leadership news to specific audiences . Other sites
across your organization can customize the settings in the News web part to pull news
from an organizational news site. Consider cross promoting leadership news on the
home site, on a new employee onboarding site, and where other leadership-oriented
news can be found.
Monitor usage analytics for your SharePoint site
As a SharePoint site owner, you can view information about how users interact with your
site. For example, you can view the number of people who have visited the site, how
many times people have visited the site, and a list of files that have received the most
views. Learn more about how to access usage data for your leadership site .

Step 2: Create a leadership community in

Yammer
Communities in Yammer help employees share knowledge, engage with others in the
employee experience, and provide a social platform for company-wide communications.
It can also be used to drive leadership engagement by providing a central place for your
conversations, documents, events, and updates. Yammer can help you host a live event
with moderated Q&A for up to 10,000 attendees.

Use Yammer to help engage your organization by:

Engaging employees in the goals and vision of the company

Informing employees about strategic initiatives and important updates
Showing employees that their feedback is being heard by senior leadership

If your organization doesn't already have a Yammer community that includes members
of the leadership team, start by creating a new Yammer community . Then, use the
Yammer web part to embed conversations or highlights from existing Yammer
communities on the SharePoint site.

New to Yammer? Learn more about managing a community in Yammer and

administrative tips and tricks . Help onboard your organization to Yammer and help
others understand how to use Yammer .
Monitor conversations and engagement insights
Yammer community insights help you measure your community's reach and
engagement. You can find out more about the people, conversations, and questions and
answers that make up your community. Learn more about managing communities in
Yammer .

Step 3: Host a live leadership event in Yammer

with Q&A
Create and produce live events for people in the leadership Yammer network, with built-
in discussions for use before, during, and after the event. Up to 10,000 people can
attend at once from anywhere on their device or computer (higher limits for event
attendees are temporarily available through the Microsoft 365 Live Events Assistance
program. Make the video available after the event on the leadership site, so that people
who can't make it at the scheduled time can still participate.

Image of live questions and answers during an event

There are two ways live events in Yammer can be produced. The requirements depend
on which video production methods you intend to use in your organization. Learn more
about which method of live event you should use. For live events that only require visual
and audio support, consider hosting a live event using Yammer in Teams .

Once you've determined the right method for your live event, get started organizing
and scheduling the event.
Learn more about how to organize the live event in Yammer . Review the Yammer live
event playbook and Yammer live event FAQs to understand all the different roles
and responsibilities, how to ensure the event goes smoothly, and how to drive
engagement. Consider using guidance from How to host a town hall for your
organization to plan your live event.

Insights and engagement metrics for live events

Before the event starts, you will have access to a dashboard that will help you
understand event reach, engagement during the event, top conversations, and more.
Insights are only available to event organizers and producers. Learn more about how to
view live event data and use insights to host powerful live events.

Step 4: Expand your reach and engagement

using Viva Connections
Bring the SharePoint leadership site, news, and conversations from the Yammer
community into one central place in Microsoft Teams using Viva Connections. Viva
Connections creates an opportunity to push specific content and display popular
resources by combining the power of your SharePoint intranet with Microsoft Teams and
other Microsoft 365 apps like Yammer and Stream.

Use Viva Connections to:

Meet your employees in the apps and devices they know and love with a
personalized view of news, conversations, and communities
 Promote events, news, and conversations in Viva Connections dashboard to
specific audiences using audience targeting
Boost important news and announcements to the top of employees' news feeds

Viva Connections offers added functionality through three primary components - the
Dashboard, the Feed, and Resources.

Dashboard: The Viva Connections Dashboard is your employee’s digital toolset. It

brings together the tools your employees need, enabling quick and easy access
whether they are in the office or in the field.
Feed: The Feed delivers updates to the right people at the right time and is tightly
integrated with Yammer, SharePoint news, and Stream to display a personalized
feed, based on post-level targeting of the groups that employees belong to.
Resources: The Resources experience enables way finding across platforms. It uses
navigation elements from the SharePoint app bar, which can be audience targeted.
Launch and manage your communication
strategy
Help others in your organization discover the leadership connection resource. Consider
hosting a kickoff event in Yammer to announce the new SharePoint site and Yammer
community. Set the tone for what to expect in terms of ongoing engagement,
mentorship and networking opportunities, event, and news publishing schedules.

Launch checklist:

Assign site owners and content authors who will be responsible for making sure
the leadership site and news are always up to date
Make sure your audience has access to the SharePoint site
Make sure your audience has been added to the Yammer community
Assign a Yammer community moderator and review Yammer community best
practices
Use audience targeting to highlight leadership events, news, and links to the
leadership SharePoint site across your intranet
Check site SharePoint usage and analytics and Yammer community insights
during and after the launch to measure engagement

More resources
Overview of corporate communications

Use the SharePoint Leadership connection site template

Viva Connections for leaders

Onboard new employees into your
organization
Article • 02/21/2023

Make new employee onboarding (sometimes referred to as NEO) a great experience by

fostering an all-in-one hybrid work environment where new employees can find
important resources, meet people in their organization, and prepare to be successful in
their new role.

When entering a new organization, knowing where resources are located, who to go to
for help, and how to find training materials in an organized and personalized
environment will help new employees navigate your organization efficiently. This article
will guide you on how to create a welcoming onboarding environment for new
employees using Microsoft’s modern work tools.

Create a virtual onboarding experience by:

Planning and implementing an end-to-end experience based on your

organization’s tools, resources, and initiatives
Hosting a virtual welcome event to share resources and introduce onboarding
buddies
Using a SharePoint site template to provide a home base for new team members
Creating a personalized onboarding checklist using the Onboarding checklist list
template
Curating a training experience for new team members using Viva Learning

Overview of how to create an onboarding

experience
Icon Phase Tasks

Plan - Scope your audience

- Map out the employee onboarding experience
- Review Microsoft 365 onboarding tools
- Consider creating a new employee support community in Yammer
 Icon Phase Tasks

Build - Consider using a live event to welcome and orient new team members
- Include partners like hiring managers, business owners, and human resources
in the planning process
- Have a plan to maintain NEO content over time
- Create an onboarding site using the New employee onboarding template
- Customize an Onboarding checklist template in Microsoft 365 Lists
- Prepare a survey to ask for feedback at the end of onboarding

Launch - Send out invites, instructions, and resources using Outlook Mail and Calender.
- Gather insights from each platform used to measure overall performance of
the employee onboarding process
- Use feedback to inform the next onboarding session.

Plan the onboarding experience

Step 1: Scope your audience and Step 2: Map the Step 3: Review Microsoft
goals onboarding experience 365 tools

-Determine the needs and the size of -Establish and onboarding - choose onboarding tools
your audience. timeline that will best suit your
-Define deliverables and desired -Define which onboarding needs.
outcomes of the onboarding tasks need to be
experience completed
-Establish tone and messaging - Prioritize onboarding
tasks
-Curate learning materials
-Ask for feedback
frequently

Planning considerations:

Even before a new employee’s first day on the job, they will need some
information about NEO before the event itself. Consider a pre-onboarding
SharePoint site that can help new employees gather the right documents and
prepare for the NEO event as soon as they sign their offer letter.
Some new employees cannot attend the NEO event in person. Consider if it’s
better to pre-record an event that can be shown to people who cannot attend in
person or if you can live-stream the in-person event and new employees who are
remote can join online.
Regardless of the NEO event attendance is in person or remotely, the NEO
audience will need access to the same resources on desktop and mobile devices.
Step 1: Start by determining your audience profile and
size
New employees will have diverse backgrounds, roles, and career experience. Some new
employees will be able to attend an event in person while other can only attend
remotely. Some tools and resources will need to be accessible from a mobile device. The
same resources will need to be available regardless of the new employee orientation
method.

The size of your onboarding group will determine the platforms and resources you use.
Learn more about defining your audience profile and scoping audience size.

Groups of 1-19 Groups of 20 or more

Office (PowerPoint, word) Office (PowerPoint, word)

SharePoint SharePoint
Teams Teams
Viva Learning Viva Learning
Viva Connections Viva Connections
SharePoint Spaces SharePoint Spaces
Yammer

Define the desired outcome and priority content

Spend time defining what success looks like when orientation is complete. In many
organizations, onboarding happens for more than one part of the business, consider
offering an onboarding structure that allows the new employee to become familiar with
the organization and the team they will be working with. Consider setting up modules
that guide employees through onboarding and lets them know about their progress.

Consider the tone and messaging for your onboarding process

Make new employees feel welcome and excited to be joining your organization. Use
PowerPoint to prepare a well-crafted message that lists out the various benefits and
resources your new employees can take advantage of as members of your organization.
Introduce them to the culture of your company by laying out company history, fun facts,
and more.
Step 2: Map the ideal employee onboarding experience
From inception to orientation to day one on the job, the new employee journey has a
huge impact on the success of that employee. Ensure the new employee is provided the
best tools to start out with by mapping out the new employee onboarding experience.

A. Establish an onboarding timeline

Determine how long the onboarding process should take based on the role and level of
career experience. Think about how often new team members should be taking training
courses and attending events that connect them with leadership and the rest of the
organization.

B. Scope and define the most important content and tasks

Create deliverables that let you know that each employee has achieved full competency
in a specific subject that is important to the job. This can be learning about the company
itself, specific tools, organizational expectations, and more.

C. Collect, prioritize, and organize resources and content

When entering a new environment, understanding the order in which deliverables

should be completed may be a blind spot for new employees. Help them prioritize
onboarding deliverables by laying them out in a way that signals priority. This could be
as simple as writing them out for them or integrating Microsoft Lists . Learn how to
use Microsoft Lists to help onboard employees.

D. Create a personalized training experience

Which learning materials are needed to help make the new employee successful? Curate
learning modules for each employee that helps orient them on organizational needs,
team needs, and the tools that they will be working with daily. Learn more about using
Viva Learning.

E. Get feedback along the way

The goal of every onboarding process is to make sure each new employee feels fully
equipped to be successful in their new job. Receiving honest feedback once employees
are finished with the onboarding process is the best way to fill in the gaps and improve
onboarding for incoming employees. Find out what worked and what could use
improvement by creating simple and thoughtful surveys. Learn more about getting
feedback using Microsoft Forms.

Step 3: Review Microsoft 365 onboarding tools

A great option is to use Teams live meetings, live events, and chat functionality to
welcome new employees and provide an engaging experience for those that can attend
in-person as well as remote. Direct users to information and contacts on a SharePoint
communications site. Consider using a NEO Yammer channel where new people can ask
questions and get answers. You can even consider using SharePoint spaces for virtual
training or facility tours. Then, bring it all together using Viva Connections, which
integrates SharePoint content into Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft Teams meeting - Meetings in Teams include audio, video, and screen
sharing, and are great for communicating with groups of fewer than 300
individuals. Teams can be used for meetings that happen in person, remotely, or a
combination of the two. Additionally, the meeting can be recorded and shared
with new employees who were unable to attend the meeting.

SharePoint communication site - Create a SharePoint communication site using

the New employee onboarding site template . Use the site to direct new
employees to relevant resources, contacts, and conversations in new employee
Yammer communities.

Yammer channel – Create a Yammer channel just for new employees. Choose to
create one NEO channel for the entire organization or region or create channels
for each new group of new employees. Then, use the Yammer web part on the
SharePoint NEO site to integrate the conversation with other resources and
contacts.

Microsoft Viva – Viva modules are personalized employee experiences that display
as apps in Microsoft Teams. Use Viva Connections to bring onboarding resources
and tools into one place. Content in the Viva Connections experience can be
targeted to specific audiences . Use Viva Learning to curate learning modules for
each employee that helps orient them on organizational needs, team needs, and
the tools that they will be working with daily.
 SharePoint spaces - Use SharePoint Spaces to create an immersive platform that
allows new employees to take a virtual tour of the campus.

Build the new employee onboarding

experience
Build out the employee onboarding experience one platform at a time. The tools listed
here can be connected to each other providing a thorough and connected onboarding
journey for the new employee.

Create an onboarding site using SharePoint

Create an internal communication site that acts as a home for new employees. This site
should lay out resources, deliverables, and company information in and organized way.
This site should also contain the most up-to-date information to ensure the new
employee has everything needed to be successful. Try organizing action items on this
site in a way that signals priority. List the things that need to be finished first at the top.
This will help employees organize their work in onboarding to the best of their ability
and gives each new employee the same starting point.

Microsoft offers a new customizable employee onboarding SharePoint communication

site template that can help get you started. Get started with SharePoint site templates
Use live meetings to administer a virtual employee
orientation

With the emergence of virtual work, having face time with other people in the
organization is still important in making sure employees can communicate with leaders,
peers, and ask top-of-mind questions. Use Microsoft Teams to administer virtual
employee orientation.

Make this live event fun and engaging by giving employees an opportunity to
communicate with each other in the Teams chat box or allow employees to ask
questions on camera or through the moderated Q&A in Teams live events. Learn more
about Teams live events.

Give employees a tour of the campus using SharePoint

Spaces
SharePoint Spaces is a tool that provides immersive online experiences using 2D and 3D
web parts. Guide new employees through a virtual 360-degree tour of the campus.
Incorporate helpful links and web parts that provide important information and helps
the employee complete onboarding tasks.Learn more about SharePoint Spaces .

Help the new employee prioritize deliverables with

Microsoft Lists

When entering a new environment, understanding the order in which onboarding tasks
should be completed is important. Help them prioritize onboarding deliverables by
laying them out in a way that signals priority. Consider using Microsoft Lists and List
templates and add them as tabs in the New employee Teams channel for easy
access. You can also integrate List into the new employee onboarding SharePoint site
using the List web part .

Use Viva Connections and integrate with other Microsoft

Viva experiences
Help orient new employees by providing them with the most important company
information, resources, and updates regularly. Viva Connections is a digital platform
built on the existing capabilities of Microsoft 365 that allows organizations to customize
employee experiences and gain access to the most important information the most
used tools and resources on both desktop and mobile devices. Learn more about
creating onboarding experiences using Microsoft Viva.
Integrate multiple Viva modules to create a rich onboarding
experience

In the image above, Viva Connections is being used to display cards that integrate with
other Viva experiences. Create a card that links to Viva Insights to help new team
members understand how to spend time productively and help managers provide better
guidance on time management. Learn more about Viva Insights and how it helps
protect and organize work/life balance.

A separate card integrates with Viva Topics, which helps to address a key business issue
in many companies — providing the information to users when they need it. For
example, new employees need to learn a lot of new information quickly, and encounter
terms they know nothing about when reading through company information. Learn
more about how Viva Topics can help with knowledge management.
Viva Learning is an application for Microsoft Teams that allows users to discover,
recommend, and access learning modules from different platforms to help users gain
knowledge in any specific focus area. Viva Learning pulls content from LinkedIn
Learning, Microsoft Learn, Microsoft 365 Training, and other partners. Use Viva Learning
to curate learning modules for each employee that helps orient them on organizational
needs, team needs, and the tools that they will be working with daily.

In Viva Learning, managers of an organization or team can assign learning and track the
learning progress of each module. The Viva Learning home view aggregates a variety of
information, including assigned content from learning management systems,
recommended learnings, trending content, and learning provider content libraries. Learn
more about Viva Learning.

Learn more about Viva modules:

Viva Learning Viva Topics Viva Insights Viva Connections

Target specific New team members can learn Help new team Provide easy access to
training for about popular terms, members spend benefits, training
new acronyms, projects, and more. time productively. materials, and resources.
employees.

Create Virtual Communities for new employees in

Yammer
Give new employees the opportunity to connect with each other and build a supportive
virtual community in Yammer. Yammer is a platform that connects leaders,
communicators, and employees to build communities, share knowledge, and engage
across the organization. Yammer allows you to set up a community specifically for new
employees within the organizational platform.

Naturally, employees come across information at different times in their onboarding

process. Creating a space where new employees can build a community for themselves
gives them the opportunity to share information as they come across it. In this virtual
space, new employees can share resources, share ideas, and get to know each other. It
also helps them build internal bonds that can last over the course of their career. Learn
more about building communities in Yammer.

Ask for feedback using Microsoft Forms

The best way to improve the new employee onboarding experience is by asking for
feedback. Understand what worked best and what could use improvement by asking for
feedback after all deliverables have been completed by new employees.

Use Microsoft forms to build short surveys that answer the questions that could inform
the onboarding experience moving forward. Learn more about Microsoft forms .

Launch the new employee onboarding

experience
Use Outlook to invite all new employees to orientation. In this email, lay out all the
resources starting with the Viva Connections homepage that contains links to the New
Employee SharePoint site, the New Employee orientation live meeting event post,
learning objectives and more. Be sure to include any necessary information and
important direct contact.

Gather insights from each platform along the way. Use these insights to inform
managers, team leads, and other stakeholders. Look for insights such as live event
attendance, audience reach, site traffic, and more. Use the feedback gathered from each
onboarding cycle to inform the next onboarding cycle.

More Resources
Review Microsoft 365 communication tools and methods

Corporate communications overview

Use the SharePoint New employee onboarding site template

Hold a town hall in Yammer and keep
the conversation going
Article • 02/21/2023

Bring your organization together to communicate the overall state of the business,
status of large-scale projects, success stories, and growth opportunities. Create an end-
to-end live event experience in Yammer that engages audiences before, during, and
after the event.

Organizations often call their large-scale events for employees a town hall. Sometimes
organizations refer to a town hall as an all-hands meeting or all-company meeting. In
this example, we'll be referring to this type of meeting as an organization town hall, but
the steps and guidance can be used the same way for similar meetings and live events
in Yammer.

Get started preparing and implementing a town hall that is on demand, secure,
accessible to all audiences, and allows you to keep the conversation going after the live
event.

Town halls can help bring your organization together by:

Sharing information in a meaningful and engaging format

Building trust and connections across an organization
Broadcasting to large groups of people at one time
Keeping the conversation going in channels related to the town hall
Using live event analytics to understand event reach and engagement
Connecting teams in hybrid work environments

Phase Tasks

Plan - Define audience profile and scope audience size

- Align with stakeholders and define messaging
- Consider multi-geo and multi-lingual options
- Review Microsoft 365 tools to help produce and host the live event
- Plan and organize pre and post-event communication and promotion strategies
 Phase Tasks

Promote - Identify channels where the town hall can be promoted

- Use multiple channels to reach different audiences
- Consider where the event recording will be stored and so it can be accessed by
everyone

Produce - Identify and assign roles and tasks

- Review the set-up checklist
- Prepare to moderate live questions and answers

Host - Host the live event and manage engagement in the Yammer feed
- Make the recording sharable for employees

Share - Share the recording to communication channels (Yammer, Outlook, Teams, and
SharePoint news)
- View Attendee insights to measure engagement

Plan the town hall message and content

Since town halls reach broad and diverse audiences, you'll want to consider the needs
and preferences of your audience and make sure content can be accessed before,
during, and after the event.

Planning considerations:

The town hall is a virtual live event and can be accessed by different people across
different regions and time zones.
Many people will attend using a mobile device.
Some people won't attend the live event, but will want to watch the event
recording later.
Some people won't watch the full recording, but will want to see highlights of the
most important information therefore after the town hall, a recording and
highlights can be shared in the form of a SharePoint news post.
Event Q&A can take place in a Yammer community, so people who couldn't attend
can still benefit from the information shared.
Promoting the town hall event will be most successful by diversifying the different
channels that are currently being used by your audience.
A. Learn about your audience
Invest in learning what's most important to your audience. Knowing your audience will
help you determine how to effectively deliver your message, what speakers will resonate
with your audience, how to moderate the town hall, and how to structure the town hall.
Learn more about how to scope and define your audience.

B. Ensure content is accessible to everyone

Town halls are designed to reach the entire organization or large groups within it. Make
sure the event's target audience has access to the tools they need to consume the
content.

Plan to record town hall events. When a live event is recorded, it will automatically
be added to Microsoft Stream. Learn how to enable autogenerate captions. The
live event can also be saved to the Yammer home page.
If your organization operates across multiple geographic regions, make sure the
time zone the event takes place in allows for most people to attend live.
Yammer supports live events and town halls in many languages across multiple
platforms.
Consider posting the event recording as a Video news link in SharePoint so it
automatically displays in the Viva Connections Feed in Microsoft Teams.

C. Define the town hall message

Craft a message that's well organized, detailed, and to the point. To engage your
audience and make sure the messages in the town hall are understood by everyone:

Make the presentation visual to create the most engagement. Use PowerPoint to
create a visual display of your message to keep your audience connected.
Organizations have the option of broadcasting a live event in Yammer using
Teams . Learn to configure desktop sharing in Microsoft Teams to display your
PowerPoint deck during your town hall.
Provide town hall objectives to attendees beforehand. Share these objectives via
email or the event SharePoint site.
Only share the most relevant information. Ensure the most important information
is highlighted to reserve time and to keep your audience engaged.

D. Decide the live event speakers and structure

Invite speakers who align with the message of the town hall. If the intent of your event is
to report on quarterly earnings, recruit people from the finance department who can
speak to insights and answer questions.

Develop the schedule and time limits for the town hall.
Assign roles to moderators and brief them on key tasks. If you plan to use live
Q&A during the event, prepare speakers with a list of known concerns or
questions.
Test equipment beforehand. Make sure each speaker and moderator knows how to
use the tools used to conduct the town hall. This can range from how to share
their screen, managing live questions and answers ,and more engagement
opportunities .

E. Use Yammer to host your town hall event

Yammer enables people to connect with each other across an entire organization. It
helps unite people who don't often interact and gives them the ability to discover
content and meet and engage with organization leaders. Get started with organizing live
events in Yammer

７ Note

To host a live event in Yammer, your organization must have Enforce Office 365
identity selected, and you must be using Microsoft 365 connected Yammer groups.
For more information, see Enforce Office 365 identity for Yammer users and
Yammer and Microsoft 365 groups.

Promote the town hall

Promote the town hall before the event date where your target audience usually gets
announcements and updates. Then manage engagement during the during the town
hall and after the town hall.

Promote in Yammer
Drive pre-event awareness in Yammer. When holding a town hall in Yammer, audience
engagement begins as soon as the event has been created. Attendees can promote and
discover the upcoming event through the event banner (when in the live feed), event
notifications, and by accessing the Event tab on mobile.

In the Yammer Home Feed, attendees can set up notifications that let them know when
the event is live. An Event banner appears when the event is live, allowing them to
attend the town hall immediately from anywhere.

Promote in SharePoint

Inform and prepare your audience for your event by creating a SharePoint
communications site using the Events template . Include instructions for attending
and any other resources like pre-reads or news links.

Promote in Outlook
Invite all attendees to the event with a calendar invite via email in Outlook. Provide
detailed information such as a link to the SharePoint event site, the Yammer meeting
link, and the Yammer event page.

Include objectives or talking points in the invite. This will help attendees prepare
questions to ask during the event. Yammer live events are also integrated with Outlook
so that event organizers can add other event stakeholders who will help with the event's
production.

Promote in Viva Connections

Viva Connections is an app in Microsoft Teams and is built on the existing capabilities of
Microsoft 365. It allows organizations to customize employee experiences that centralize
important information, tools, and resources on both desktop and mobile devices.

The Viva Connections home page features the Feed and Dashboard web parts that can
be used to promote your event. Learn more about Viva Connections. Use SharePoint
news posts and video news links to promote the event and to share the event recording
after the event. Then, event content will display prominently in the Viva Connections
Feed.

Produce and host a town hall

Depending on the kind of event, live events can be run by one person, or as a team.
Some of these roles may be played by the same person. A practice run with everyone for
the live event will help make everyone feel confident and prepared during the event.
Testing equipment, screensharing, and practicing the flow of multiple presenters or
hand-offs is important to walk through prior to the event to ensure smooth transitions.
A run through with the latest content, notes or demo environments is key to make sure
everyone is on the same page.

Role Description Role details

 Role Description Role details

Producer To run a town hall successfully, you will need one or more - Schedule,
producers. A producer can schedule, organize, and manipulate the Edit, or
screen while in the live event. This person is responsible for Cancel the
choosing the speakers and granting all attendees the proper event
permissions and licenses. In many cases, the producer is also a -Organize
presenter or speaker. the event
-Send out
invitations to
attendees
-Prepare
Moderators
and Speakers
-Grant all
attendees
the proper
permissions
and licenses
-Manipulate
the screen
while in the
live event
 Role Description Role details

Moderator The producer will also need to include one or more moderators - Keep track
who are responsible for driving engagement in the Yammer event of questions
by keeping track of questions and comments from audience and
members and by offering technical support when needed. comments
from
Audience
members
-Offer
Technical
Support to
Audience
members in
need
-Ensure all
attendees are
following
rules of
Conduct
-Add
comments,
questions,
polls
-Respond to
Posts as
needed
- Organize
Posts
-Highlight
the best
answers to
questions in
the chat
-Help
speakers
manage time
 Role Description Role details

Speaker Consider each speaker the main attraction. This is the person - Prepare
delivering the message. Your town hall can feature more than one presentations
speaker. This can include the leader of an organization, a - Prepare by
department, or even a subject matter expert. Your town hall can testing audio
have more than one speaker. and video
quality
before the
presentation
- Configure
the event
streaming as
needed
- Keep track
of time

Event Each audience member attends town halls to gain insight or - Attend the
attendee understanding of the talking point(s) of each speaker. Encourage town hall
audience engagement by taking advantage of the built-in Q&A and - Ask the
the open form conversation feature on Yammer. moderator
questions
- Engage in
related
conversation
with other
audience
members

Host a town hall in Yammer

Step 1: Get set up in Yammer

Creating and producing live events in Yammer requires Microsoft Stream and/ or Teams
licenses and specific permissions. Yammer administrators can schedule live meetings in
Yammer. For events using an external app or device, you will need to have your
Microsoft Stream license enabled. Learn more about Permissions for scheduling,
creating, and producing live events in Yammer.

Step 2: Test equipment

Determine whether your speakers will be broadcasting from a web cam or a studio-
produced broadcast. Make sure all equipment needed to connect video and audio is
secured and in place. Learn more about producing a live event in Yammer using an
external device .
Step 3: Manage engagement
Audience members and moderators can engage during the event using the
conversation bar. Be sure to record the event so people who weren't able to attend live
can watch later.

Yammer allows for a live Q&A during the event, as well as freeform conversation that
promotes candid, organization-wide conversation. Learn more about using Q&A in a
Yammer community .

Post-event engagement
After the event, plan to share the event recording in a shared location. Use SharePoint
news posts and video news links to share the event recording and display it prominently
in the Viva Connections Feed. Then, review event analytics to learn more about the
event reach and user behavior.
Share a recording of the live event
Members of your organization can watch the recording of the event stream after the
event. Communities created in Yammer during the event can continue the conversation
and watch the recording of the town hall on the Yammer platform. Moderators can also
provide automatic recaps for those who may have missed the town hall.

Make your town hall and post-event engagement scalable by sharing your town hall
recording across multiple platforms. Add it to your SharePoint site using the Yammer
web part or the News feed web part, add it to your news feed in Viva Connections, or
share it to a team channel in Teams.

Stream (on SharePoint) provides Multi-Geo support for video storage and advanced
sharing options. Increase your event recording's discoverability and shareability by
adding it to your organization's Stream portal. Access additional video analytics
including views over time and viewer engagement by saving your town hall recording to
Stream.

Measure attendee insights

Yammer event reports features insights that show attendee location, department
insights, sentiment analysis, and API sensibility. View insights to see how many people
attended, average watch time, and more. Recognize trends by seeing how many
conversations, comments, questions, answers, and reactions were generated through
the event. Use this information to amplify the content people engaged with most and to
plan for your next town hall.

Measure community engagement

Yammer's insights that allow creators of town halls to identify trends such as
conversations, questions, top contributors, topics, hashtags, location, and department.

These insights provide information that allows you to measure community growth by
tracking member creation, active members, member location, department and more.
You can also see how community members engage by seeing how many comments,
reactions, questions, answers, live events and more. Learn more about viewing
community insights in Yammer .

More resources
Use PowerShell to set up live events and policies.

Produce and organize a live event in Yammer .

Corporate communications overview

Yammer live event guide

Build learning and training experiences
for employees
Article • 02/21/2023

Learn how to build a training and learning experience that will keep employees and
team members up to date with important skills and proficiencies required for
professional success.

This article will show you how to create a training solution that includes a durable
training site, online learning, virtual training events, promotion, and tracking insights
and feedback to improve your experience overtime.

Create a learning and training experience by:

Taking inventory of all organizational needs, learning objectives and goals, and
identifying important timelines
Choosing the best tools that fit your organization's learning and training goals and
objectives
Keeping employees up to date about important learning and training due dates
and opportunities
Launching an accessible and scalable experience by ensuring employees know how
to access modules, courses, and resources and asking for feedback to make
improvements along the way

Overview of creating a training and learning

experience for employees
Plan Build Launch

- Understand your - Choose the best tools for - Set realistic deadlines
organizational needs your training and learning - Notify employees of upcoming training
- List all learning experience and learning opportunities and initiatives
objectives - Ensure tools and resources - Gather insights from each platform used
- Personalize the can be accessed by everyone to measure overall effectiveness of
experience based on - Create a place where training and learning experience
role and career stage employees with similar
- Identify timelines learning objectives can
- Define goals and connect
outcomes
Plan a training and learning experience
Planning considerations:

For some professions and disciplines, federal or state mandates may be in place
requiring specific learning and training. Be sure to keep up with these dates to
inform your organization's practice.

Employees have varying and busy schedules. Be sure to notify employees more
than one time about upcoming required learning before the due date to make
sure it's top of mind.

Depending on the organization, employees may be working across multiple

regions and time zones. For live learning events, choose times that accommodate
most employees.

Step 1: Understand Step 2: List and Step 3: Define Step 4: Review Microsoft
your organizational categorize all learning goals and 365 Learning and Training
needs objectives outcomes tools

Step 1: Understand your organizational needs

Take inventory of all organizational departments, teams, and disciplines. Are there any
legally required continued learning mandates for any employee groups in your
organization? How many? Is there a broad range of disciplines and areas of expertise
across your organization? Is there a certain budget that needs to be set and adhered to
for learning and training resources? Set aside time to list all factors out to get a full
scope of what is needed.

Step 2: List and categorize all learning objectives

Now that you have listed out your organizational needs, identify the learning objectives
for each employee group. Separate the required learning from suggested or
recommended learning. Identify timelines for completion based on organizational
needs. Establish starting points and finish lines for each module or experience.

Step 3: Define goals and outcomes

Every organization has its own variation of technical and soft skills that need to be
upheld and maintained over time. These skills can range from learning how to use job-
related tools and in-house resources to learning about the intricacies of the company's
culture and policies. Define what needs to be prioritized as learning goals and outcomes
from the employees in your organization, prioritize these goals and begin curating
modules and learning materials that best meet these desired goals and outcomes.

Step 4: Review Microsoft 365 Learning and Training tools

Use Viva Learning to surface all your learning content in one place. Bring
learning content from Microsoft, your organization's SharePoint, and the learning
management systems your organization already uses into Viva Learning so your
employees can easily access the learning and training content they need without
leaving Microsoft Teams.

Curate custom training playlists on SharePoint with Learning Pathways. Bring

custom content and Microsoft training content together to create learning and
training playlists. Use Learning Pathways web parts with audience targeting to
make sure that your employees see the content that's most relevant to them.

Create a learning and development landing page using SharePoint. Create a

SharePoint communication site using the Learning Central SharePoint
Communication site template . Use the site to direct employees to events, news,
and information about required learning and extra-curricular resources.

Use Microsoft Teams to hold live learning events. Meetings in Teams include
audio, video, and screen sharing, and are great for communicating with groups of
fewer than 300 individuals. Teams can be used for meetings that happen in person,
remotely, or a combination of the two. Additionally, the meeting can be recorded
and shared with new employees who were unable to attend the meeting.

Provide an opportunity for employees to learn from each other in Yammer.

Create a Yammer channel just for new employees. Choose to create one NEO
channel for the entire organization or region or create channels for each new
group of new employees. Then, use the Yammer web part on the SharePoint
NEO site to integrate the conversation with other resources and contacts.

Build the learning and training experience

Build out the learning and training experience one platform at a time. The tools listed
here can be connected to each other, providing a thorough and connected learning and
training journey for all employees.
Review learning and training tools

Use Viva Learning to make learning content easily

accessible from within Teams

Viva Learning in Microsoft Teams allows users to discover, recommend, and access
learning modules from different platforms to help users gain knowledge in any specific
focus area. Viva Learning pulls content from LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft Learn, and
Microsoft 365 Training. You can also add your organization's own custom content from
SharePoint, and integrate Viva Learning with learning management systems and third-
party content providers that you already use. Use Viva Learning to make sure each of
your employees has the knowledge they need for organizational needs, team needs,
and the tools that they will be working with daily.

In Viva Learning, managers of an organization or team can recommend learning and

track the learning progress of each module. The Viva Learning home view aggregates a
variety of information, including assigned content from learning management systems,
recommended learnings, trending content, and learning provider content libraries. Learn
more about Viva Learning

Curate and target custom training playlists with Learning

Pathways
Learning pathways is a customizable, on-demand learning solution in SharePoint that
brings together out-of-the-box Microsoft 365 training playlists and custom playlists
created by your organization. Surface your learning pathways playlists on any site in
your organization using the Microsoft 365 learning pathways web part, and use
audience targeting to make sure your playlists are seen by everyone who needs them.

Get started with learning pathways and easily provision learning pathways to begin
using your customizable learning pathways portal.

Create a learning and development landing page using

SharePoint
Create an internal communication site that acts as a home for the learning and training
experience. This site should lay out resources, deliverables, and learning objectives in
and organized way. This site should also contain the most up-to-date information to
ensure the employee has everything needed to be successful. Try organizing action
items on this site in a way that signals priority. List the things that need to be finished
first at the top. This will help employees organize their learning and training to the best
of their ability.

Microsoft offers a new customizable Learning Central SharePoint communication site

template that can help get you started. Get started with SharePoint site templates .

Use Teams to hold live learning events

Many learning experiences require hands-on training. Some experiences are better held
in live environments where employees can ask questions and get guidance in real time.
With the emergence of virtual work, having face time with other people in the
organization is still important in making sure employees can communicate with learning
instructors and other peers and ask top-of-mind questions. Use Microsoft Teams to
administer live learning and training experiences.

Make this live event fun and engaging by giving employees an opportunity to
communicate with each other in the Teams chat box or allow employees to ask
questions on camera or through the moderated Q&A in Teams live events.

Record each session so employees can review the learning material later, or so future
employees can experience the session as well. Make this recording available through the
SharePoint Learning and Training site or through the Viva Learning platform. Learn more
about Teams live events..
Provide an opportunity for employees to learn from each
other in communities on Yammer

Give employees that have similar learning objectives the opportunity to connect with
each other and build a supportive virtual community in Yammer. Yammer is a platform
that connects leaders, communicators, and employees to build communities, share
knowledge, and engage across the organization. Yammer allows you to set up a
community specifically for employees within the same or similar disciplines.

Naturally, employees come across information at different times in their learning and
training process. Creating a space where new employees can build a community for
themselves gives them the opportunity to share information as they come across it. In
this virtual space, new employees can share resources, share ideas, and get to know
each other. It also helps them build internal bonds that can last over the course of their
career. Learn more about building communities in Yammer.

Make sure all tools and experiences are accessible

Ensure each learning and training experience is accessible by incorporating accessibility
best practices across all relevant Microsoft 365 tools . Make sure everything in your
learning and training experience is visible and labeled properly. Use alternative text for
images and graphics. Incorporate transcripts in videos and training material.

Share this experience with the right people. Make sure employees know how to access
all the tools needed in the learning experience. Use all sharing options including email,
Teams messages, Yammer posts, SharePoint web parts, Viva Learning, and Viva
Connections to build awareness and increase accessibility.
Ensure every employee and instructor has access to all tools and resources. Consider the
unique needs of everyone involved in making sure the learning and training experience
is successful. Stay informed about the specific time zones of every stakeholder to make
sure all timelines and deliverables are feasible for everyone involved.

Lastly, make the starting point and ending point for each training opportunity. Review
your experience to ensure employees know exactly where to start and when the
experience has been completed successfully. This can be done within the experience, or
by planning to generate an email through Outlook that lets them know when they
have finished each learning objective and if anything else is required of them.

Launch a training and learning experience

After the learning and training experience has been planned and the tools have been
selected, it's time to launch your experience.

Notify employees of upcoming training

Build awareness of upcoming training by sending an email in Outlook or by adding a
SharePoint news posts to spread the word across various platforms. Let employees
know if the training is required or suggested. List important details about the training
like the due date and the learning objectives. Ensure all employees know how to access
the learning module or experience.

Gather insights to determine success

Gather insights from each platform along the way. Use these insights to inform
managers, team leads, and other stakeholders. Look for insights such as live event
attendance, audience reach, site traffic, module completion, and more.

Maintain your experience by updating things frequently, providing the most up-to-date
and relevant information across all platforms. Learn more about maintaining your
SharePoint communication sites and keeping SharePoint news posts updated .

Ask for feedback on the learning and training experience often using Microsoft Forms .
Use this feedback to determine what needs to be improved or altered for the next
learning and training experience.

More Resources
Corporate communications overview
Overview of Viva Learning

Use the SharePoint Learning central site template

Introduction to SharePoint information
architecture
Article • 04/03/2023

Well-planned and executed information architecture is a prerequisite for an intelligent

and high-performing intranet, hub, or site. The most important first step in planning an
effective information architecture is understanding your users and helping them find
what they need to complete tasks in a way that makes the most sense to them.

Information architecture also helps improve user adoption, satisfaction, and productivity
while reducing IT costs, information overload, and minimize compliance and security
risks.

７ Note

All navigation types (site, hub, global, and footer) are limited to 500 child links at
each level. Additional nodes added after the limit has been reached will receive an
error.

In this article:

Learn the main elements of information architecture

Review the different roles involved in implementing information architecture
Understand the different levels of information architecture – global, hub, and local
Explore SharePoint information architecture building blocks

Information architecture elements in

SharePoint
Information architecture is about how you organize and label your content and how
your visitors interact with the content to get work done. On websites, information
architecture includes elements like navigation, search, site hierarchy, taxonomy, and
security. Modern SharePoint information architecture is also about how to ensure the
right content gets to the right people and follows your organization’s content
compliance regulations.

Information architecture covers 6 main elements that relate to way finding in SharePoint:
 Global navigational structure – Considered the top level of navigation across your
SharePoint tenant and how you structure your sites so that users can find content
including the home site of your intranet.
Hub structure and organization – Hubs enable you to group together similar
topics, tasks, and content.
Local site and page navigational structure – How content is organized on each
site and page so that users can further navigate or consume content effectively.
Metadata architecture – Metadata impacts search and browsing structure as well
as compliance and retention policies.
Search experiences – How your users “consume” information architecture in
addition to browsing.
Personalized content experiences – How specific content is targeted to certain
users and groups of users.

Designing the optimal structure for hubs, sites, and pages requires sufficient planning. It
also requires knowledge of the domain, content, understanding the user experience,
awareness of design approaches, and best practices in Microsoft SharePoint. Even with a
good plan, information architecture is a continuous process. Over time, organizations
change, people change, and projects change. Over time you'll learn about your users,
which will allow for adjustments that make content more discoverable.

Understand your role and how to collaborate

Information architecture for your organization is most effective when many types of
roles collaborate on your intranet, such as: intranet owners, departmental business
owners, IT administrators, and hub owners just to name a few. Learn more about how
each role plays a part in planning, implementing, and managing ongoing maintenance
for organizational information architecture.
Organization intranet owner(s) – The organizational intranet owner(s) consist of a mix
of decision-makers and job functions to manage the overall direction and coordination
of your organization's intranet. Organizational intranet owners work with business
owners (departments) and IT admins to establish global and hub level navigation.
Organizational intranet owners will spend most of their time working on planning and
implementing global and hub level navigation.

Departmental business owners – Departmental business owners represent large areas

of the organization, like human resources, marketing, and engineering. Departmental
business owners work with organizational intranet owners to ensure their area of the
business is well-represented in global and hub navigation. Departmental business
owners should be included early in the planning stage to ensure business and user
needs are met.

IT Admins – IT admins partner with organizational intranet owners and departmental

business owners to implement high level navigational structure like implementing the
start page and hubs. IT admins also help implement certain governance policies
around site creation and usage. IT admins are involved in planning, implementing, and
maintaining information architecture as the business changes and scales.

Hub owners – Hub owners manage hub-level content, branding, permissions, and
navigational elements for hubs in your organization’s intranet. Hub owners partner with
departmental business owners and IT admins to plan, create, and manage hubs
throughout the lifecycle of your organization’s intranet architecture.

Site owners – Site owners manage site-level content, branding, permissions, and
navigation. Depending on the needs of the business and users, site owners can associate
their sites to hubs if the hub owner allows.

Content creators – Content creators are responsible for keeping site content updated
and publishing news . Content creators should be given a site member permission
level to make changes to sites and pages. Content creators partner with site owners
during the implementation and management stages.

Content consumers – Content consumers are not represented in the counts as anyone
who is using and viewing content throughout the three levels of navigation. Intranet
owners, departmental business owners, hub owners, and site owners should regularly
engage with content consumer – especially during the planning process – to ensure the
right content is findable and usable.

Guiding principle: the world is flat

Classic SharePoint architecture is typically built using a hierarchical system of site
collections and subsites, with inherited navigation, permissions, and site designs. Once
built, this structure can be inflexible and difficult to maintain. In the modern SharePoint
experience, subsites aren't recommended. In the new “flat” world of modern SharePoint,
plan to create one site for each discrete topic, task, or unit of work. This will allow you to
easily distribute management and accountability for each content collection and
support your ability to move sites around in your navigational architecture without
breaking links. Moreover, when a topic is no longer needed, you can easily archive or
delete a site with minimal impact.

In the new flat world, you have several ways to connect sites and content to each other
as part of your information architecture toolkit:

Use “roll up” web parts such as News , Highlighted content , or Sites to
dynamically surface content from other sites in an existing site.
Use inline hyperlinks to provide more detail about a topic to provide more
information to your reader (as demonstrated in the previous bullet).
Add explicit links to related sites in your site navigation .
Connect families of related sites using hubs .

Levels of navigation
There are three levels of navigation to think about for modern SharePoint experiences:
 Global navigation for the entire collection of sites that comprise your intranet
Hub navigation for groups of related sites
Local navigation of an individual site

Global navigation
Many intranets include top navigation that persists on every site. Global navigation
allows you to create an overall navigation story for your intranet that visually connects
all the sites, content, and tools your viewers need to get work done. Every organization
has a different requirement for what goes in global navigation, but some of the category
labels often used include concepts such as:

Home
About Us
News
Working Here/Work Resources/Administrative Services/Administration
Operations/Operations Services
Pay & Benefits
Life & Career
Locations
Policies & Procedures/Tools & Resources/Safety & Security
The goal of global navigation is to support browsing to content. Since there is limited
real estate available for global navigation links, global links generally point to major
category navigation pages, sub-links, or a mega menu experience to provide enough
information to help viewers find the content they need. Because the context for global
navigation must be broad, it's challenging to make the labels both comprehensive and
useful. If you plan to implement global navigation, you'll want to test your proposed
navigation to make sure that it resonates with users.

Global navigation is enabled with the SharePoint app bar on your home site. You need
to have a home site to enable global navigation. Global navigation appears on the left
side of every site and page.

Hub navigation
SharePoint hubs help organize related sites based on project, department, division,
region, or concept. Hubs make it easier to discover related content such as news and
other site activities, apply common navigation, branding, site structure across associated
sites and search across all associated sites . One of the important planning decisions
for hubs is planning the hub navigation.

Hub navigation appears above the local navigation on each site, just below the suite bar,
as shown in the image earlier in this article. Hub navigation is established in the site that
is declared to be the hub. It's defined by the hub owner and is shared by all the
associated sites.

Each site can belong to only one hub at a time, but you can associate hubs together in a
combination of navigation links and associated hubs as part of your navigation
experience. For more information, see Planning your SharePoint hubs.

Local navigation
Local navigation is the static navigation that viewers see on every page of your site. For
team sites, local navigation shows up on the left side of the page in the area referred to
as the "quick launch". For communication sites, local navigation shows up at the top of
the page. Local navigation is on every page in your site. It creates a persistent
experience to allow site visitors to move back and forth among the pages and content
on each site. Think about how viewers might explore your content and use local
navigation to support that exploration.

Example: A travel site might have the following local navigation links that support
viewers who are exploring the travel site from the perspective of "what am I allowed to
do?" as well as viewers who are exploring the travel site from the perspective of the
travel process – before, during, and after their trip.

Travel guidelines
Air
Car
Ground transportation
Hotel
 Train
Before you go
Travel approval
Booking service
During your trip
Travel safety
Itinerary changes
After you return
Expense reporting
Trip reports

Where you’ll see local navigation elements:

Team site navigation

Communication site navigation

Sites
Your intranet and portals are comprised of team sites and communication sites that
provide further access into the site’s pages, lists, and libraries.

One component to modern SharePoint team sites that makes information architecture
easier to implement and maintain are Microsoft 365 groups. Microsoft 365 groups
provide a membership service that allows for easy hub and site permissions as well as
additional functionality for SharePoint team sites and Microsoft Teams. With Microsoft
365 groups, you can give a group of people access to a collection of collaboration
resources like Planner, OneNote, SharePoint team sites, and more. M365 groups can
only be used on SharePoint team sites.

Pages
Pages within team or communication sites provide an opportunity to use dynamic
web parts that automatically update content from other sites and pages like News ,
Highlighted content , or Sites web parts . Every page in each site tells a story for the
reader.

Your sites generally include three types of pages:

The home page where you'll provide an overview of your content and introduce
the reader to what they'll find on the site.
Navigation pages that provide options or summary information for the reader and
help them get to a decision point about where they want to go next.
 Destination pages that are the end point of the reader’s journey. This is where you
will present information to read, print, or download. If you have a lot of
information on your destination page or you want to provide supplemental
explanations for detailed topics, you can create an ancillary page.

Since we know that most readers do not read every word on a web page or even scroll
to the bottom, you need to pay attention to how you present information on each page.
Make sure that you put the most important information – the information that your
readers must have for your communication to be successful – at the top of the page. As
the page continues, you can add additional information that is helpful, but not crucial.
Think of this as writing with your summary or conclusion up front, instead of at the end.
Use sections, headings, and bullets to make your pages easier to read. For more info,
see Add sections and columns on SharePoint modern page .

Navigational elements
Navigational elements are menu styles like the mega menu, cascade menu, and footer
menus. Secondary navigational elements include inline links and buttons .

Personalization elements
Audience targeting - Audience targeting helps the most relevant content get to the
right audiences. By enabling audience targeting, specific content will be prioritized to
specific audiences through SharePoint web parts, page libraries, and navigational links.
Information barriers - Information barriers are policies in Microsoft 365 that a
compliance admin can configure to prevent users from communicating and
collaborating with each other. This is useful if, for example, one division is handling
information that shouldn't be shared with specific other divisions, or a division needs to
be prevented, or isolated, from collaborating with all users outside of the division.
Information barriers are often used in highly regulated industries and those with
compliance requirements, such as finance, legal, and government.

Multilingual considerations - If your organization spans a diverse population, you may

want to make content in your intranet sites available in multiple languages. User
interface elements like site navigation, site title, and site description can be shown in the
user's preferred language. Additionally, you can provide pages and news posts on
communication sites that you translate and that are shown in the user's preferred
language.

To show the site name, navigation, and footer of your site in the different languages
you've made available, each must be translated manually. For example, let's say you've
created a communication site with an English default language, and you've enabled the
site for Spanish and German languages. When you create a site, you set up the site
name and description in the default language (in this case, English). You can also update
the site name and description after site creation. Then you create the navigation nodes
and footer content in English.

After the site is set up in English, a user with Spanish as their preferred personal
language manually edits and translates the title, description, navigation and footer
content into Spanish. A user with German as their preferred personal language does the
same for German. Once the content is translated, it will display for all users of those
preferred languages.

Metadata architecture
Columns and content types are the two most important metadata elements that
you can use to organize documents and pages in your SharePoint site. Metadata helps
your users filter and sort content within a list or library – but also helps with search. Use
columns in your Site Pages library as well so that you can use highlighted content web
parts to dynamically connect related pages based on shared metadata.

Folders are another way to organize document content, but folders are a physical
construct with limited flexibility. Folders are not necessarily bad – they can help you
manage performance and security in your document libraries – but folder structures
with more than one or two levels of nesting create a significant discoverability burden
for users and should be avoided. Every site comes with one document library – but you
are not limited to just one library. Instead of using the one default Documents library on
your intranet sites, consider adding topic-specific libraries and add site columns to
organize your content within the libraries to avoid creating multiple levels of nested
folders.

Search experiences
Search leverages your information architecture investments to help users find content
when they don’t know where it might be in your architecture. It also helps users discover
content that they may not have known about.

You can help users discover content and improve search outcomes by leveraging several
features in search, including acronyms, bookmarks, Q&A, floor plans, and locations. For
more info, see Make content easy to find and Search experiences in SharePoint.

Next: learn about SharePoint information architecture principles

Information architecture in modern
SharePoint
Article • 02/21/2023

The most effective SharePoint sites help viewers find what they need quickly so that they
can use the information they need to make decisions, learn about what is going on,
access frequently used tools, and engage with colleagues to help solve specific
problems.

Even when search is available, most viewers start their web experiences by browsing.
That pattern persists on internal web sites as well. Good navigation experiences present
viewers with a complete picture of what is available, and combined with the home page,
provide a comprehensive "story."

In this article:

Understand basic information architecture principles

Learn more about how to write effective labels and links
See how to ensure frequently used tools and content are findable

Information architecture goals

Navigation should always be planned from the perspective of the user. Planning
effective navigation involves considering not just the information you want to present,
but also thinking about the information your viewers want or need to consume.
Therefore, organizing and labeling your navigation links is critical for the purposes of
usability and findability.

Successful intranet and site navigation experiences enable users to:

Find information – Users need to find documents, files, and links most relevant to
the work they do without spending time sifting through content. Make sure to
present only the most relevant and high-priority information first.
Take action – Users typically have a specific task in mind when they visit a site.
Make sure common tasks are built-in to navigational structure as labels and links
so that they can be easily identified and accessed.
Understand company structure – When viewed at-a-glance, users should be able
to get a sense of how the organization is structured. Make sure you incorporate
hierarchy and structure into site and intranet navigation.
Get organized
There is no one right way to organize your navigation links. You will make different
choices based on the type of site you are creating and your viewers. Organizing
concepts might include:

Services
Products
Activities
Audiences (if your viewers can clearly identify the audience to which they belong –
such as student or teacher)
Expertise areas or functions

As you organize user needs and business needs, consider the following:

How can information architecture reduce the cognitive load for your viewers? -
Cognitive load is the amount of information that a person can process at any given
time. Managing the user’s cognitive load helps prevent information overload and
time wasted finding resources. Ensure you understand your viewers needs prior to
implementing information architecture.
What is the current mental model of your users? - Mental models are the existing
models people use while interacting with a website or application. Information is
easier to discover when it is in a place that matches the user’s mental model of
where it should be.
How can information architecture help users make better and more efficient
decisions? - Decision making can be incredibly taxing. Information architects can
help us make decisions by providing certain information at key moments.

The default navigation for all SharePoint sites primarily includes type of content. For
communication sites , the default navigation includes Documents, Pages, and Site
Contents. These categories are helpful as you are building your site, but they are not
typically going to add value to your viewers once your site is ready to launch. This is
because the consumer of a communication site typically doesn't care about the type of
content – they care about the purpose or subject of the content. For communication
sites, plan to delete the "out of the box" navigation when you are ready to launch and
replace it with something that aligns with the guidance provided in the local navigation
section of this guide.

The default navigation for team sites includes links to the related services provided by
Microsoft 365 for modern teams – including a link to the shared team notebook and the
conversations for the team in Outlook. These represent the typical features that teams
need to effectively collaborate and might be hard for people to find without the
experience provided by the navigation. You may choose to supplement or refine these
links for your team sites, but you will also likely find that the default navigation
experience is a good starting point. You may be more likely to keep most of these links
than you would with a communication site.

Prioritize usability and findability

The key goal when we plan navigation is to make our sites useable and our content
findable. The best way to ensure that your navigation meets these goals is to test it.
There are several cost-effective approaches that you can use to ensure that your
navigation design is effective, including:

Card Sorting - Primarily helpful for planning navigation.

Tree Testing - Helpful for testing suggested navigation paths.
Usability Testing - Task-based scenarios that are helpful for comprehensive testing
of site and page navigation.

These two resources provide an overview of techniques and tools for testing the
usability and findability of your navigational strategy:

Usability Analysis
Overview of Testing Approaches

Write clear and intuitive labels

The words you use for navigation matter – not just because the real estate for
navigation is limited – but also because your labels are what guide your viewers to the
content. Each label makes a promise: if you select this link, you should get the
information you expect to find.

To ensure that your labels keep their promises, make sure they are:

Specific - Tell the viewer exactly what they will find when they select the link. If the
target for your link includes Policies and Procedures, make sure the label includes
both terms.
Comprehensive - Describe content with your collection of labels. You should not
plan to link to every single page or document in your navigation, but your
navigation should provide a complete picture of the content on your site.
Concise - Keep your labels short and to the point.
Familiar - Don't make up terms in your labels. Keep your viewers in mind – if you
use an unfamiliar term, your viewers will be confused and unable to find what they
need.
 Front-loaded - Make sure that your labels are "scannable." For example, Company
Information is better than Information About our Company.
Clear - As much as possible, you want your navigation labels to be mutually
exclusive – at least for the major categories. It is perfectly fine to have a sub-link
display in multiple categories – especially if viewers might expect to find it in more
than one place – but the major categories need to be easily distinguished from
one another.
Targeted - It’s not a good idea to show people links to private sites that they don’t
have access to. Where appropriate, use the audience targeting features for
SharePoint to target navigation links to viewers for whom the link will work. Note
that there are exceptions to this guideline. For example, you may want to use your
navigation to help people discover sites that they may not have access to today
but could be approved to join. If you do provide links in navigation to private sites,
be sure that the owner of the site knows that they may be getting a lot of access
requests!

Think about link target interactions

Many usability guidelines recommend limiting the number of new windows that are
automatically opened for site viewers . Most of the time, opening a link in the same
window allows site viewers to use the back button when they want to return to your site.
When a viewer wants to open a link in a new window, the guidelines recommend that
the viewer be allowed to choose this outcome by "right clicking" the link. An exception
to this guideline is the recommendation to always open documents in a new window to
prevent users from accidentally closing the browser window when they close the
document.

By default, navigation links on modern SharePoint sites open to a link that points to:

A page or site in the same tenant (same site or another site) - Links open in the
same tab.
A document (same site or different site) - Links open in a new tab.
An external site or document (internet site) - Links open in a new tab.

In classic SharePoint sites with publishing features, you can choose to open navigation
links in a new window. This allows you to consider the context for your site viewers and
determine whether it might be helpful to open a link in a new window. There is no way
to select how navigation links open in modern SharePoint sites. This means that your
navigation links will follow the default guidelines, but you still need to be especially
careful about the labels for navigation links to make sure that your viewers know that
they are leaving the site when they select the link.
Make sure that the navigation label accurately describes the destination – a place on a
completely different site or an application – and if you know that the back button may
not work, consider using an alternative way to present the link, such as the text web part
where you can elect to open a link in a new window.

At the current time, only the Text web part lets you create a hyperlink and choose how
the link opens. When you add a hyperlink to text, you have the option to choose to
open the link in a new tab.

Test usability and findability with real users

Once you have established a basic working structure for global, hub, or local level
navigation experiences, you should test your design with real-life users. Create tasks and
ask users to complete the tasks. Ask users to “think out loud” as they are looking for
information and resources. Note where improvements can be made and then
implement and test the changes again. Plan to review basic global, hub, and local
navigation experiences as your business changes and grows.

Learn more about navigation basics like how to write effective labels, how to test
findability, and how to use menu styles.

Next: learn about SharePoint information architecture models and examples

Information architecture models and
examples
Article • 04/03/2023

Navigation design accounts for the visual way of finding components (menus, links,
sites, and pages) that help users understand how to interact with SharePoint sites and
portals and what types of information is available. Options for implementing navigation
differ based on the framework for your sites and intranet.

In this article:

Learn about information architecture elements

Explore common information architecture models and scenarios
Use the models and scenarios as a starting point for navigational design

Information architecture modeling elements

Information architecture elements are secondary components to navigation design that
compliment building blocks. The following components should be considered when
selecting, planning, and implementing navigational design for global, hub, or local
navigation.

Site hierarchy – Use hubs and visual layouts to establish visual hierarchy
Security – Data governance, administration and editing privileges
Taxonomy – Record management, compliance requirements

Common models for navigation design

The way you organize sites and content will depend on the composition of your
organization and the needs and goals of your users. For example, if your goal is to
enable front-line workers with specific sites and documents, you may decide to optimize
navigation for a mobile device. Another example, if your goal is to create a collaboration
space for your team, you may decide to design your SharePoint team site to align with
Microsoft Teams.

Common methods of organizing navigational design:

By department
Benefits - Most users already have a well-established mental model for navigation
broken down by department. This model scales many sizes and types of organizations
and is a common method for organizing and planning hubs.

Governance considerations - For large organizations, especially with international

offices, it can be challenging to make sure the right people have access to the right
content for security and compliance purposes. Consider using personalization elements
like information barriers and audience targeting to help surface content the specific
audiences.

Maintenance considerations - As the business grows and departments and team move,
you will need to update global, hub, and local navigation to reflect organizational
changes.

By geographic location

Benefits - Organizing by geographic location is an effective way to bring people of

similar disciplines together to collaborate and build community. For large organizations,
and international organizations, location can be an important decision-making factor for
users. Organizing by region may be important when certain topics have different laws
and mandates depending on the region. For example, crisis management sites or human
resource guidelines.

Governance considerations - Many governance details may vary by region, for example
site creation policies, data retention, and data storage policies. Learn more about the
multi-geo user experience and multi-geo configuration.

Maintenance considerations - When the organization moves locations, navigation will

need to be updated to reflect those changes. There are other multi-geo considerations
to plan when enabling SharePoint, Microsoft 365 groups, and other Microsoft 365 apps
globally. Multi-geo enables global businesses to control the country or region where
shared resources like SharePoint Team Sites, Office 365 Groups content (associated
SharePoint Sites and shared mailboxes) are stored and managed.
By task or scenario

Benefits - Organizing by scenario within navigation helps users learn about a general
concept, for example “about us” pages. Organizing by common and frequently used
tasks is helpful in the same way, for example tasks like “get reimbursed” or “pick a
healthcare plan.”

Governance considerations - This style of navigation could attract a broad and high-
volume audience depending on the rest of your navigation design. High volume sites
should take extra care in ensuring page performance is managed by optimizing image
sizes and other details. Consider using tactics like creating hubs to organize tasks by
departmental needs, which will make it easier to manage page access and organization.

Maintenance considerations - When organizational information (leadership, locations,

etc.) becomes outdated, navigation will need to be updated.

By portfolio

Benefits - Sometimes content is best organized by type, or portfolio, to display content

in natural groupings or for specific audiences. Organizing your navigation by portfolio
offers flexibility as your business scales and grows.

Governance considerations - For large organizations, especially with international

offices, it can be challenging to make sure the right people have access to the right
content for security and compliance purposes. Consider using personalization elements
like information barriers and audience targeting to help surface content the specific
audiences.

Maintenance considerations - As the business and portfolios grow, the navigation

needs to reflect organizational changes.

Scenarios
Scenario 1: Move to modern navigation from classic
navigation
Modern navigation

Classic navigation

Your intranet is an ever-evolving component of your business that will need to grow and
scale alongside your organization. Modern intranet navigation differs from classic
navigation in the sense that it is “flat” -- in the modern SharePoint experience, sub-sites
are not recommended. In the new “flat” world of modern SharePoint, plan to create one
site for each discrete topic or unit of work. Classic SharePoint architecture is typically
built using a hierarchical system of site collections and sub-sites, with inherited
navigation, permissions, and site designs. Once built, this structure can be inflexible and
difficult to maintain.

Focus on incorporating modern changes that will have the greatest impact to your
business first. Plan and schedule when changes will be incorporated and how you will
track progress. Use site analytics to understand user behavior and collect feedback from
users along the way. How to get started

Moving to modern navigation from classic SharePoint navigation is a process that

depends on the size of your organization and the complexity of your tenant’s
configuration. Below are general guidelines and tools you can use to get started:

Define new intranet business objectives and choose pilot scenarios

Get organized and find methods to test potential designs
Take an inventory of your current sites and subsites
Start planning hubs and your home site by grouping high priority tasks and
content
Release hubs and associated sites in phases
Regularly review hub and site analytics to track page traffic and popular content
Make navigation changes based on your learning from user testing and analytics

Scenario 2: Consider modern hub navigation

configuration
These are special considerations for planning hub navigation. A site can be:

In the hub navigation and be associated to the hub

Associated to a hub and not be in the hub navigation
In the hub navigation and not associated to the hub

Example 1 - Site is in the hub navigation and associated to the hub

Showcasing sites associated to the hub allows viewers to discover the sites within the
hub family and easily navigate among and across the “family members.” Adding an
associated site to the hub navigation displays the organizational framework for the
collection of sites in the hub navigation. All sites in the hub share a common theme and
navigation helps to establish the identity of the hub family both visually and via viewer
interaction. Your hub links can go to sites or content pages or a combination of both –
but use the practices described for link labeling to ensure that you are providing clear
and consistent experiences.

When you choose to show all associated sites (and associate hubs) in the hub
navigation, think about whether all the people who have access to the hub will also have
access to each of the sites associated to the hub. For example, if you add links to private
sites in the navigation, you are increasing their "discoverability," which can be a good
thing – if the site owners for those private sites are prepared to get access requests.
However, you may not want to show restricted sites in the navigation if the site owner
does not want the site or the content to be discovered.

To ensure that your hub navigation links keep their promises, consider the following
options:

For links that should not be discoverable to all viewers, target the link so that it
only shows up for audiences who have access to the content.

For "discoverable" but restricted links, consider adding the word restricted, or
request access, or private to the label. Have a conversation with those site owners
to make sure that they are prepared for potentially more frequent access requests.
In addition, you could consider adding the “lock” emoji to your private or restricted
sites.

Example 2 - Site is associated to the hub and not shown in the hub navigation

If the use case for your hub is primarily about sharing a common theme or for rolling up
content for people who are members of private sites, you may want to associate a site
to a hub but not showcase the site in the shared hub navigation. One reason that this
might be OK is that the members of the private sites already know about the sites and
don't need the hub to provide links to the site. However, these same site members
would find it useful to see the news and activity rolled up from their private sites on the
hub (via the Highlighted Content and News web parts.

Another reason not to show associated sites is that the owners of one or more private
sites do not want the sites to be discovered in the hub navigation or they are not
prepared to manage unexpected access requests.

Example 3 - Site is added to hub navigation but not associated to the hub

One of the nice features of hub navigation is that it allows you to plan a shared
navigation experience for all the sites associated to the hub – including links to
frequently needed sites that are not part of the hub.

If a site is associated to a hub, it is reflected in the hub navigation. You may not want all
sites that are related to the hub "family" to be associated to the hub. For example,
consider a scenario when you are collaborating with external partners on a team site.
You may not want to associate external sites to your hub because you may not want to
display the shared navigation for the hub to external partners. But, you may want to add
links to the external sites to the hub navigation to make it easier for internal viewers to
discover these related external sites.

This presents a convenient way to showcase links to all the external sites managed by
the business group without having to worry about exposing navigation links to external
viewers. When internal viewers navigate to the external sites, they will no longer see the
hub context and theme – but this is the desired outcome.

A site can only be associated to one hub. However, you can increase discovery by
adding navigational links to other hubs or other sites in your hub navigation.

Next: learn how to get started planning and implementing SharePoint navigational
design
Get started planning and implementing
SharePoint navigation design
Article • 02/21/2023

To begin, understand that no two organizations will build identical architecture

structures in SharePoint. This is because your architecture design stems from the unique
needs of your organization and users. Also, remember that architectural structure will
change over time as you learn more about user needs and as the business scales and
grows.

Similar to SharePoint intranet content, SharePoint architecture should be reviewed and

revised as often as needed to ensure users have easy access to relevant content and
resources.

In this article:

Explore how to understand users' needs, content requirements, and scope

Learn how to think about planning, implementing, and managing global, hub, and
local navigation

First: Understand your users

The most important step in planning an effective information architecture is
understanding your users:

Who are your users? What key roles do they have?

What vocabulary do they have? What terms do they use to look for content?
What do they want to learn?
What do they want to do? What are their top tasks?

Next: Understand your content

In addition to understanding your users and their experiences, you also need to
understand your content. Think about how content is distributed across current intranet
sites, libraries, and folders. Look at usage data to understand what content is accessed
most and least frequently.

Think about the categories of information in your organization, such as services,

products, areas of expertise, and functions. Don’t just think about the organization chart.
Think about the information people need in their daily work and the key business
outcomes you want to achieve. Use this information, and your knowledge of your users,
to organize groups of related information, such as key business processes, major
projects or initiatives, key business roles, frequent tasks, services, as well as
organizational units.

Then: Understand your scope

Information architecture includes five primary elements:

Portal navigational structure – How you structure your sites so that users can find
content including the home site of your intranet.
Hub structure and organization – How you group together similar topics, tasks,
and content.
Site and page architecture – How content is organized on each site and page so
that users can further navigate or consume content effectively.
Metadata architecture – How to structure and label your individual content items
for browsing and searching as well as compliance and retention.
Search experiences – How your users “consume” information architecture in
addition to browsing.

Finally: Decide which navigational model works

and start to plan and implement
New navigational design for a site:

７ Note

To edit site navigation, you must be a site owner.

Plan Build Manage

1. Ensure you understand 1. Customize the 1. Use site analytics to understand

your users needs and the navigation of your how users are engaging with your site.
site goals. site. 2. Review site navigation as needed to
2. Learn about designing 2. Consider joining a ensure all links are active, relevant, and
for local navigation. hub site to increase up to date.
viewership.
3. Target navigational
links to specific
audiences.
New navigational design for a hub:

７ Note

To edit hub navigation, you must be the hub owner or tenant administrator. The
default navigation menu style for team sites hub navigation will be cascading.

Plan Build Manage

1. Ensure you understand 1. Decide on a menu 1. Use hub analytics to understand

your users needs and the style. how users are engaging with your site.
site goals. 2. Customize the 2. Review site navigation as needed to
2. Learn about designing navigation for ensure all links are active, relevant, and
for global navigation. individual sites. up to date.
3. Consider using a hub site 3. Set up associations
to group similar sites and permissions for hub
together. sites .
4. Learn about multi-
lingual considerations.

New navigational design for an intranet site:

７ Note

To edit intranet site navigation, you must be the hub owner or tenant administrator.

Plan Build Manage

1. Define new intranet 1. Start planning hubs and 1. Establish an intranet review team that
business objectives your home site by grouping ensures navigation and content are up to
and choose pilot high priority tasks and date and aligned with your organization.
scenarios. content. 2. Regularly review hub and site
2. Learn about user 2. Set up associations and analytics to track page traffic and
needs and find permissions for hub sites . popular content.
methods to test 3. Release hubs and 3. Make navigation changes based on
potential designs . associated sites in phases. your learning from user testing and
3. Take an inventory of analytics.
your current sites and
subsites
4. Plan the home site.

Next: learn how to get started planning and implementing SharePoint site navigation
Plan and implement SharePoint site
navigation
Article • 02/21/2023

The fundamental principles and practices for site and page navigation apply to classic
and modern SharePoint architectures. However, your options for implementing
navigation differ based on the framework for your sites and intranet. For example, the
default navigation experiences available in classic SharePoint site hierarchies - sites with
subsites - are not available in the modern experience.

Instead, hubs provide a great way to achieve the cross-site navigation features
previously available in managed navigation and site hierarchies in classic SharePoint. No
matter which framework you are using, you can use the guidance in this document to
help you create the right navigation for your organization.

In this article:

Explore considerations and best practices for site and page navigation design
Learn about site navigation best practices
Learn about menu styles and experiences

SharePoint site navigation

This planning guide primarily addresses site navigation: the top (team and
communication sites and hubs) and left (team sites only) navigation experiences.

Top site navigation

Left site navigation

Hub navigation (top site)

"When we're observing customers carrying out tasks on websites we notice certain
common patterns. For example, we find that when people arrive at a particular site they
start by navigating about 70% of the time. When people get stuck navigating they may
resort to using site search." -- Gerry McGovern

Why navigation is important

The most effective SharePoint sites help viewers find what they need quickly so that they
can use the information they need to make decisions, learn about what is going on,
access the tools they need, or engage with colleagues to help solve a problem.

Even when search is available, most viewers start their web experiences by browsing .
That pattern persists on internal web sites as well. Good navigation experiences present
viewers with a complete picture of what is available on the site and, combined with the
home page, provide a comprehensive "story" for the site.
Page navigation and site navigation display differently. The links that you see in site
navigation are static on every page in the site. The navigation links on individual pages
are accessed only when the viewer lands on the page. A benefit to on-page links is that
they can be different from page to page. Both types of navigational links guide your
viewers by providing wayfinding experiences.

The key advantage of site navigation links is that they are always visible in the context of
the site. Because site navigation links are persistent, they provide an opportunity to
provide significant value for site viewers as they traverse the site and address their goals:
to find and do what they came for. Hub navigation links extend this wayfinding
experience to other sites in the hub “family.” This supports navigating to related content
not just on the site, but on related sites as well. Setting site navigation links to open in a
new tab can help site viewers find the information they want, without navigating away
from the current page that they are on.

Site and page navigation fundamentals

Planning site and page navigation involves thinking about:

Organizing – Grouping logical and similar intents

Labeling – Writing clear labels your users will immediately understand
Usability – Users' ability to easily navigate the end to end experience
Findability – Users' ability to quickly find what they need

Navigation should always be planned from the perspective of the user of information –
the viewers to your site. Planning effective navigation involves considering not just the
information you want to present, but also thinking about the information your viewers
want or need to consume.

Therefore, organizing and labeling your navigation links is critical for the purposes of
usability and findability. If 70% of viewers come to your sites expecting to browse for
information, the usability of your site depends on creating a great browsing experience.
To learn more, see Information architecture principles in SharePoint

Organizing
There is no one right way to organize your navigation links. You will make different
choices based on the type of site you are creating and your viewers. Organizing
concepts might include:

Services
Products
 Activities
Audiences (if your viewers can clearly identify the audience to which they belong –
such as student or teacher)
Expertise areas or functions

The default navigation for all SharePoint sites primarily includes type of content. For
communication sites , the default navigation includes Documents, Pages, and Site
Contents. These categories are helpful as you are building your site, but they are not
typically going to add value to your viewers once your site is ready to launch.

This is because the consumer of a communication site typically doesn't care about the
type of content – they care about the purpose or subject of the content. For
communication sites, plan to delete the "out of the box" navigation when you are ready
to launch and replace it with something that aligns with the guidance provided in the
local navigation section of this guide.

The default navigation for team sites includes links to the related services provided by
Microsoft 365 for modern teams – including a link to the shared team notebook and the
conversations for the team in Outlook. These represent the typical features that teams
need to effectively collaborate and might be hard for people to find without the
experience provided by the navigation.

You may choose to supplement or refine these links for your team sites, but you will also
likely find that the default navigation experience is a good starting point. You may be
more likely to keep most of these links than you would with a communication site.

Navigation menus in SharePoint

There are two types of navigation menu styles for SharePoint sites - cascading and
mega menu. Team sites and communication sites support both mega menus and
cascading menus. Hubs, whether they are team sites or communication sites, add an
additional mega menu to the site. Mega menus are not available in on-premises sites.
Learn about how to customize the navigation on your SharePoint site .

Cascading menu
Mega menu

Menu links
There are two types of navigation links: a label and a link. A label is simply a category
link – it lets you group related links but is not a link itself. A link requires a hyperlink and
presents a “clickable” experience for the user. A label should always have at least one
link below.

Both cascading and mega menus support up to three levels of navigation in your menu.
The first level represents the tabs you see across the top. The second level is the next
level below the tab and the third level is indented or below the second level. Mega
menus work best when you are using all three levels of navigation experiences. If you
use a mega menu, the second level of links will appear in bold. If you only need two
levels in your menu, consider using the cascading style.

Menu experiences
There are two types navigation experiences – targeted and not targeted. With targeted
navigation, you can choose who sees navigation links to create more personal
navigation experiences. With non-targeted links, all users see the link, even if they don’t
have access to the target location. Learn about how to target navigation links in
menus .

Menu symbols
All types of menu links support some decoration with emojis. Emojis can be used at the
beginning or end of a link label to add some visual interest to your links.

Choose an emoji that relates to the label topic. You can search for emojis at
emojipedia.org , or use the Windows key + period (.). Copy the emoji and add it to the
label when you are editing your navigation.

Link to pages, not individual documents

Document links open in a new window, which is helpful if someone wants to close the
document after reading, but document links take viewers to a new context. In some
cases, this may be the experience you want. But when navigation points to a page with
an embedded document instead of directly to a document, you have an opportunity to
provide context for the document and retain the navigational context for the site. Think
about the following alternatives if you want to use a navigation link to open to a single
document:

Can you re-create the document content as a page instead of a document? Pages
are easier to read online and provide opportunities to create rich, dynamic
experiences for your viewers. Modern pages are easier to read on mobile devices.
Documents are great when viewers need to download or print – but when all they
need to do is read, a short, well-crafted page is a better way to present and
maintain information.
Embed the document or a link to the document on a page. When a visitor clicks
the link to a page, the site navigation remains visible. The page allows you to
provide context for the document and it also keeps the viewer in the context of
your site.

Practice progressive disclosure

Navigation should answer the question, "What can I do on this site or from this
location?" But, limited real estate on the navigation bar or quick launch means you need
to apply the principle of progressive disclosure . This approach suggests that you
group your content into logical categories and provide a limited set of choices for your
viewers to allow them to explore each content category to learn more.

Progressive disclosure applies to all types of navigation and not just top or site
navigation. It also applies to page content. You don't need to have a link to every bit of
content on your site or in your portal in the navigation – but your viewers should be
able to get a sense of the entire site by exploring your navigation options. Great
navigation experiences help viewers understand:

Where am I?
What can I do here?
Where can I go next?

Plan to optimize the navigation experiences for your viewers by combining navigation
and page links to answer these three questions.

Managing navigation expectations

Navigation enhances the story of your digital workplace by making it easy for users to
browse the content they need. On the internet, we expect to have to search for the
content we need. Yet on the intranet, viewers expect a navigation experience that is
carefully curated to help them understand and find the content they need.

Curating a navigation experience for intranets and digital workplaces comprised of even
just a few hundred sites can be a daunting task – especially your goal (or the goal
assigned to you) is to make sure that all content is findable in "three clicks." Contrary to
popular belief, your viewers will not leave your site or give up if they are unable to find
what they are looking for in three clicks! More or fewer clicks do not make viewers
happier or perceive that the site is faster.

What really matters in navigation experiences is "information scent" – whether the label
for the link provides an adequate clue about where the "click" will go. It is the quality
of the label and whether the label fulfills its promise that has the highest impact on
usability. Viewers are willing to click to find information if they are confident that with
each click, they are headed in the right direction – closer to their goal.

"Information scent" on SharePoint sites can be achieved with clear, mutually exclusive
labels for links and labels lists and libraries that clearly tell viewers what they will find.
You can improve your navigation by spending time testing to make sure that the
navigation labels resonate with your viewers and following the guidance for labels
recommended in this document. Your navigation outcomes will be most successful if
you take the time to understand your viewers, their key "tasks and asks," and design
navigation experiences that keep their promises.
Planning your SharePoint hub sites
Article • 02/21/2023

Hub sites help you organize your intranet. Getting the most value from hub sites
requires some up-front planning. Read on to find out more about hub sites and how
you can plan for them.

Setting the stage

SharePoint hub sites provide an important building block for your intranet. They're the
"connective tissue" you use when organizing families of team sites and communication
sites together.

One of the key principles of modern intranets based on Microsoft SharePoint is that
each unit of work should get a separate site collection. This helps you to manage
governance and growth over time. Each communication site and Microsoft 365 group-
connected team site is created as a site collection that can have its own permissions. A
hub site (most commonly created from a communication site) should also be considered
its own unit of work that brings together many other sites.

In the past, many organizations used subsites to create connective tissue for their
intranets. They used the site collection's shared navigation to connect sites and the
hierarchical structure of subsite relationships to nest sites within sites. However, subsites
don't give any room for flexibility and change. Since subsites are a physical construct
reflected in the URL for content, if you reorganize your business relationships, you break
all the intranet relationships in your content. Subsites can also create challenges when it
comes to governance because many features (including policy features like retention
and classification) in SharePoint apply to all sites within the site collection, whether you
want them to or not. This means that you must frequently enable a feature for the entire
site collection, even if it's only applicable to one subsite.

What is the one thing that we can guarantee is going to happen in every business?
Change! As your organization evolves, you need intranets that make it easy to align
experiences with the way you work and that can adapt to the inevitable changes in the
way you work. This is a key benefit provided by SharePoint hub sites; they model
relationships as links, rather than hierarchy or ownership, so that you can adapt to the
changes in the way you work in a dynamic, changing world.
Getting started
Before you start making hubs sites, let's recap the three things hub sites give you:

Shared navigation and brand

Roll-up of content and search

A home destination for the hub

Now let's think about the information you're trying to share throughout your intranet,
and consider the business outcomes you're trying to enable.

An intranet can play many roles in an organization. It's an internally facing site, a place
to communicate important news, and a collaboration platform. It's also a way to
showcase your corporate culture. It can be the foundation of your digital workplace. An
intranet lets you tell stories and share information. Empowering employees with a voice
on your intranet can provide a way to move to a culture of collaboration that enables
your organization to transform and adapt to change.

Many successful intranets include the following elements:

Communication: For example, a home page that includes news from around the
organization to keep employees informed, overall navigation, links to key tools and
information, internal marketing promotions, and a place to engage employees
around important topics.
 Content: A place for the functional parts of the organization, such as Human
Resources (HR), Legal, and Information Technology (IT), to offer their services to
the rest of the organization. For example, the HR part of the intranet could be
where employees can find out how many vacation days they have left, whether
their benefits program offers vision or dental coverage, or what training is available
for individual roles. The Legal area might be where employees can find a sample
non-disclosure agreement they can execute prior to having a conversation with a
prospective vendor.

Actions and activities: Links to the time-tracking system or the expense report
form and a place where managers can approve expenses or timesheets.

Collaboration: Places where teams can get work done and where role or topic-
based communities can share knowledge and leverage expertise across the
organization and with external partners in the extended enterprise.

Culture: Stories and places that allow employees to engage or learn, including
profiles, communities and clubs, and even images and branding that reflect the
organizational structure. Sometimes even the intranet name embodies the culture.
For example, an electric utility has an intranet called "The Grid" with messaging
and promotions to make sure that "no one works off The Grid."

Mobility: The ability for employees to get work done from any device while they're
on the go.

Search: The ability for employees to find content even if they don't know where it
lives.

The emphasis for each of these elements can vary based on organizational priorities and
to some extent, the digital maturity of the organization. Microsoft 365 provides three
main building blocks to help you create your intranet in a way that allows you to
configure experiences that align with your organization, your employees, and your
readiness. Different organizations will use the building blocks in different ways, but the
building blocks themselves reflect common patterns that organizations use to get work
done:

Team sites (collaboration)

Communication sites (communication)

Hub sites (connection)

At their core, the three types of building blocks share a common structure. For example,
they share the same set of internal web parts. However, there are some fundamental
differences in intent, usage expectations, governance (including how they are created),
and how and which web parts you might use on each type of site.

Team site Communication site Hub site

Primary Collaborate Communicate Connect

business When you want to create a When you want to broadcast a When you want to
objective place where the members message, tell a story, share create a shared
of a work group or project content for viewing (but not experience for a
team can work together on editing), or showcase services family of related
project deliverables, plan or people, you want a sites—to discover
an event, track status, or communication site. related content by
exchange ideas, you want Communication site owners rolling up site
a team site. Team sites are often want to include an activity and news,
connected by default to a engagement component - for organize related
Microsoft 365 group to example an "Ask Business sites so that they
deliver a full range of Development" area on a site share a common
communication and communicating information navigation, and
collaboration tools, about business development. apply a common
including Microsoft Teams This is a great place to connect look and feel.
and Planner. a Yammer community.
 Team site Communication site Hub site

Content All members are content Small number of content Hub site owner
authors authors who jointly create authors and a much larger defines the shared
and edit content. number of content readers or experiences for
consumers. hub navigation
and theme. Hub
site members
create content on
the hub site as
with any other
SharePoint site.
Owners and
members of the
sites associated
with the parent
hub create content
on individual sites.

Governance Norms typically Policies often determined by Governance

(as allowed determined by the team. the organization to ensure determined by
for your Practices are aligned in the consistency of experience and each owner of the
organization best way to get work done. effective management of associated site
based on organizational information. based on the type
the settings of site and
in the organizational
Security & policies. The best
Compliance experience for
center) visitors is achieved
when everyone
has at least read
permissions for
associated sites
(but this is not
required).
 Team site Communication site Hub site

Permissions Microsoft 365 group, plus SharePoint group Same as original

SharePoint groups and site type. Hub sites
permission levels do not alter an
associated site's
permissions - but
you may add a
"reader" group to
the hub to make it
easier to provide
read access to
associated sites.
For more
information, see:
Hub
permissions .

Created by Site owner (unless this has Site owner (unless this has Global
been disabled in your been disabled in your Administrator or
organization) or admin. organization) SharePoint
Administrator in
Microsoft 365
 Team site Communication site Hub site

Examples - Project team working - Travel team publishing - HR hub that

together to complete guidelines about corporate provides a
deliverables and manage travel. connection and
tasks. - Policies and procedures. roll-up for all HR
- Holiday party planning - Micro-site for a new functions, such as
committee planning the corporate initiative. benefits,
annual get-together. - Resources for the sales team compensation,
- HR performance for a product or service. performance
management team. management,
- Executive committee— talent acquisition,
different leadership groups and a manager
within the organization. portal.
- Extranet site to work with - Sales hub
Partner A. providing
enterprise
resources for the
Sales organization
and connecting
regional sales
team and
communication
sites.
- Location-specific
hub that groups
the
communication
and team sites for
a specific location
(for example, the
New York office).

What should be a hub site?

Hub sites complement the search experience by helping you discover information in
context.

One of the biggest challenges with intranet design is figuring out how the intranet
navigation should be organized. In the new world where all team and communication
sites are peer site collections, information architects must think about creating
experiences that will allow intranet users to find what they need in multiple "find"
scenarios:

I know it exists, and I know where it is

 I know it exists, but I don't know where it is

I don't know if it exists

These scenarios are enabled with a combination of navigation, search, and discovery (or
serendipity) and should be a factor in how you design and organize your hub sites. One
of the important capabilities that hub sites enable is the serendipitous discovery of
information because they can surface contextually relevant content from sites you may
not follow but are associated with the hub. The SharePoint start page was built to
support discovery and search across the entire organization's content, but if you already
have a particular context in mind, hub sites can be very helpful in narrowing those
experiences down to a handful of related sites.

As a starting point in your hub planning, think about hub sites for key functions that
your users need to get work done—for example: HR, Finance, Communications or Public
Relations, Legal, and IT. These functions may be represented in different organizational
departments or business units in large organizations or combined into the role of a few
people in smaller organizations.

Let's take HR as an example. HR often encompasses the following sub-functions:

Benefits

Pay and compensation

Talent acquisition or recruiting

Performance management

Professional development or training

Manager portal

Using the guiding principle of creating a site for each unit of work, you can think about
an HR family of sites that could include six functional sites for each of these functions
plus an HR hub that connects the related sites to provide an overall HR experience. This
is another way to think about the value of hub sites: they allow you to create an
experience that improves information discovery for a specific context (in our example,
for employees looking for HR information).
In the classic intranet model, you might have created an HR site and used subsites to
support each HR function. In the flat world of modern SharePoint, the HR family is
connected using the HR hub to provide the connective tissue for navigation within the
family and to provide an opportunity to serendipitously discover content on a related
member of the family when users navigate to the HR home. For example, if you're on
the HR hub reading a news announcement about open enrollment because you're in the
process of onboarding a new employee, you might be happy to know that a new
version of the "Welcome to the Company" onboarding toolkit was just released on the
Talent Acquisition site. Likewise, if you're trying to find the HR team's office sharing
policy, you'll appreciate being able to limit your search to only the HR-affiliated sites,
rather than the entire organization.

You don't have to have a hub site for every function. However, when a function provides
multiple logically different services (as in the HR example), it's a good practice to create
a hub site to provide a single starting place for your users. Often, intranet users start
their exploration with browsing. Hub sites help combine the benefits of browsing ("I
know this is an HR topic") with the benefits of a more narrowly scoped search ("I want to
find information about vision benefits, not the company's strategic vision."). Even if the
users don't know which sub-function provides a service, they can navigate to the HR
hub and then, using the search scope provided by the hub, search (or navigate) within
the HR hub to quickly find what they need.

Some organizational functions have an enterprise-wide scope but a regional or product

execution. For example, think about a Sales department that may have sites for sales
regions and sites for location-based offices. This type of function has always presented a
challenge to hierarchical intranet content organization using subsites. Do we make the
Southeast Sales site a subsite of the Southeast Region site or the Global Sales site? And,
what happens when a state within the southeast region is allocated to a new region; for
example, from the southeast region to the northeast region? This type of dynamic
organizational movement creates a nightmare for intranet organization if you use
subsites, but not with hub sites. Picking a hub may create some angst because an
individual site can be associated with only one hub, but keep in mind that content from
a site can appear on multiple hubs. You can customize sources for the following web
parts on a hub:

News
Highlighted content
Sites
Events

７ Note

An organization can have up to 2,000 hub sites. You might not need a hub site for
every function and it's important to do some planning before you create hubs.

There is no "one size fits all" way to determine how to align sites to a hub in this
scenario. Always start by answering these questions:

Who is your audience and what do they need to accomplish?

How do the people who need the information get their work done?

Align your hub to create experiences that enable the user first. You may want to think
about how people in each work group think about the work they do by aligning
regional sites with the function, since sales content for the northeast is more likely to be
organized similarly to sales content for the southeast than it will be for the southeast
regional office. But this is very much an "it depends" situation. In some organizations, it
will make much more sense to organize all functions around a regional hub than a
functional hub. With hub sites multi-geo capabilities, you can create a better user
experience associating Austria Sales with the Austria hub and not the global Sales hub.
In this type of scenario, you can use a link on the Austria sales site to connect it to the
global Sales hub and add each regional sales site to the Hub navigation for global sales.

７ Note

A site can only associate with a hub family. However, hub families can be connected
to one another using links either on the page or in hub navigation. In addition,
hubs can also be associated to other hubs to create an extended search scope for
 your hub families. For example, you may have a hub called Northeast Region Sales
that you want to "connect" to a Global Sales hub. You can now associate a hub to
another hub to expand search results across multiple hubs in your organization.

A good practice is to start with a consistent approach for all functions that have a
pattern, such as Sales. If you align region-specific functions to the regional hub, do that
for all functions. Either approach is valid, but from a usability perspective, it helps to be
consistent.

How should I organize my hub site?

Hub sites provide two primary organizational experiences that you should think about
as part of the hub planning process. Though creating a hub site must be done by the
Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in Microsoft 365, planning, managing,
and organizing the hub site is the responsibility of the hub site owner. The organizing
concepts for hubs are:

Association

Navigation

Association
A site becomes part of a hub family by Associating a SharePoint site with a hub site .
When creating a hub site, SharePoint Administrators can allow only certain site owners
to associate sites with the hub.

After a SharePoint Administrator gives a site owner permission to associate their sites
with a hub site, the site owner can then choose to associate the sites with the hub.
When they do, the site inherits the hub site theme and shared navigation. Content from
their site will roll up to the hub site in web parts where the source is "all sites in the
hub," and the site will be included in the hub site search scope.

Associating with the hub does not automatically add the site to the hub navigation. Hub
site owners determine which sites are included in the navigation. They can also
configure the News, Sites, Events, and Highlighted content to roll up activity from all
associated sites or only selected sites.

７ Note
 Association with a hub does not change the permissions on a site. If you associate a
site that has restricted access with a hub, only users who have access to the
restricted site will see content rolled up on the hub. Information surfaced on the
hub site is security trimmed: if you don't have access to the content, you won't see
it. Something you may want to consider is adjusting permissions on the associated
sites after you have assembled your hub family or adding a hub "read" permission
group to the hub and adding that permission group to associated sites.

Navigation
The hub site owner determines which sites are reflected in the shared navigation and
can also include links to other resources. This navigation appears at the top, below the
suite bar. Most of the time, you will want to add associated sites to your hub navigation.
That's one of the benefits of the experiences that you can enable with a hub. Your hub
navigation can have up to three levels, which lets you organize your hub family in a way
that helps users discover and find relevant content.

７ Note

The default navigation menu style for team sites hub navigation will be cascading.

However, you may not want to add every associated site to your navigation and you
may want to consider adding sites that aren't associated to the navigation. Consider the
following as you plan your hub navigation.

Do you want to add private or restricted access sites to the navigation? Maybe.
For example, HR may want to associate their private team site with the HR hub to
make it more convenient for HR team members. But, the HR hub owner may not
want to display a link to the HR team site in the shared navigation for the HR hub
because this would make the private HR site more discoverable by everyone in the
organization, who will get an access challenge when they click the link to the HR
team site. If you add private sites to hub navigation, consider using audience
targeting so that the link only appears for members of the private site. In
another scenario, there may be a site that is "semi-private" that you want
interested people to discover. For example, you might have a community that
wants to restrict membership to people with a specific expertise, but also wants to
discover experts across the organization. In this scenario, users might get an access
denied/request access message, but the site owner is prepared and wants to grant
access to interested people.
  Tip

If you add links to private sites in your hub navigation and don't plan to use
audience targeting, consider adding (restricted) or (private) or (external) to
the link name to help users understand that they may not have access to the
navigation link.

Do you want to add sites that are not associated with the hub to the navigation?
Maybe. Since an individual site can only be associated with one hub, adding sites
that aren't associated with your hub helps provide a way to connect your hub to
related sites. For example, if you choose to associate functions within a region with
a regional hub instead of the global function hub, you could add navigation links
from the function hub to each of the region sites. For example, if you have a
function hub for HR, you could add the regional HR sites (Northeast HR, Southeast
HR, and so on) to the navigation of the HR hub to create a comprehensive HR
experience. Note that when you do this, the news and activity in the regional HR
sites will not show up on the HR hub (but they will show up on the regional hub).
And, when you navigate from the HR hub to the regional HR site, you will be on a
site that has the regional hub navigation and theme, not the HR navigation and
theme. There is nothing inherently wrong or bad about this scenario, but you
should be aware of the implications when you plan your hub navigation
experiences

 Tip

Don't associate extranet sites with the hub if you don't want extranet users to
see the shared navigation. Consider just adding the external sites to the hub
navigation so that internal users have quick access to relevant extranet sites.

Can I make just one hub site for my whole

organization?
There is no requirement to have more than one hub for your organization, but you
should think about what this means for information organization and discovery. An
advantage to having just one hub is that every site in the intranet will share a consistent
top navigation. However, since every site can also share consistent global navigation in
the App Bar, you may want to consider taking advantage of more than one hub.
If you have only one hub, you'll miss the ability to easily surface related information in
context and the ability to easily define a search scope for related content. For example, if
you have a single enterprise hub, it will be harder to surface just HR-related news on the
HR site. Even small organizations may find that restricting the context in which users find
information is helpful in managing information overload. We now have the ability to
create a hierarchy of hubs to create hub to hub associations. This allows you to create a
network of hubs that roll-up to each other to create connections and additional search
scopes. When hubs are associated with each other, content can be searched for and
displayed on hubs up to three levels of association.

Additional important considerations

Finding hubs if you have more than one. Hubs are an important building block for
your intranet. Here are some ways you can make your hub sites discoverable:

Add hubs to global navigation. Add your hubs to the global navigation for your
tenant in the SharePoint app bar.

Add key hubs to the SharePoint start page. Pin your hub sites to the Featured
links area of the SharePoint start page. Encourage all users to "follow" hub sites.

Reaching the right audience for news. Hub sites help you bring news to the right
people at the right time and in the right context. News doesn't flow down to
associated sites, only up from the associated site to the hub. If you want the
broadest reach for your news, publish it to the hub site. To make hub news more
visible, you may want to have two news web parts on your home page: one for
news published on the hub home and another that includes news rolled up from
associated sites (all or only selected sites).

Hub naming conventions. Think about naming conventions for hub sites to make
them more discoverable. Some options include names such as HR Central, HR Hub,
HR Portal. Try to choose a consistent naming convention for all hub sites.

Getting ready to hub. Once you have planned your hubs, you can transform an
existing site (preferably a communication site) to become a hub site or create a
new communication site and make it a hub site. Then, you can add and configure
the web parts and navigation on the hub site to emphasize the hub capabilities.

Subsites. Hub sites solve many or most of the use cases for which you previously
used subsites. We recommend using hub sites going forward to organize the sites
in your intranet. However, subsites will continue to be supported as a classic
feature, and we'll add the new team site template as a subsite option.
 Should your home site be a hub? It depends. Consider making your home site a
hub if you have a unique set of sites that represent your "official" intranet where
you want a distinct brand and search scope that you want to distinguish from
other sites in the tenant. Consider leaving your home site as a "regular" site if you
plan to have multiple hubs and you want your users to leverage the SharePoint
app bar for global navigation. Every site in the intranet does not have to be
connected to a hub if your home site is not a hub. Some sites may be part of a hub
and have both local and hub navigation but other sites may only have local
navigation. In this scenario, your intranet global navigation is provided by the app
bar, not a hub.

Use hub sites when they align with your business outcomes and solve a need for your
users.

Need more help?

If you have technical questions about this topic, you may find it helpful to post
them on the SharePoint discussion forum . It's a great resource for finding others who
have worked with similar issues or who have encountered the same situation.

Principal author: Susan Hanley, MVP

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/susanhanley
Website: www.susanhanley.com
Blog: http://www.computerworld.com/blog/essential-sharepoint
Create a hub site in SharePoint
Article • 03/01/2023

If you're a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in Microsoft 365, you can

convert any existing site to a hub site.

７ Note

We recommend selecting a communication site, or a team site that uses the new
template. If you use a classic team site, the hub navigation will appear only on
modern pages, and hub site settings will only appear on modern pages.
Sites that are already associated with another hub can't be converted to a hub site.
You can create up to 2,000 hub sites for an organization. This applies to hub-to-hub
associations as well. Any site labeled as a hub site will count against this limit. There
is no limit on the number of sites that can be associated with a hub site.
When users associate their sites with a hub, it doesn't impact the permissions of
either the hub site or the associated sites. It's important to make sure all users you
allow to associate sites to the hub have permission to the hub.

Create a hub site in the new SharePoint admin

center
1. Go to Active sites in the SharePoint admin center , and sign in with an account
that has admin permissions for your organization.

７ Note

If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in to the Microsoft 365
admin center , then browse to the SharePoint admin center and open the Active
sites page.

2. Select the site, select Hub on the command bar, and then select Register as hub
site.
  Tip

Using the Hub site menu, you can also associate a site with the hub site,
change a site's association to a different hub site, or disassociate a site from a
hub site.

3. Enter a display name for the hub site, and specify the individual users or security
groups you want to allow to associate sites with the hub.

） Important

If you leave the People who can associate sites with this hub box empty, any
user can associate their site with the hub.
If you later want to change the hub site display name or the list of people who
can associate sites with the hub, you need to use PowerShell or go to hub site
settings on the hub site.

4. Select Save.
Related topics
For info about using a site design that gets applied when sites join the hub, see Set
up a site design for your hub site. For more info about site designs and site scripts,
see SharePoint site design and site script overview.

To learn how to use Microsoft PowerShell to create and manage hub sites, see
Manage SharePoint hub sites.

For info about how site owners can customize hub sites, see Set up your
SharePoint hub site .

For info about removing a hub site, see Remove a hub site.
Unregister a site as a hub site
Article • 03/01/2023

If you're a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in Microsoft 365, you can

make a hub site no longer a hub site (unregister it as a hub site). Make sure you do this
before you delete the hub site. When you unregister a hub site, the associated sites will
not automatically disassociate from the hub site. Disassociating a site will remove the
hub site navigation bar from the top of the site. The look that the site inherited from the
hub site will stay the same and features such as additional navigation links, applications,
or custom lists with specific columns that were added as part of the inherited hub site
design will remain. Any hub-site-related web parts added to the home page will only
show information from the site instead of from sites associated with the hub.

Unregister a hub site in the new SharePoint

admin center
1. Go to Active sites in the SharePoint admin center , and sign in with an account
that has admin permissions for your organization.

７ Note

If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in to the Microsoft 365
admin center , then browse to the SharePoint admin center and open the Active
sites page.

2. Select the site, select Hub on the command bar, and then select Unregister as hub
site.

3. Select OK.

Related topics
To learn how to use Microsoft PowerShell to manage and delete hub sites, see Manage
SharePoint hub sites.
Set up a site template for your hub site
Article • 02/21/2023

A site template is one or more site scripts that Microsoft SharePoint runs when a site is
associated with a hub site. Actions describe changes to apply to the new site, such as
creating a new list or adding nodes to the site navigation. Site templates provide
reusable lists and custom actions so your users can quickly get started with the features
they need.

７ Note

For organizations using Multi-Geo Capabilities in Microsoft 365, hub site templates
work only when sites are in the same geo location as the hub site.

７ Note

These instructions require the SharePoint Administrator or Global Administrator

role in Microsoft 365.

1. Create a JSON script, add it, and create the

site template
Follow the steps in Get started creating site templates and site scripts. For the full list of
supported actions, see Site template JSON schema. Note that when you create the site
template, the site template you provide ("64" for team site or "68" for communication
site) doesn't matter.

2. Scope access to the hub site template

When a site template is first created, it is available to everyone. You can grant View
rights to the site template. After rights are granted, only the users or groups (principals)
specified have access. We recommend granting access to the same principal used to
scope the hub site.

PowerShell

Grant-SPOSiteDesignRights
-Identity <ID>
 -Principals ("[email protected]")
-Rights View

Replace <ID> with the site design ID from when you added the site script.

3. Set your site template for the hub site

You can set the hub site template in two ways. You can do it using the following
PowerShell command:

PowerShell

Set-SPOHubSite https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/Marketing
-Title "Marketing Hub"
-LogoUrl
https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/Marketing/SiteAssets/hublogo.png
-Description "Hub for the Marketing division"
-SiteDesignId "<ID>"

Replace <ID> with the site script ID from when you added the site script.

You can also let hub site owners set the hub site template by using a new option
available in the UI. For info about the hub site settings available to site owners, see Set
up your SharePoint hub site .
Control settings for Microsoft Lists
Article • 03/08/2023

As a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in Microsoft 365, you can control

settings for Microsoft Lists. You can:

Disable the creation of personal lists (prevent users from saving new lists to "My
lists").
Disable built-in list templates that aren't relevant for your organization.

You control both of these settings by using Microsoft PowerShell.

Disable creation of personal lists

If you change this setting, when users create a list, they must select a SharePoint site for
saving the list. The "Save to" setting doesn't include the "My lists" option.

Default Personal list creation disabled

1. Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell .

７ Note

If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell,

go to Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management
Shell."
 2. Connect to SharePoint as a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in
Microsoft 365. To learn how, see Getting started with SharePoint Online
Management Shell.

3. Run the following command:

PowerShell

Set-SPOTenant -DisablePersonalListCreation $true

To re-enable the creation of personal lists, set the parameter to $false .

Disable built-in list templates

Disabling these templates removes them from all places users create lists (the Lists app,
Microsoft Teams, and SharePoint sites).

Default Built-in list templates disabled

Some templates disabled

All templates disabled

1. Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell .

７ Note

If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell,

go to Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management
Shell."
 2. Connect to SharePoint as a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in
Microsoft 365. To learn how, see Getting started with SharePoint Online
Management Shell.

3. Run the following command:

PowerShell

Set-SPOTenant -DisableModernListTemplateIds '<template ID>'

Where the template ID is:

Issue tracker: 'C147E310-FFB3-0CDF-B9A3-F427EE0FF1CE'

Employee onboarding: 'D4C4DAA7-1A90-00C6-8D20-242ACB0FF1CE'
Event itinerary: '3465A758-99E6-048B-AB94-7E24CA0FF1CE'
Asset manager: 'D2EDA86E-6F3C-0700-BE3B-A408F10FF1CE'
Recruitment tracker: '3A7C53BE-A128-0FF9-9F97-7B6F700FF1CE'
Travel requests: 'C51CF376-87CF-0E8F-97FF-546BC60FF1CE'
Work progress tracker: 'B117A022-9F8B-002D-BDA8-FA266F0FF1CE'
Content scheduler: '9A429811-2AB5-07BC-B5A0-2DE9590FF1CE'
Incidents: 'E3BEEF0B-B3B5-0698-ABB2-6A8E910FF1CE'
Patient care coordination: '0134C13D-E537-065B-97D1-6BC46D0FF1CE'
Loans: '7C920B56-2D7A-02DA-94B2-57B46E0FF1CE'
Gift ideas: '008F8143-9644-0238-B4B5-C03E4F0FF1CE'
Recipe tracker: 'A1755E7D-8E3A-4141-89FC-6C77EB0FF1CE'
Expense tracker: '96D6DBE5-D7C3-430A-867A-0B72EB4065AB'
Travel requests with approvals: '4EB20749-6360-417C-83DD-06135C0FF1CE'
Content scheduler with approvals: 'C381BD64-C1A1-4D9E-BE9C-0571900FF1CE'

To re-enable a built-in template, use the parameter EnableModernListTemplateIds .

Disable additional features on a built-in

template
Some built-in list templates include additional features such as automations and custom
formatting. If you wish to keep only the base schema of a built-in list template but not
the rest of its features included in that template:

1. Create a list from the built-in list template.

2. Create a custom list template based off of that list. The custom list template will
not include any additional features by default.
3. Disable the original built-in list template.

７ Note

Users in your organization will see the custom list template on the From your
organization tab rather than on the From Microsoft tab.
Creating custom list templates
Article • 03/08/2023

As a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in Microsoft 365, you can provide

custom list templates for users in your organization. When users create new lists, they
can select from these templates alongside the built-in templates from Microsoft. This
enables your organization to create repeatable list solutions (in SharePoint, Teams, and
within the Lists app itself).

７ Note

Custom list templates are only available in targeted release.

You can create and manage custom list templates using Microsoft PowerShell:

1. Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell .

７ Note

If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell,

go to Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management
Shell."

2. Connect to SharePoint as a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in

Microsoft 365. To learn how, see Getting started with SharePoint Online
Management Shell.

Add a custom template

Follow these steps to create a custom list template.

1. Run the following command to extract the site script output from an existing list
and write it to a variable:

PowerShell

$extracted = Get-SPOSiteScriptFromList -ListUrl

"https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/strategy/customer-contacts"
 2. Reference the variable in the following command to upload a site script that can
be used with a list design.

PowerShell

Add-SPOSiteScript
-Title "Contoso Customer Tracker"
-Description "This creates a customer contact list"
-Content $extracted

3. Create your list design using the site script ID returned from the step above:

PowerShell

Add-SPOListDesign
-Title "Contoso customer tracking"
-Description "Tracks key customer data in a list"
-SiteScripts "<ID from previous step>"
-ListColor Orange
-ListIcon BullseyeTarget
-Thumbnail "https://contoso.sharepoint.com/SiteAssets/site-
thumbnail.png"

When users in your organization create a list (in SharePoint, Teams, or the Lists app),
they'll see the template on the "From your organization" tab.

７ Note

List templates can't be updated after you add them. Instead, remove the existing
template and add the updated version.
Scope the permissions to a custom template
By default, the custom list template will be available to everyone in your organization. If
you want, you can limit access to specific users or a security group. The following
example shows how to grant an individual user view rights to a template.

PowerShell

Grant-SPOSiteDesignRights
-Identity <List design ID to apply rights to>
-Principals "[email protected]"
-Rights View

Get template(s)
The following example retrieves all custom list templates.

PowerShell

Get-SPOListDesign <List design ID>

Remove a custom template

The following example shows how to remove a custom list template so that it's no
longer available to users when they create lists.

PowerShell

Remove-SPOListDesign <List design ID>

You can also remove the associated site scripts that the list design is referencing using:

PowerShell

Remove-SPOSiteScript <Site script ID>

Use Group Policy to control Lists sync
settings
Article • 02/21/2023

This article describes the Group Policy objects (GPOs) for Microsoft Lists (and SharePoint
lists) that admins can configure by using Group Policy. Use the registry key info to
confirm that a setting is enabled. Lists sync policies are listed under OneDrive because
Lists sync gets packaged, installed, and updated through the OneDrive sync app's
existing update mechanism. For info about controlling OneDrive sync settings by Group
Policy, see OneDrive policies.

List of policies by string ID

(DisableNucleusSync) Prevent Lists sync from running on the device

(BlockExternalListSync) Prevent users from syncing lists shared from other

organizations

(DisableNucleusSilentConfig) Prevent users from getting silently signed in to Lists

sync with their Windows credentials

Prevent Lists sync from running on the device

By default, Lists sync is turned on for users of Microsoft Lists. If you enable this policy,
Lists sync will be blocked from running on the device.

Prevent Lists sync from running on the device:

[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\OneDrive] "DisableNucleusSync" = "dword:1"

Re-enable Lists sync on the device:

[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\OneDrive] "DisableNucleusSync" = "dword:0"

Prevent users from syncing lists shared from other

organizations
Enabling this setting prevents users at your organization from syncing lists that are
shared from other organizations. After the setting is enabled (value 1) on a computer,
lists shared from other organizations won't sync. Disable the setting (value 0) to allow
your users to sync external lists.

Prevent external List sync with:

[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\OneDrive] "BlockExternalListSync" = "dword:1

Restore external List sync with:

[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\OneDrive] "BlockExternalListSync" = "dword:0"

Prevent users from getting silently signed in to Lists sync

with their Windows credentials
Lists sync is set up to automatically sign users in with their Windows account credentials.
If you enable this setting, people who used Microsoft Lists previously and who are
signed in on an Azure AD-joined PC will no longer be able to set up Lists sync without
entering their account credentials.

） Important

If the Office browser extension isn't installed on users' Chromium-based

browsers (Microsoft Edge, Chrome, etc.), we strongly recommend leaving silent
account configuration enabled to ensure the seamless operation of List sync via
Microsoft.SharePoint.exe.

Enabling this policy sets the following registry key value to 1:

[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\OneDrive] "DisableNucleusSilentConfig" =

"dword:00000001"

For more info about this feature, including troubleshooting steps, see Silently configure
user accounts.

Control Lists sync on unmanaged devices and

based on location
You can use the following settings to control access to Lists sync from unmanaged
devices and configure network location-based access to List sync.

Control access from unmanaged devices

Control access to SharePoint and OneDrive based on network location
Use macOS preferences to control Lists sync settings
Article • 03/03/2023

This article describes macOS preferences for Microsoft Lists (and SharePoint lists). For info about controlling OneDrive sync settings on
macOS, see Deploy and configure OneDrive on macOS.

Manage Lists sync settings on macOS using property list files

Lists sync gets packaged, installed, and updated through the OneDrive sync standalone (non-App Store) app's existing update mechanism.
As a result, some Lists sync preferences are listed under the OneDrive group domain. After the OneDrive sync app for Mac is installed, users
can configure settings for Lists sync. As an administrator, you might want to provide users in your organization with a standard set of
preferences. Preferences for the Lists sync app for Mac are stored in property list .plist files.

Lists sync preferences OneDrive group preferences

.plist ~/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.SharePoint- ~/Library/Group

location mac.plist Containers/UBF8T346G9.OneDriveStandaloneSuite/Library/Preferences/UBF8T346G9.OneDriveStandalo

List of policies by string ID

DisableNucleusSync - Prevent Lists sync from running on the device

BlockExternalListSync - Prevent users from syncing lists shared from other organizations

DisableNucleusSilentConfig - Prevent users from getting silently signed in to Lists sync with existing Microsoft account credentials

being used across Microsoft apps on macOS

Prevent Lists sync from running on the device

By default, Lists sync is turned on for users of Microsoft Lists. If you set this preference, Lists sync will be blocked from running on the
device.

Location: Lists Sync preferences

Prevent Lists sync from running on the device:

XML

<key>DisableNucleusSync</key>
<integer>1</integer>

Re-enable Lists sync on the device:

XML

<key>DisableNucleusSync</key>
<integer>0</integer>

Prevent users from syncing lists shared from other organizations

Enabling this setting prevents users at your organization from syncing lists that are shared from other organizations. After the setting is
enabled (value 1) on a computer, lists shared from other organizations won't sync. Disable the setting (value 0) to allow your users to sync
external lists.

Location: Lists Sync preferences

Prevent external List sync with:

XML

<key>BlockExternalListSync</key>
<integer>1</integer>
Restore external List sync with:

XML

<key>BlockExternalListSync</key>
<integer>0</integer>

Prevent users from getting silently signed in to Lists sync with existing Microsoft account
credentials being used across Microsoft apps on macOS
Lists sync is set up to automatically sign users in with credentials being used across other Microsoft apps on macOS like OneDrive. If you
enable this setting, automatic sign-in and Lists sync setup wouldn't occur.

Location: OneDrive group preferences

Prevent Lists sync silent configuration:

XML

<key>DisableNucleusSilentConfig</key>
<integer>1</integer>

Restore Lists sync silent configuration with:

XML

<key>DisableNucleusSilentConfig</key>
<integer>0</integer>
Add a sample site to your tenant
Article • 02/21/2023

Discover the modern experiences you can build with Microsoft SharePoint. Use the
SharePoint look book and integrated provisioning service to find inspiring samples of
communication sites and team sites that look great on the web and on mobile devices.
Then, add one or more sample sites to your tenant. You can customize the sample to
use for your own site or use the site for learning or showing to your colleagues. You can
do this all with the SharePoint look book and the integrated SharePoint provisioning
service.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/videoplayer/embed/RE4wDLk?postJsllMsg=true

What's included in a sample? You'll get:

A modern communication or team site, depending on the sample you choose

A site home page with sample branding, web parts, content, and images
Sample news posts and pages
Sample navigation

Get started

Select a sample you like

Browse the samples in the online SharePoint look book .
Select a sample to learn more about it. You’ll see the site features, web parts used, and
content included. To show you how to use these features, links are provided to a help
topic for each feature and its web part(s) in the list.

After you've decided on the sample you want to use in your tenant, near the bottom of
the page, select Add to your tenant. To use this service, you'll need to be signed in as a
Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in Microsoft 365.

Enter your information

Next, enter your email address (for a notification of when your site is ready to use), the
title you want to use for your site, and the site URL you want to use.

Start provisioning
Select Provision, and in a short time your site will be ready for you to use. How will you
know? You’ll get an email (sent to the email address you provided on the form above)
like this:
Open and explore your site
Select Open site, and you’ll see your sample site and content in your tenant!
From here, you can explore the site and edit the pages and content.

Additional resources

Create a communication site

Create a team site

Using web parts

Create and use modern pages

SharePoint Design Guidance

Overview of the Microsoft New
Employee Onboarding sites
Article • 02/21/2023

There are three (3) new templates for New Employee Onboarding (NEO) to help
organizations improve their onboarding process. The NEO sites are designed to deliver
a flexible and consistent experience. The NEO sites can be used on their own, or
together.

The NEO site(s) helps organizations by:

Providing new employees a place to get started

Connecting new employees to people and culture
Helping stakeholders easily contribute to new employee onboarding
Generating data and usage reports that help measure NEO content effectiveness

Why invest in new employee onboarding sites?

New employee onboarding (NEO) should be a strategic process that integrates new
employees into an organization and its culture while providing the knowledge and tools
needed to become fully contributing team members. NEO processes often fall short for
both the new hires and the organization. Only 12% of employees strongly agree their
organization does a great job of onboarding new employees. An engaging and well-
organized NEO process can make all the difference in helping a new hire navigate
through an exciting – but stressful - career journey, and it can have major organizational
benefits.

A strategically planned NEO experience can:

Improve new hire performance and time to productivity - Organizations with a

standard onboarding process report 50% greater new-hire productivity.*

Improve new employee retention - Based on our research, 69% of employees are more
likely to stay with a company for three years if they had a great onboarding experience.
Employees who have a negative onboarding experience are twice as likely to look for
new opportunities.**

The NEO experience process

 Provide new Connect new Help stakeholders easily Measure
employees a employees to contribute to new effectiveness of new
place to get people and employee onboarding employee
started culture onboarding

Sense of place Pre-onboarding Departmental and team Value realization

onboarding

Onboarding Social connections Easy to create and maintain Example model for
journey and live events compelling content KPIs
experiences

NEO site template features

A fully configured and customizable set of new hire sites built on SharePoint
communication sites: NEO sites include: the site, information architecture, design,
and pre-populated content and web parts. There are three NEO sites available that
must be provisioned separately and can be customized or added to your
organization's new hire content.

Onboarding journey: Onboarding can be an overwhelming experience for new

hires with everything the new hire is typically expected to do and learn in a short
period of time. Avoid overwhelming your new employees by providing them a
curated onboarding journey that paces the new hire through a configurable
activity list of administrative, technology, culture, training, and connection-related
to-do's. The onboarding journey comes with a pre-configured list of new
employee onboarding activities for you to customize for your processes.

Sample site pages: To inspire and provide design templates for arranging your
content, the NEO site includes sample inner site pages. Use these site pages as
templates for your content.

Easy provisioning: Provision NEO sites from the SharePoint look book with just a
few steps.

Mobile ready: NEO sites can be easily accessed on a mobile device when you get
the SharePoint mobile app .

NEO site template options

New employee onboarding involves multiple levels within an organization, including
pre-onboarding, corporate onboarding, and departmental onboarding. Each
onboarding level provides its own unique value, contributing to a comprehensive
onboarding experience each new employee should experience.

Research has shown Pre-onboarding new hires, after they sign their acceptance letter
but before they officially join the company, can lead to higher performance and better
retention rates. To deliver a flexible and consistent onboarding experience, NEO sites
consist of three different SharePoint site templates, that are designed to work alone or
as one cohesive and familiar experience for new hires.

Pre-onboarding site Corporate onboarding Departmental onboarding site

site

Share the Pre-onboarding site Share the Corporate Managers and onboarding buddies
with new hires as soon as the onboarding site with should share their respective
job offer has been accepted new hires on their first Departmental onboarding site
day

1. New employee pre-onboarding site: A site for new hires, who have yet to officially
join the company, to learn more about the company they have joined and to get
ready for their official start date. External guest access can be used for providing
pre-start hires, with no corporate credentials, access to the Pre-onboarding site
only.

2. New employee corporate onboarding site: A place for new hires to visit to get the
information and connections they need to successfully onboard to the
organization.

3. New employee departmental onboarding site: A place for new hires to visit to
learn more about the department they are joining, its people, culture, and
priorities. The Departmental onboarding site can be associated to an existing
departmental hub.

７ Note

To deliver a flexible and consistent new hire onboarding experience the NEO sites
consists of three different SharePoint site templates, that are designed to work
alone or as one cohesive and familiar experience for new hires. Sites must be
 provisioned individually, and then can be configured to create a hub or add a site
to an existing hub .

You must have site collection administrator permissions or higher to provision the
New Employee Onboarding sites.

Step 1: Provision NEO sites

The New Employee Onboarding (NEO) sites can be provisioned from the SharePoint
look book . With the SharePoint look book, a site collection administrator can start
the provisioning process with a few steps. Each site takes about 20 minutes to provision.
Before starting the provisioning process, make sure you have met the prerequisites for
provisioning.

Prerequisites
To successfully provision the NEO sites via the SharePoint look book, the person doing
the provisioning must be a site collection admin of the tenant where the NEO site(s) will
be provisioned. If you have never provisioned a template from the Look book, review
overview guidance.

Provision the NEO sites

 1. Go to the SharePoint look book , and under the Solutions tab, select one of the
following employee onboarding options for provisioning:

Provision the New employee pre-onboarding site

Provision the New employee corporate onboarding site
Provision the New employee department onboarding site

2. Navigate to the site you want to provision and select Add to your tenant. If you
are not signed into to your tenant, the SharePoint look book will ask for your site
collection admin credentials.

3. From the permissions requested dialog box, select Consent on behalf of your
organization and then select Accept.

） Important

The provisioning service requires these permissions to provision the site

template. There is no overall impact on your tenant and these permissions are
explicitly used for the purpose of the solution installation. You must accept
these permissions to proceed with the installation.

4. Complete the fields on the provisioning information page as appropriate for your
installation. At a minimum, enter the email address where you wish to get
notifications about the provisioning process and the URL prefix for your site to be
provisioned to.

5. Select Provision when ready to install the NEO sites into your tenant environment.
The provisioning process will take up to 20 minutes for each site. You will be
notified via email (to the notification email address you entered on the
Provisioning page) when the site is ready for access.

７ Note

Have provisioning questions? Need to report an issue? Post your questions and
comments about the provisioning of the NEO sites to the SharePoint provisioning
service forum .

Add owners to all sites

As the site collection admin, you may not be the person customizing the sites, so you'll
need to assign a few site owners to the sites. Owners have administrative privileges on
the site so they can modify site pages, content, and branding.

1. Select Share in the right-hand corner of the site.

2. Add users, Office 365 Groups, or security groups to give them access to the site.
3. Assign users as a Site owner to allow permission to customize the site.
4. Include the site URL in the Share message, and then select Share.

Step 2: Customize the onboarding experience

The New Employee Onboarding (NEO) sites consist of three SharePoint site templates
that can be customized to fit the needs of your users and organization. Many of the core
pages are already built and pre-populated with content. Review content on sites and
pages, then plan on customizing content, images, branding, web parts, and pages.

Before you customize NEO site content, ensure you understand the needs of your users
and the business objectives of your organization. New hires will need different kinds of
support and resources depending on the onboarding phase and culture of your
organization. Begin by signing into your account and reviewing pre-populated content.
Then, customize content and prepare to share the site with new hires.

It's important to make sure the right content is available to users at the right time. It's
also important to make new employees feel welcome before their first day.
Organizations with a standardized onboarding process report 50% greater new-hire
productivity. Alternatively, employees who have a negative onboarding experience are
twice as likely to look for new opportunities shortly after starting a new job.

NEO site options:

Pre-onboarding site Corporate onboarding Departmental onboarding site

site

Share the Pre-onboarding site Share the Corporate Managers and onboarding buddies
with new hires as soon as the onboarding site with should share their respective
job offer has been accepted new hires on their first Departmental onboarding site
day
 ７ Note

There are three NEO site templates that can be used alone or all together. Check
with your site collection administrator to confirm which NEO sites were provisioned
and are available for customizations.

1. New employee pre-onboarding site: A site for new hires, who have yet to officially
join the company, to learn more about the company they have joined and to get
ready for their official start date. External guest access can be used for pre-start
hires who don't already have corporate credentials to give them access to the Pre-
onboarding site only.

） Important

Enable external sharing for the Pre-onboarding site. The Pre-onboarding site
is intended to be shared with new hires as soon as they sign their offer letter,
but before they start their first day at work. Therefore, this site needs to be
shared with external users. External sharing is off by default for SharePoint
communication sites. In order for site owners to share externally, turn on
external sharing for the Pre-onboarding site.

2. New employee corporate onboarding site: A place for new hires to visit to get the
information and connections they need to successfully onboard to the
organization.

3. New employee departmental onboarding site: A place for new hires to visit to
learn more about the department they are joining, its people, culture, and
priorities. Consider associating departmental onboarding sites with existing
department portals if you have them.

Get started - Sign into your Microsoft 365 account

７ Note

You need to be a site owner to customize and share the NEO sites. Work with your
SharePoint Administrator if you don't already have access.

1. Open your web browser and navigate to office.com or your organization's sign-
in location.
 2. Sign in with your username and password.

3. Navigate to the location of the site using the URL supplied by your site collection
admin, or select SharePoint from the Microsoft 365 home page, and then select
the site.

Explore and review pre-populated content

To deliver a flexible and consistent new hire onboarding experience the NEO sites
consists of three different SharePoint site templates, that are designed to work alone or
as one cohesive and familiar experience for new hires. Check with your site collection
administrator to confirm which NEO sites were provisioned and are available for
customizations.

Review content in the Pre-onboarding site

Review content in the Corporate onboarding site
Review content in the Department onboarding site

７ Note

The NEO sites come with many pre-built pages that can be identified in the site
navigation with this symbol ">>." Determine which pages and content to keep,
edit, or delete based on the needs of your organization.

New employee pre-onboarding site

The pre-onboarding site is where a new hire starts their onboarding journey. This site is
for new hires who have accepted their job offer but have not officially joined the
company yet. In this stage, new hires will be interested in learning more about the
company, how to get ready for their official start date, and who to go to for questions.

Pre-populated site content

Home page – The home page is the first site your user will see after they agree to
accept the job. Use this landing page as an opportunity to highlight significant
concepts and get new employees excited about starting their new job. Provide
content for topics like organization leaders, values, communities of interest,
benefits, and career planning resources.

） Important

Plan to connect social media accounts to the Hero web part and the
Twitter web part .

Welcome – Give new hires a warm welcome and place to start understanding
onboarding tasks and how to prepare for their first day. This is a good opportunity
to include a video message from leadership. Use the YouTube web part , or
Embed web part to display the video.

Contoso 101 – Provide high-level information about the organization that engages
and excites. Share more about leadership and values in Our leadership team and
Our values pages.

Prepare for your first day – Ensure new hires feel prepared and supported on their
first day by providing details on what to bring and where to go.

Help & Support – Highlight where to go for support and customize questions and
answers for the FAQ page.

New employee corporate onboarding site

The corporate onboarding site is the landing place for the new employee onboarding
experience and is designed to provide a high-level view of organizational goals,
leadership, team structure, and resources. In this phase, users are looking for guidance,
support, and clarity. Use this site to outline onboarding details and expectations during
the first months of onboarding. Ensure users have access to support channels like
Yammer , write FAQs relevant to your organization, and customize the onboarding
checklist to include the activities you want all new hires to do in their first 30, 60, 90
days.

Pre-populated site contents:

Home page – Provide a high-level view of significant concepts that will be relevant
to new users. This page is a great location to help new employees build their
network and learn from more experienced and knowledgeable employees with
Microsoft Teams live events

Start here – Specify what new hires should do in their first 30, 60, and 90 days of
onboarding by creating an onboarding process in on the Start your journey here
page. The new hire checklist found in this section comes pre-populated with a set
of generic onboarding activities. Customize list content to meet your needs. Learn
more about working with SharePoint lists .

Who we are – Introduce users to more detail about the organization in the Our
story, Our leadership, Our teams pages. Customize these pages and the Office
locations page for your organization. Or, link to an existing leadership page
instead.
 Help & Support - Highlight where to go for support and customize questions and
answers for the FAQ page.

Community – Help new hires start building community right away and make sure
new hires are aware of Employee resource groups and other connection channels.

Departmental onboarding – Provide an entry point to departmental-level

information from the site navigation where users can access departmental
onboarding sites. Consider provisioning the Department site template.

New employee departmental onboarding site

Here, users need to learn about departmental leadership, culture, goals, and resources.
Use the departmental onboarding site to provide access to communication channels,
training guides, and events relevant to new hires. Consider associating departmental
onboarding sites with existing department portals if you have them.

Pre-populated site contents

Home page - Provide a high-level view of significant concepts that will be relevant
to new hires.

Getting started – Help users quickly understand onboarding tasks, departmental

procedures, and anything else that will help new hires be successful.

Meet the team – Introduce new hires to people, the organization structure and
goals on the Leadership, The organization, and Our priorities pages. Edit the Call to
 Action web part to include links and images. Or, link to an existing team page
instead.

Help and support - Highlight where to go for support and consider creating a FAQ
section.

Next steps: Customize place-holder content, edit the site navigation, add pages as
needed, and hook up social media accounts in web parts.

Customize the content and look of your NEO sites

Now that you've reviewed the pre-built pages and pre-populated content, you are ready
to customize the NEO experience for your organization.

Navigation
Site navigation is important because it helps users immediately understand what can be
accomplished on a given site. The most effective SharePoint sites help viewers find what
they need quickly so that they can use the information to make decisions, learn about
what is going on, access the tools they need, or engage with colleagues to help solve a
problem. Edit site navigation for all NEO site templates to meet the needs of your
audience and organization. Learn how to edit site navigation .

Web parts
Customize web parts with images, labels, links, and content that aligns with your
organization's mission. Keep images and descriptions simple and easy to understand for
your new-hire audience.

Hero web part - Bring focus and visual interest to your page with the Hero web
part . You can display up to five items in the Hero web part and use compelling
images, text, and links to draw attention to each.

Text web part - Use the Text web part to add paragraphs to your page.
Formatting options like styles, bullets, indentations, highlighting, and links are
available.

Image web part – Use the Image web part to add an image to a page.

Quick links web part – Organize and display links to other resources with the
Quick links web part .
 People web part – Use the People web part to display profile photos, contact
information, and organizational information for people at work.

Twitter web part - Use the Twitter web part to highlight topics and
conversations on SharePoint pages.

YouTube web part - Use the YouTube web part to embed YouTube videos right
on your page.

Site theme and branding

Edit the look of your SharePoint sites to align with your organization's brand. Customize
the site display name, logo, theme, header layout, navigation style, and more in the
Change the look panel .

Hub site settings

SharePoint hub sites help connect and organize sites based on project, department,
division, region, etc. making it easier to:

Discover related content such as news and other site activities

Apply common navigation, branding, and site structure across associated sites
Search across all associated sites.

Considering associating the departmental onboarding site to an existing corporate

onboarding site or departmental hub. Learn how hub site associations work and how
to manage hub settings for your organization. Learn more about SharePoint hub sites .

More customization resources

Add a page to a SharePoint site
How to use web parts on SharePoint pages
Use the Events web part
Use the News web part

Step 3: Share the NEO sites with end users

After customizing content, get ready to share the new onboarding experience with new
hires. Different permissions will apply to the Pre-onboarding site since users will be
external guests. Once new hires start working, use internal permissions sharing
instructions to give access to the corporate onboarding site.
Share the Pre-onboarding site

７ Note

If you are unable to add visitors (external users, also referred to as guests) to the
pre-boarding site, work with your SharePoint Administrator to turn on external
sharing for a SharePoint site.

As a site owner, you can give external people access to the site by adding them as a
visitor.

1. Select Share site from the right-hand corner.

2. In the Share site pane, enter the names of people to add them to the site. The
permission level will be read only.

3. Enter an optional message to send to the person, or clear the Send email box if
you don't want to send an email.

4. Select Share.

Share the Corporate and Departmental onboarding sites

1. Select Share site from the right-hand corner.

2. In the Share site pane, enter the names of people or groups to add them to the
site, or enter "Everyone except external users" to share the site with everyone in
your organization.

3. Change the permission level (Read, Edit, or Full control) as needed.

4. Enter an optional message to send to the person or clear the Send email box if you
don't want to send an email.

5. Select Share.

Step 4: Measure the impact of your NEO sites

Define NEO success metrics

Define site success metrics to measure and optimize your organization's onboarding
process. This is an example of possible metrics for a new employee onboarding site
experience in the form of an onboarding hub:

Objective Business KPI Data KPI formula KPI KPI target

owner measure source baseline

Help Diego New Survey Average N/A 4.25

onboard Siciliani employee data score of new
new satisfaction employee
employees satisfaction
more with NEO
effectively Hub

Help Diego NEO hub Site Number of N/A 500 unique

onboard Siciliani usage usage unique viewers/month
new report viewers and and 1,500
employees visits views/month
more
effectively

Increase new Alexandre New HR % of new 75% 90%

employee Levesque employee system employee
retention retention retention cohort that
data remains with
the company
after one year

Improve Diego New Survey Average 3.75 4.25

new Siciliani employee data score of new
employee engagement employee
engagement score engagement
question

Use site usage data

As a SharePoint site owner, you can view site usage data that shows you how users are
interacting with your site. For example, you can see the number of people who have
visited the site, how many times people have visited the site, and a list of files that have
received the most views. Site owners should utilize SharePoint's built-in site usage
reporting capabilities to measure the impact of the NEO sites and hub. Learn how to
view usage analytics for your site .

Example of site usage data:

 

Step 5: Manage and maintain your NEO sites

NEO sites should present the most up-to-date content your organization has to offer, so
you'll need to commit to maintaining relevant content throughout the experience.
Develop a plan to audit content and refresh web parts as needed to ensure contact
information, FAQs, the onboarding checklist, and People web parts are up to date. Learn
more about managing communication sites .

Train site owners and authors. Make sure all site owners and authors have
appropriate training and access to maintain the site .
Update content in web parts. Keep web parts like the People web part updated to
ensure you are using the full value of the NEO sites.
Review previously established metrics after the launch. Use insights from site
analytics to promote content on the home page, update navigation, or rewrite
content for clarity.
Establish a schedule to audit content. Plan when site owners should audit content
in advance to make sure your sites are always up to date.
Periodically review your site settings. Make changes to the settings , site
information, and permissions for the site as needed.

NEO site FAQs

Question: What are the requirements for installing the New Employee Onboarding
(NEO) sites into my tenant environment?

Answer:

SharePoint and communication sites enabled.

 The individual that will be provisioning CLO365 must be the site collection
administrator of the target tenant for install.

Question: How long will it take to install the site in our tenant environment?

Answer: Based on our testing of the installation, it should take less than 15 minutes. This
does not include time required to customize the site to your requirements.

Question: Where can I ask questions or report an issue with the SharePoint provisioning
service?

Answer: Post your questions and comments about the provisioning of the NEO sites to
the SharePoint provisioning service forum .

Question: Where can I share feedback for ideas on how to improve the SharePoint site
experience?

Answer: Post your ideas and comments about SharePoint sites in the Site and
Collaboration User Voice Forum

７ Note

Microsoft will be moving from UserVoice to our own customer feedback solution
on a product-by-product basis during 2021. Learn more .

Question: Where can I ask questions or report an issue with the SharePoint provisioning
service?

Answer: Post your questions and comments about the provisioning of the NEO sites to
the SharePoint provisioning service forum.

Sources:

Gallup, State of the American Workplace, 2017*

SHRM, Don't Underestimate the Importance of Good Onboarding, 2017**
Source: Digitate, Super CIO: What the CIO sees—that other people don't, 2018
Overview of the Hispanic Heritage
Employee Resource Group site template
Article • 02/21/2023

Use the Hispanic Heritage Employee Resource Group site template to quickly create a
communication site from the SharePoint look book to uplift employee resource
groups, support the career growth of people in your organization, and to help advance
equality and allyship for all.

This template features content focused on a Hispanic and Latinx employee resource
group but can be adapted to fit a variety of other employee groups at your
organization.

The Hispanic Heritage Employee Resource Group site features:

Home page with a unique theme: The site’s landing page features Hispanic
heritage branding, inclusive content, and example news posts and events.
Page template: Use the page template to create news posts and additional pages
for the site.
Pre-populated content and web parts: Includes inspirational and inclusive content
to make customizing the site easier.
Easy provisioning: Provision the Hispanic Heritage Employee Resource Group site
from the SharePoint lookbook with just a few steps.
 Mobile ready: The Employee Resource Group site can be easily accessed on a
mobile device when you get the SharePoint mobile app .

How to get the Hispanic Heritage Employee

Resource Group site:
Step 1: Provision Step 2: Customize Step 3: Share

Provision the site from the Follow guidance on this page to Share the site with the rest of
SharePoint look book customize the site your organization

Step 1: Provision the site

1. Go to the Hispanic Heritage Employee Resource Group template page.

2. Select Add to your tenant. If you are not signed into to your tenant, the
SharePoint look book will ask for your site collection admin credentials.

3. From the permissions requested dialog box, select Consent on behalf of your
organization and then select Accept.

７ Note

The provisioning service requires these permissions to provision the site

template. There is no overall impact on your tenant, and these permissions are
used for the solution installation. You must accept these permissions to
proceed with the installation.

4. Complete the fields on the provisioning information page as appropriate for your
installation. At a minimum, enter the email address where you wish to get
notifications about the provisioning process and the URL prefix for your site to be
provisioned to.

5. Select Provision when ready to install the site into your tenant environment.

The provisioning process will take up to 20 minutes.

You will be notified via email (to the notification email address you entered
on the Provisioning page) when the site is ready for access.

Next, add owners to the site

As the site collection admin, you may not be the person customizing the site, so you'll
need to assign a few site owners. Owners have administrative privileges on the site so
they can modify site pages, content, and branding.

1. Select Share in the right-hand corner of the site.

2. Add users, Microsoft 365 Groups, or security groups to give them access to the
site.
3. Assign users as a Site owner to allow permission to customize the site.
4. Include the site URL in the Share message, and then select Share.

Step 2: Customize the site

After the site has been provisioned and site owners have been added, it's time to
customize the site to make it your own. Customize the site’s look, navigation, and
content like news posts and events.

Start by signing into Microsoft 365 and navigating to the site

1. Open your web browser and navigate to office.com or your organization’s sign-
in location.
2. Sign in with your username and password.
3. Navigate to the site's location using the URL supplied by your site collection
admin, or select SharePoint from the Microsoft 365 home page, and then select
the site.

Next, explore pre-populated content:

 Home page – The landing page features a unique theme, colorful images, and
more inspirational content that is relevant and engaging. Content here is inspired
by Hispanic and Latinx employee resource groups but can be adapted to other
types of groups. Customize the Text, News, Events, and Quick Links web parts to
make this site your own.
Page template – A page template with a unique theme can be found in the site’s
contents to help create news posts and pages for the site more quickly.
News web part – Pre-populated news posts were created using the page template.
Events web part – Pre-populated events from different employee resource groups
highlight more opportunities to learn and practice allyship.

Then, customize the site

1. Add your organization’s logo and review more site design details: Edit the look
of your SharePoint sites to align with your organization's brand. Customize the site
display name, logo, header layout, navigation style, and more in the Change the
look panel .

2. Customize the site’s navigation: Edit site navigation to include links to other
relevant resources. Learn how to edit site navigation . Start by selecting Edit next
to the navigation panel to start editing labels and links.

3. Edit web part content: Select Edit in the right-hand corner to begin customizing
web parts and content. Select the Edit (pencil icon) next to each web part to
customize the layout and to edit content.

Text web part – Replace pre-populated content with your own.

News web part - Use the Page template that can be found in Settings >
Site content > Pages > Templates to create branded news posts that will
populate the News web part. Delete the pre-populated news posts before
sharing the site with others.
 Events web part - Edit events in the Events web part to include events from
your organization's employee resource groups. Delete the pre-populated
events before sharing with others.

Quick Links web part – Edit links to connect to more resources and
employee resource groups sites.

Step 3: Share the site

Once you are done customizing and proof-reading the site you are ready to share it
with others. Run a health check before sharing and consider using the Portal launch
scheduler tool if you expect a high amount of site traffic (10k individual visits per day or
higher) to ensure a high-quality viewing experience.

1. Select Share from the right-hand corner.

2. In the Share site pane, enter the names of people to add to the site. The
permission level will be read only.
3. Enter an optional message to send to the person or clear the Send email box if you
don't want to send an email.
4. Select Share.

More resources
Add a page to a communication site

Using web parts on SharePoint pages

Customize your SharePoint site

Overview of the LGBTQ+ Employee
Resource Group site template
Article • 02/21/2023

Use the LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group site template to quickly create a
communication site from the SharePoint look book to uplift employee resource
groups, support the career growth of people in your organization, and to help advance
equality and allyship for all.

This template features content focused on an LGBTQ+ employee resource group but
can be adapted to fit a variety of other employee groups at your organization.

The LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group site features:

Home page with a unique theme: The site’s landing page features Pride branding,
inclusive content, and example news posts and events.
Page template: Use the page template to create news posts and additional pages
for the site.
Pre-populated content and web parts: Includes inspirational and inclusive content
to make customizing the site easier.
Easy provisioning: Provision the LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group site from the
SharePoint lookbook with just a few steps.
Mobile ready: The LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group site can be easily accessed
on a mobile device when you get the SharePoint mobile app .
How to get the LGBTQ+ Employee Resource
Group site:
Step 1: Provision Step 2: Customize Step 3: Share

Provision the site from the Follow guidance here to Share the site with the rest of
SharePoint look book customize the site your organization

Step 1: Provision the site

1. Go to the LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group template page.
2. Select Add to your tenant. If you are not signed into to your tenant, the
SharePoint look book will ask for your site collection admin credentials.
3. From the permissions requested dialog box, select Consent on behalf of your
organization and then select Accept.

７ Note

The provisioning service requires these permissions to provision the site template.
There is no overall impact on your tenant, and these permissions are used for the
solution installation. You must accept these permissions to proceed with the
installation.

4. Complete the fields on the provisioning information page as appropriate for your
installation. At a minimum, enter the email address where you wish to get
notifications about the provisioning process and the URL prefix for your site to be
provisioned to.
5. Select Provision when ready to install the site into your tenant environment.

The provisioning process will take up to 20 minutes.

You will be notified via email (to the notification email address you entered
on the Provisioning page) when the site is ready for access.

Next, add owners to the site

As the site collection admin, you may not be the person customizing the site, so you'll
need to assign a few site owners. Owners have administrative privileges on the site so
they can modify site pages, content, and branding.

1. Select Share in the right-hand corner of the site.

 2. Add users, Microsoft 365 Groups, or security groups to give them access to the
site.
3. Assign users as a Site owner to allow permission to customize the site.
4. Include the site URL in the Share message, and then select Share.

Step 2: Customize the site

After the site has been provisioned and site owners have been added, it's time to
customize the site to make it your own. Customize the site’s look, navigation, and
content like news posts and events.

Start by signing into Microsoft 365 and navigating to the site:

1. Open your web browser and navigate to office.com or your organization’s sign-
in location.
2. Sign in with your username and password.
3. Navigate to the site's location using the URL supplied by your site collection
admin, or select SharePoint from the Microsoft 365 home page, and then select
the site.

Next, explore pre-populated content:

Home page – The landing page features a unique theme, colorful images, and
more inspirational content that is relevant and engaging. Content here is inspired
 by an LGBTQ+ employee resource group but can be adapted to other types of
groups. Customize the Text, News, Events, and Quick Links web parts to make this
site your own.
Page template – A page template with a unique theme can be found in the site’s
contents to help create news posts and pages for the site more quickly.
News web part – Pre-populated news posts were created using the page template.
Events web part – Pre-populated events from different employee resource groups
highlight more opportunities to learn and practice allyship.

Then, customize the site:

1. Add your organization’s logo and review more site design details: Edit the look
of your SharePoint sites to align with your organization's brand. Customize the site
display name, logo, header layout, navigation style, and more in the Change the
look panel .

2. Customize the site’s navigation: Edit site navigation to include links to other
relevant resources. Learn how to edit site navigation . Start by selecting Edit next
to the navigation panel to start editing labels and links.

3. Edit web part content: Select Edit in the right-hand corner to begin customizing
web parts and content. Select the Edit (pencil icon) next to each web part to
customize the layout and to edit content.

Text web part – Replace pre-populated content with your own.

News web part - Use the Page template that can be found in Settings >
Site content > Pages > Templates to create branded news posts that will
populate the News web part. Delete the pre-populated news posts before
sharing the site with others.

Events web part - Edit events in the Events web part to include events from
your organization's employee resource groups. Delete the pre-populated
events before sharing with others.
 Quick Links web part – Edit links to connect to more resources and
employee resource groups sites.

Step 3: Share the site

Once you are done customizing and proof-reading the site you are ready to share it
with others. Run a health check before sharing and consider using the Portal launch
scheduler tool if you expect a high amount of site traffic (10k individual visits per day or
higher) to ensure a high-quality viewing experience.

1. Select Share from the right-hand corner.

2. In the Share site pane, enter the names of people to add to the site. The
permission level will be read only.
3. Enter an optional message to send to the person or clear the Send email box if you
don't want to send an email.
4. Select Share.

More resources
Add a page to a communication site

Using web parts on SharePoint pages

Customize your SharePoint site

Introduction to the SharePoint Success
Site
Article • 02/21/2023

The SharePoint Success Site is a ready to deploy and customizable SharePoint

communication site that helps your organization maximize the adoption of SharePoint.
The SharePoint Success Site is designed to support new SharePoint Site owners in
creating high-impact sites to meet the goals of your organization.

The SharePoint Success Site builds on the power of Microsoft 365 learning pathways
which allows you to use Microsoft-maintained playlists for training purposes. You can
also create custom playlists to meet the unique training requirements of your
organization. If you are already using M365 learning pathways and don't want to
provision the SharePoint Success Site, you can enable the SharePoint Success Site
playlist into learning pathways.

Install the SharePoint Success Site in your tenant environment, customize the pre-
populated training and site content, and then make it available to end users.

Ready to get started right away? Next, review the prerequisites and provisioning
guidance.

Why invest in a SharePoint Success Site?

The SharePoint Success Site helps Site owners improve the quality and impact of the
sites they build in SharePoint for internal audiences, while helping ensure they follow
your organization's site usage guidelines.

Use the SharePoint Success Site to:

Get more out of SharePoint - Show new Site owners how to leverage the value
behind SharePoint's communication and collaboration features. Help new Site
owners understand the ways to work with SharePoint to meet specific business
outcomes. Then, show users how to utilize the power behind SharePoint's
communication and collaboration features with step-by-step guidance.
Enable Site owners to create high-impact sites - Ensure Site owners have the right
information and support to create purposeful sites that are widely adopted by the
intended audience.
Ensure Site owners follow site creation policies - Customize the site usage and
creation policies page in your SharePoint Success site to communicate
 organizational policy expectations during the training experience.
Provide the most up-to-date content - Equip Site owners with SharePoint self-
help content that is maintained by Microsoft and published as SharePoint evolves.

SharePoint Success Site features

The SharePoint Success Site is designed to reduce the amount of work needed to plan,
build, and manage new SharePoint sites for Site owners and content authors.

SharePoint Success Site features:

Fast provisioning: Provision the SharePoint Success Site with just a few steps.
Easily customizable: Edit the site layout, branding, and Microsoft-provided playlist
content to align with how you have set up SharePoint in your tenant.
Comprehensive Site owner training content: Training on what makes an effective
site and how to build and maintain the site.
Site creation guidelines: Create SharePoint usage guidelines that fit policy
requirements for your organization.
Create your own training playlists: Add your own custom training content and
playlists specific to your organization's desired business outcomes outside of
SharePoint.

What comes with a SharePoint Success Site

The SharePoint Success Site comes pre-populated with web parts and content to guide
your users through the most up-to-date site creation training. There are several
opportunities to customize the experience to better suit your organization's goals,
tenant configuration, and usage policy.

SharePoint communication site

The SharePoint Success Site is a SharePoint communication site that includes pre-
populated pages, web parts, and site navigation. The site can be customized to
incorporate your organization's existing branding, support, and training content.
Microsoft-maintained content feed
The SharePoint Success Site's up-to-date content feed includes a range of content that
helps new users and existing site owners plan, build, and manage SharePoint sites:

Plan your site: Guidance on the ways to work with SharePoint, how to plan a site,
including what type of SharePoint site to use and how to manage site access and
permission strategy.
Create your site: Content that helps new Site owners create their site, add content,
customize web parts, and apply brand elements.
Share and manage your site: Guidance to help launch, share, and manage the new
site.
Advanced site creation: Content for Site owners who want to learn more about
SharePoint beyond site creation basics.

Site inspiration
The introductory content helps new site owners understand the different ways you can
leverage SharePoint to meet common business objective through fictional stories that
help establish an understanding about the site creation stages and common tasks. Users
will have access to stories that illustrate how to build an onboarding site, a project
management site, a site that supports a community of interest, and a team collaboration
site. These scenarios provide guidance on how to think about the planning, building,
and launching phases.
Success stories
The success stories section is a gallery to showcase internal SharePoint site success
stories that inspire others in the organization. Learn how to create a Microsoft Form
to solicit success stories from site owners and authors, and publish on your SharePoint
Success Site to inspire.

Site creation guidelines

The site creation guidelines page provides a starting point to educate new Site owners
about SharePoint creation policies for your organization. The guidelines include
suggested usage policy topics and questions to prompt consideration of usage policies
within your organization. Customize the content in your SharePoint Success Site site
creation guidelines page to serve your organization's governance needs.

Summary of how to launch a SharePoint

Success Site
Step 1: Meet the prerequisites and then provision the SharePoint Success Site

Step 2: Customize the site design, playlists, success stories, and site creation guidelines

Step 3: Launch and share the site with others

Next steps - provision the SharePoint Success Site

Review and implement SharePoint Success Site provisioning requirements and
instructions.

Frequently asked questions

Question: Who has permission to provision the SharePoint Success Site?

Answer: The Global Administrator (formerly called the Tenant admin) are required.

Question: Who has permission to customize the site template?

Answer: The Global Administrator (formerly called the Tenant admin) or Site owner
permissions.

Question: Who can create custom playlists and hide or show content in M365
learning pathways?

Answer: The Site collection administrator and Site owner permissions of M365 learning
pathways.

Question: Who has permissions to use the SharePoint Success Site as a user?

Answer: Microsoft 365 user permissions or SharePoint Site visitor permissions or higher.
Provision the SharePoint Success Site
Article • 02/21/2023

Start the SharePoint Success Site provisioning process by understanding the

prerequisites. We recommend provisioning the SharePoint Success Site from the
Microsoft 365 learning pathways administration page by following the instructions in
this article. Global Administrator (sometimes called tenant administrator) credentials are
required to start the provisioning process for the SharePoint Success Site.

Before getting started, watch the provisioning instructional video , follow all steps in
the process, and make sure you've met the requirements for provisioning.

Meet the requirements

Before provisioning the SharePoint Success Site, meet the requirements for both the
person provisioning and the tenant. Your tenant's configuration will determine what
path you need to take to install the SharePoint Success Site. Start by reviewing the
SharePoint Success Site requirements below to prepare your tenant.

Admin role requirements + Tenant requirements = Ready to provision

Admin requirements
The person doing the provisioning must be a Global Administrator (sometimes called a
tenant admin) where the SharePoint Success Site will be provisioned and must also be a
site admin for the App Catalog.

Global Administrator + Admin of the App = Admin role requirements

role Catalog met

Are you a Global Administrator?

Yes - Next, confirm your tenant has already enabled the App Catalog.
No - Partner with your global admin to get the site provisioned. Learn more about
admin roles.

If you aren't sure, you can confirm your role by signing in to office.com. If you're a
Global Administrator, you'll see an Admin center app icon in the app launcher next to
your Microsoft 365 apps.

Are you a site administrator for the App Catalog?

 Yes - Next, confirm your tenant has Microsoft 365 learning pathways provisioned.
No - Next, ask your Global Administrator to add you as an App Catalog
administrator.

Tenant requirements
The tenant where the site will be provisioned must have the App Catalog installed and
have the latest version of Microsoft 365 learning pathways installed. Your tenant must
have version 4.0 or higher of Microsoft 365 learning pathways.

App Catalog + Microsoft 365 learning pathways 4.0 or = Tenant

installed higher installed requirements met

Use this decision tree to determine your tenant's path to meeting the tenant
requirements.

Ready to get started provisioning? Review the provisioning instructions.

Does your tenant have the App Catalog installed?

Yes - Next, confirm you are an administrator of the App Catalog.

No - Next, enable the App Catalog (this will take about 30 minutes).

If you are unsure, navigate to the SharePoint admin center, then select Sites > Active
sites . The App Catalog will appear in the list of sites.

） Important

If you need to create a App Catalog, wait at least 30 minutes after creating before
provisioning Microsoft 365 learning pathways and the SharePoint Success Site.

Does your tenant have Microsoft 365 learning pathways provisioned?

Yes - Next, confirm you are using version 4.0 or higher.

No - Provision Microsoft 365 learning pathways for the first time.

If you are unsure, navigate to the SharePoint admin center, then select Sites > Active
sites . Microsoft 365 learning pathways will appear in the list of sites.

Is your tenant's version of learning pathways version 4.0 or higher?

Yes - You are ready to provision the SharePoint Success Site.

No - Update to version 4.0 or higher and then provision the SharePoint Success
Site from the Microsoft 365 learning pathways administration page.

If you are unsure, navigate to your tenant's Microsoft 365 learning pathways
administration page and select the ellipses (...)
Then, select About web part to confirm the current version.

If you need to, update Microsoft 365 learning pathways from

version 3.0 to version 4.0 or higher

） Important

The person updating Microsoft 365 learning pathways must be a site administrator
for the App Catalog. If the person provisioning Microsoft 365 learning pathways
isn't a site administrator for the App Catalog, add an administrator to the App
Catalog and continue.

In this step, you upload the Microsoft 365 learning pathways 4.0 web part to the App
Catalog, and then navigate to the Microsoft 365 learning pathways Administration page
to start the update process.
Upload the web part package:

1. Go to the GitHub custom learning repository , and then download

customlearning.sppkg to a local drive on your PC.
2. If you're not already signed in, sign into your tenant with a Global Administrator
credentials.
3. Select Admin > Show All > SharePoint > More Features.
4. Under Apps, select Open.
5. Select App Catalog > Distribute Apps for SharePoint.
6. Select Upload > Choose Files.
7. Select the customlearning.sppkg file you downloaded, then select OK > Deploy.
8. From the Learning Pathways site, select Learning pathways administration from the
Home menu.
9. You'll see a prompt asking if you want to update, then select Start.
10. When the update is complete, select Close.

Provision the SharePoint Success Site

Once you've confirmed the following, you are ready to provision:

You are signed in as a Global Administrator.

Your tenant has the App Catalog enabled.
You are a site administrator for the App Catalog.
Your tenant has version 4.0 or higher of Microsoft 365 learning pathways
provisioned.

We recommend that you install the SharePoint Success Site by using the following steps.
As an alternative, you can install the SharePoint Success Site from the look book, just
make sure you follow all instructions. Before getting started, watch the provisioning
instructions video

Provision the SharePoint Success Site to your tenant from

the Learning pathways administrative page
1. Navigate to office.com or your organization's sign-in location.

2. Sign in with your username and password.

3. Navigate to the location of the site using the URL supplied by your SharePoint
Administrator or select SharePoint from the Microsoft 365 home page, and then
select the Microsoft 365 learning pathways site.
 4. From the learning pathways Home menu, select Learning Pathways
Administration.

5. Select the ellipses (...) and then select Add Content Pack.

6. Select SharePoint Success Site to open the SharePoint Success Site provisioning
page.

7. Select Add to your tenant.

8. Fill out the email address and URL details and then select Provision.

9. Select Complete.

10. When you see Provisioning completed on the provisioning page, you'll see a new
tab appear in your browser called CustomLearningAdmin. Select the
CustomLearningAdmin tab as shown in the following image:

11. Then, select Complete as shown in the following image to complete the
provisioning process:
 ） Important

Make sure to select Complete to complete the provisioning process.

12. To confirm the SharePoint Success Site has been successfully provisioned, go to the
SharePoint site you provisioned, select Get Started > Plan your site. You should
see the web part on the page as shown in the following image:

Add Site owners

Assign a few Site owners to grant administrative privileges to customize the site and
training content. In order to hide, show, or enable playlists, users will need Site owner or
Site member permissions to the Microsoft 365 learning pathways site. In order to edit
the look, navigation, and site content, users will need Site owner or Site member
permissions to the SharePoint Success Site.

Add Site owners or members to both sites:

 1. From the site select Settings, then select Site permissions.
2. Select Advanced Permission Settings.
3. Select Site owners or Site members
4. Select New > Add users to this group, and then add the people you want to be
Site owners or Site members.
5. Include a link to Explore the site in the sharing message, and then select Share.

Next steps - customize the SharePoint Success Site

Share the URLs for the Microsoft 365 learning pathways administration site and the
SharePoint Success site with the Site owners and members who will be responsible for
customizing the site. Then, customize Microsoft 365 learning pathways playlist content
and the look and feel of your SharePoint Success Site to meet the needs of your
organization.

Site provisioning help

Reference troubleshooting for provisioning help
See Microsoft 365 learning pathways FAQs
Share your feedback with us

Frequently asked questions

Question: What are the requirements for installing the SharePoint Success Site into
my tenant environment?

Answer:

Ensure SharePoint Online is enabled in your environment.

The individual that will provision the SharePoint Success Site must be the Global
Administrator of the target tenant for install.
The tenant where the site will be provisioned must have:
The App Catalog installed
Version 4.0 or higher of Microsoft 365 learning pathways installed

Question: Can I provision the site from the look book?

Answer: Yes, follow the guidance on how to provision from the look book.

Question: Who has permission to provision the SharePoint Success Site?

Answer: A Global Administrator.

Question: I have installed the SharePoint Success Site successfully, but I'm not able to
get the Success Site content from the Microsoft 365 learning pathways web part
loaded on my site. What should I do?

Answer:

It is likely that the content pack has not been fully installed. You must return to the
CustomLearningAdmin page that will appear when site provisioning is done to
complete the installation. Confirm you have followed steps 10 through 12 above. Review
the provisioning video for more detail.

Question: Who has permission to customize the site template?

Answer: The Global Administrator or a site owner.

Question: Who can create custom playlists and hide or show content in Microsoft 365
learning pathways?

Answer: A site collection administrator or site owner of Microsoft 365 learning pathways.

Question: Who has permissions to use the SharePoint Success Site as a user?

Answer: Any user or guest who has SharePoint site visitor permissions or higher.
Customize the SharePoint Success Site
Article • 02/21/2023

The SharePoint Success Site is a ready to deploy, up-to-date, and customizable

SharePoint communication site that helps your organization maximize the adoption of
SharePoint. The SharePoint Success Site helps end users improve the quality and impact
of the sites they build for internal audiences, while helping ensure they follow your
organization's site usage guidelines.

The SharePoint Success Site is pre-populated with web parts and content to guide your
viewers through the most up-to-date SharePoint site creation training content. However,
there are several opportunities to customize the experience to better suit your
organization's goals and usage policy. Learn about what's included in a SharePoint
Success Site, and then get started customizing.

） Important

You must have Site owner or Site member permissions to the SharePoint Success
Site and the M365 learning pathways administrative page in order to make
customizations..

The SharePoint Success Site consists of three parts:

1. SharePoint communication site - The site comes pre-populated with content and
web parts that can be further customized to fit the needs of your organization.

2. Microsoft 365 learning pathways - M365 learning pathways is a solution that

enables you to leverage existing content produced by Microsoft, as well as the
ability to create and enable your own training playlists.

3. Up-to-date SharePoint training content feed - Content in the SharePoint Success

Site is updated by Microsoft as SharePoint evolves and can be customized to align
with your organization's site creation policy.
Before you share the site with end-users
There are several customization opportunities to align the site content, look, and feel
with your organization. Before you publish your site and share it with users, review and
customize the following elements:

Training content in M365 learning pathways

The SharePoint Success Site template
The Yammer conversation, People, and Forms web parts
Content in the site usage guidelines page
Content in the success story page
Branding details like the site logo and theme
Navigational elements

Summary of site requirements and permissions

Before getting started customizing, ensure that the SharePoint Success Site has been set
up by your SharePoint administrator. You need to be a Site owner or Site member for
both M365 learning pathways and the SharePoint Success Site in order to have
permission to make site customizations.

If you're not sure your tenant has the site, contact your SharePoint administrator to
verify that the SharePoint Success Site been provisioned and ask for the M365 learning
pathways and SharePoint Success Site URLs. If you are the Global Administrator
(formerly called the Tenant admin) and M365 learning pathways has not been
provisioned, see the provisioning guidance.
Who has permissions to customize the site template?

Global Administrators and SharePoint Administrators

SharePoint Site owner or Site member level permissions

Who can create custom playlists and hide or show content in M365 learning
pathways?

The Site collection administrator for M365 learning pathways

SharePoint Site owner or Site member permissions for M365 learning pathways

Who has permissions to use the SharePoint Success Site as a user?

Office 365 user permissions or SharePoint Site visitor permissions or higher

Get started customizing

Once you confirm the necessary access and permission to customize the site, you are
ready to get started with the customization process. The SharePoint Success Site is
hosted in your Microsoft 365 tenant, so you'll need to sign into Microsoft 365 and then
navigate to the site.

Sign in

1. Open a web browser and navigate to office.com or your organization's sign-in

location.
2. Sign in with your username and password.
3. Navigate to the location of the site using the URL supplied by your tenant
administrator or select SharePoint from the Microsoft 365 home page, and then
select the SharePoint Success Site.

Explore and review the pre-populated training content

Review the Plan, Build, Launch and manage, and Advanced playlist sections to see the
full suite of Microsoft curated content available in the SharePoint Success Site.

Select a topic, and navigate through content using controls at the top of the article

Select content categories and subcategories, and then navigate through the playlist
using arrows and bread crumbs in the control bar to get a sense for how the SharePoint
Success Site content is organized and displayed.

Customize playlist content

Navigate to the Microsoft 365 learning pathways admin page:

1. Navigate to the Microsoft 365 learning pathways by selecting Home >

Administration.
2. Next, select the gear icon in the web part.
3. Then, select Home > Learning pathways administration.
4. Select the SharePoint Success Site tab.

Show or hide sections to the playlist content

Select which content to display in your SharePoint Success Site by hiding and showing
subcategories of content. For example, if you don't want users to have access to the
Advanced site creation section, you can hide that subcategory so it won't be visible to
end-users. Decide which content is appropriate for the purpose of your SharePoint
Success Site.

） Important

Hiding playlists does not hide the associated page in the SharePoint Success Site,
nor will adding custom playlists automatically create site pages for them. Add or
delete pages within the site as needed.

Add your own custom playlists

With Microsoft 365 learning pathways, you can create custom playlists that are tailored
to the unique needs of your organization. For example, create a playlist for team site
integration with Microsoft Teams.
Customize the look and feel of your site
The following sections of the SharePoint Success Site can be customized to meet your
requirements, prior to sharing with end users. There are several different ways you can
make the SharePoint Success Site template your own. Customize the following elements
of your site to fit the need of your organization:

Update the SharePoint Success Site branding to align with your organization.
Customize the Hero web part to include images of real sites in your organization
where possible.
Add web parts to your site as needed.
Customize the page layouts as needed.
Add new pages to additional support or training resources.

Customize the site navigation

As a Site owner you have full control of the site navigation. Use the following resources
to help you make changes that align with business outcomes:

Customize the site navigation .

Associate this site with a hub .
Use audience targeting to target specific navigational links to specific users. For
example, in the Home navigation drop down you will see a shortcut to the M365
learning pathways administration page. Target that page to Site owners for the
SharePoint Success Site to prevent end-users from seeing it.
Delete unwanted pages if you need to.

Customize specific web parts

1. Yammer conversations web part - Use a Yammer web part to connect new
SharePoint Site owners with extra support from current SharePoint Site owners and
admins. Connect your Yammer community to the Yammer conversations web
part .
 2. People web part - Edit the People web part to display contact information so
new Site owners can reach out for help.

3. Button web part - Edit the Button web part to link to a Microsoft Form to
collect success stories from Site owners. Consider using the Forms web part to
embed a custom form that allows SharePoint Site owners to easily share their
success stories.

Customize the Success stories page

The success stories section is a gallery for organizations to showcase internal SharePoint
site success stories to inspire new Site owners with their site creation.
If available, add SharePoint success stories to your portal. If there are no ready-to-
publish success stories, consider working with internal partners to create SharePoint
successes by building high priority sites that align with business outcomes. Highlighting
these "early wins" will help inspire others in the organization on the possibilities for
using SharePoint themselves to achieve business outcomes.

Here are some sample questions to consider using in your form:

Name of solution
Project team members
Who is the sponsor of the project?
What Microsoft 365 technologies (e.g., SharePoint, Yammer, Stream, Flow) were
used as part of the solution?
What were the reasons for building the SharePoint site?
Provide a description of the solution
What impact or results has the SharePoint site generated?
What best practices for planning and implementing your solution would you
recommend to other who are building their own SharePoint site?

Learn more about how to create a form using Microsoft Forms.

Or, delete unwanted pages if you do not want to include this page in your site.

Customize the Site creation guidelines page

To ensure the proper use of SharePoint in your organization it is important to
communicate your site usage guidelines to new and existing site owners. This should
include guidelines for how people should create sites in your tenant, design standards,
and how people should share information using SharePoint and Microsoft 365.

The example site creation and usage guidelines are not intended to be a final policy
document. Once you have created your own unique usage guidelines, remove the
content from the Site usage guidelines page and replace it with your organization's
usage guidelines. See how to create and use modern pages on a SharePoint site.

Create site usage guidelines that are appropriate for your organization by reviewing our
site usage guidelines checklist that will help you create guidelines that:

Inspire discussion and consideration amongst your stakeholders on important site

usage policies.
Provide links to resources that can help you better understand the options related
to key policy decisions.
Provide sample text to get you started in creating your own policies.

Here are some topics to consider as you create your own site creation and usage
guidelines:

How to get a new SharePoint site

Guidelines for using site templates
Site design, branding, and customization
Rules for sharing and permissions
Capacity guidelines
Site lifecycle policy

Provide contact information for SharePoint support

If your organization has an intranet team that will be supporting site owners, consider
profiling the intranet team members on the SharePoint Success Site homepage using
the People web part. The home page of the SharePoint Success Site has a People web
part you can use to add your own Intranet team. If you will not have a dedicated team
supporting site owners, remove the current People web part.

Share the site with end-users

Share your site with others .Partner with others in your organization to ensure the
SharePoint Success Site is widely known and adopted.

Key success factors to managing the SharePoint Success Site:

Celebrate the launch of your SharePoint Success Site.

Create and post news announcing the new resource.
Ensure users have an outlet for questions and feedback.
Plan to review the SharePoint Success site as needed to ensure content and site
usage policies are still relevant .
Build culture and community by integrating a Yammer web part .
Integrate and customize your organization's high-value training content.

Adoption and awareness strategy

To help build, grow, and sustain your SharePoint adoption efforts, its recommended to
create a SharePoint user group community in Yammer . Your SharePoint champions
and power users can answer SharePoint related questions posted in the Yammer group
and encourage site owners to share their successes and best practices. See the
champions guidance for more information on how to identify and build a successful
champions program.

To increase visibility and engagement within your portal champions community,

integrate the Yammer group hosting your community into the SharePoint Success Site
using the Yammer conversations web part .
Overview of the Workplace
transformation site
Article • 02/21/2023

Help your organization drive and manage change by using the Workplace
transformation site template in SharePoint. The site template helps organizations to
successfully manage the people side of their organization change management
initiatives to ensure all impacted employees are informed, have support, and know
where they can learn more about upcoming changes.

The Workplace transformation site template is designed help people in your

organization understand and engage in the change management process by providing a
landing place using a SharePoint communication site in combination with Microsoft Lists
to help users see the big picture. The site design is based on change management
research that is focused on helping organizations successfully adopt and sustain change.

The Workplace transformation site template helps organizations:

 Inspire employees on the new possibilities' your change management project
offers
Provide employees with the information, resources, and support they will need to
successfully adopt new ways of working
Ready employees for a successful transition to new processes, tools, and
expectations

The Workplace transformation site features:

A landing place for people in your organization to get more information, news,
and support
Specialized support channels for many audiences like managers, teams, and
champions
Pre-populated content and web parts that can be customized to fit the needs of
your organization and specific change management projects
Opportunity to use the Microsoft 365 Learning pathways solution to display
Microsoft-curated and maintained training playlists
Integration with Microsoft 365 lists that let you customize and manage the change
management journey
Examples of micro-learning content that can be adapted to your change project

How to use the Workplace transformation site template

The Workplace transformation site can be used to drive any topic or scope of
organizational change. The site template helps organizations to successfully manage the
people side of their organization change management to ensure all impacted
employees are informed, have support, and know where they can learn more about
upcoming changes.

Examples of the types of change projects that could benefit from the workplace
transformation template:

New process – Communicate and manage changes to data security policies, new
contract management workflows, or project intake processes.

Merger and acquisition – Onboard new employees and help current employees
understand what to expect and how to work together.

New systems – Roll out a new employee benefits program, or help employees
adopt new tools and apps.
Site design is based on a proven change management
model
Phases of change management:

1. Awareness and commitment – Start communicating details about upcoming changes

with users and provide various support channels and opportunities to engage through
events and Yammer community chats .

2. Learn – Build training content right into the site itself by using Microsoft 365 Learning
pathways.

3. Practice and exploration – Use your organization's champion community in leading

hand-on events and demonstrations in addition to 1:1 help.

4. Use and consult – Use Microsoft Lists to help your organization manage tasks and
knowledge checks associated with training and change management objectives.

5. Sustain – Help users practice and sustain new skillsets and habits by using micro-
learning content like quick tips and publishing regular news posts sharing change
management success stories.

Pre-populated content focuses on the hybrid workplace

The workplace transformation site features pre-populated content that revolves around
helping organizations transition to a hybrid workplace. The hybrid workplace is one that
is flexible when and where people do their work. Many organizations plan to allow
employees to work from home up to 50% of the time, which means the organization will
need to adopt new ways of working to ensure wellbeing and productivity.

Learn more about the future of work and what we have learned about remote work so
far .

Overview of the site contents

The workplace transformation site is full of pre-populated content, web parts, news
templates, and a Microsoft List . Carefully review and customize pre-populated content
before sharing broadly with end users.
 Home page – Help employees easily understand "what's in it for me?" right away
by providing a landing place for employees to learn more right away about why
the change is happening and how it will impact their day-to-day work.

Hybrid work – Explain in more detail what is changing and what success will look
like when change is adopted and sustained.

Get started – Give employees a jumping-off place to dive into messages form
leadership, view the change management checklist, and RSVP to an upcoming
event.

Community – Help recognize and celebrate success within the organization and
give employees and opportunity to connect in a change management Yammer
community.

Training – Embed curated training playlist that can be easily viewed and
bookmarked on any device.

Quick tips – Create micro-learning opportunities to help employees adopt and

sustain new skills.

A message from our CEO – Unite the organization around a central change by
sharing a recording or written message form leadership endorsing the change
project.

Champions program – Recruit subject matter experts into your champions

program.

Managers only – Provide special resources and support that managers may need
around the change project that can be audience targeted to a specific security
group.

Get help – Make sure employees know where to go for support and have more
than one option for getting 1:1 help or learning from others.

Considerations for M365 Learning Pathways

Microsoft 365 learning pathways is a customizable, on-demand learning solution that
displays playlists using the M365 Learning pathways web part right onto SharePoint
pages. Consider using the M365 Learning pathways solution in combination with the
workplace transformation site to embed training playlists on SharePoint pages.

Learn more about how to provision the Microsoft 365 learning pathways solution for the
first time, how to find Microsoft-maintained content packs, and how to customize
learning pathways and playlists.

Step 1: Provision the Workplace transformation

site template

７ Note

Tenant administrators' credentials (or higher) are required to provision a

template from the look book
The workplace transformation site will take about 15 minutes to provision

1. Start by navigating to the SharePoint look book and selecting the workplace
transformation site template. Select Add to your tenant.
2. Then, select a site name, URL, and email address where an email confirmation will
be sent when the site is successfully created.
3. Select Provision, and in less than 15 minutes you will receive an email confirmation
with a link to your new site.
Learn more about provisioning site templates from the look book.

Share the site with site owners and members to

customize
Once the site has been provisioned and you are ready to customize. If other people
from your organization will be making site customizations, make sure you share the
site add them as site owners and site members to ensure they have access and the
right permissions to make edits to site content, theme, navigation, settings , and
permissions.

Step 2: Customize the Workplace

transformation site
Customize the workplace transformation site to fit the needs of your organization's
change management project. Customize the theme, logo, navigation, web parts, and
pre-populated content.

７ Note

You need site member (or higher) permissions to the Workplace transformation site
template in order to make customizations.

Sign in
1. Open your web browser and navigate to office.com or your organization's sign
in location.
2. Sign in with your username and password.
3. Navigate to the location of the site using the URL supplied by your tenant admin,
or select SharePoint from the Microsoft 365 home page, and then select the
Workplace transformation site.

Review pre-populated content

The workplace transformation site is full of pre-populated content, web parts, news
templates, and a Microsoft list. Carefully review and customize pre-populated content
before sharing broadly with end users.

The workplace transformation site features pre-populated content that helps

organizations transition to a hybrid workplace. However, the workplace transformation
site can be customized for any change management project. Learn more about the
workplace transformation site features and contents.

Customize web parts and content

Learn how to customize web parts and content that will appear on certain pages or
throughout the site.
Text, labels, and buttons - Edit the labels and links in the Text web parts and Call to
Action web parts throughout the site.

Events- Add, edit, and delete events in the Events web parts on the Home and Get
help pages.

News and news post templates - Use pre-populated news templates to create news
posts in the News web part on the Community page. Find the templates by
navigating to Setting > Site Content > Site pages > Templates.
Yammer - Replace the graphic and connect the Yammer conversations web part on
the Community page with an existing Yammer community.

People - Edit People web parts in news post templates and on the Get help page.
Video - Edit the Embed web part on the Message from our CEO page to point to a
YouTube video or an intranet video link. Use the Stream web part to display an
existing Stream video.

Use Microsoft Forms to facilitate news post requests

Edit the Button web part on bottom of the Community page to give users an
opportunity to engage and acknowledge others. Connect the Button web part to a
Microsoft Form where users can submit nominations. Then, use the pre-populated
news post templates in Settings > Site contents to publish news.

Edit the change management checklist

The Workplace transformation site contains a Microsoft List in Site contents that is
displayed in a List web part on the Get started page. This list is intended to give end
users a high-level view of what to expect through the change management journey. Edit
the list to meet the need of your change management project.
 1. Start by navigating to Setting > Site contents, and then select Hybrid workplace
checklist.
2. Then you can edit list items, change columns and labels , the theme and more.
Or, you can create a new list based on an existing Excel spreadsheet or use a list
template .
3. Finally, edit the view of your list to make sure users see the most important
information in the List web part on the Get started page.

Learn more about M365 lists .

Use Microsoft 365 learning pathways to embed training content on

a page
If your tenant admin has set up M365 Learning pathways, you can add pages to the
site and use the Learning pathways web part to display custom training playlists.
Then, use Learning pathways reporting capabilities to measure content impact.

Use tools to help target content to specific audiences or protect

content from specific audiences
Consider using audience targeting to surface important content to specific groups or
use information barriers to protect sensitive information that may appear in the
Managers section under Resources.

Update the site theme and branding

Edit the look of your site to align with your organization's brand. Customize the site
display name, logo, theme, header layout, navigation style, and more in the Change the
look panel .

Customize site navigation

Site navigation is important because it helps users immediately understand what can be
accomplished on a given site. The most effective SharePoint sites help viewers find what
they need quickly so that they can use the information to make decisions, learn about
what is going on, access the tools they need, or engage with colleagues to help solve a
problem. Learn how to edit site navigation .

Step 3: Share the Workplace transformation

site with end users
Once the site has been customized and republished, it is ready to share with end users.

1. Select Share site from the right-hand corner.

2. In the Share site pane, enter the names of people or groups to add them to the
site, or enter "Everyone except external users" to share the site with everyone in
your organization.
3. Change the permission level (Read, Edit, or Full control) as needed.
4. Enter an optional message to send to the person or clear the Send email box if
you don't want to send an email.
5. Select Share.
How SharePoint page recommendations
work
Article • 02/21/2023

SharePoint recommendations on modern pages help you and your users discover pages
and news in your organization. At the bottom of news posts and pages, you'll see
recommendations especially for you or your users. Recommendations show below the
heading You may also be interested in.

７ Note

This feature is in an early release phase, and is not yet available to all users.

Recommendations are shown on all newly-created pages and news posts by default.

How are recommendations determined for

each user?
The recommendations that users see on their pages are based on what their colleagues
have read next; what is popular with their colleagues; and what is popular on the site.
Only pages and posts that users have access to are shown.

Here is a diagram that shows how recommendations are determined in more detail
(scroll down for a text version of this diagram):
How to disable recommendations
To learn how to disable at the page and site level, see SharePoint page
recommendations .

In the article linked above, you'll learn the three different ways to hide or disable
recommendations:

Users can hide individual recommendations

Page authors can turn off recommendations for the pages they create

Site owners can disable recommendations at the site level

Recommendations can't be disabled for an entire tenant.

How are recommendations determined for

each user? (text version)
This is a text version of the diagram above.

A user views a page or news post When a user arrives on a page or news post,
SharePoint finds the people who also viewed the page recently (up to the last 100
viewers).

Relevant users are determined From the list of people who viewed the page or news
post recently, SharePoint determines which of these are most relevant to the current
viewer. The determination is made based on:

People who work with the user frequently

People who are within the direct management chain in Azure Active Directory. If
Azure Active Directory is not set up, this factor will not be used.

Machine learning ranks content

The machine learning model ranks content that relevant users have consumed
according to a variety of attributes, such as whether the content was viewed in the last 7
days, how many viewers it has had, and so on. Content that the user hasn’t seen within
the previous 7 days is ranked higher than other content. Additionally, the user will see
only content that they have access to Then, ranking is based on the following priority
order:

People read next. This is content that is viewed immediately after the page by the
highest number of relevant users. It is displayed as the first two recommendations.

Popular with your colleagues. This is content that has had at least 3 viewers in the
previous 7 days.

Popular on this site. This factor is used only if an item is from the same site.
Create a site
Article • 02/21/2023

This article describes how Global Administrators and SharePoint Administrators in

Microsoft 365 can create sites (previously called "site collections") in the SharePoint
admin center . For info about creating sites and adding users and groups to them by
using Microsoft PowerShell, see Create SharePoint sites and add users with PowerShell.

For info about creating site collections in SharePoint Server, see Create a site collection
in SharePoint Server.

Create a team site or communication site

1. Go to Active sites in the SharePoint admin center , and sign in with an account
that has admin permissions for your organization.

７ Note

If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in to the Microsoft
365 admin center , then browse to the SharePoint admin center and open
the Active sites page.

2. Select Create.

 Tip

If you go to Resources > Sites in the Microsoft 365 admin center and select
Add a site, it opens Active sites in the SharePoint admin center in a new
tab, and opens the Create a site panel.

3. Select Team site (to create a Microsoft 365 group-connected team site),
Communication site, or Other options to create a new team site without a
 Microsoft 365 Group.

4. Follow the steps to specify a site name, owner, language, and other settings. When
you're done, select Finish.

７ Note

If you enter a site name and another site already exists at the default address
for that name, the site address will automatically be changed to an available
address. For example, if you enter "Marketing" as the site name, and you
already have a site at /sites/marketing, you will receive a warning This site
address is available with modification and will be offered a new URL
automatically at /sites/marketing2. If you want to re-use the URL "marketing"
for the new site, you need to permanently delete the existing site or delete
the redirect at that address.

Create a classic site

We recommend using the new site templates for all your new sites. However, if you
need to create a site that uses a classic template, you can do so using the following
steps:
1. Go to Active sites in the SharePoint admin center , and select Create.

2. At the bottom of the panel, select Other options.

3. Under Choose a template, select More templates.

In the Title box, enter a name for the site.

In the Web Site Address drop-down lists, select a domain name and a URL
path—either /sites/ or **/teams/—and then type a URL name for the site.

In the Template Selection section, in the Select a language drop-down list,

select a language for the site. You can enable the SharePoint multiple
language interface on your sites, but the primary language for the site will
remain the one you select here.

７ Note

It's important to select the appropriate language for the site, because
once it's set, it cannot be changed. After creating a site, verify the locale
and regional settings are accurate. (For example, a site created for
Chinese will have its locale set to China.)

In the Template Selection section, under Select a template, select the

template that most closely describes the purpose of your site.

 Tip

For more information about the classic templates, see Using templates
to create different kinds of SharePoint sites .

In the Time Zone box, select the time zone that's appropriate for the location
of the site.
 In the Administrator box, enter the user name of the person you want to be
the site administrator. You can also use the Check Names or Browse button
to find a user to make site administrator.

In the Storage Quota box, enter the number of megabytes (MB) you want to
allocate to this site. Do not exceed the available amount that is displayed
next to the box.

In the Server Resource Quota box, accept the resource quota default. This
setting no longer affects the resource amounts available for the site.

4. Select OK.
Delete a site
Article • 02/21/2023

When you, as a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in Microsoft 365,

delete a site (previously called a "site collection"), it's retained as a deleted site for 93
days. Deleting a site deletes everything within it, including:

Document libraries and files.

Lists and list data.

Site settings and history.

Any subsites and their contents.

You should notify the site admins and any subsite owners before you delete a site so
they can move their data to another location, and also tell users when the sites will be
deleted.

２ Warning

We do not recommend deleting the root site for your organization. If you do, all
your SharePoint sites will be inaccessible until you restore the site or create a new
root site. Instead of deleting the root site, we recommend replacing it. Learn more
about the root site and how to replace it

Delete a site in the new SharePoint admin

center
By using the SharePoint admin center , you can delete both classic and modern sites.
Both Global Administrators and SharePoint Administrators can now delete sites that
belong to Microsoft 365 groups. Deleting these sites will delete the group and all its
resources, including the Outlook mailbox and calendar, and any Teams channels.

1. Go to Active sites in the SharePoint admin center , and sign in with an account
that has admin permissions for your organization.

７ Note
 If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in to the Microsoft
365 admin center , then browse to the SharePoint admin center and open
the Active sites page.

2. In the left column, select a site.

3. Select Delete, and to confirm, select Delete.

７ Note

To delete a hub site, you first need to unregister it as a hub site.

Deleted Microsoft 365 groups are retained for only 30 days.

For info about deleting a site by using PowerShell, see Remove-SPOSite.

Permanently delete a site

To reuse a URL from a deleted site (recreate a site), you need to permanently delete the
site. After the site is permanently deleted, it might take up to 24 hours for the URL to
become available. On the Deleted sites page of the new SharePoint admin center, you
can permanently delete all sites except those that belong to Microsoft 365 groups.

1. Go to Deleted sites in the SharePoint admin center , and sign in with an account
that has admin permissions for your organization.

７ Note

If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in to the Microsoft
365 admin center , then browse to the SharePoint admin center and open
the Deleted sites page.
 2. In the left column, select a site.

3. Select Delete, and to confirm, select Delete.

To permanently delete sites (including Microsoft 365 group-connected team sites) by

using PowerShell, follow these steps:

1. Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell .

７ Note

If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell,

go to Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management
Shell."

2. Connect to SharePoint as a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in

Microsoft 365. To learn how, see Getting started with SharePoint Online
Management Shell.

3. Run the following command:

PowerShell

Remove-SPODeletedSite -Identity
https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/sitetoremove

(Where https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/sitetoremove is the URL of the site you

want to permanently delete). For more info about using this command, see Remove-
SPODeletedSite.

Summary of options
Site type How to delete How to
permanently
delete

Root site Not recommended. Replace the root site with a different From the Deleted
site. When the site is no longer a root site, its URL will be sites page of the
/sites/archive-datetime, and you can delete it from the new SharePoint
Active sites page of the new SharePoint admin center or admin center or by
by using PowerShell using PowerShell
 Site type How to delete How to
permanently
delete

Communication Delete them from the Active sites page of the new From the Deleted
sites SharePoint admin center or by using PowerShell sites page of the
new SharePoint
admin center or by
using PowerShell

Microsoft 365 Delete Microsoft 365 groups and all their resources from From PowerShell
group- the Microsoft 365 admin center, the Active sites page of only
connected the new SharePoint admin center, or by using PowerShell
team sites

Hub sites Unregister them as hub sites from the Active sites page Based on their site
(those of the new SharePoint admin center, or by using type
designated with PowerShell, and then delete them based on their site
"(Hub site)" in type
the Hub
column)

Classic sites Delete them from the Active sites page of the new From the Deleted
SharePoint admin center or by using PowerShell sites page of the
new SharePoint
admin center or by
using PowerShell

７ Note

Sites associated with a hub can be deleted like any other site based on their
template.

See also
User instructions for deleting sites and subsites
Restore deleted sites
Article • 02/21/2023

Deleted SharePoint sites are retained for 93 days. After 93 days, sites and all their
content and settings are permanently deleted, including lists, libraries, pages, and any
subsites.

７ Note

If you need to retain content for a minimum period of time to comply with industry
regulations or internal policies, you can create a retention policy to keep a copy of
it in the Preservation Hold library. For info, see Overview of retention policies.
For info about restoring items within a site, see Restore items in the Recycle Bin of
a SharePoint site .
For info about restoring deleted sites in SharePoint Server, see Restore deleted site
collections using Microsoft Powershell.

Restore a deleted site in the new SharePoint

admin center
In the new SharePoint admin center, you can delete and restore all the new types of
sites. You can do this even as a SharePoint Administrator - you don't need to be a Global
Administrator.

1. Go to Deleted sites in the SharePoint admin center , and sign in with an account
that has admin permissions for your organization.

７ Note

If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in to the Microsoft 365
admin center , then browse to the SharePoint admin center and open the Deleted
sites page.
 ７ Note

You can sort and filter deleted sites the same way you sort and filter sites on the
Active sites page. You can also sort and filter deleted sites by Time deleted.

2. Select the site you want to restore.

3. Select Restore. (If you don't see the Restore button, make sure only one site is
selected. The button won't appear if multiple sites are selected.)

７ Note

Restoring a site that belongs to a Microsoft 365 group restores the Microsoft 365
group and all its resources. Note that the other group resources are retained for
only 30 days, whereas the site is retained for 93. If the other group resources have
been deleted, you can use the PowerShell command Remove-SPODeletedSite to
permanently delete the site.
For info about permanently deleting sites from the Deleted sites page, see
Permanently delete a deleted site.

Related topics
Restore deleted items from the site collection recycle bin
Manage site admins
Article • 03/01/2023

This article describes how Global Administrators and SharePoint Administrators in

Microsoft 365 can add and remove site admins (previously called "site collection
admins"). If you're an owner of a communication site, or a site that belongs to a
Microsoft 365 group, see Manage your SharePoint site settings for info about giving
people access to your site. If you're an admin for a classic site, see Manage your
SharePoint site settings .

７ Note

If you're a Global Administrator and want info about assigning other users the
SharePoint Administrator role in Microsoft 365, see Assigning admin permissions.

Add or remove site admins in the new

SharePoint admin center
By using the newSharePoint admin center , you can change the owners for sites that
use the new team site and communication site templates. You can also add and remove
group members in the Microsoft 365 admin center. For info, see Add or remove
members from Microsoft 365 groups.

1. Go to Active sites in the SharePoint admin center , and sign in with an account
that has admin permissions for your organization.

７ Note

If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in to the Microsoft 365
admin center , then browse to the SharePoint admin center and open the Active
sites page.

2. In the left column, select a site.

3. Select Membership on the command bar to open the details panel. For a group-
connected team site, you can add and remove group owners and additional site
admins. For other sites, you can add and remove site admins and change the
primary admin. Note that if you remove a person as a primary admin, they will still
 be listed as an additional admin. For info about each role, see About site
permissions.

4. In the details panel, you can add or remove the owners, members, site admins, site
owners, site members, and site visitors.
Review recent SharePoint site actions
Article • 04/10/2023

Some features in this article require Microsoft Syntex - SharePoint Advanced

Management

With the recent actions panel, administrators can make changes to SharePoint site
properties and review their most recent actions in the SharePoint admin center.

Changes to site properties like site name, site deletion and storage quota show as recent
actions.

The recent actions panel only shows the changes you make to site properties. Changes
made by other administrators and organization-level changes won't show in the panel.

７ Note

Recent actions panel is not available for global readers. GDAP administrators will
not be able to see the previous and current values of the administrator actions.

Non-premium and premium features of recent

actions panel

Non-premium
The non-premium version of recent actions panel lets you:

review actions made within the current session. Once you close the browser or sign
out, the recent actions panel will clear the history.

Premium
With the Microsoft Syntex - SharePoint Advanced Management subscription, you'll have
access to premium features of recent actions panel. The premium version lets you:

review the last 30 actions made within the last 30 days in the recent actions panel.
view additional details such as previous and current value of the settings changed
and directly access the site details panel to review the change.
export and download a. csv file detailing all the changes made within the last 30
days.

Requirements
To access and use the premium version of this feature, your organization must have the
following subscription:

Microsoft Syntex - SharePoint Advanced Management

View recent actions of a site

1. In the SharePoint admin center, expand Sites and select Active sites.
2. Select Your recent actions. The recent actions panel appears on the right and lists
your most recent 30 actions made within the last 30 days.
3. Select Export to download the list as a .csv file.
4. Select View site details to open the site info panel. From here, you can make
changes to site properties like site name, site address, hub association and aliases.
 ７ Note

If you close the browser while actions are in-progress, they will not be recorded in
the panel or .csv file. Failed actions are recorded in the panel, but are removed once
you exit the current session. The export .csv file will not contain failed actions.

Bulk site edits

Here’s an example of how bulk edits are grouped as one action in the recent actions
panel:

You deleted 4 SharePoint sites on May 21 at 12:10 AM. The bulk edit will show as one
item named Deleted 4 sites on the recent actions panel. Select the Deleted 4 sites action
and the list of deleted SharePoint sites will appear.
Related articles
Microsoft Syntex Advanced Management overview
Manage site creation in SharePoint
Article • 04/06/2023

As a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in Microsoft 365, you can let your
users create and administer their own SharePoint sites, determine what kind of sites they
can create, and specify the location of the sites. By default, users can create
communication sites and Microsoft 365 group-connected team sites .

７ Note

Disabling site creation for users does not remove their ability to create Microsoft
365 groups or resources, such as Microsoft Teams, which rely on a group. When a
Microsoft 365 group is created, a SharePoint site is also created. To restrict creation
of Microsoft 365 groups and the resources that rely on groups see Manage who
can create Microsoft 365 Groups.

Manage site creation in the new SharePoint

admin center
1. Go to Settings in the SharePoint admin center , and sign in with an account that
has admin permissions for your organization.

７ Note

If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in to the Microsoft
365 admin center , then browse to the SharePoint admin center and open
the Settings page.

2. Select Site creation. The Site creation page appears.

 

3. If you want users to be able to create sites, select Users can create SharePoint
sites. This setting Controls whether users can create sites from SharePoint,
OneDrive, the PnP PowerShell cmdlet, and the REST API. This setting doesn't affect
whether users can create teams or Microsoft 365 groups and their connected sites.

4. If you want users to be able to create sites from these services, select Show the
options to create a site in SharePoint and create a shared library from OneDrive.

７ Note

Even if you clear these checkboxes, users may be able to create Microsoft 365
groups from other places in Microsoft 365. Each group always comes with a
team site. Learn how to manage who can create Microsoft 365 groups

5. Under /sites or /teams, select to create Microsoft 365 group-connected team sites,
and then select the default time zone and storage limit for new sites.

6. Select Save.
Manage detailed site and subsite creation
settings in the classic SharePoint admin center
Admins in the SharePoint admin center can choose to either enable or disable subsite
creation across sites or enable for classic sites only. When subsite creation is being
disabled, not only will the subsite option be hidden from the command bar including
classic, but also users won't be able to create new subsites directly through a URL or API.

７ Note

For information about classifying Microsoft 365 groups, see Manage Microsoft 365
Groups with PowerShell.

1. In the left pane of the new SharePoint admin center, select Settings . At the
bottom of the page, select classic settings page.

2. Under Site Creation, select to show or hide the Create site command.

If you choose Disable subsite creation for all sites, it will also hide the subsite
creation command (including classic) and disable users from being able to
create new subsites through a URL or API.
If you choose Enable subsite creation for classic sites only, users will be able
to create new subsites for classic sites.
If you choose Enable subsite creation for all sites, users will be able to create
new subsites from any SharePoint site.

3. Select OK when you're done.

７ Note

Creating a subsite in OneDrive is not supported. You will see an error, “New
subsites are not available in this site. Create a new site instead.”

７ Note

Currently, the following site templates are considered "modern".

 GROUP#0
STS#3
SITEPAGEPUBLISHING#0
TEAMCHANNEL#0
TEAMCHANNEL#1

 Tip

Instead of using subsites, we recommend that you use hub sites. SharePoint hub
sites allow you to group similar topics and content together using modern
architecture design. Plan to create hub sites.
Manage site storage limits
Article • 03/01/2023

The amount of Microsoft SharePoint space your organization has is based on your
number of licenses (see SharePoint Limits). If you're a Global Administrator in Microsoft
365, you can Add storage space for your subscription if you run out.

View the total and available storage space for

your organization
1. Go to Active sites in the SharePoint admin center , and sign in with an account
that has admin permissions for your organization.

７ Note

If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in to the Microsoft
365 admin center , then browse to the SharePoint admin center and open
the Active sites page.

2. In the upper right of the page, see the amount of storage available and the total
storage for your subscription. (If your organization has configured Multi-Geo in
Microsoft 365, you can point to the bar to see the amount of storage used in the
current geo location and all other geo locations.)

７ Note

Storage usage doesn't include changes made within the last 24-48 hours.

Set automatic or manual site storage limits

By default, your SharePoint storage is available in a central pool from which all sites can
draw. You, as a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator, don't need to divvy up
storage space or reallocate space based on usage. That's all handled automatically: sites
use what they need when they need it. If you previously set storage limits manually and
switch to using pooled storage, SharePoint resets all the limits to 25 TB (25600 GB).
(Note that the total storage for your organization might be less than 25 TB.)

If you prefer to fine-tune the storage space allocated to each site, you can set your
storage management option to "manual" and specify individual site storage limits.

７ Note

Some functionality is introduced gradually to organizations that have opted in to

the Targeted release option in Microsoft 365. This means that you might not yet
see some features described in this article, or they might look different.

1. Go to Settings in the SharePoint admin center , and sign in with an account that
has admin permissions for your organization.

７ Note

If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in to the Microsoft
365 admin center , then browse to the SharePoint admin center and open
the Settings page.

2. Select Site storage limits.

3. Select Automatic or Manual, and then select Save.

Manage individual site storage limits
Follow these steps to specify individual site storage limits when your storage
management option is set to "manual." We recommend that you also set an email alert
so that you and other site admins can be notified when sites are nearing the storage
limit. To learn how to set the default storage limit for new sites, see Manage site
creation.

1. Go to Active sites in the SharePoint admin center , and sign in with an account
that has admin permissions for your organization.

７ Note

If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in to the Microsoft
365 admin center , then browse to the SharePoint admin center and open
the Active sites page.

2. In the left column, select the site, or for a channel site, select the link in the
Channel sites column.

3. Select Storage on the command bar to open edit storage limit panel.

4. Enter the maximum storage in GB for the site.

 ７ Note

The max value you can enter is 25600 GB, although this may be more space
than your organization has. To learn how your total storage is calculated, see
SharePoint Limits.

If you set site storage limits in PowerShell, you enter them in MB. The values
are converted and rounded down to the nearest integer to appear in GB in
both the SharePoint admin center. So a value of 5000 MB becomes 4 GB. The
minimum storage limit is 1 GB, so if you set a value of less than 1024 MB by
using PowerShell, it will be rounded up to 1 GB.

5. Make sure Notifications is turned on to send an email to site admins when the site
approaches the storage limit. Then, enter a value as a percent for how full you
want the storage to be when the email is sent.

6. Select Save.

If a site runs out of storage, site admins can request more by following these steps:

1. Go to the Site Settings page.

2. Under Site Collection Administration, select Storage Metrics.
3. Select Request more quota in the upper right.

This sends a storage request email to the Global Administrators in the organization.

Monitor site storage limits by using PowerShell

If you manage storage limits manually, you need to regularly monitor them to make
sure they aren't affecting site performance. We recommend that you also set up your
own alert emails to notify site admins before a site reaches the limit. The built-in storage
quota warning emails are typically sent weekly for sites that have reached the specified
warning level. So site admins often receive the storage quota warning email too late. For
example, if the Disk Quota Warning timer job (which triggers the warning email) is
scheduled weekly and sends the email warning every Sunday, but a site reaches the
quota warning limit on Monday, the site admin doesn't receive the alert email for six
days. This site could reach the maximum storage limit and be set to read-only before
the site admin receives the alert email.

You can use the following Microsoft PowerShell script to monitor your sites. This script
pulls the data, composes, and then sends a storage warning alerts to the site admin.

1. Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell .

７ Note

If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell,

go to Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management
Shell."

2. Connect to SharePoint as a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in

Microsoft 365. To learn how, see Getting started with SharePoint Online
Management Shell.

3. Copy the following text with the variable declarations, and paste it into a text
editor, such as Notepad. You must set all of the input values to be specific to your
organization. Save the file, and then rename it "GetEmailWarning.ps1".

７ Note

You can use a different file name, but you must save the file as an ANSI-
encoded text file with the extension .ps1.

PowerShell

#Connect to SharePoint admin center using an admin account

#Specify the URL to your SharePoint admin center site, e.g.
https://contoso-admin.sharepoint.com

$url = 'https://contoso-admin.sharepoint.com'
 #Specify a folder path to output the results into
$path = '.\'

#SMTP details
$Smtp = '<SmtpServer>'
$From = '<SenderEmailAddress>'
$To = '<RecipientEmailAddress>'
$Subject = 'Site Storage Warning'
$Body = 'Storage Usage Details'

if($url -eq '') {

$url = Read-Host -Prompt 'Enter the SharePoint admin center URL'
}

Connect-SPOService -Url $url

#Local variable to create and store output file

$filename = (Get-Date -Format o | foreach {$_ -Replace ":", ""})+'.csv'
$fullpath = $path+$filename

#Enumerating all sites and calculating storage usage

$sites = Get-SPOSite
$results = @()

foreach ($site in $sites) {

$siteStorage = New-Object PSObject

$percent = $site.StorageUsageCurrent / $site.StorageQuota * 100

$percentage = [math]::Round($percent,2)

$siteStorage | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "Site

Title" -Value $site.Title
$siteStorage | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "Site Url"
-Value $site.Url
$siteStorage | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name
"Percentage Used" -Value $percentage
$siteStorage | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "Storage
Used (MB)" -Value $site.StorageUsageCurrent
$siteStorage | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name "Storage
Quota (MB)" -Value $site.StorageQuota

$results += $siteStorage
$siteStorage = $null
}

$results | Export-Csv -Path $fullpath -NoTypeInformation

#Sending email with output file as attachment

Send-MailMessage -SmtpServer $Smtp -To $To -From $From -Subject
$Subject -Attachments $fullpath -Body $Body -Priority high

4. Where:
 $url is the URL of your SharePoint admin center. If the $url variable is left
empty, you will be prompted to enter the URL of your admin center site.

$path is the file system path you want the CSV file to output to.

<SmtpServer> is the name of your mail server.

<SenderEmailAddress> is the Global Administrator or SharePoint

Administrator account that appears in the From line in the warning email.

<RecipientEmailAddress> is the admin account that will receive the email

warning.

5. In SharePoint Online Management Shell, change to the local directory where you
saved the script file.

./GetEmailWarning.ps1

After the script successfully completes, a text file is created in the location that you
specified in the $path variable in the script.

７ Note

If you get an error message about being unable to run scripts, you might need to
change your execution policies. For info, see About Execution Policies.
Change a site address
Article • 03/01/2023

７ Note

This feature isn't available for Microsoft 365 Government GCC High customers.

As a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in your organization, you can

change the URL for the following types of SharePoint sites (previously called "site
collections"):

Microsoft 365 group-connected team sites

Modern team sites that don't belong to a Microsoft 365 group
Communication sites
Classic team sites

Changing the site address isn't supported in the following situations:

The Publishing feature is currently activated or was previously activated for the site.
The site contains more than 15 million documents.

You can change only the address of the site within the URL, for example:

https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/project-x
to https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/project-y

You can't move the site from "/sites" to "/teams." For info about changing your
SharePoint domain name, see Change your SharePoint domain name.

It can take about 10 minutes to change the site address (depending on the size of the
site), and the site will be read-only during this time. We recommend changing addresses
during times when site usage is low.

You can change the address of up to 100 sites at a time. To change an additional site
address, wait for another change to finish.

７ Note

If you need to revert a site address change, follow the steps in Revert a site
address change.
Communicate the address change to users
Before you change the address of a site, it's important to communicate the change to
site users (generally anyone with the ability to edit or view the site). This can help reduce
user confusion and calls to your help desk. Review the effects of changing a site address
and let users know the following information:

When the change will happen

What the new URL will be
Users should close their files and not make edits during the address change
Users should check the site recycle bin to make sure it contains no files they want
to keep
File permissions and sharing won't change

Change a site address in the new SharePoint

admin center
1. Go to Active sites in the new SharePoint admin center , and sign in with an
account that has admin permissions for your organization.

７ Note

If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in to the Microsoft
365 admin center , then browse to the SharePoint admin center and open
the Active sites page.

2. To open the details panel, select the site name.

3. On the General tab, under Site address, select Edit.

 4. Enter the new site address, and then select Save.

７ Note

You can't change the address of hub sites, sites that are locked or on hold,
Project Web App (PWA) sites, or sites that have BCS connections.

When you change a site address, we create a redirect at the previous address.
If you want to reuse the previous address, you need to delete the redirect.
Learn how

Change site addresses by using Microsoft

PowerShell
1. Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell .

７ Note

If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell,

go to Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management
Shell."

2. Connect to SharePoint as a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in

Microsoft 365. To learn how, see Getting started with SharePoint Online
Management Shell.
 3. Run the following command to verify that the site address can be changed:

PowerShell

Start-SPOSiteRename -Identity <SiteURL> -NewSiteUrl <NewSiteURl> -

ValidationOnly

4. Run the following command to change the site address:

PowerShell

Start-SPOSiteRename -Identity <SiteURL> -NewSiteUrl <NewSiteURl>

For more info about this cmdlet, see Start-SPOSiteRename.

Effects of changing a site address

While the change is in progress, the site is set to read-only, and a redirect is created.
After the change is complete, users are redirected to the new URL if they've saved the
site as a favorite, or if they select a link to the site.

Apps
If apps in your organization refer to the site's URL, you might need to republish the apps
when you change the site's address.

Custom Forms Created in Power Apps

You need to recreate the Custom Form after the site address change.

Hub sites
If the site is associated with a hub, it must be reassociated after the site address is
changed.

InfoPath forms
InfoPath forms that refer to URLs might not work after the site address is changed.

List View web part

If a List View web part on a page is scoped to a specific folder in that list, the web part
might display an error after the site URL is changed. To fix this issue, either edit the web
part and reset the folder path or remove the web part from the page and then add it
again.

Microsoft Forms
If the site is a Microsoft 365 group-connected site that has forms in Microsoft Forms,
any File Upload questions in forms will break. To fix this issue, recreate the file upload
questions to allow responders to upload files again.

OneNote
If users have a notebook open during the site address change, they'll see a notebook
sync error. After the address is changed, the following OneNote apps will automatically
detect and seamlessly sync notebooks to the new site URL:

OneNote desktop app – Version 16.0.8326.2096 and later

OneNote for Windows 10 – Version 16.0.8431.1006 and later
OneNote mobile app – Version 16.0.8431.1011 and later

Users don't need to sign in again or take any other action.

Permissions
People who have permission to access the site can access the site during and after the
site address change.

Recent lists inside Office apps

The Word, Excel, and PowerPoint desktop apps and apps for the web will show the new
URL after the change.

Recycle bin Files in the recycle bin will be restorable as per the usual deletion timeframe.

SharePoint mobile apps for Android and iOS

The SharePoint mobile apps will detect the site's new URL. Make sure that users have
updated their apps to the latest version.

SharePoint workflow 2013

SharePoint workflow 2013 will need to be republished after the site address is changed.

Sharing links
After the site address is changed, sharing links will automatically redirect to the new
URL.

Site customizations and embedded code

Site customizations and embedded code that refer to URLs might need to be fixed after
the site address change. Changing the site address will preserve data stored in
SharePoint but won't change URL dependencies in custom solutions.

Synced locations
The OneDrive sync app will automatically detect and seamlessly transfer syncing to the
new site URL after the site address has been changed. Users don't need to sign in again
or take any other action. (Version 17.3.6943.0625 or later of the sync app required.) If a
user updates a file while the site address is being changed, they'll see a message that file
uploads are pending during the change.

Teams (for Microsoft 365 group-connected sites)

When the site address change is complete, users will be able to access their SharePoint
files in the Teams app, with the following limitations.

Functionality Limitation

Viewing files Files shared in channels before the address was changed can be viewed in the
in Teams Teams app on the channel's Files tab. They can also be viewed in Office apps for
the web from the channel's Files tab or the conversation. To view Word, Excel, and
PowerPoint files in the desktop apps:
Select the “Open in Desktop” option from the channel's Files tab.
Open the file in the Office app for the web, and then select “Open in Desktop”.

Uploading Uploading files from a computer or OneDrive to a channel conversation will work
files to after a user has visited the Files tab for any channel in the site.
channels

File app – The Microsoft Teams page in the Teams File app will work after a user has visited
Microsoft the Files tab for any channel in the site.
Teams page

Teams mobile Open and download will continue to work. To edit a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint
app file in the site, use the Office app for the web or the desktop app. Files shared
after the site address was changed can be edited in the Office mobile apps.

Revert a site address change

If you need change the address of a site that was previously changed, we recommend
not renaming the site again. This can cause issues if you subsequently want to use the
current address for another site. Instead, we recommend returning the site back to its
original address. To do so, you use an additional site rename and delete certain redirect
sites. Learn how to delete redirect sites.

For a case where you changed https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/project-x to

https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/project-y and want to revert back, the steps to
follow are:

1. Delete the redirect from project-x to project-y by using the Remove-SPOSite cmdlet
on the project-x address.
2. Initiate a new site address change from project-y to project-x.
3. Delete the redirect from project-y to project-x by using the Remove-SPOSite cmdlet
on the project-y address.
After following these steps, you should be back to the original state before the site
address change.
Manage site redirects
Article • 03/01/2023

As part of changing a SharePoint site address, moving a site to a different geo location,
or swapping a site, we automatically create redirects to ensure that links pointing to the
prior URL continue to work. These redirects are sites that use a special site template at
the prior site URL.

For example, if you changed a site address from

https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/OldSiteName to
https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/NewSiteName or moved a site from
https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/SiteName to
https://contosoEUR.sharepoint.com/sites/SiteName, we'll place a redirect (Template type
REDIRECTSITE#0) at the old URL, which contains special headers and logic to redirect
your browser requests to the new site.

In some cases, you might want to free up the old URL to use it for a new site. To do this,
you need to delete the redirect.

７ Note

After you delete a redirect, any request to that URL won't get redirected. This
means that any bookmarks, links, or Shared With Me references will not be routed
to the new URL.

To remove a redirect
1. Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell .

７ Note

If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell,

go to Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management
Shell."

2. Connect to SharePoint as a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in

Microsoft 365. To learn how, see Getting started with SharePoint Online
Management Shell.

3. Run the following command:

 PowerShell

Remove-SPOSite -Identity
https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/OldSiteName

７ Note

If you get an error message "The operation is not supported for the site,"
make sure a retention policy isn't applied to the old or new URL for the site.
You might need to remove the retention policy to delete the redirect.

4. When prompted, confirm that you want to delete the redirect.

To confirm that the redirect has been deleted, browse to the URL. It should return a 404
error. You can also run Get-SPOSite -Identity
https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/OldSiteName . It will return that we cannot get the

site.

７ Note

You might need to clear your browser history and cache before browsing to the
URL. Otherwise, it may take longer for the redirect site deletion to reflect,
depending on individual browser settings.

To get a list of all redirect sites

Run the following command.

PowerShell

Get-SPOSite -Template REDIRECTSITE#0

Lock and unlock sites
Article • 02/21/2023

As a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in Microsoft 365, you can block

access to a site or make a site read-only by using Microsoft PowerShell to change the
lock state of the site.

７ Note

You can't set the lock state on the root site.

Change the lock state for a site

Follow these steps to change the lock state for a site by using PowerShell.

1. Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell .

７ Note

If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell,

go to Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management
Shell."

2. Connect to SharePoint as a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in

Microsoft 365. To learn how, see Getting started with SharePoint Online
Management Shell.

3. At the PowerShell command prompt, type the following command, and then press
ENTER.

PowerShell

Set-SPOSite -Identity "<SiteURL>" -LockState "<State>"

Where: SiteURL is the URL of the site that you want to lock or unlock and State is one of
the following values:

Unlock to unlock the site and make it available to users.

 ReadOnly to prevent users from adding, updating, or deleting content. A message
will appear on the site stating that the site is under maintenance and is read-only.

NoAccess to prevent users from accessing the site and its content. If you've
provided a NoAccessRedirectUrl value for your organization (below), traffic will be
redirected to the URL you specified. If you haven't set this URL, a 403 error will be
displayed.

７ Note

If the site was closed and made read-only through a site closure policy, the
PowerShell command to unlock the site will not work.

PowerShell

Set-SPOTenant -NoAccessRedirectUrl 'https://www.contoso.com'

For more info about the LockState parameter, see Set-SPOSite. For more info about the
NoAccessRedirectUrl parameter, see Set-SPOTenant.
Modernize your root site
Article • 03/01/2023

When Microsoft SharePoint is set up for an organization, a root (or top-level) site is
created. Before April 2019, the site was created as a classic team site. Now, a
communication site is set up as the root site for new organizations. If your environment
was set up before April 2019, you can modernize your root site in three ways:

If you have a different site that you want to use as your root site (a communication
site or modern team site that isn't connected to a Microsoft 365 group), replace
(swap) the root site with the other site.
If you want to keep using the classic team site but add a new modern home page
and enable full-width pages with horizontal navigation, enable the communication
site experience on the site.
If you want to continue using the classic team site, enable the modern site pages
library experience and set a modern page as the home page of the root site. This
gives users a modern team site experience with the left navigation.

） Important

Before you launch an intranet landing page at your root site location, we strongly
encourage you to review the guidance about launching healthy portals.
Some functionality is introduced gradually to organizations that have opted in to
the Targeted release option in Microsoft 365. This means that you might not yet
see some features described in this article, or they might look different.

What's the root site?

The root site for your organization is one of the sites that's provisioned automatically
when you purchase and set up a Microsoft 365 or Microsoft 365 plan that includes
SharePoint. The URL of this site is typically contoso.sharepoint.com, the default name is
"Communication site," and the owner is Company Administrator (all Global
Administrators in the organization). The root site can't be connected to a Microsoft 365
group.

２ Warning

The root (top-level) site for your organization can't be deleted. If you're a Global
Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in Microsoft 365, you can replace the
 root site with a different site.

Replace your root site

Before you begin, make sure you:

1. Note any "Featured links" that have been added on the SharePoint start page.
You'll need to add them again after you replace the root site. Learn how
2. Review your source site to make sure it has the same policies, permissions, and
external sharing settings as your current root site.
3. Communicate the upcoming change to users. This can help reduce user confusion
and calls to your help desk. If users are using files on the sites you're replacing, ask
them to close the files and check the site recycle bin to make sure it contains no
files they want to keep.

By default, a site redirect will be created that will redirect traffic from the source site to
the root site. For info about site redirects, see Manage site redirects.

If you've turned on audit log search, the following events can be recorded:

Scheduled site swap: A site replacement (swap) was scheduled at this time
Swapped site: A site replacement (swap) completed successfully at this time
Failed site swap: A site replacement (swap) failed at this time and won't be tried
again

Limitations
The site you select as the new root site must be a communication site
(SITEPAGEPUBLISHING#0) or a modern team site that isn't connected to a
Microsoft 365 group (STS#3) and where the publishing feature has never been
activated.
When you replace the root site, both the current site and the new site can't be hub
sites or associated with a hub. If either site is a hub site, unregister it as a hub site,
replace the root site, and then re-register the site as a hub site. If either site is
associated with a hub, disassociate the site, replace the root site, and then
reassociate the site. Learn how to manage hubs in the new SharePoint admin
center
Replacing the root site with another site replaces the entire site collection with the
new site collection. If your current root site has subsites, they'll be archived.
The site you select as the new root site must be within the same domain as the
current root site.
 If the site is on hold, you'll receive an informative error and you can't replace the
site.

Use the new SharePoint admin center

We recommend replacing the root site at a time when site usage is low.

1. Go to Active sites in the SharePoint admin center , and sign in with an account
that has admin permissions for your organization.

７ Note

If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in to the Microsoft 365
admin center , then browse to the SharePoint admin center and open the Active
sites page.

2. In the upper right, make sure the All sites view is selected.

3. In the URL column, select to sort A to Z so the current root site appears at the top
of the list.

4. Select the root site (https://contoso.sharepoint.com).

5. Select Replace site on the command bar.

6. In the URL of the site you want to use box, enter the full or relative URL of the site
that you want to become the new root site.
7. Select Save.

While the root site is being replaced, it might return a "not found" (HTTP 404) error
for few minutes.

After you replace the root site, content must be recrawled to update the search
index. This might take some time depending on factors such as the amount of
content in these sites. Anything dependent on the search index might return
incomplete results until the sites have been recrawled.

8. If the new root site was an organization news site, update the URL. Get a list of all
organizational news sites

9. If you disabled site redirects, you'll need to update sharing links and any apps or
files (like the OneDrive sync app and OneNote files) to refer to the new URL.

７ Note

For info about using PowerShell to replace (swap) the root site, see Invoke-
SPOSiteSwap.
Project Server sites might need to be validated to make sure they're still associated
correctly.
Plan, build, and launch a home site for
your organization
Article • 03/07/2023

A SharePoint home site provides a customized landing experience that reflects the
organization’s brand, voice, and priorities. A home site also serves as the gateway to
other portals in your organization’s intranet. Learn more about how Viva Connections
and home sites work together to create employee experiences.

７ Note

A home site is not required for the latest release of the Viva Connections desktop
experience . Learn more about the new experience , how to customize it, how
to choose the default landing experience, and how to onboard new users .

If you’ve already created the communication site and are ready to specify it as your
home site now, learn how to Set a site as your home site.

Use a SharePoint home site to:

Provide a gateway to other high-traffic portals

Connect people with an intranet-wide search experience
Showcase targeted news and content
Take advantage of the new people engagement tool, Viva Connections

Example of a home site: View in the SharePoint mobile app:

 Example of a home site: View in the SharePoint mobile app:

What is a SharePoint home site?

You only need one home site to take advantage of home site features. Home sites do
not replace communication or team sites, but instead provide a landing place for your
organization. Think of home sites as an add-on to your intranet design. Home sites are
SharePoint communication sites that have special capabilities such as being marked as
an official source of news in the organization. Consider making your tenant's root site
the home site. Next, review key differences between standard SharePoint
communication sites and home sites.

Creating a home site so your organization can use Viva Connections? Consider following
this design guidance.

Home site features explained:

Home sites are unlike any other site in SharePoint. When you set a SharePoint
communication site as a home site, you’ll automatically apply special capabilities that
make the home site an ideal landing destination for your intelligent intranet.

Search for content across the entire intranet

Home sites allow users to search for content (such as sites, news, and files) across the
entire intranet rather than searching just the site like typical SharePoint sites. This
becomes possible because the search scope for the home site searches the entire
intranet instead of just the site collection like a typical site.

Official source of organizational news

By default, a home site is set as the organizational news source. News posts that are
created from the home site automatically become official organizational news and take
priority on the SharePoint start page and in the home section of the SharePoint
mobile app. Administrators can set sites as official organizations news sources in the
admin center.

Enable and customize global navigation in the SharePoint app bar

The SharePoint app bar features a global navigation option that displays intranet
navigational nodes and resources no matter where users are in SharePoint. To take full
advantage of this feature, you must have a home site. Learn more about how to enable
and customize global navigation in the SharePoint app bar.

Use Viva Connections to integrate your intranet into Microsoft

Teams

Viva Connections is designed to drive engagement, build community, and enable your
organization to stay connected. To take advantage of this solution, you’ll need a home
site. Then, you can integrate the home site into Microsoft Teams. Learn more about Viva
Connections.

Before getting started

Before you get started planning and building your home site, review best practices and
considerations.

Best practices for creating home sites:

Because a home site is used by the entire organization, the site needs to be
inclusive and easily accessible on all devices .
Because the site needs to be inclusive and easily accessible on all devices, consider
other languages that might be needed .
 The home site will be viewed by high volume of users. Make sure you manage site
performance through the planning and building phases.
Links in the home site's navigation can direct users to content in addition to global
navigation which can be used to lead users to universally used resources and
portals.
Make sure the home site is discoverable by adding an entry point to the Microsoft
365 app launcher and a featured link on the SharePoint start page.
News published from the home site should be relevant to the entire
organization.

Considerations:

Align the branding on the home site to the overall intranet brand where possible.
For organizations with many portals and resources, consider making your home
site a hub site to expand navigational options and easily sync permissions and
branding across many sites.
If the site you want to be your home site isn't currently the root site and you want
it to be, first swap the home site with the root site location, and then set the site as
your home site. If you set up a home site first, and then swap it with the root site,
you may lose home site settings and need to reapply them.
Use a home site template from the SharePoint look book called The Landing to
jump-start the design process.

Summary of how to get a home site for your

organization
Since home sites are the gateway to your intranet, you’ll want to prioritize content and
resources that are relevant to most employees. Work with business owners and
stakeholders to organize and align the flow of information and the navigational design.
Then, use the Page diagnostics for SharePoint tool to ensure to best viewing experience.
Next, set your communication site as a home site in the SharePoint admin center. Finally,
use the Portal launch scheduler to plan the launch of your new site and make the site
discoverable by adding links to key entry-points in the Microsoft 365 experience.

Before you get started planning your home site, hear from the Microsoft product team
on how to think about and approach the design of your organization’s home site.

Plan Build Launch and manage

 Plan Build Launch and manage

- Align objectives with - Upload and organize site - Share the site with your
partners and business assets and content like organization
owners logos and files - Use the Portal launch scheduler
- Organize priority content - Customize the site to align to release the new site in phases
- Design way finding for the with the rest of the intranet - Make the home site discoverable
home site and global - Apply audience targeting - Announce the launch of the
navigation - Turn on a content home site using various
- Think about branding approval flow communication channels
- Use audience targeting on - Use PowerShell to turn the - Monitor site usage and analytics
navigational links, news, and comm site into a home site
web parts - Swap the root site location
with the home site
- Measure site health and
performance
- Test on all devices

Plan your home site

A great home site starts with a plan. Because your home site is essentially the gateway
to your intranet, you'll want to collaborate with other business owners such as human
resources, leadership teams, and even your legal team to ensure the most important
and universal resources are accessible for everyone in the organization.

Icon Action Get started

Get Start by aligning objectives with stakeholders and organizing priority

organized content and resources. Consider details specific to your organization like if
the home page needs to be available in more than one language. Use
modern SharePoint sites for the home site. Learn more about how modern
SharePoint sites and how to create a multi-lingual site and pages .

Plan Then, organize the navigational structure for the home site itself and
navigation global navigation. Consider making the home site a hub site if you need to
add an extra layer of navigation and make it easier to sync associated site
permissions and branding. Learn more about planning site navigation and
how to make your home site a hub site. Then, review guidance on how to
set up global navigation on the home site.

Personalize Next, think about the difference audiences that your organization serves.
content Consider how elements on your home site like navigational links and
certain web parts could benefit from audience targeting to specific
audiences. Learn more about audience targeting .
 Icon Action Get started

Gather Finally, start gathering assets needed to apply custom branding and other
branding details to your home site, like logo files, color themes, and any custom
assets solutions. Learn more about how to change the look of your site .

Consider site Even before you build your site, understand the main elements that will
performance make sure your home site is healthy. A healthy home site optimizes
performance to ensure the best possible viewing experience. Use the Page
diagnostics for SharePoint tool to make sure the home page is healthy
before sharing with end users.Learn more about healthy portals and using
the Page diagnostics tool for SharePoint.

Build your home site

When you've prepared a plan, you're ready to start creating the home site in SharePoint.
Start with a communication site, and after you have the general layout finalized, set the
communication site as a home site in the SharePoint admin center.

Icon Action Get started

Create a Start by creating a SharePoint communication site and build out the site
modern by using sections, web parts, and pages. Consider using a mega menu
communication and footer to enhance way finding. Web parts that are useful for a
site home site include: News web part, My feed web part, Yammer web
parts, Quick link web part, and the Highlighted content web part.Learn
how to create a communication site , use modern web parts , and
customize your site .

Apply audience Next, turn on audience targeting on for the home site. By enabling
targeting audience targeting, specific content will be prioritized to specific
audiences in navigational links, news, and certain web parts. Learn more
about how audience targeting works and how to apply it to
navigational links, news, and web parts.

Set up a page Then, make sure the home site is set up for regular content updates.
approval flow Turn on content approval to ensure only high-quality content is
published on the home site. Learn how to turn on a page approval
flow .

Swap the root Before you set a communication site as the home site, swap the
site location communication site in place of the root site of your tenant as a best
with the home practice. The root site for your organization is one of the sites that's
site provisioned automatically when you purchase and set up a Microsoft
365 plan. If you set up a home site first, and then swap locations with
your root site, you may lose home site settings and need to reapply
them. Learn how to swap the root site with the home site.
 Icon Action Get started

Set the home Next, set the home site.

site

Set up global Then, enable global navigation to allow users to easily navigate to
navigation important intranet resources anywhere in SharePoint. Global navigation
can only be customized from the home site’s home page.Learn how to
enable and customize global navigation.

Test site health Finally, review portal launch guidance and understand the main
and the elements that will make sure your home site is healthy. A healthy home
viewing site optimizes performance to ensure the best possible viewing
experience experience. Use the Page diagnostics for SharePoint tool to make sure
the home page is healthy before sharing with end users. Learn more
about healthy portals and using the Page diagnostics tool for
SharePoint.

Launch your home site

After you've set your home site, it’s time to plan the launch and make sure the rest of
the organization can find and use the home site.

Icon Action Get started

Share the site Start by ensuring your home site is healthy, and then its time to share the
and schedule site with the rest of the organization and schedule the launch. Use the
the portal Portal launch scheduler tool to gradually roll out the home site to
launch batches of end users. Using a phased approach is ideal to manage any
performance issues that may arise and to ensure a positive viewing
experience. Learn how about how to use the Portal launch scheduler tool.

Improve Next, make sure people in your organization can easily find the home
discoverability site through a few different entry points in the Microsoft 365 experience.
Add a link to the home site in the Microsoft app launcher (sometimes
called the waffle) and on the SharePoint start page. Learn more about
how to add a custom tile to the app launcher and how to add a featured
link to the SharePoint start page.

Engage your Then, let your organization know about the new home site resource, and
audience other new elements like global navigation. Consider multiple
communication options like a SharePoint news post that can also be
shared in email and in Microsoft Teams. Learn more about how to create
and post SharePoint news and share it in an email .
 Icon Action Get started

Manage and Finally, when the site is healthy, launched, and being used by the
maintain your organization, monitor site usage and maintain the site. Site maintenance
home site should include making sure site content is relevant, there aren’t any
broken links, and that the site stays healthy and performant. Learn how
to view usage data and analytics for your site and how to maintain
your site over time .

Integrate the Expand the reach of the home site and help meet users where they're
home site into already working by making it easy to access and share content all in one
Microsoft place. After you have a home site and the global navigation enabled and
Teams using customized in the SharePoint app bar, you’ve met the requirements to
Viva integrate the home site into Microsoft Teams using Viva Connections.
Connections Learn more about the Viva Connections end-user experience .

Home site FAQs

Q: I have a new site that I want to use as my home site. What do I do?
As long as your site is a communication site, you can set the site as a home site.

Q: What’s the difference between a home site and the SharePoint start page?
The content on the SharePoint start page is driven and managed by Microsoft Graph.
Content is personalized to the individual users’ recent activity, followed sites, and
content that is saved for later. The home site is a landing experience for your entire
organization. It displays universally relevant content and directs users to other important
portals like Human Resources and company directories.

Q: Can I integrate the SharePoint start page with my home site?

Integration between the home site and SharePoint start page (where the branding,
theming, header, navigation, and footer elements from the home site are applied to the
start page and users can easily navigate between the pages) isn't available at this time.
However you can add a featured link to the SharePoint start page to increase home site
discovery.

Watch for updates in the Microsoft 365 roadmap .

Q: Can my organization have more the one home site?

At this time, each organization can have only one home site.

Resources
Watch: Build and launch a SharePoint Home Site: Tips and Tricks From The Product
Team
Planning your SharePoint hub sites

Creating and launching a healthy SharePoint portal

Use and customize the The Landing template from the SharePoint look book

Design a SharePoint home site for Viva Connections

Set a site as your home site
Article • 03/04/2023

A home site is a SharePoint communication site that you create and set as the main
landing site for your intranet. It brings together news, events, embedded video and
conversations, and other resources to deliver an engaging experience that reflects your
organization's voice, priorities, and brand. It also allows your users to search for content
(such as sites, news, and files) across your organization. You can set the home site in the
SharePoint admin center or by using PowerShell.

Before you begin, make sure you've reviewed how to plan, build, and launch a home
site.

７ Note

You can set only one site in your organization as a home site. The site can be
registered as a hub site, but can't be associated with a hub. The first time you set
up a home site, it might take up to several minutes for the changes to take effect. If
you run the command again to switch your home site to a different site, it might
take up to 2 hours.

） Important

If you want your home site to also be the root site, or top-level site of your intranet,
first replace your root site with the site, and then set up the home site. If you set
up a home site first, and then replace it with your root site, you may lose home site
settings and need to reapply them.

Use the SharePoint admin center

After you create and customize the communication site that you want to use as your
home site, follow these steps to set it as your home site.

1. Go to Settings in the SharePoint admin center , and sign in with an account that
has admin permissions for your organization.

７ Note
 If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in to the Microsoft
365 admin center , then browse to the SharePoint admin center and open
the Settings page.

2. Select Home site.

3. Paste the URL of the communication site that you want to become the home site.

4. Select Save.

On the Settings page, the home site URL will appear in the Current value column.

７ Note

It might take up to 10 minutes for the change to take effect and the Global
navigation and Set up Viva Connections options to appear.

Use PowerShell
Follow these steps if you want to use PowerShell to set your home site. To run this
cmdlet, you must be a site admin of the site.

1. Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell .

７ Note

If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell,

go to Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management
Shell."

2. Connect to SharePoint as a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in

Microsoft 365. To learn how, see Getting started with SharePoint Online
Management Shell.

3. Run Set-SPOHomeSite -HomeSiteUrl <siteUrl> .

 (Where siteUrl is the site you want to use)

 Tip

After you set your home site, you might want to enable and customize the global
navigation.

Remove a site as your home site

If you remove a site as your home site:

The Home button will be removed from the Find tab of the SharePoint mobile app.
If you enabled global navigation, the global navigation pane will be removed from
the SharePoint app bar.
Search will be scoped to the site only.

To remove the site as your home site:

1. Go to Settings in the SharePoint admin center .

2. select Home site.
3. Next to your current home site, select Remove as home site.
4. Select Save.

To perform this task by using PowerShell, run Remove-SPOHomeSite .

The site will continue to be an organization news site. To remove it as an organization

news site, see Create an organization news site.

Add a home site after you’ve set up Viva

Connections
If your organization is already using Viva Connections, you can add a home site at any
time. If you add a home site after you’ve set up content in the Viva Connections
dashboard and navigation in Microsoft Teams, you may need to copy some content to
the home site in some cases. Learn more about how Viva Connections and home sites
work together to create employee experiences.

To add a home site after setting up Viva Connections:

1. Go to Settings in the SharePoint admin center , and sign in with an account that
has admin permissions for your organization.
 2. Select Home site.
3. Add the URL for the communication site that you want to be a home site.
4. The new home site will automatically be in draft mode, which allows you to copy
content from Teams to the home site if you've already customized content in the
dashboard and in navigation (if needed). While in draft mode, the Viva
Connections experience will continue to source content from Teams.
5. Confirm that the home site is in draft mode, then select Save.
6. Copy content from the Viva Connections dashboard and navigation in Teams to
the dashboard and global navigation that can be found in the home site Settings.

To edit the dashboard from the home site, select Manage Viva Connections
> Create dashboard.
To edit navigation from the home site, select Settings > Global navigation.

7. Once content has been copied, turn Draft mode to Off and select Save. Once draft
mode has been turned off, Viva Connections content will be sources from the
home site and Viva Connections content can be edited from Teams too.

Add a home site after setting up Viva Connections using PowerShell:

1. Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell .

７ Note

If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell, go

to Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management Shell."

2. Connect to SharePoint as a Global Administrator or SharePoint administrator. To

learn how, see Getting started with SharePoint Online Management Shell.
3. Run set-spohomesite

Choose the default landing experience for Viva

Connections desktop
If your organization is using Viva Connections, and you already have a SharePoint home
site that you want to keep as the landing experience for Viva Connections desktop, use
the PowerShell command. Get more guidance on how to set the default desktop
experience for Viva Connections.

See also
Watch: Build and launch a SharePoint Home Site: Tips and Tricks From The Product
Team

Creating and launching a healthy SharePoint portal

Use and customize the The Landing template from the SharePoint look book
Microsoft Syntex - SharePoint Advanced
Management overview
Article • 03/20/2023

Microsoft Syntex - SharePoint Advanced Management is a Microsoft 365 add-on that

provides a suite of features that can help you:

Manage and govern SharePoint and OneDrive

Enhance Microsoft 365 secure collaboration capabilities

SharePoint Advanced Management features are administered by SharePoint

administrators in the SharePoint admin center. Some features can be used by site
owners.

） Important

SharePoint Advanced Management is currently rolling out. Licenses and

functionality will become available to organizations throughout March and early
April.

Advanced access policies for secure content

collaboration
Restricted access control for SharePoint sites - You can restrict the access of a
SharePoint site and its content only to the members of Microsoft 365 group connected
to the site. Users who are not in the Microsoft 365 group won't have access even if they
previously had site access permissions to a file.

Restricted access control policy for OneDrive - You can limit OneDrive access to
members of a specific security group if you want to allow only certain users to have
access. Even if other users outside of these security groups are licensed for OneDrive,
they won't have access to their own OneDrive or any shared OneDrive content.

Data access governance reports for SharePoint sites - These reports help you discover
sites that contain potentially overshared or sensitive content. You can use these reports
to assess and apply appropriate security and compliance policies.

Conditional access policy for SharePoint sites and OneDrive - With Azure Active
Directory authentication context, you can enforce more stringent access conditions
when users access SharePoint sites. Authentication contexts can be directly applied to
sites or used with sensitivity labels to connect Azure AD conditional access policies to
labeled sites.

Secure SharePoint document libraries - When SharePoint is enabled for sensitivity

labels, you can configure a default label for document libraries. Then, any new files
uploaded to that library, or existing files edited in the library will have that label applied
if they don't already have a sensitivity label, or they have a sensitivity label but with
lower priority.

Advanced sites content lifecycle management

Block download policy for SharePoint sites and OneDrive - You can block download of
files from SharePoint sites or OneDrive without needing to use Azure Active Directory
conditional access policies. Users have browser-only access with no ability to download,
print, or sync files. They also won't be able to access content through apps, including the
Microsoft Office desktop apps.

Recent SharePoint admin actions - You can review and export the most recent site-
related actions you made in the SharePoint admin center in the last 30 days by using the
recent actions panel. Site property changes like site name, site creation and deletion, site
URL, sharing settings, and storage quota are listed as actions in the panel. Note that
changes made to organization-level settings, and changes made by other admins are
not shown in the panel.

Licensing
SharePoint Advanced Management is a per-user license. To use SharePoint Advanced
Management, you must have a license for each user in your organization. (It's not
required for guests.) Users must also be licensed for SharePoint K, P1, or P2 via
standalone or a Microsoft 365 suite.

You can purchase the SharePoint Advanced Management Plan 1 add-on in the Microsoft
365 admin center, through a Cloud Solution Provider (CSP), or through volume licensing
enrollment. Contact your Microsoft account manager for further information.

SharePoint Advanced Management is available for Commercial, WW Commercial Public

Sector, Education, Charity, and US GCC, GCC-High, and DoD customers.

SharePoint Advanced Management is $3 per user per month for commercial customers.

Licensing details for each feature listed above are included in those articles.
Related topics
Microsoft Syntex documentation
Change your SharePoint domain name
Article • 02/21/2023

When you first signed up for Microsoft 365, you created an onmicrosoft.com domain.
Even if you later added a custom domain, the original onmicrosoft.com domain is used
for all your SharePoint and OneDrive URLs.

If your organization has gone through a rebranding, merger, or acquisition and needs to
change the domain in your SharePoint and OneDrive URLs, you can do this using
PowerShell. For example, if your organization name changed from Contoso to Fabrikam,
you can change your SharePoint URLs from contoso.sharepoint.com to
fabrikam.sharepoint.com .
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/videoplayer/embed/RWOnwY?postJsllMsg=true

） Important

This feature is currently available to organizations that have no more than 10,000
total SharePoint sites and OneDrive accounts combined. If you get error 773 "Not
Implemented" when you try to start a domain rename, the feature isn't enabled yet
for your organization. Try again later.

７ Note

This change affects only SharePoint and OneDrive URLs. It doesn't impact
email addresses.
For info about changing a site address, for example, from
https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/sample1 to

https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/sample2 , see Change a site address.

This feature isn't available for organizations that have set up multi-geo.
If your organization uses special clouds or government clouds (GCC, GCC
High, DoD, etc.), your domain name can't be changed.
When you rename your SharePoint domain, we create a redirect at the
previous address which will expire 1 year after the rename.
You can only rename your SharePoint domain once. If you need additional
renames, submit a support request by selecting Rename a SharePoint Tenant
more than once .
 Changing your SharePoint domain name back to the original name after you
rename it isn't supported. For example, if you change your SharePoint domain
from contoso.sharepoint.com to fabrikam.sharepoint.com , changing it back
to contoso.sharepoint.com isn't supported.

Limitations

Low impact

App/feature Limitation Action required

Hub site menu Although the menu items will continue Edit the menu items and if necessary,
items to work, items that contain absolute change the URLs to the new domain
URLs aren't changed. name.

Office These lists are updated over time None

"Recent" and depending on usage.
"Pinned" lists

Office.com The URLs at https://www.office.com None

can take 24 hours to be updated.

OneDrive Only the domain name portion in URLs None

is changed. The relative path that's
based on the User Principle Name
(UPN) isn't changed.

OneDrive sync Requires version 17.3.6943.0625 or Make sure the URLs "oneclient.sfx.ms"
app later for all users. and "g.live.com." aren't blocked, and
(OneDrive.exe) that all computers in your
organization can reach them to apply
updates.

OneDrive sync The organization name displayed in Users can disconnect and reconnect
app Office apps isn't changed. (For their account in the Office app.
(OneDrive.exe) example, the app displays the old
folder name C:\Users\Sophia\OneDrive
– Contoso)
App/feature Limitation Action required

OneNote Requires a recent version of OneNote. Make sure all users have the following
versions installed:
OneNote desktop app: Version
16.0.8326.2096 or later.
OneNote for Windows 10: Version
16.0.8431.1006 or later.
OneNote mobile app: Version
16.0.8431.1011 or later.

OneNote While the domain name is being None

changed, users might receive a
notebook sync error.

SharePoint Requires a recent version of the mobile Make sure all users have the following
mobile apps app. versions installed:
iOS: 4.20.0 or later.
Android: 3.21.0 or later.

SharePoint While the domain name is being None

mobile apps changed, users might receive a
notebook sync error.

Search and The search index might take a while to None

Delve reflect new URL changes.

Search and Search results might not be complete None

Delve or might return results for the original
URLs until the search index is updated.

SharePoint Although content (such as text on Search for the old domain name and
content pages) that includes the domain name edit content to display the new
will continue to work, it won't be domain name.
updated to display the new name.

Medium impact

App/feature Limitation Action required

Custom apps Absolute URLs embedded in Edit custom apps and Active Directory Group
and Group these apps and objects aren't Policy objects that contain absolute URLs
Policy objects changed. and if necessary, change the URLs to the new
domain name. Confirm with third-party app
publishers that apps don't contain absolute
URLs.
App/feature Limitation Action required

Custom and Some apps might not process Edit custom apps and work with third-party
third-party the HTTP 308 direct correctly. app publishers to ensure that they handle
apps HTTP 308 responses correctly.

Delve It can take 24 hours before None

People profiles can be viewed.

eDiscovery Holds can't be removed until In the Microsoft Purview compliance portal,
you update the URLs. change the eDiscovery hold URLs to the new
domain name.

InfoPath forms Forms that use a SharePoint Reconnect these forms to SharePoint.
connection as a data source
won't work.

Microsoft Forms that have the option to Remove the upload button and add it again
Forms upload attachments in in the form.
responses won't work.

Office apps While the domain name is being Attempt to save the document again and if
changed, users might necessary change the URL of the save
experience an error when saving location.
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
documents that are located in a
site or OneDrive.

OneDrive The Quick access links in No action is available.

OneDrive and SharePoint won't
work.

Power Request sign-off flows that use Remove and re-create the Request sign-off
Automate SharePoint as a connection flow.
won’t work.

Power Any flows deployed as solutions Remove and re-create the flows.
Automate with managed layers that use
SharePoint as a connection
won’t work.

Power BI Power BI reports using Before changing your domain name,

SharePoint connections as a download the Power BI reports that are
data source won't work. using SharePoint connections as a data
source as a .pbix file. After you change the
domain name, edit the connections in the
Power BI Desktop app and republish the
report.
Power BI reports that are not created or
maintained in the Power BI Desktop app will
need to be recreated.
App/feature Limitation Action required

Project Online Workflows that are “in flight” Before changing your domain name, make
won't complete and will be sure all “in flight” workflows are completed.
orphaned. After you change the domain name,
New workflow instances can't be republish the workflows. You can then reset
initiated. them to "in flight" in Project Web App by
Association to previous going to PWA Settings > Change or Restart
workflow instances isn't Workflows.
available and will be orphaned.

Project Online URLs embedded in workflows Workflows that contain URLs referring to the
aren't changed. For example, if a original domain name might need to be
workflow contains the updated to the new name.
embedded URL
contoso.sharepoint.com , it isn't
changed. This might impact the
functionality of the workflow.

Project Online References to PWA sites in In Project Online at

Project Online at https://project.microsoft.com , change the
https://project.microsoft.com URL of the PWA sites under Settings > My
won't work. PWA Site.

Project Online Custom Excel Reports that use These reports will need to be reconnected.
Microsoft Project Data
connections as a data source
won't work.

Project Pro The app won't work until you Before changing your domain name, make
update the URL of the PWA site. sure that all projects that are checked out in
Project Pro are checked in. After you change
the domain name, change the URL of the
PWA site under File > Info > Manage
Accounts.

SharePoint Workflows that are “in flight” Before changing your domain name, make
2013 won't complete and will be sure all “in flight” workflows are completed.
workflows orphaned. After you change the domain name,
New 2013 Workflow instances republish the workflows.
can't be initiated.
Association to previous
workflow instances isn't
available and will be orphaned.
App/feature Limitation Action required

SharePoint URLs embedded in workflows Workflows that contain URLs referring to the
2013 aren't changed. For example, if a original domain name might need to be
workflows workflow contains the updated to the new name.
embedded URL
contoso.sharepoint.com , it isn't
changed. This might impact the
functionality of the workflow.

SharePoint Add-ins might not function as The add-ins might need to be republished.
add-ins expected. Review the App configuration settings in
Azure AD for the add-in and update any
URLs to the new domain name.
For SPFx applications, in Azure AD update
the Authentication URLs to the new domain
for the SharePoint Online Client Extensibility
Web Application Principal.

SharePoint Sites registered as hub sites Unregister and register the affected sites as
hub sites won't work. hub sites in the SharePoint admin center
after the rename.

SharePoint Some web parts may not The web parts may rely on direct URL
web parts function as expected. references. Update the web parts with the
new URLs.

Site Absolute URLs embedded in Edit customizations that contain absolute

customizations SharePoint customizations aren't URLs and if necessary, change the URLs to
and updated. the new domain name.
embedded
code

Teams on the The first time someone tries to None

web and access the Files tab for a team or
Teams desktop private channel, they'll receive
app an error. The tab will work for all
users after that.

Teams on the It can take 72 hours for meeting None

web and notes to work (for both current
Teams desktop and previous meetings).
app

Teams on the On the Files tab, any folders Remove and re-add the folders.
web and added with the "Add cloud
Teams desktop storage" (which point to another
app SharePoint site) won't work.
App/feature Limitation Action required

Teams on the Document libraries added as a Remove and re-add the tab.
web and tab won't work.
Teams desktop
app

Teams on the Embedded images in Wikis Edit the Wiki .mht file located in the
web and won't be displayed. SharePoint Site Teams Wiki Data library and
Teams desktop if necessary, change the URLs of the
app embedded images to the new domain name.

Teams on the Personal Wikis won’t work. In a one-on-one or group chat, attach and
web and send a file to the chat.
Teams desktop
app

Third-party Absolute URLs embedded in Confirm with third-party app publishers

apps including these third-party apps (including (including backup solutions) that they
backup backup solutions) aren't support tenant renames.
solutions changed.

Isolated web Isolated components are not Solutions that contain isolated components
parts and full updated and will stop working. need to be re-published in the tenant app
page apps catalog. The solution will start working again
after that.

High impact

App/feature Limitation Action required

Business If your tenant still has Microsoft BPOS sites and its configuration need
Productivity Business Productivity Online Suite to be removed before scheduling of
Online Suite (BPOS) sites remaining in it, your tenant renaming can be attempted.
(BPOS) sites domain name can't be changed. Submit a support request by selecting
Rename a SharePoint Tenant with
BPOS sites .

Deleted sites Any sites that have been deleted can't Before changing your domain name,
be restored after the change. review the Deleted sites page in the
SharePoint admin center and restore
any sites that you might want to keep.

Locked sites Any site or OneDrive that has been Before changing your domain name,
and OneDrive locked (the LockState is NoAccess) can't review any sites and OneDrive
accounts be renamed. accounts that have been locked to
determine if the lock should be
removed. Lock and unlock sites
App/feature Limitation Action required

Multi-Geo Your SharePoint domain name can't be No action available.

configurations changed if your organization is
currently set up for Microsoft 365
Multi-Geo or was previously set up for
it.

Point-in-time Restoring a site to a previous time No action available.

restoration before the domain name change isn't
possible.

Root site Your root site can't be replaced (using Replace your root site before you
replacement either the SharePoint admin center or schedule the domain name change or
the PowerShell cmdlet Invoke- after it completes.
SPOSiteSwap) between the time you
schedule your domain name change
and when it completes.

SharePoint If your tenant contains old SharePoint Public sites on the tenant need to be
public sites public sites, your SharePoint domain removed before scheduling of tenant
name change will not be allowed. renaming can be attempted. Submit a
support request by selecting Rename
a SharePoint Tenant with Public site .

Special and If your organization uses special clouds No action available.

government or government clouds (GCC, GCC High,
clouds DoD, etc.), your domain name can't be
changed.

Vanity domain If your SharePoint domain is, for No action available.

configurations example, teams.contoso.com (versus
contoso.sharepoint.com), your domain
name can't be changed.

Step 1: Add the new domain name

1. Check the availability of the new domain you want. For example, if you want your
SharePoint and OneDrive URLs to begin with fabrikam.sharepoint.com , enter
https://fabrikam.sharepoint.com in a browser. If you get a message that the

address couldn’t be found (404), it’s probably available. If you get a sign-in screen
or a message that your username couldn’t be found in the
fabrikam.sharepoint.com directory, then the domain has already been taken and
you’ll need to try a different one. If the domain is already registered by another
customer, we can't provide any information or contact the customer.

-or-
 If you own the domain for another subscription, you need to delete that tenant in
Azure AD. Deleting a tenant typically takes three days to complete and to make
the domain available.

２ Warning

Do NOT use the domain to test this procedure in a test environment first. If
you do, you won't be able to use the domain for your production
environment.

2. Go to https://aka.ms/SPORenameAddDomain .

） Important

You must use the link https://aka.ms/SPORenameAddDomain to go to the

Custom domain names page in the Azure AD admin center. If you browse to
the page instead of using the link, you won't be able to add your custom
onmicrosoft.com domain successfully.

3. Select Add custom domain.

4. In the Custom domain name box, enter the full new “.onmicrosoft.com” domain,
and then select Add domain.

） Important

When adding the domain, it needs to be an “onmicrosoft.com” domain. For

example, if you want to rename your tenant to fabrikam.sharepoint.com, the
domain that you enter should be fabrikam.onmicrosoft.com. You do not need
to purchase the “onmicrosoft.com” domain to add it and it does not require
any public DNS registration.
 5. If you get a message that the domain isn't available, try a different domain.

6. After getting a confirmation that the domain was added successfully, you might
see a message that the properties could not be found. Select the message to
refresh domain references.

２ Warning

Do NOT add any other domains. Do NOT configure the new domain as the
initial domain. If, after adding the domain, you are prompted to create a new
TXT record with your domain name registrar, the domain has NOT been
added correctly and you will NOT be able to perform a rename. If you are
prompted, you will need to delete the invalid domain and return to Step 2.

7. In the navigation at the top of the page, select the name of your tenant to go back
to the Custom domain names page. Make sure the onmicrosoft.com domain you
added is on the list and the Status appears as Verified.

） Important

If the status is NOT "Verified" then you will NOT be able to perform a rename.

Step 2: Use Microsoft PowerShell to rename

your domain

２ Warning

Changing your SharePoint domain name might take several hours to days
depending on the number of sites and OneDrive users that you have. We strongly
recommend that you make this change during a period of low usage (like a
weekend) and tell users to avoid accessing SharePoint and OneDrive content
during the change. In addition, any actions that create new OneDrives and sites
(such as creating a new team or private channel in Microsoft Teams) will be
temporarily blocked during the rename.

1. REQUIRED - Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell .

） Important

If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell,

go to Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management
Shell".

Make sure you review the System Requirements and Install Instructions. The
app isn't supported on Mac.

2. Connect to SharePoint as a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in

Microsoft 365. To learn how, see Getting started with SharePoint Online
Management Shell.

Example:

Connect-SPOService -Url "https://contoso-admin.sharepoint.com"

3. Run the following command to specify the new domain name:

PowerShell

Start-SPOTenantRename -DomainName <DomainName> -ScheduledDateTime

<YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS> [-WhatIf] [-Confirm]

Where "DomainName" is the part before "sharepoint.com" or "onmicrosoft.com"

and "ScheduledDateTime" is at least 24 hours in the future, but not more than 30
days. The time you enter is based on the current date and time of the computer
you're using.

Example:

Start-SPOTenantRename -DomainName "fabrikam" -ScheduledDateTime "2021-12-

31T10:25:00"

７ Note

If the PowerShell command Start-SPOTenantRename is not found or nothing

is returned, make sure you installed the latest SharePoint Online Management
 Shell. Before installing the latest version, you might need to uninstall all
previous versions by running Uninstall-Module
Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell -Force -AllVersions . For more info

about the Start-SPOTenantRename cmdlet, see Start-SPOTenantRename

You can get the status of the rename by running Get-SPOTenantRenameStatus . Make sure
you open a new PowerShell window to sign in again. The date and time shown with this
command is in UTC format. More info about Get-SPOTenantRenameStatus

During and after the rename, you can get the state of a site by running Get-
SPOSiteRenameState . For more info about this cmdlet, see Get-SPOSiteRenameState.

To verify success of the rename operation, please ensure that you review the status of
the rename operation, as well as the count of renamed sites in comparison to total sites.
The count of sites that cannot be renamed to the new domain will be shown in the
Attention Required field. To get more information on these sites, run Get-
SPOSiteRenameState and pass the RenameJobID listed in the tenant rename status as the
ParentOperationID, and the desired status (Success/Failed/Suspended). If you want to
export these results to a CSV file, you can use the Export-Csv cmdlet.

Get-SPOSiteRenameState -ParentOperationID <RenameJobID> -State Failed | Export-Csv

-Path <Path>

To cancel a rename that has not started, you can run Stop-SPOTenantRename . More info
about this cmdlet

Step 3: Review features and settings after the

rename
1. Review any firewall rules that might block access to the new domain.

2. Review organization browser settings to make sure the new domain is a trusted
location. This includes reviewing any Group Policy settings that might control
browser settings.

3. Review any third-party apps, custom apps, and scripts that access SharePoint. They
might need to be modified to use the new domain.

） Important
 If you have custom SharePoint Framework solutions that require access to an API,
check the API access page in the SharePoint admin center to ensure that the new
domain name can be used by SharePoint Framework components.

Troubleshooting
Frequently asked questions
Errors and how to fix them
Introduction to the SharePoint app bar
Article • 03/21/2023

Help users find important content and resources no matter where they are in
SharePoint. The SharePoint app bar improves the global way-finding and creation
experiences while dynamically displaying personalized sites, news, files, and lists. The
app bar is on the left-hand side anywhere in modern sites.

７ Note

Only Viva Connections customers who are using SharePoint home sites need to
enable and customize SharePoint global navigation. Learn more about How Viva
Connections and home sites work together to create employee experiences.

The SharePoint app bar:

The SharePoint app bar experience
The SharePoint app bar brings together intranet resources and personalized content like
sites, news, files, and lists. Enable global navigation to allow users to easily navigate to
important intranet resources anywhere in SharePoint. Customize global navigation
details and the rest of the content will dynamically display and update personalized
content for sites, news, and files. Create sites, files, and lists easily from anywhere in
SharePoint.

７ Note

Global navigation is the only app bar tab that can be customized.
 When global navigation is disabled or not configured, the home icon links to
the SharePoint start page.
Specific SharePoint app bar tabs cannot be disabled.
The SharePoint app bar cannot be disabled on specific sites.
The SharePoint app bar is not available on classic SharePoint sites.
The SharePoint app bar may impact current page customizations, specifically
those that appear on the left side.
The SharePoint app bar will not display in SharePoint for external or guest
users outside of your organization.
In GCC High and DoD environments users may experience a degraded
experience for the My sites panel in the app bar.
Some additional restrictions may apply to tenants within the GCC High and
DoD environments when using My News in the SharePoint app bar.
The SharePoint app bar can be temporarily disabled between today and when
it becomes available to all customers to give customers more time to prepare
for this change. Temporarily disabling the app bar will delay the rollout of this
feature in your organization until March 31, 2023.
Global navigation in the SharePoint app bar must be enabled in order for
SharePoint resources to display in the Microsoft Teams app bar for Viva
Connections.

The SharePoint app bar is a significant change to the user experience and your
organization's intranet information architecture. To ensure a seamless experience, we've
created specific guidance on how to design current navigation to compliment the new
global navigation feature. We have also created end-user guidance to help onboard
the rest of your organization.

Customize global navigation in the app bar

Global navigation can be enabled and customized in the SharePoint app bar. Customize
the global navigation logo, title, and source depending on your users’ and
organization’s needs. If you choose to keep global navigation disabled, the home icon
will link to the SharePoint start page.

７ Note
 When global navigation is disabled, the home icon will link to the SharePoint
start page.
Customizing global navigation requires a home site.
Site owner permissions (or higher) to the home site are required to enable
global navigation.
Users need read access (or higher) to the home site to view the global
navigation links.
Audience targeting can be applied to menu links in global navigation.
If you get an error after editing links to sites, try deleting the link and adding
it again.
Implementing global navigation may take up to 24 hours for the changes to
take effect for users.

Get started customizing the global navigation tab

1. Set up a home site if your organization doesn’t already have one and make sure to
share the home site with everyone in your tenant to ensure all users can access
the global navigation links.

2. Navigate to your organization’s home site.

3. Select Settings and then select Global navigation settings.

 ７ Note

If you do not see Global navigation in the Settings pane on the home site,
you may not have site owner permissions (or higher) to the home site.

4. Switch the Enable global navigation toggle to On.

5. Next, add the Logo for global navigation that will be recognizable to users to
replace the home icon in the app bar. No action is needed if you choose to keep
the default home icon.

Global navigation logo specifications:

The logo size should be 20x20 pixels

PNG file type
Transparent background recommended

6. Then, enter a Title that will be displayed at the top of the global navigation pane.

7. Finally, determine the Navigation source. Learn more about selecting a source in
the next step.

8. Make edits to the selected global navigation source if needed by selecting Edit
global navigation. Select Save when you are done. Updates to global navigation
may take several minutes before they appear.
 ７ Note

The global navigation source can be edited at any time by site owners or
admins of the home site.
The site and global navigation links and labels can be edited at any
time by editors of the home site.
Implementing global navigation may take up to 24 hours for the
changes to take effect.
If you get an error after editing links to sites, try deleting the link and
adding it again.

Determine the global navigation source depending on

your home site’s configuration:
If you haven’t set up your home site, do that first and if you are setting up a home site
specifically to implement global navigation, review this guidance.

For home sites that are a hub, you have two source options:
 Select the site navigation source to display the home site’s navigation.

Select the Hub or global navigation source to display the home site’s hub
navigation.

７ Note

When you apply the extended header layout to the site, you will no longer see
the site navigation.

For home sites that are not a hub, you have two source options:

Select the site navigation source to display the home site navigation.

Create a secondary set of navigation nodes specifically for the global navigation
panel by selecting Hub or global navigation. Then, select Edit global navigation
to create the new global navigation menu. Select Save when you are done.

７ Note

For home sites that are not a hub site and choose to create a secondary set
of navigational nodes for the global navigation pane - if you decide to make
your home site a hub in the future, the new hub site navigation will inherit the
current navigational nodes for global navigation and can be edited at any
time .

See all the different ways you can set up global

navigation
Depending on the content you want to make available in the global navigation, you can
configure your home site navigation and global navigation in three different ways.

Display the home site’s navigation in global navigation

Display hub and site navigation on the home page, and the home site navigation in the
global navigation panel.

1. Navigate to the home site’s Settings and then Global navigation.

2. Enable global navigation, enter a Title, and then select Home site navigation as
the source.
3. Select Save. Changes may take a few minutes to reflect.

Display the home site’s hub navigation in global

navigation
Display hub and site navigation on the home page, and the hub navigation in the global
navigation panel.

1. Navigate to the home site’s Settings and then Global navigation.

2. Enable global navigation, enter a Title, and then select Hub or global navigation
as the source.
3. Select Save. Changes may take a few minutes to reflect.

Hide the site navigation and display it in the global

navigation
Display just the hub navigation on the home page, and the site navigation in the global
navigation panel.

1. Start by hiding the site navigation using one of two methods:

Go to Settings, then Change the look, then Navigation and toggle the
Display site navigation to Hide.
Go to Settings, then Change the look, then Header and choose Extended
layout.

2. Then, navigate to the home site’s Settings and then Global navigation.

3. Enable global navigation, enter a Title, and then select Home site navigation as
the source.

4. Select Save. Changes may take a few minutes to reflect.

Set up a home site for the first time
A home site is a SharePoint communication site that you create and set as the top
landing page for all users in your intranet. It brings together news, events, embedded
video and conversations, and other resources to deliver an engaging experience that
reflects your organization's voice, priorities, and brand. It is recommended that you set
up a home site for your organization to take full advantage of SharePoint’s
communication and collaboration features and is required to enable and customize
global navigation in the SharePoint app bar.

Set up a home site just for global navigation

If you are creating a home site for the main purpose of setting up global navigation, you
can simplify the steps recommended to plan and launch a home site. Learn more about
planning navigation in SharePoint and apply information architecture principles to your
new home site’s navigational design.

７ Note

Only one communication site can be set as the home site.

The first time you set up a home site, it might take up to several minutes for
the changes to take effect.
Global admin credentials are required to use the SharePoint Online
Management Shell tool that is required to transform a communication site
 into a home site.

1. Start by creating a SharePoint communication site .

2. Customize the communication site navigation to reflect the view you’d like to
see in the global navigation pane. You can make edits to the navigation source and
individual labels and links at any time.
3. Set this communication site as a home site using SharePoint Online Management
Shell tool.
4. Share the home site with users so they can access the global navigation links.
5. On the home site, select Settings and then Global navigation to enable and
customize.
6. For the global navigation source, select Home site navigation to display the home
site navigation that you created in the global navigation panel, then select Save.

Understand how the app bar may impact page

customizations
The SharePoint app bar may impact current page customizations, specifically those
positioned to the left of your page. For organizations using page placeholders, the
SharePoint app bar will cover parts of both the header and footer page placeholder. In
the following image, the placeholder footprint is in red:
Modernize classic SharePoint sites to display
the SharePoint app bar
The SharePoint app bar will only appear in modern SharePoint sites and pages.

We highly recommend modernizing classic sites not only to display the SharePoint app
bar but for a more consistent user experience. Learn more about how to modernize
classic SharePoint sites and pages using the open-source SharePoint PnP Page
Transformation solution.

More guidance on how to display the SharePoint app bar on a classic site will be
available soon.

Teach end users about this feature

Help end users understand how the new SharePoint app bar works .

Temporarily disable the SharePoint app bar

You can temporarily disable the SharePoint app bar in your tenant to prepare for this
change or control its rollout to users. The tool that disables the app bar will be available
until March 31, 2023. Updates and more information about temporarily disabling the
SharePoint app bar will be shared in future Message Center posts.

Temporarily disable the SharePoint app bar:

1. Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell .

７ Note

If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell,

go to Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management
Shell."

2. Connect to SharePoint as a global admin or SharePoint admin in Microsoft 365. To

learn how, see Getting started with SharePoint Online Management Shell.

3. Run the following command:

PowerShell

Set-SPOTemporarilyDisableAppBar $true
 4. If you need to confirm if the app bar has been disabled or enabled, check the app
bar status by running the following command:

PowerShell

Get-SPOTemporarilyDisableAppBar

７ Note

It can take up to an hour for the app bar to be removed on a tenant where
the app bar is already showing up.
Running the command without the $false or $true value will cause it to fail.
You must be using the latest version of PowerShell .
If you are using previous versions, uninstall the previous version and then
install the most up to date version. Previous versions of PowerShell can't
coexist with the most up-to-date version of PowerShell.

Enable the SharePoint app bar:

1. Once you’re ready to display the SharePoint app bar, run the following command:

PowerShell

Set-SPOTemporarilyDisableAppBar $false

７ Note

It can take up to an hour for the app bar to show up on a tenant where the
app bar was disabled previously.

2. If you need to confirm if the app bar has been disabled or enabled, check the app
bar status by running the following command:

PowerShell

Get-SPOTemporarilyDisableAppBar
Resources
Learn more about home sites
Learn more about planning and creating hub sites
Learn more about navigation and information architecture in SharePoint
Learn more about sharing and permissions in SharePoint
Create guidelines for site usage
Article • 02/21/2023

Using the steps below as a template, create your own custom guidance for SharePoint
site owners on how sites are set up and managed in your organization. Each section
provides guidance about what to include, sample text to help you get started, and links
to resources to learn more about each area.

Download the PDF

Introduction
Guidance:

Provide a short introduction to frame your guidelines. If you have broader business
or digital resource use policy, link to it if it applies to SharePoint sites as well.

Sample text:
A SharePoint site is designed to be a powerful tool for team collaboration and
communication. [enter your IT/productivity service org] administers the Microsoft 365
service your site is built on. The goal is to make it easy to accomplish your business goals.

General guidelines
Guidance:

Provide general policy statements that you want your users to follow. These may
include key business uses you have defined for sites, internal communication
policies, or security and privacy guidelines.

Resources:

Plan your SharePoint site

Guide to the modern experience in SharePoint

Sample text:
Here are some things to keep in mind as you work with your SharePoint sites. Refer to
[insert your organization's name] business resource use policy. These policies apply to all
SharePoint site usage.
 Guidelines for creating your site
Guidance:

Provide basic procedural guidance. How does someone get a SharePoint site? It
may be via the "Create site" link on the SharePoint start page or you may have a
unique provisioning process for your organization.
If you have specific site templates that you want your site owners to select when
they create their own sites, include that info in this section.
Include information on custom provisioning solutions.
Are there any ownership or site classification requirements your organization has
implemented?
When you set up your site, it's important to select the appropriate site
classification level. Include references or links to your organization's data
classification guidelines.

Resources:

Manage site creation in SharePoint

Policy recommendations for securing SharePoint sites and files
Branding and site provisioning solutions for SharePoint

Sample text:
Sites can be created via the "Create site" link at [insert your SharePoint link].

You should have two site owners who are both full time employees at your org.

When you set up your site, it's important to select the appropriate site classification level.
[Insert link to your organization's data classification guidelines].

Your site designs and customizations

Guidance:

Provide information on design guidelines. Does your organization have or allow

custom themes? Or do you stick with out-of-the-box options?
Do you have specific templates or web parts you want site owners to use? Explain
those so they understand why and how.
Does your organization allow custom scripts and add-ins?
We recommend creating a way for site owners to engage with your team when
they want to customize a site. Set up a service ticket category or form to make it
easy to contact you.
Resources:

Manage site creation

SharePoint site theming overview
Plan customizations, solutions and apps for SharePoint

Sample text:
It's important that your site meet your business needs. If you need to create a custom add-
in or deploy a resource-intensive app, work with our internal team. For more information,
contact [insert information on how to contact your IT team].

Sharing guidelines
Guidance:

Provide information on the way your organization has set up sharing. If you have
modified the settings from the defaults, you can tell your site owners what the
sharing settings are for your organization, including for external sharing.

Resources:

Plan your permissions strategy

Sample text:
Your site and its contents can be shared internally within our organization or externally
with your customers or partners.

As site owner, you will receive access requests when someone shares your site. You can
approve or decline any requests sent to you.

Capacity guidelines
Guidance:

Provide information on the site storage guidelines or limits (if you manage them
manually). Tell site owners if you have a process and policy for requesting more.

Resources:

Manage site storage limits

Sample text:
Your site allows for _____ MB/GB of storage. You're encouraged to remove files and content
you don't need anymore.

Managing access
Guidance:

Provide detailed information on site access. What are your processes and policies
for managing site access? What level of control do your site owners have? If you
manage access on behalf of your site owners, let them know that you will be
reviewing site permissions regularly to keep them in line with your organization's
policies. Explain how you will communicate changes to permissions to them.

Resources:

Secure SharePoint Sites and Files

Sample text:
Plan to review your site's permissions on a regular basis and set the level of access
appropriately.

Site lifecycle policy

Guidance:

Provide your organization's lifecycle policy for sites. Does your organization set site
expirations automatically or with a managed process? Do you set Microsoft 365
Group expiration policies that impact SharePoint team sites? Let your site owners
know when their site will expire, how they will be notified, what will happen and
what they need to do to extend their site.
Setting this policy requires Microsoft 365 Global Administrator permissions.
Does your organization take extra measures related to site backup and restore? Let
your site owners know how long the backup is available and if needed, how to get
a site restored.

Resources:

Microsoft 365 Group Expiration Policy

Create an organization assets library
Article • 02/21/2023

７ Note

This feature is not available for Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China) or
Microsoft 365 US Government plans.

You can specify up to 30 organization asset libraries for a single organization. All of
these libraries (regardless of type) must be on the same site. Only libraries (not
folders) can be set as organization asset libraries.

If your organization needs to store and manage files for all your users to use, you can
specify one or more document libraries on a SharePoint site as an "organization assets
library." You can create two types of organization assets:

Images such as photos and logos: When a user adds a web part to any modern
page in SharePoint and that web part opens the file picker, the user can select
"Your organization" in the left pane to browse the libraries you've specified.

Office templates: When a user creates a new Office document, they can select the
tab for your organization to see the available templates. The following Office apps
are supported:

Word, Excel, or PowerPoint desktop apps. Microsoft 365 Apps Version 2002 or
later is also required.
PowerPoint on the web. Templates aren't available from the New menu. Instead,
users need to go to the PowerPoint start page and select Office Template
Library. For the organization assets library to appear to a user in PowerPoint on
the web, the user must be assigned a license to Office 365 E3 or E5.

７ Note
For the organization assets library to appear to a user in PowerPoint on
the web, the user must be assigned a license to Office 365 E3 or E5.
Users who use the Word, Excel, or PowerPoint desktop app also need
Microsoft 365 Apps Version 2002 or later. (The organization assets
library is not available in Word on the web or Excel on the web.)
Allow up to 24 hours for the organization assets library to appear to a
user in the desktop apps.
Uploaded template files must be in the following formats:
Excel: .xltx. Learn how to save an Excel workbook as a template .
Word: .dotx. Learn how to save a Word document in this format .
PowerPoint: .potx. Learn how to save a PowerPoint file in this
format .
Users need at least read permissions on the root site for your
organization for the organization assets library to appear in the desktop
apps.
 Organization fonts are supported on PowerPoint for the web. Learn more about
support for your organization fonts here.

Use Microsoft PowerShell to specify a library as

an organization assets library
1. Select an existing site or create a new site for the organization assets. This can be
any type of site, such as a communication site, a team site that's connected to a
Microsoft 365 Group, or a modern team site that isn't connected to a Microsoft
365 Group.

７ Note

All organization asset libraries must be on the same site.

2. Set the permissions on the site. Add the people you want to be able to upload
files as members or owners of the site or Microsoft 365 Group. Add "Everyone
except external users" as visitors. If necessary, customize the permissions for the
library . You can customize the permissions of up to 100 files and folders in the
library.

3. Upload the images or Office templates to a document library.

4. Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell .

７ Note

If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell,

go to Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management
Shell."

5. Connect to SharePoint as a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in

Microsoft 365. To learn how, see Getting started with SharePoint Online
Management Shell.

6. Run the following command to designate the document library as an organization

assets library:

PowerShell
 Add-SPOOrgAssetsLibrary -LibraryUrl <URL> [-ThumbnailUrl <URL>] [-
OrgAssetType <ImageDocumentLibrary or OfficeTemplateLibrary>] [-CdnType
<Public or Private>]

LibraryURL is the absolute URL of the library to be designated as a central

location for organization assets.
ThumbnailURL is the URL for the image file that you want to appear in the
card's background in the file picker; this image must be on the same site as
the library. The name publicly displayed for the library will be the name of the
library on the SharePoint site.
OrgAssetType is either ImageDocumentLibrary or OfficeTemplateLibrary . If you
don't specify the OrgAssetType, the library will be designated as an image
library by default.
If you don't specify the CdnType, it will enable a private CDN by default.

Learn more about the Add-SPOOrgAssetsLibrary cmdlet.

Example:

PowerShell

Add-SPOOrgAssetsLibrary -LibraryURL
https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/branding/Assets -ThumbnailURL
https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/branding/Assets/contosologo.jpg -
OrgAssetType ImageDocumentLibrary

７ Note

Adding an organization assets library will enable a content delivery network (CDN)
for your organization to provide fast and reliable performance for shared assets.
You'll be prompted to enable a CDN for each organization asset library you add.
For more information, see Content Delivery Networks (CDNs).

Related commands
See information about all organization asset libraries on the site:
Get-SPOOrgAssetsLibrary

Learn more about this cmdlet.

Update thumbnail URL:

Set-SPOOrgAssetsLibrary -LibraryUrl <String> -ThumbnailUrl <String>
Learn more about this cmdlet.

Remove a library:
Remove-SPOOrgAssetsLibrary -LibraryUrl <String>

Learn more about this cmdlet.

Support for organization fonts in
PowerPoint for the web
Article • 01/23/2023

Organization fonts allow customers to create a brand for their organizations and
encourage consistency in documents and presentations. Earlier, organization users could
only see and use organization fonts when they were installed locally on their desktops.
Now, customers with E3 or E5 licenses can take advantage of Organization Font Support
in PowerPoint for the web to edit and display their fonts. When you upload your font as
a SharePoint Organization Asset Library (OAL), you'll see that your organization font
now renders properly on PowerPoint for the web. Seamless support for the desktop
experiences is coming soon.

７ Note

Organization font support on PowerPoint for the web is not available for Office 365
Germany, Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), or Microsoft 365 US
Government plans.

How does this work?

The following diagram outlines the key steps in making our solution work:

1. Organization administrator uploads their fonts to their organization's SharePoint

site using the SharePoint Online Management Shell.
2. SharePoint stores the assets in a public Office 365 Content Delivery Network.
3. When a user opens a PowerPoint file on the web platform, PowerPoint for the web
will access the Content Delivery Network (CDN) and fetch appropriate fonts.
Adding organization fonts to SharePoint as an
organization asset library
1. Create a new SharePoint site or use your existing site for Organization Asset
Libraries.

７ Note

You cannot customize the permissions of font organization asset libraries as

the fonts are hosted in a public CDN. When uploaded, font asset libraries are
available across your entire tenant. Currently, sub-group permissioning of font
asset libraries are not supported.

2. Ensure that your administrator account has Full control permissions to the
SharePoint site you are using for your Organization Asset Libraries.

3. Ensure the site permissions for Everyone except external user are set to Read or
Edit.
 

4. Navigate to your site's home page. From the New dropdown menu, select Create a
Document Library and name your new font library.


 

5. Download the latest version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell.

6. Connect your SharePoint Management Shell with your administrator username and
password.

7. Using the SharePoint Online Management Shell, run the following command to
designate the library as custom fonts asset library.

Add-SPOOrgAssetsLibrary -LibraryUrl <New Document Library SharePoint URL> -

OrgAssetType OfficeFontLibrary -CdnType Public

For example:

Add-SPOOrgAssetsLibrary -LibraryUrl

https://constosofonts.sharepoint.com/FontLibrary -OrgAssetType
OfficeFontLibrary -CdnType Public

７ Note

Only include the direct path of your font library. The trailing
/AllItems.aspx should not be included in your Library URL.

Font asset libraries must be designated with -CdnType Public .

8. Using the SharePoint Online Management Shell, run the following command to
upload your custom font(s) to the document library location.

PowerShell

Set-SPOCustomFontCatalog -FontFolder <Local Font Folder Location> -

LibraryUrl <Document Library SharePoint URL>
 For example:

PowerShell

Set-SPOCustomFontCatalog -FontFolder "C:\ProgramData\Fonts" -LibraryUrl

https://contosofonts.sharepoint.com/FontLibrary

７ Note

Your font folder should be the directory holding all your font files and
should not include any non-font files.
You may be re-prompted to enter your credentials at this step.

Allow 24-hours for the SharePoint servers to update and for the users in your
organization to see their organization fonts when using the Font dropdown menu
in PowerPoint for the web.

Important notes on features and its release

Feature notes
Updates to organization font asset libraries can take up to 24 hours to propagate
and become broadly available.
If you need to change your font asset library, you will need to remove the font
asset library using the Remove-SPOOrgAssetsLibrary command. Repeat the
 process above to upload your updates in the font files. Changes made to the
Document Library on the SharePoint web platform may affect font availability and
feature functionality.
The uploaded organization fonts will only be usable and viewable within your
organization. To share them externally, you need to embed fonts into your
PowerPoint presentations.
This feature is only available on PowerPoint for the web. Support for Windows,
Mac, and Mobile are coming soon. In the meantime, continue to download and
install custom fonts to use with Office.

Licensing considerations

２ Warning

By using this feature and publishing font files, a font catalog file will be created. The
newly created font catalog files will be publicly stored, along with the fonts, in the
cloud and will not respect the site classification guidelines if the Organization Asset
Library is hosted in Restricted SharePoint Site. The font catalog files will contain
font names and other font related metadata. Please note that the files will be
accessible to anyone, including persons external to your organization, who are able
to extract the URLs that point to them.

These newly created files can be deleted by you. If deleted, the feature will not
work as expected.

Do not use this feature if your fonts contain proprietary information, or if they have
license usage restrictions, such as restrictions on cloud hosting, or your
organization isn't comfortable making the fonts publicly available.
Create an organization news site
Article • 02/21/2023

To specify SharePoint sites as "official" or "authoritative" for news in your organization,

mark them as organization news sites. These posts get special visual treatment (see the
"NEWS @ CONTOSO" color block below), and appear on the SharePoint start page.

SharePoint Administrators can create and specify up to 100 organization news sites. For
multi-geo tenants, organization news sites would have to be set up for each geo
location. Each geo location could use the same central organization news site, and/or
have its own unique site that shows organization news specific to that region.

７ Note

If you set a communication site as the home site for your organization, it's
automatically configured as an organization news site.

For more info about working with news, see Use the News web part on a SharePoint
page and Add news posts .
Use Microsoft PowerShell to specify a site as an
organization news site
1. Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell .

７ Note

If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell,

go to Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management
Shell."

2. Connect to SharePoint as a Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator in

Microsoft 365. To learn how, see Getting started with SharePoint Online
Management Shell.

3. Run the following command to designate the site as an organization news site:

PowerShell

Set-SPOOrgNewsSite -OrgNewsSiteUrl <site URL>

Example: Set-SPOOrgNewsSite -OrgNewsSiteUrl

https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/Marketing

Related commands
View a list of all your organization news sites: Get-SPOOrgNewsSite
Remove a site from the list of organization news sites: Remove-SPOOrgNewsSite
Pre-provision OneDrive for users in your
organization
Article • 02/21/2023

By default, the first time that a user browses to their OneDrive it's automatically created
(provisioned) for them. In some cases, such as the following, you might want your users'
OneDrive locations to be ready beforehand, or pre-provisioned:

Your organization has a custom process for adding new employees, and you want
to create a OneDrive when you add a new employee.

Your organization plans to migrate from SharePoint Server on-premises to

Microsoft 365.

Your organization plans to migrate from another online storage service.

This article describes how to pre-provision OneDrive for your users by using PowerShell.

For info about setting the default storage size, see Set the default storage space
for OneDrive users.

For info about the storage you get with each plan, see OneDrive Service
Description.

） Important

The user accounts that you're pre-provisioning must be allowed to sign in and must
also have a SharePoint license assigned. To provision OneDrive by using this
cmdlet, you must be a global or SharePoint administrator and must be assigned a
SharePoint license.

７ Note

If you're pre-provisioning OneDrive for a large number of users, it might take

multiple days for the OneDrive locations to be created.

Pre-provision OneDrive for users

1. If you're pre-provisioning OneDrive for many users, create a list of these users and
save it as a file. For example, create a text file named Users.txt that contains:
 [email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

2. Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell .

７ Note

If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell,

go to Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management
Shell."

3. Connect to SharePoint as a global admin or SharePoint admin in Microsoft 365. To

learn how, see Getting started with SharePoint Online Management Shell.

７ Note

The PowerShell command Request-SPOPersonalSite works only for users who

are allowed to sign in. If you've blocked users from signing in, you can allow
them to sign in by running the PowerShell command Set-MsolUser using the
text file you created in Step 1.

PowerShell

Get-Content -path "C:\Users.txt" | ForEach-Object { Set-MsolUser -

UserPrincipalName $_ -BlockCredential $False }

4. Run the PowerShell command Request-SPOPersonalSite, consuming the text file

you previously created in Step 1.

PowerShell

$users = Get-Content -path "C:\Users.txt"

Request-SPOPersonalSite -UserEmails $users

To verify that OneDrive has been created for your users, see Get a list of all user
OneDrive URLs in your organization.
Pre-provision OneDrive for all licensed users in
your organization
The following code snippet will pre-provision OneDrive in batches of 199.

PowerShell

$Credential = Get-Credential
Connect-MsolService -Credential $Credential
Connect-SPOService -Credential $Credential -Url https://contoso-
admin.sharepoint.com

$list = @()
#Counters
$i = 0

#Get licensed users

$users = Get-MsolUser -All | Where-Object { $_.islicensed -eq $true }
#total licensed users
$count = $users.count

foreach ($u in $users) {

$i++
Write-Host "$i/$count"

$upn = $u.userprincipalname
$list += $upn

if ($i -eq 199) {

#We reached the limit
Request-SPOPersonalSite -UserEmails $list -NoWait
Start-Sleep -Milliseconds 655
$list = @()
$i = 0
}
}

if ($i -gt 0) {
Request-SPOPersonalSite -UserEmails $list -NoWait
}

Related topics
Plan hybrid OneDrive
Set the default storage space for
OneDrive users
Article • 02/21/2023

For most subscription plans, the default storage space for each user's OneDrive is 1 TB.
Depending on your plan and the number of licensed users, you can increase this storage
up to 5 TB. For info, see the OneDrive service description. If you change a user's license,
the available storage space is updated automatically within 24 hours after they access
OneDrive.

If your organization has a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription and five (5) or more
users, you can change the storage space to more than 5 TB. To discuss your needs,
contact Microsoft support. Before requesting an increase you need at least five licenses
that include OneDrive Plan 2, you must assign at least one license to a user, and a single
user must have already filled 90% of their 5 TB storage. The new storage limit is applied
the next time a user accesses OneDrive.

７ Note

For help finding out which subscription you have, see What Microsoft 365 Apps
for business subscription do I have?

Set the default OneDrive storage space in the

SharePoint admin center
This storage space setting applies to all new and existing users who are licensed for a
qualifying plan and for whom you haven't set specific storage limits. (To check if a user
has a specific storage limit, see the next section.) To change the storage space for
specific users, see Change a specific user's OneDrive storage space.

２ Warning

If you decrease the storage limit and a user is over the new limit, their OneDrive will
become read-only.

1. Go to Settings in the new SharePoint admin center , and sign in with an account
that has admin permissions for your organization.
 ７ Note

If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in to the Microsoft
365 admin center , then browse to the SharePoint admin center and open
the Settings page.

2. Select the OneDrive Storage limit setting.

3. In the Default storage limit box, enter the default storage amount (in GB), and
then select Save.

７ Note

The minimum storage is 1 GB.

Check if a user has the default storage limit or

a specific limit
1. Sign in to https://admin.microsoft.com as a global or SharePoint admin. (If you
see a message that you don't have permission to access the page, you don't have
Microsoft 365 admin permissions in your organization.)

７ Note

If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in at

https://login.partner.microsoftonline.cn/ . Then select the Admin tile to
 open the admin center.

2. In the left pane, select Users > Active users.

3. Select the user.

4. Select the OneDrive tab.

5. Next to "Storage used," look at the max value (for example, 3 GB of 1024 GB).

Set the default OneDrive storage space using

PowerShell
1. Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell .

７ Note

If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell,

go to Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management
Shell."

2. Connect to SharePoint as a global admin or SharePoint admin in Microsoft 365. To

learn how, see Getting started with SharePoint Online Management Shell.

3. Run the following command:

PowerShell

Set-SPOTenant -OneDriveStorageQuota <quota>

Where <quota> is the value in megabytes for the storage space. For example,
1048576 for 1 TB or 5242880 for 5 TB. You can specify any value that you want,
however, if you specify a value greater than that allowed by a given user's license,
that user's storage space will be rounded down to the maximum value allowed by
their license.

To reset an existing user's OneDrive to the new default storage space, run the
following command:

PowerShell

Set-SPOSite -Identity <user's OneDrive URL> -StorageQuotaReset

 ７ Note

When you set site storage limits in PowerShell, you enter them in MB. The
values are converted and rounded down to the nearest integer to appear in
the admin centers in GB, so a value of 5000 MB becomes 4 GB. If you set a
value of less than 1024 MB using PowerShell, it will be rounded up to 1 GB.

See also
More info about using Set-SPOTenant
Change a specific user's OneDrive
storage space
Article • 02/21/2023

As a global or SharePoint admin in Microsoft 365, you can set the OneDrive storage
space for a specific user.

７ Note

For info about setting the default storage space, see Set the default storage space
for OneDrive users. For info about the storage available for your Microsoft 365
subscription, see the OneDrive service description.

７ Note

If your organization is configured for multi-geo, you need to use PowerShell to

change a user's OneDrive storage space. Editing storage limits isn't available in the
Microsoft 365 admin center.

） Important

If a user has run out of storage, consider instructing them to proactively identify
and review items that are taking up space by following the instructions at Manage
your OneDrive for work .

Change a user's storage space in the Microsoft

365 admin center
1. Sign in to https://admin.microsoft.com as a global or SharePoint admin. (If you
see a message that you don't have permission to access the page, you don't have
Microsoft 365 admin permissions in your organization.)

７ Note

If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in at

https://login.partner.microsoftonline.cn/ .
 Then select the Admin tile to open the admin center.

2. In the left pane, select Users > Active users.

3. Select the user.

4. Select the OneDrive tab.

5. Under Storage used click Edit.

6. Select the Maximum storage for this user option, and type the storage limit that
you want to use.

7. Click Save.

When you need cloud storage for individual users beyond the initial 5 TB, additional
cloud storage will be granted as follows:

When a user has filled their 5 TB of OneDrive storage to at least 90% capacity,
Microsoft will increase your default storage space in OneDrive to up to 25 TB per
user (admins may set a lower per-user limit if they want to).

For any user that reaches at least 90% capacity of their 25 TB of OneDrive storage,
additional cloud storage will be provided as 25 TB SharePoint team sites to
individual users. For more information and assistance, contact Microsoft
Support .

Admins can check for OneDrive eligibility beyond 5 TB via Check OneDrive site
eligibility for increased storage.
Change a user's storage space by using
PowerShell
1. Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell .

７ Note

If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell,

go to Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management
Shell."

2. Save the following script as a PowerShell file. For example, you could save it to a
file named UpdateOneDriveStorage.ps1.

PowerShell

$TenantUrl = Read-Host "Enter the SharePoint admin center URL"

Connect-SPOService -Url $TenantUrl

$OneDriveSite = Read-Host "Enter the OneDrive Site URL"

$OneDriveStorageQuota = Read-Host "Enter the OneDrive Storage Quota in
MB"
$OneDriveStorageQuotaWarningLevel = Read-Host "Enter the OneDrive
Storage Quota Warning Level in MB"
Set-SPOSite -Identity $OneDriveSite -StorageQuota $OneDriveStorageQuota
-StorageQuotaWarningLevel $OneDriveStorageQuotaWarningLevel
Write-Host "Done"

3. Open the SharePoint Online Management Shell. Run the script in the location you
saved it.

PowerShell

PS C:\>.\ UpdateOneDriveStorage.ps1

７ Note

If you get an error message about being unable to run scripts, you might
need to change your execution policies. For more info about PowerShell
execution policies, see About Execution Policies.
 4. When prompted, enter the SharePoint admin center URL. For example,
https://contoso-admin.sharepoint.com is the Contoso SharePoint admin center
URL.

5. Sign in as a global or SharePoint admin in Microsoft 365.

6. Enter the OneDrive site URL: For example, https://contoso-

my.sharepoint.com/personal/user_contoso_onmicrosoft_com .

7. Enter the OneDrive Storage Quota in MB.

8. Enter the OneDrive Storage Quota Warning Level in MB.

MB TB

1048576 1

2097152 2

3145728 3

4194304 4

5242880 5

6291456 6

7340032 7

8388608 8

9437184 9

10485760 10

７ Note

To change the storage space for multiple users, use PowerShell to Display a list of
OneDrive accounts by using PowerShell and use Set-SPOSite to make the change.

Diagnose issues with changing the OneDrive

storage
If you are attempting to change the OneDrive storage for a user and are not able to do
so or the storage amount reverts to the original value, a Microsoft 365 administrator can
run tests to determine what may be preventing the storage from changing.

７ Note

If you're an administrator and you're having trouble changing the OneDrive storage
for a user or the storage amount reverts to the original value, select Run Tests
below, which will populate the OneDrive storage quota diagnostic in the Microsoft
365 admin center. These tests will help determine what may be preventing the
storage from changing and recommend steps for a resolution.

Run Tests: Check OneDrive Storage Quota

７ Note

This feature is not available for Microsoft 365 Government and Microsoft 365
operated by 21Vianet.

To disable OneDrive creation for specific users, see Manage user profiles in the
SharePoint admin center.
Set the OneDrive retention for deleted
users
Article • 02/21/2023

If a user's Microsoft 365 account is deleted, their OneDrive files are preserved for a
period of time. You can set this time period.

To set the retention time for OneDrive accounts

1. Go to Settings in the new SharePoint admin center , and sign in with an account
that has admin permissions for your organization.

７ Note

If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in to the Microsoft
365 admin center , then browse to the SharePoint admin center and open
the Sharing page.

2. Select the Retention setting.

3. Enter a value from 30 through 3650 in the Days to retain files a deleted user's
OneDrive box.

The setting is activated for the next user that is deleted as well as any users that
are in the process of being deleted. The count begins as soon as the user account
was deleted in the Microsoft 365 admin center, even though the deletion process
takes time.

4. Select Save.
Related articles
Delete a user from your organization

Set up OneDrive to alert managers and delegate access automatically when users leave
your organization

Overview of retention policies

Restore a deleted OneDrive
Article • 02/21/2023

When you delete a user in the Microsoft 365 admin center (or when a user is removed
through Active Directory synchronization), the user's OneDrive will be retained for the
number of days you specify in the SharePoint admin center . (For info, see Set the
default file retention for deleted OneDrive users.) The default is 30 days. During this
time, shared content can still be accessed by other users. At the end of the time, the
OneDrive will be in a deleted state for 93 days and can only be restored by a global or
SharePoint admin.

For info about using Files Restore to restore a OneDrive to a previous point in time, see
Restore your OneDrive .

For info about restoring items from the recycle bin in OneDrive, see Restore deleted files
or folders .

Restore a deleted OneDrive when the deleted

user no longer appears in the Microsoft 365
admin center
If the user was deleted within 30 days, you can restore the user and all their data from
the Microsoft 365 admin center. To learn how, see Restore a user in Microsoft 365. If you
deleted the user more than 30 days ago, the user will no longer appear in the Microsoft
365 admin center, and you'll need to use PowerShell to restore the OneDrive.

1. Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell .

７ Note

If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell,

go to Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management
Shell."

2. Connect to SharePoint as a global admin or SharePoint admin in Microsoft 365. To

learn how, see Getting started with SharePoint Online Management Shell.

3. Determine if the OneDrive is available for restore.

If you know the URL of the OneDrive, run the following command:
 PowerShell

Get-SPODeletedSite -Identity <URL>

A user's OneDrive URL is based on their username. For example,

https://contoso-my.sharepoint.com/personal/user1_contoso_com . You can
find their username on the Active users (or Deleted users) page in the
Microsoft 365 admin center.

If you don't know the URL of the deleted OneDrive, run the following
command:

PowerShell

Get-SPODeletedSite -IncludeOnlyPersonalSite | FT url

If the OneDrive appears in the results, it can be restored.

4. Restore the OneDrive to an active state:

PowerShell

Restore-SPODeletedSite -Identity <URL>

5. Assign an administrator to the OneDrive to access the needed data:

PowerShell

Set-SPOUser -Site <URL> -LoginName <UPNofDesiredAdmin> -

IsSiteCollectionAdmin $True

For more info about these cmdlets, see Get-SPODeletedSite and Restore-
SPODeletedSite.

７ Note

When a OneDrive is restored, it will continue to remain available until it's explicitly
deleted.

Permanently delete a OneDrive

After you recover the data you need from the OneDrive, we recommend that you
permanently delete the OneDrive by running the following command:

PowerShell

Remove-SPOSite -Identity <URL>

Remove-SPODeletedSite -Identity <URL>

Ｕ Caution

When you permanently delete a OneDrive, you will not be able to restore it.

See also
OneDrive retention and deletion
OneDrive retention and deletion
Article • 02/21/2023

This article describes how you can manage a user's OneDrive when you delete the user's
Microsoft 365 account for your organization, and what steps happen automatically.

Deleting a user from the Microsoft 365 admin

center
When you delete a user from the Active users page in the Microsoft 365 admin center,
you can choose what you want to do with the user's product licenses, email, and
OneDrive. For more info, see Delete a user from your organization.

If you give another user access to the OneDrive, that user will have 30 days by default to
access and download the files they want to keep. (To change the retention time, see Set
the OneDrive retention for deleted users.) They'll receive an email with a link to these
instructions for accessing the deleted user's OneDrive: Copy files from another user's
OneDrive .
Configure automatic access delegation
By default, when a user is deleted, the user's manager is automatically given access to
the user's OneDrive. Follow these steps to confirm that this automatic access delegation
is enabled for your organization, and to set a secondary owner in case a user doesn't
have a specified manager. If access delegation is disabled or a manager or secondary
owner isn't set for a user, no one will have automatic access when the user is deleted or
be warned that the OneDrive will be deleted.

1. Go to More features in the new SharePoint admin center , and sign in with an
account that has admin permissions for your organization.

７ Note

If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in to the Microsoft
365 admin center , then browse to the SharePoint admin center and open
the More features page.

2. Under User profiles, select Open.

3. Under My Site Settings, select Setup My Sites.

4. Next to My Site Cleanup, make sure Enable access delegation is selected.

5. We recommend that you also specify a secondary owner account in the My Site
Cleanup section. This account will be the appointed owner of the OneDrive if the
user's manager isn't set in Azure AD. Email notifications will also be sent to the
secondary owner account when the value is populated.

6. Select OK.

The OneDrive deletion process

The OneDrive retention period for cleanup of OneDrive begins when a user account is
deleted from Azure Active Directory. No other action will cause the cleanup process to
occur, including blocking the user from signing in or removing the user's license. For
info about removing a user's license, see Remove licenses from users in Microsoft 365
for business.

The OneDrive deletion process works as follows:

 1. A user is deleted from the Microsoft 365 admin center or is removed through
Active Directory synchronization.

2. The account deletion is synchronized to SharePoint.

3. The OneDrive Clean Up Job runs, and the OneDrive is marked for deletion. The
deleted user will appear in the Microsoft 365 admin center for 30 days. The default
retention period for OneDrive is also 30 days, but you can change this in the
SharePoint admin center (see Set the OneDrive retention for deleted users) or by
using the PowerShell cmdlet SetSPOTenant -OrphanedPersonalSitesRetentionPeriod
<int32> . For more information about using this cmdlet, see Set-SPOTenant.

4. If a manager is specified for the deleted user, the manager will receive an email
telling them they have access to the OneDrive, and that the OneDrive will be
deleted at the end of the OneDrive retention period. For info about specifying a
user's manager in the Azure Active Directory admin center, see Add or update a
user's profile information.

If a manager isn't specified for the user account, but a secondary owner was
entered in the SharePoint admin center , the secondary owner will receive an
email telling them they have access to the OneDrive, and that the OneDrive will be
deleted at the end of the retention period.

5. Seven days before the OneDrive retention period expires, a second email will be
sent to the manager or secondary owner as a reminder that the OneDrive will be
deleted in seven days.

6. After seven days, the OneDrive for the deleted user is moved to the site collection
recycle bin, where it is kept for 93 days. During this time, users will no longer be
able to access any shared content in the OneDrive. To restore the OneDrive, you
need to use PowerShell. For info, see Restore a deleted OneDrive.

７ Note

The Recycle Bin is not indexed and therefore searches do not find content
there. This means that an eDiscovery hold can't locate any content in the
Recycle Bin in order to hold it.

Microsoft 365 retention settings from retention policies and retention labels always take
precedence to the standard OneDrive deletion process, so content included for
OneDrive retention could be deleted before 30 days or retained for longer than the
OneDrive retention period. Likewise, if a OneDrive is put on hold as part of an
eDiscovery case, managers and secondary owners will be sent email about the pending
OneDrive deletion, but the OneDrive won't be deleted until the hold is removed.
View the list of OneDrive URLs for users in
your organization
Article • 02/21/2023

This article is for global and SharePoint admins in Microsoft 365 who want to confirm the
OneDrive URLs for users in their organization.

About OneDrive URLs

The URL for a user's OneDrive is usually in the following format: https://<tenant name>-
my.sharepoint.com/personal/<user principal name> . For the user principal name (UPN), any special

characters such as a period, comma, space, and the at sign ("@") are converted to underscores
("_"). See the following table for examples.

Domain UPN OneDrive URL

onmicrosoft.com [email protected] https://contoso-

my.sharepoint.com/personal/rsimone_contoso_onmicrosoft_com

custom [email protected] https://contoso-

my.sharepoint.com/personal/rsimone_contoso_com

Numbers or GUIDs might be appended to the URL if a conflict is detected, so it's always best to
confirm a user's OneDrive URL if you need to specify it.

７ Note

Unless OneDrive accounts are pre-provisioned, the URL isn't created until a user accesses
their OneDrive for the first time.

Also, the OneDrive URL will automatically change if the user's UPN changes. For example, if
the user changes their name or the domain name changes for a rebranding or business
restructuring.

Use the OneDrive usage report to view the list of

OneDrive users and URLs
1. Go to the OneDrive usage report in the Microsoft 365 admin center and sign in as a
SharePoint admin, global admin, global reader, or reports reader. (If you see a message that
you don't have permission to access the page, you don't have one of these roles in your
organization.)
 ７ Note

If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin
center , browse to Reports > Usage. Under OneDrive files, select View more.

2. Scroll to the table below the charts.

If you see GUIDs in the table instead of URLs and names, go to the Reports setting and clear the
box In all reports, display de-identified names for users, groups, and sites.

You can copy individual OneDrive URLs from the URL column. For easier searching and copying,
export the table as a .csv file. In the upper left of the table, select Export.

Learn more about the Microsoft OneDrive usage report

Use PowerShell to create a list of all the OneDrive

URLs in your organization
The list you create in these steps will be saved to a text file.

1. Download the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell .

７ Note

If you installed a previous version of the SharePoint Online Management Shell, go to

Add or remove programs and uninstall "SharePoint Online Management Shell."

2. Save the following text to a PowerShell file. For example, you could save it to a file named
OneDriveSites.ps1.

PowerShell

$TenantUrl = Read-Host "Enter the SharePoint admin center URL"

$LogFile = [Environment]::GetFolderPath("Desktop") + "\OneDriveSites.log"
Connect-SPOService -Url $TenantUrl
Get-SPOSite -IncludePersonalSite $true -Limit all -Filter "Url -like '-
 my.sharepoint.com/personal/'" | Select -ExpandProperty Url | Out-File $LogFile -
Force
Write-Host "Done! File saved as $($LogFile)."

3. Open the SharePoint Online Management Shell. Navigate to the directory where the script
has been saved and run:

PowerShell

PS C:\>.\OneDriveSites.ps1

７ Note

If you get an error message about being unable to run scripts, you might need to
change your execution policies. For info, see About Execution Policies.

4. The script will prompt you for the SharePoint admin center URL. For example,
https://contoso-admin.sharepoint.com is the Contoso SharePoint admin center URL.

5. You will then be prompted to sign in. Use a SharePoint admin or global admin account.

After the script successfully completes, a text file is created in the location specified by the
$LogFile variable in the script. This file contains a list of all OneDrive URLs in your organization.
The following text provides an example of how the list of URLs in this file should be formatted.

https

https://contoso-my.sharepoint.com/personal/annb_contoso_onmicrosoft_com/
https://contoso-my.sharepoint.com/personal/carolt_contoso_onmicrosoft_com/
https://contoso-my.sharepoint.com/personal/esterv_contoso_onmicrosoft_com/
https://contoso-my.sharepoint.com/personal/hollyh_contoso_onmicrosoft_com/

Once you have the URL for a user's OneDrive, you can get more info about it by using the Get-
SPOSite cmdlet, and change settings by using the Set-SPOSite cmdlet.
How UPN changes affect the OneDrive
URL and OneDrive features
Article • 02/21/2023

A User Principal Name (UPN) is made up of two parts, the prefix (user account name)
and the suffix (DNS domain name). For example:

[email protected]

In this case, the prefix is "user1" and the suffix is "contoso.com."

You can change a user's UPN in the Microsoft 365 admin center by changing the user's
username or by setting a different email alias as primary. You can also change a user's
UPN in the Azure AD admin center by changing their username. And you can change a
UPN by using Microsoft PowerShell.

７ Note

A user's UPN (used for signing in) and email address can be different. If you just
need to add a new email address for a user, you can add an alias without changing
the UPN.

Types of UPN changes

You can change a UPN by changing the prefix, suffix, or both:

Changing the prefix. For example, if a person's name changed, you might change
their account name:

[email protected] to [email protected]

Changing the suffix. For example, If a person changed divisions, you might change
their domain:

[email protected] to [email protected]

） Important

UPN changes can take several hours to propagate through your environment.
OneDrive URL
A user's OneDrive URL is based on their UPN:

https://contoso-my.sharepoint.com/personal/user1_contoso_com

(where user1_contoso_com corresponds with [email protected])

７ Note

If the user's UPN contains an underscore, it will be present in the resultant

OneDrive URL.

In this case, if you changed the prefix to user2 and the suffix to contososuites.com, the
user's OneDrive URL would change to:

https://contoso-my.sharepoint.com/personal/user2_contososuites_com

After you change a UPN, any saved links to the user's OneDrive (such as desktop
shortcuts or browser favorites) will no longer work and will need to be updated.

Sync
The sync app (on both Windows and Mac) will automatically switch to sync with the new
OneDrive location after a UPN change. While the UPN change is propagating through
your environment, users may see an error in the OneDrive sync app that "One or more
libraries could not be synced." If they click for more information, they will see "You don't
have permission to sync this library." Users who see this error should restart the sync
app. The error will go away when the UPN change has been fully propagated and the
sync app is updated to use the user's new OneDrive URL.

７ Note

Synced team sites are not impacted by the OneDrive URL change.

OneNote
After a UPN change, users will need to close and reopen their OneNote notebooks
stored in OneDrive.

Close a notebook in OneNote for Windows

Open a notebook in OneNote for Windows

Recent files lists

After a UPN change, users will need to browse to re-open active OneDrive files in their
new location. Any links to the files (including browser favorites, desktop shortcuts, and
"Recent" lists in Office apps and Windows) will no longer work.

Shared OneDrive files

If a user shared OneDrive files with others, the links will no longer work after a UPN
change. The user will need to re-share the files.

Office Backstage View

After a UPN change, although Office will continue to work as expected, the user's
original UPN will continue to be displayed in the Office Backstage View. To update the
Office Backstage View to display the changed UPN, the user will need to sign out and
then sign in using the Office client.

Search and Delve

After a UPN change, it might take a while for files at the new OneDrive URL to be
indexed. During this time, search results in OneDrive and SharePoint will use the old
URL. Users can copy the URL, paste it in the address bar, and then update the portion
for the new UPN.

Delve will also link to old OneDrive URLs for a period of time after a UPN change. As
activity occurs in the new location, the new links will start appearing.

SharePoint automated workflows and

customizations
Any automated workflows that were created with Power Automate or SharePoint 2013
workflows and refer to a OneDrive URL will not work after a UPN change. Similarly, any
SharePoint apps (including Power Apps) that reference a OneDrive URL will need to be
updated after a UPN change.
Recommendations
If you're changing many UPNs within your organization, make the UPN changes in
batches to manage the load on the system.

If possible, apply changes before a weekend or during non-peak hours to allow

time for the change to propagate and not interfere with your users' work.

See also
Info about UserPrincipalName attribute population in hybrid identity
Sync in SharePoint and OneDrive
Article • 03/16/2023

When users install the OneDrive sync app for Windows or Mac, and sync the files on a
team site, they can work with the files in File Explorer or Finder. They can also easily save
files to the team site from the programs they use.

When users add, change, and delete files and folders on the site, the files and folders are
automatically added, changed, or deleted on their computer and vice versa.

To upload files to the team site, users can simply copy or move them to the site in File
Explorer or Finder. They can also use File Explorer or Finder to easily organize the
document library by creating new folders, and moving and renaming files and folders.
All these changes sync automatically.

Windows 10 devices come with the OneDrive sync app installed. Office 2016 and later
installations also have the sync app installed.

SharePoint file sync and OneDrive shortcuts

Users have two options when syncing files in SharePoint libraries and Teams. They can

Add shortcuts to libraries and folders to their OneDrive .

Use the Sync button in the document library .

Both options allow essentially the same thing—users can access files on their local
computer in Explorer or Finder. However, adding OneDrive shortcuts allows content to
be accessed on all devices, whereas sync is related to a specific device. Additionally,
OneDrive shortcuts offer improved performance versus using the sync button.

We recommend using OneDrive shortcuts as the more versatile option. If you want to
remove the Sync button from all the SharePoint libraries in your organization, you can
use the Set-SPOTenant PowerShell cmdlet:

PowerShell

Set-SPOTenant -HideSyncButtonOnTeamSite $true

Removing the sync button blocks new syncs from being started but does not affect
existing syncs.
Related topics
Read the release notes and install the latest fully released versions .

Read about Invalid file names and file types in OneDrive and SharePoint .

Fix OneDrive sync problems

Network utilization planning for the
OneDrive sync app
Article • 02/21/2023

This article is for IT admins planning to deploy the OneDrive sync app and wanting to
estimate the network bandwidth users will need for syncing. If you're not an IT admin,
follow the steps in this article to limit the network bandwidth used for syncing your files:
Change the OneDrive sync app upload or download rate .

Estimate the network bandwidth you need in

your organization
Follow these steps to estimate the bandwidth that will be used when you fully deploy
the sync app.

1. Assess the number of users and computers per user to which you'll deploy the
sync app. Each installation multiplies the bandwidth used, so a user who has three
syncing computers uses three times the bandwidth as a user who has a single
syncing computer.

2. Assess the available bandwidth and network conditions.

3. Measure the network utilization of the sync app for a pilot group.

When you deploy, Control sync throughput.

Assess the available bandwidth and network conditions

You can use third-party speed test tools, like Wireshark or Fiddler, to understand the
actual download and upload throughput that the users experience.

Packet loss, latency, and other factors can also impact OneDrive upload and download
experience. For example, a high-latency network or network experiencing a lot of loss
could result in a degraded OneDrive upload and download experience even on high-
bandwidth networks (1000 Mbps, for example). The loss and latency will likely vary
based on the number of users that are on the same network and what those users are
doing (like downloading or uploading large files).

The bandwidth used by the sync app is predominantly file upload and download traffic
and is usually closely correlated with file size and the number of files being synced.
Therefore, the bandwidth used depends on the number of files in the user's OneDrive
and in SharePoint document libraries they choose to sync, multiplied by the size of files,
and then by the rate of change of any file. Other sync app traffic (such as checking for
file changes and checking for app updates) is minimal.

Measure the network utilization of the sync app for a

pilot group
When you create a pilot group, make sure the users are representative of the different
profiles of people in your organization as well as the different geographic locations. To
establish a group:

Estimate the number of files, typical file sizes, file types, total size of each library,
how frequently files are modified, and how frequently new files are added.

Evaluate network utilization during each sync state as described below.

Use the measurements from the pilot group to extrapolate the entire
organization's needs and re-test to validate the estimations. Each organization is
different.

Initial deployment and initial sync of team sites

When users download locations for the first time, bandwidth usage will spike. To avoid
this spike, enable Learn about OneDrive Files On-Demand . This allows users to browse
their files in File Explorer without downloading them.

The following image illustrates the network utilization over time with Files On-Demand
enabled and not enabled.
Operational sync
After the initial sync is complete, the network usage will decrease and then level out.

The OneDrive sync app provides differential sync for all file types stored in OneDrive and
SharePoint. Differential sync enables the sync app to sync only the parts of large files
that have changed, instead of the entire file. During everyday usage, when users change
files, only the changes are uploaded or downloaded and not the whole file. This makes
the file synchronization process faster for these files. It reduces the time it takes to
upload and download the file as well as the bandwidth sync consumes.

７ Note

Windows Notification Service or WNS plays an important role in efficient network

utilization. Instead of the sync app constantly pulling to check for remote changes,
WNS ensures that any changes from the cloud get pushed down to the device as
fast as possible. It saves both network bandwidth and device battery life. This
benefits both Windows and macOS. Make sure the connection to the service is
enabled. Work with your network team to make sure proxies allow network traffic
to bypass *.wns.windows.com and avoid HTTPS decryption for *.wns.windows.com.

A spike in upload traffic is expected if you deploy the Known Folder Move setting in
your organization. If your organization is large and your users have a lot of files in their
known folders, make sure you roll out the policies slowly to minimize the network
impact of uploading files. For detailed deployment guidance on Known Folder Move,
see Redirect and move Windows known folders to OneDrive.

Control sync throughput

If you need to control sync app traffic, we recommend using network throughput
policies provided by the OneDrive sync app. You can also use your network quality of
service (QoS) policies or Windows QoS policies, or let users choose their throughput
settings. For info about the network settings you can make available to your users, see
Change the OneDrive sync app upload or download rate .

Use OneDrive policies

You can use policies included with the OneDrive sync app to control network
throughput. These policies are available in the OneDrive installation directory
%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\BuildNumber\adm\ where BuildNumber is the number

displayed in sync app settings on the About tab.

For info about these policies, see:

Enable automatic upload bandwidth management for OneDrive - Recommended

for best user experience

Limit the sync app upload speed to a fixed rate

Limit the sync app download speed to a fixed rate

Limit the sync app upload rate to a percentage of throughput

Prioritize traffic by using Windows Quality of Service

(QoS) policy
To define the priority of outbound network traffic, you can configure a QoS policy with a
specific differentiated services code point (DSCP) value. Network routers use the DSCP
value to classify network packets and determine the appropriate queue. A higher value
indicates a higher priority for the packet. The number of queues and their prioritization
behavior needs to be designed as part of your organization's QoS strategy.

To manage the use of network bandwidth, you can configure a QoS policy with a
specific throttle rate for outbound traffic. With throttling, a QoS policy will limit the
outgoing network traffic to a specified rate.

1. Open the Group Policy Management Console.

2. Browse to the location where you want to create the new policy. For example, if all
your client computers are located in an OU (Organizational Unit) named "Clients"
then the new policy should be created in the "Clients" OU.

3. Right-click the location, select Create a GPO in this domain, and then select Link it
here.

4. In the New GPO dialog, enter a name for the new Group Policy object in the Name
box (for example, "OneDrive sync app") and then select OK.

5. Right-click the policy, and then select Edit.

6. In the Group Policy Management Editor, expand Computer Configuration, expand

Policies, expand Windows Settings, right-click Policy-based QoS, and then select
Create new policy.
 7. In the Policy-based QoS dialog, enter a name for the new policy in the Name box
(for example, "OneDrive sync app").

8. Select Specify DSCP Value and set the appropriate value between 0 and 63 based
on your organization's QoS strategy.

9. In the Outbound Throttle Rate box, enter a rate in KBps, and select Next.

10. Select Only applications with this executable name and to apply the QoS policy to
only the OneDrive sync app process, enter "onedrive.exe". Select Next.

11. Make sure that both Any source IP address and Any destination IP address are
selected, and then select Next. These two settings ensure that packets will be
managed regardless of which computer (IP address) sent those packets and which
computer (IP address) will receive those packets.

12. In the Select the protocol this QoS policy applies to list, select TCP. Leave from
any source port and to any destination selected.

13. Select Finish.

See also
Network planning and performance tuning for Microsoft 365
Recommended sync app configuration
Article • 02/21/2023

For the best performance, reliability, and user experience, follow these "ideal state"
recommendations when you configure the OneDrive sync app.

Windows Files On- Known

Updates and rings Office Silent
Notification Demand and Folder
integration account
Service Storage Sense Move
configuration

Allow traffic. Select Allow traffic Keep Files On- Keep Office Enable the Enable
some people for the Demand collaboration policy the
Insiders ring and enabled and enabled policies
leave the rest in enable Storage
Production Sense policies

Updates and rings

Allow access to oneclient.sfx.ms and g.live.com. Computers must be able to reach
these URLs to apply updates and bug fixes, and enable or disable features.
Updates are installed automatically, so you don't need to package and deploy
them. Because OneDrive runs in the background, updates are also installed silently
and don't impact users.
Use the Insiders and Production rings. Select several people in your IT department
as early adopters to join the Insiders ring and receive features early. Leave
everyone else in the organization on the default Production ring to ensure they
receive bug fixes and new features in a timely fashion. This recommendation
applies even if you are on the Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel for Windows and
Office. For more info about the rings, see Sync app update process. To set the
update ring on Windows, see Set the sync app update ring. To set it on Mac, see
Deploy and configure the new OneDrive sync app for Mac.

Windows Notification Service

Make sure connection to the service is enabled. Work with your network team to
make sure proxies:
Allow network traffic to bypass *.wns.windows.com
Avoid HTTPS decryption for *.wns.windows.com.
 This applies to both Windows and Mac. See the complete list of required URL and
IP address ranges.

Files On-Demand and Storage Sense

Keep Files On-Demand enabled. OneDrive Files On-Demand helps users access all
their files (individual or shared) without having to download them and use storage
space. This setting is on by default for Windows 10 and Mac. To check this setting
for Windows, see Use OneDrive Files On-Demand. To check it for Mac, see Deploy
and configure the new OneDrive sync app for Mac.
Use Storage Sense policies on PCs. These policies let you automatically clean up
"locally available" files users haven't explicitly pinned as "always available". More
info about Storage policies

Office integration
Keep Office file collaboration enabled Office uses differential sync to sync only
changes instead of the entire file each time. This makes sync faster and reduces
network bandwidth. This setting is on by default on Windows and Mac. For more
info, see Coauthor and share in Office desktop apps. For info about this setting for
Mac, see Deploy and configure the new OneDrive sync app for Mac.

Silent account configuration

Silently configure user accounts on PCs. When you enable the silent account
configuration policy, users are signed in automatically so they don't need to open
OneDrive or enter their password. For more info, see Use silent account
configuration.

Known Folder Move

Windows users are familiar and comfortable with saving files to their Desktop,
Documents, and Pictures folders from years of developing it as a habit. When you
redirect and move these folders to OneDrive, users can continue saving files to these
locations and they're backed up and available from any device. For more info, see
Redirect known folders.

On new PCs, enable the silent policy. Silently move Windows known folders to
OneDrive
On existing PCs, gradually enable the prompt and/or silent policy. About the
Known Folder Move Group Policy objects
Deploy OneDrive apps by using Intune
Article • 02/21/2023

If you're a global admin or assigned a role in Intune that gives you the necessary
permissions, you can use Intune to deploy OneDrive apps. Before you begin deploying,
make sure you review the planning information and deployment options in the Plan file
sync for SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365.

Deploy the OneDrive app for iOS or Android

To deploy apps in Intune, you use the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center . For
the steps to deploy apps to iOS devices, see Add iOS store apps to Microsoft Intune. For
the steps to deploy apps to Android devices, see Add Android store apps to Microsoft
Intune. Use https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.skydrive
as the Appstore URL. For info about assigning apps to groups, see Assign apps to
groups with Microsoft Intune.

Deploy the OneDrive sync app to Windows 10

devices
Although the sync app comes with Windows 10, you might choose to switch to per-
machine installation.

For info about configuring sync app settings using Intune, see Use administrative
templates in Intune.
Deploy OneDrive apps using Microsoft
Endpoint Configuration Manager
Article • 02/21/2023

You can use Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager to deploy the new OneDrive
sync app (OneDrive.exe), as well as the mobile apps for iOS and Android. Before you
begin deploying, make sure you have reviewed the planning information and
deployment options in the Plan file sync for SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/videoplayer/embed/RE2CnSr?postJsllMsg=true

Deploy the OneDrive sync app for Windows

The OneDrive sync app (OneDrive.exe) can be installed on Windows 7 and later. It can
also be installed on macOS. For info about deploying the OneDrive sync app on macOS,
see Configure the new OneDrive sync app on macOS.

The new OneDrive sync app can be used with SharePoint Server 2019, but not earlier
versions of SharePoint Server. For more information about the restrictions and
limitations of the OneDrive sync app, see Invalid file names and file types in OneDrive
and SharePoint .

OneDrive is installed per user by default. You can also install it per machine. For more
information, see Learn about installing OneDrive per machine.

Make sure that WNS is set up correctly

The OneDrive sync app uses Windows Push Notification Services (WNS) for optimum
performance and battery life. Make sure you allow access from your network to the
endpoints that OneDrive uses. To see all our recommendations for configuring the sync
app, see Recommended sync app configuration.

Check if users already have the OneDrive sync app

If the computers in your organization are running Windows 10, they already have the
new sync app installed. If the computers have Office 2016 or Office 2013 (Home &
Student, Home & Business, Professional, Personal, Home, or University) installed, they
might also have the new sync app.
Deploy any administrative settings
To set registry keys on computers in your domain, install OneDrive and copy the
OneDrive.admx and OneDrive.adml files from
%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\BuildNumber\adm\ to your Group Policy central
store. For more info, see Use OneDrive policies to control OneDrive sync app settings.

Use Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager to deploy

the OneDrive sync app
1. In Configuration Manager, select Create Device Collection, and follow the steps in
the Create Device Collection wizard.

2. Save the OneDriveSetup.exe installer for Windows to your local computer or a

network share. Download the Production ring OneDriveSetup.exe installer for
Windows or download the Deferred ring OneDriveSetup.exe installer for
Windows .

3. Download the sample Configuration Manager package . It's a .zip file that
contains the script installer deployment type. For more information about
packages and programs in Configuration Manager, see Packages and programs in
Configuration Manager.

７ Note

The script installer deployment type already has a detection method script
and will correctly assess the installation. Also, there is an uninstall switch,
which means that you can easily remove the OneDrive sync app, if necessary.

4. Copy the installer to a folder in the Configuration Manager source content share.

5. In Configuration Manager, select the Software Library workspace. Under

Application Management, right-click Applications, and then select Import
Application.
 6. Select the sample package.

7. On the bottom of Configuration Manager, select the Deployment Types tab, right-
click the deployment, and to update the Content location, edit the properties.

8. Right-click the package, select Deploy, and follow the steps in the Deploy Software
Wizard.

If you don't use the sample package, run the following command using Microsoft
Endpoint Configuration Manager:

Execute <pathToExecutable>\OneDriveSetup.exe /silent

(where pathToExecutable is a location on the local computer or an accessible network

share).

７ Note

This command must be run at user logon and using Administrator permissions. It
must be run for each user on a machine. For an example of how to deploy an .exe
on every user account, see How to deploy the OneDrive sync app with
Configuration Manager.

If you run the command with no command-line parameter, users will see the
installation status. After installation, OneDriveSetup.exe will automatically execute
 OneDrive.exe and display OneDrive Setup to users. If you run the command with
the /silent parameter, OneDrive.exe will be installed transparently and OneDrive
Setup won't appear. You'll need to run OneDrive.exe with an additional command.
If you want to control the launch of OneDrive across your organization, we
recommend using the /silent parameter.

Learn more about application management in Configuration Manager. The installer will
install the OneDrive executable file under %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive.

Deploy the RMS client to enable syncing IRM-protected

files
The new OneDrive sync app for Windows now supports syncing IRM-protected
SharePoint document libraries and OneDrive locations. To create a seamless IRM sync
experience for your users, deploy to your users' computers the latest Rights
Management Service (RMS) client from the Microsoft Download Center. Even if these
computers have the Azure Information Protection client installed, which includes the
RMS client, the OneDrive sync app still needs a separate installation of the RMS client
from the Microsoft Download Center.

To silently install the RMS client on computers, use the /qn switch as part of the
command-line options of the Microsoft Windows Installer Tool (Msiexec.exe). For
example, the following command shows the silent mode installation (assuming the RMS
Client installer package is already downloaded to C:\Downloads).

Console

msiexec /qn c:\downloads\setup.msi

You can have the setup file on a network share and use managed software deployment
to run the msiexec command.

７ Note

The sync app does not support IRM policies that expire document access rights.

Help users sign in

To help users sign in, you can use silent account configuration or one of these methods:
 Use the following URL to start OneDrive Setup on users' computers. When users
click to begin Setup, a sign-in window will appear for users can enter email
address.

odopen://launch

Use the following URL with each user's email address to start Setup and
prepopulate user email addresses in the sign-in window.

odopen://[email protected]

Run the following command using Configuration Manager script:

%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\OneDrive.exe

It starts the OneDrive process. If users haven't set up any accounts, it displays
OneDrive Setup. To display OneDrive Setup specifically to users who haven't set up
an account for your organization, use the command-line parameter:

/configure_business:<tenantId>

７ Note

When you use Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, make sure you run
OneDrive.exe with User permissions (not as an Administrator).
For help finding your tenant ID, see Find your Microsoft 365 tenant ID.

Auto-configure SharePoint site synchronization

If you want to auto-configure a SharePoint site to be synced, you can use the URL below
as a guide to build the path to the SharePoint site you want to sync automatically. You
can also use a policy to sync sites automatically. For info, see Configure team site
libraries to sync automatically.
 odopen://sync/?siteId=<siteId>&webId=<webId>&webUrl=<webURL>&listId=
<listId>&userEmail=<userEmail>&webTitle=<webTitle>&listTitle=<listTitle>

where:

<siteId> is the SharePoint site siteId GUID, enclosed in curly brackets. You can get
this GUID visiting
https://<TenantName>.sharepoint.com/sites/<SiteName>/_api/site/id.
<webId> is the SharePoint site webId GUID, enclosed in curly brackets. You can
get this GUID visiting
https://<TenantName>.sharepoint.com/sites/<SiteName>/_api/web/id.
<webUrl> is the SharePoint site URL. You can get this URL visiting
https://<TenantName>.sharepoint.com/sites/<SiteName>/_api/web/url.
<listId> is the SharePoint site documents library GUID, enclosed in curly brackets.
You can get this GUID visiting the document library in the browser, click in the gear
icon and choosing "Library Settings". The URL will show the listId GUID at the end
of URL, i.e.
https://<tenant>.sharepoint.com/sites/<SiteName>/_layouts/15/listedit.aspx?
List=%7Bxxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx%7D (a GUID with escaped curly
brackets).
<userEmail> is the OneDrive's user email address used to sign in into OneDrive.
<webTitle> and <listTitle> are used to compose the name of the local folder
where the OneDrive content is synchronized. By default, when you use the "Sync"
button when in the browser to synchronize a document library, OneDrive uses the
SharePoint site name and the document library name to compose the local folder
name, in the form of %userprofile%\<TenantName>\<SiteName> -
<DocumentLibraryName>. You could use any other values if you prefer to. If you
do not use these parameters, the local folder will be named "<TenantName> -
Documents", despite of site and library names.

For example, if you want to synchronize

https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/SalesTeam-01/ProjectX , where "ProjectX" is the

documents library to synchronize, to "%userprofile%\Contoso\Sales - Unicorn" folder,

you will need the following parameters to compose the odopen:// URL:

siteId: {ssssssss-ssss-ssss-ssss-ssssssssssss}
webId: {wwwwwwww-wwww-wwww-wwww-wwwwwwwwwwww}
webUrl: https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/SalesTeam-01
listId: {llllllll-llll-llll-llll-llllllllllll}
userEmail: [email protected]
 webTitle: Sales (you would use SalesTeam-01 to mimic Sync button behavior
instead)
listTitle: Unicorn (you would use ProjectX to mimic Sync button behavior instead)

The resulting odopen:// URL will be:

odopen://sync/?siteId={ssssssss-ssss-ssss-ssss-ssssssssssss}&webId=
{wwwwwwww-wwww-wwww-wwww-
wwwwwwwwwwww}&webUrl=https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/SalesTeam-
01&listId={llllllll-llll-llll-llll-
llllllllllll}&[email protected]&webTitle=Sales&listTitle=Unicorn

７ Note

You will need Client Side Object Model (CSOM) knowledge if you want to automate
querying the team site to determine the appropriate siteId, webId, and listId to
build the appropriate URL.

Deploy the OneDrive app on mobile devices

running iOS or Android
You can use Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager to deploy apps to mobile
devices. Before you do, however, you need to complete a few prerequisite steps because
integration with Intune is required to manage mobile devices in Configuration Manager.
For information about managing mobile devices with Configuration Manager and
Intune, see Manage Mobile Devices with Configuration Manager and Microsoft Intune.

Deploy the OneDrive app for iOS

1. In Configuration Manager, on the Home ribbon, select Create Application.

2. In the Type box, select App Package for iOS from App Store.

3. In the Location box, enter the app store URL,

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/onedrive/id823766827?mt=12 .
 4. Target the app to users.

For more info, see Create iOS applications with Configuration Manager, and use as the
app location, as shown below.

Deploy the OneDrive app for Android

1. In Configuration Manager, on the Home ribbon, select Create Application.

2. In the Type box, select App Package for Android on Google Play.

3. In the Location box, enter the app store URL,

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.skydrive&hl=en .
 4. Target the app to users.

For more info, see Create Android applications with Configuration Manager.

See also
Invalid file names and file types in OneDrive and SharePoint
Install the sync app per-machine
Article • 02/21/2023

By default, the OneDrive sync app installs per-user, meaning that you'll need to install
the app for each user on a machine. With the per-machine installation option, you'll only
need to install the app once on a PC. This option is especially useful for computers with
multiple users and for when you don't want executable files running from a user profile.

Other than where the sync app is installed, the behavior is the same.

Updates

The OneDrive sync app with the installation option of either per-machine or per-user
both use the same release notes , support the same update rings, and update in the
same time-frame. More info about the sync app update process.

If you're moving from per-user to per-machine, update settings aren't affected.

Requirements
The per-machine installation's system requirements will be the same as the per-user
installation.

The per-machine installation option supports syncing OneDrive and SharePoint files in
Microsoft 365 and in SharePoint Server 2019.

The per-machine installation option provides automatic transitioning from the previous
OneDrive for Business sync app (Groove.exe).

Deployment instructions
1. Download OneDriveSetup.exe.
2. Run "OneDriveSetup.exe /allusers" from a command prompt window (this will
result in a User Account Control prompt) or by using Microsoft Endpoint
Configuration Manager.

While the per-user option installs OneDrive for each user account on a PC under the
%localappdata% folder, the per-machine option will install OneDrive under the
"Program Files (x86)" or "Program Files" directory (depending on the OS architecture).

When setup completes, OneDrive will start. If accounts were added on the computer,
they'll be migrated automatically.
Verify per-machine installation
To verify that you have the per-machine installation, you can use the following registry
detection rule in Configuration Manager:

Field Value

Hive HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

Key SOFTWARE\Microsoft\OneDrive

Name Version

32bit on 64bit TRUE

Type REG_SZ

Value 19.043.0304.0007

Revert back to the per-user sync app

We don't support automated migration from per-machine to per-user. To revert back
after installing per-machine, uninstall the sync app and install the latest released
version without the "/allusers" parameter.
Use the sync app on virtual desktops
Article • 02/21/2023

For all supported operating systems , the OneDrive sync app supports:

Virtual desktops that persist between sessions.

Non-persistent virtual desktops that use Azure Virtual Desktop.
Non-persistent virtual desktops that have FSLogix Apps or FSLogix Office
Container, and a Microsoft 365 subscription for all of the following operating
systems:
Windows 10, 32 or 64-bit (supports VHDX files)
Windows 7, 32 or 64-bit (supports VHD files)
Windows Server 2019 (supports VHDX)
Windows Server 2016 (supports VHDX)
Windows Server 2012 R2 (supports VHDX)
Windows Server 2008 R2 (supports VHD)

７ Note

The minimum supported versions are: OneDrive 19.174.0902.0013 and FSLogix

Apps 2.9.7653.47581.

Using the OneDrive sync app with non-persistent environments requires that you
install the sync app per machine.

For Windows Server, the SMB network file sharing protocol is also required.

The OneDrive sync app is not supported in remote app scenarios.

The OneDrive sync app with FSLogix does not support running multiple instances
of the same container simultaneously.

See also
Learn more about VHDX and VHD.

For info about creating virtual hard disks, see Manage virtual hard disks.
The OneDrive sync app update process
Article • 03/21/2023

This article is for IT admins who manage the new OneDrive sync app (OneDrive.exe) in
an enterprise environment. It explains how we release updates to the sync app for
Windows and the standalone sync app for Mac through rings of validation, and how the
sync app checks for updates. Note that if you deploy the sync app alongside Office (via
the Office Deployment Tool or some other means), it will continue to check for updates
independent of any Office update restrictions you set.

７ Note

If you allow your users to sync personal OneDrive accounts, the update process
described in this article and any settings you select apply to all instances of the
sync app.

The sync app installed from the Mac App Store follows a separate update process.
After we finish rolling out updates within the Production ring, we publish them to
the Mac App Store, where they're immediately released to everyone.

How we release updates through multiple rings

After we validate updates through rings within Microsoft, we release them to the first
public ring, Insiders. To try these latest features, join the Windows Insider program or
the Office Insider program. It takes about three days to roll out to this ring. Later, we
release to organizations in the default update ring, Production. We roll them out to a
small percentage of users in the ring at first, and slowly roll them out to everyone in the
ring. This typically takes one to two weeks. At each increase along the way, we monitor
telemetry for quality assurance purposes. In the rare case we detect an issue, we
suspend the release, address the issue, and release a new update to users in the same
order. After updates have completely rolled out within the Production ring, we release
them to the next ring, Deferred.

Insiders > Production > Deferred

1-2 times per week > 1-2 times per week > Every 2-3 months with 60-day window

） Important
 We recommend selecting several people in your IT department as early adopters to
join the Insiders ring and receive features early. We recommend leaving everyone
else in the organization in the default Production ring to ensure they receive bug
fixes and new features in a timely fashion. See all our recommendations for
configuring the sync app

The Deferred ring provides builds that have been monitored throughout the Production
rollout, so fewer releases are suspended. The Deferred ring also lets you as an admin:

Control when you deploy updates (within 60 days of their release).

Deploy new versions from an internal network location to avoid using Internet
bandwidth. (If you don't deploy an update after 60 days, it will be automatically
downloaded and installed.)

However, as the slowest ring, the Deferred ring receives performance improvements,
reliability fixes, and new features last.

７ Note

Microsoft reserves the right to bypass the 60-day grace period for critical updates.

To learn how to set the Deferred ring for the Windows sync app using Group Policy, see
Set the sync app update ring. To learn how to set it for the Mac sync app, see Configure
the new OneDrive sync app on macOS. For info about the Microsoft 365 update process,
see Overview of update channels for Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. For info about
the Windows 10 update process, see Build deployment rings for Windows 10 updates.

How the sync app checks for and applies

updates
The OneDrive sync app checks for available updates every 24 hours when it's running. If
it has stopped and hasn't checked for updates in more than 24 hours, the sync app will
check for updates as soon as it's started. Windows 10 also has a scheduled task that
updates the sync app even when it's not running.

To determine if an update is available, the OneDrive sync app checks if:

The latest version released to the update ring is higher than what's installed on the
computer. If the installed version is too old to be updated to the current version,
the sync app will first be updated to the minimum version within the ring.
 The update is available to the computer based on the rollout percentage we set
within the ring.

If both of these are true, OneDrive downloads the update to a hidden folder without any
user interaction. After the download is complete, OneDrive verifies and installs it. If
OneDrive is running, it's stopped and then restarted. Users don't need to sign in again,
and they don't need administrative rights to install the update.

For info about the latest releases, see New OneDrive sync app release notes .

７ Note

To apply sync app updates, computers in your organization must be able to reach
the following: "oneclient.sfx.ms" and "g.live.com." Make sure you don't block these
URLs. They are also used to enable and disable features and apply bug fixes. See
More info about the URLs and IP address ranges used in Microsoft 365.

Deploying updates in the Deferred ring

At any given time, the next planned Deferred ring release is published on the OneDrive
sync app release notes page with a link to the corresponding installer and the target
date when that version will be released. On the specified date, the "Rolling out" version
for the Deferred ring becomes the new minimum. All sync apps below that version will
automatically download the installer from the Internet and update themselves.

To deploy an updated version of the sync app for Windows, run the following command
using Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager:

Execute <pathToExecutable>\OneDriveSetup.exe /update /restart

Where pathToExecutable is a location on the local computer or an accessible network

share and OneDriveSetup.exe is the target version downloaded from the release notes
page. Running this command restarts OneDrive.exe on all computers. If you don't want
to restart the sync app, remove the /restart parameter. See Deploy using Microsoft
Endpoint Configuration Manager for tips on how to set up the Microsoft Endpoint
Configuration Manager deployment package.

To deploy an updated version of the sync app for Mac, deploy the OneDrive.pkg with
the target version by using your MDM solution.
Transition from the previous OneDrive
for Business sync app
Article • 02/21/2023

） Important

Support for the previous OneDrive for Business sync app (Groove.exe) ended on
January 11, 2021. As of February 1, 2021, users can no longer sync OneDrive or
SharePoint files in Microsoft 365 by using Groove.exe. Groove.exe will continue to
work only for files in SharePoint Server.

This article is for global and SharePoint admins who want to transition their users off of
the previous OneDrive for Business sync app (Groove.exe) so that they sync with only
the new OneDrive sync app (OneDrive.exe).

If you're not an IT admin, to learn how to begin syncing files using the new OneDrive
sync app, see Sync files with the new OneDrive sync app in Windows .

７ Note

If your organization never used the previous OneDrive for Business sync app, or
had fewer than 250 licensed Office 365 users in June 2016, your users are already
using the new OneDrive sync app to sync files in OneDrive and SharePoint.

Syncing files with OneDrive sync app to

OneDrive sync app
When users who are syncing files with the previous OneDrive for Business sync app
(Groove.exe) sign in to the new OneDrive sync app (OneDrive.exe), the following things
happen:

If the new OneDrive sync app can take over syncing a library, the previous sync
app stops syncing it and the new OneDrive sync app takes over syncing it without
re-downloading the content. If the new OneDrive sync app can't sync the library,
the previous sync app continues to sync it. If a library requires checkout or has
required columns or metadata, it will be synced read-only.
 The previous sync app stops running and removes itself from automatic startup,
unless it's still syncing libraries that the new OneDrive sync app can't sync.

When SharePoint libraries begin syncing with the new OneDrive sync app, the folder
hierarchy that appears in File Explorer may be simplified.

Limits
The following library types are not yet supported by the new OneDrive sync app, and
will not transition from the previous sync app:

On-premises locations in SharePoint Server 2016 or earlier. Learn about using the
OneDrive sync app with SharePoint Server 2019

SharePoint libraries that people from other organizations shared that your users
are syncing with the previous sync app.

For more info about sync restrictions and limitations, see Invalid file names and file
types in OneDrive and SharePoint

Requirements
To transition users off of the previous sync app, first make sure users have:

Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, or Windows 7.

A current version of the new OneDrive sync app installed. For info about deploying
the new OneDrive sync app, see Deploy OneDrive apps using Microsoft Endpoint
Configuration Manager. OneDrive.exe must be deployed and configured before
you try the takeover command. Download the latest version of the new OneDrive
sync app that's fully released to production . To learn about the versions that are
rolling out to different rings, see New OneDrive sync app release notes .

The following versions of Office or higher installed. For info about deploying
Office, see Choose how to deploy Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. Make sure
you don't install the previous OneDrive for Business sync app. For info, see
Changes to OneDrive sync app deployment in Office Click-to-Run.

Office version Minimum version

Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise 16.0.7167.2*

Office 2016 MSI 16.0.4432.1*

 Office version Minimum version

Office 2013 MSI/C2R 15.0.4859.1*

７ Note

If any users have Office 2010 installed, we strongly recommend removing the
SharePoint Workspace component. If users previously set up SharePoint
Workspace (even if they're no longer using it), it will cause problems syncing
team sites. Before starting OneDrive Setup, either Uninstall Office from a
PC or modify the installation. To do this by running Setup, first create the
following XML file:

XML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<Configuration Product="ProPlus">
<Display Level="none" CompletionNotice="no" SuppressModal="yes"
NoCancel="yes" AcceptEula="yes" />
<Logging Type="standard" Path="C:\Windows\temp\"
Template="MicrosoftSharePointWorkspaceSetup(*).txt" />
<Setting Id="SETUP_REBOOT" Value="Never" />
<OptionState Id="GrooveFiles" State="absent" Children="force" />
</Configuration>

Then run Setup:

Console

Setup.exe /modify ProPlus /config RemoveSharepointDesigner.xml

For more info, see Setup command-line options for Office 2010 and
Config.xml file in Office 2010.

The latest Rights Management Service (RMS) client if you want users to be able
to sync IRM-protected SharePoint document libraries and OneDrive locations.

Configure takeover
When the required software is installed on your users' computers, you can configure
automatic takeover of syncing silently (review the prerequisites and steps), and then use
this policy.
After you install and configure OneDrive.exe, Groove.exe should no longer be able to
sync. If the takeover did not succeed, or your users are stuck in a hybrid state (some
content syncing with OneDrive.exe and some with Groove.exe), try running:
%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\OneDrive.exe /takeover .

 Tip

Make sure to run the command in a user context, rather than as admin, or the error
"OneDrive.exe cannot be run with Admin privileges" appears.
To affect all users on the computer, configure the command to run on every user
account so it will run for any user who signs in.

If the takeover did not succeed, the previous OneDrive for Business sync app
(Groove.exe) may be an older version that can't successfully transition to the new client.
To patch the previous sync app, update groove-x in Office 2016 or Office 2013, and then
try again.

See also
To help your users get started with the OneDrive sync app, you can refer them to the
following articles:

Sync files with the new OneDrive sync app in Windows

Get started with the new OneDrive sync app for Mac

Sync SharePoint files with the new OneDrive sync app

Control Groove.exe installation when
deploying Office using Click-to-Run
Article • 02/21/2023

） Important

Support for the previous OneDrive for Business sync app (Groove.exe) ended on
January 11, 2021. As of February 1, 2021, users can longer sync OneDrive or
SharePoint files in Microsoft 365 by using Groove.exe. Groove.exe will continue to
work only for files in SharePoint Server.

Starting in October 2017, we changed how the previous OneDrive for Business sync app
installs for enterprise customers who deploy Office 2013 or 2016 by using Click-to-Run.

The previous sync app (Groove.exe) is no longer installed by default with Office
2016 Click-to-Run. If your organization provides an Office deployment
configuration file to Setup.exe, you need to update your file to exclude Groove.exe
from the install.

When not in use or running, the previous sync app (Groove.exe) is uninstalled,
unless: (a) Groove.exe is already configured to sync one or more SharePoint or
SharePoint Server libraries or (b) a "PreventUninstall" registry key is present on the
computer.

These changes don't affect your organization if you're already using the new OneDrive
sync app (OneDrive.exe) to sync OneDrive and SharePoint files. These changes also don't
affect your organization if you deploy Office using the traditional Windows Installer-
based (MSI) method.

７ Note

The new OneDrive sync app (OneDrive.exe) is the recommended option for
SharePoint Server 2019 customers. However, the previous sync app (Groove.exe) is
still used and supported for earlier versions of SharePoint Server. Which version of
OneDrive am I using?

Ensure Groove.exe is no longer installed

If your organization provides an Office deployment configuration file to Setup.exe, add
this to your config file to exclude Groove in your deployment:

<Product ID="O365ProPlusRetail" >

<Language ID="en-us" />
<ExcludeApp ID="Groove" />
</Product>

For more info about configuration options, see Configuration options for the Office
Deployment Tool.

To override the default behavior and make sure the previous OneDrive for Business sync
app installs and stays installed, you must provide a config file that doesn't exclude
Groove.exe. Also, you must set the "PreventUninstall" registry key on all computers
where you need Groove.exe installed, so that the process doesn't uninstall Groove.exe.

Uninstall Groove.exe when not in use

On Office upgrade, the installer runs on each computer to detect whether Groove.exe is
currently in use or the "PreventUninstall" registry key is set. If either Groove.exe is in use
or the registry key is set, Groove.exe is left in place. Otherwise, if Groove.exe isn't in use
and the registry key isn't set, Groove.exe gets uninstalled automatically on that
computer.

Prevent uninstallation (registry key)

[HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Groove] "PreventUninstall"=dword:00000001

Timeline
The following table shows more detail about which Office installations were affected by
these changes and when.

Office version Groove.exe is no Groove.exe is uninstalled on next

longer installed by update if not in use for 30 days
default

MSI (all versions) Not applicable Not applicable

Office 2013 Click-to-Run Not applicable Not applicable

 Office version Groove.exe is no Groove.exe is uninstalled on next
longer installed by update if not in use for 30 days
default

Office 2016 Click-to-Run - Office Sept. 2017 - Version Sept. 2017 - Version 1710 (Build
Insider 1710 (Build 8530.1000) 8530.1000)

Office 2016 Click-to-Run - Monthly Oct. 2017 - Version Oct. 2017 - Version 1709 (Build
Channel 1709 (Build 8528.2139) 8528.2139)

Office 2016 Click-to-Run - Semi- Sept. 2018 - Version Sept. 2018 - Version 1808 (Build
Annual Enterprise Channel 1808 (Build 10730.20102)
(Preview) 10730.20102)

Office 2016 Click-to-Run - Semi- Jan. 2019 - Version Jan. 2019 - Version 1808 (Build
Annual Enterprise Channel 1808 (Build 10730.20264)
10730.20264)

For more info about Office channels, see Overview of update channels for Microsoft 365
Apps for enterprise.

Related topics
Learn more about the Sync button update on SharePoint sites
Prevent users from installing the
OneDrive sync app
Article • 10/06/2022

The Sync button helps users install and set up the new OneDrive sync app. If you want
to manage the rollout of the sync app to your organization, you can hide the Sync
button on the OneDrive website to prevent your users from downloading the sync app
themselves.

To prevent users from downloading the OneDrive sync app

1. Go to Settings in the new SharePoint admin center , and sign in with an account
that has admin permissions for your organization.

７ Note

If you have Office 365 operated by 21Vianet (China), sign in to the Microsoft
365 admin center , then browse to the SharePoint admin center and open
the Sharing page.

2. Select Sync.

3. Clear the Show the Sync button on the OneDrive website check box.

4. Select Save.
See also
Use OneDrive policies to control sync settings
Silently configure user accounts
Article • 02/21/2023

This article is for IT admins who would like to silently configure user accounts when
deploying the new OneDrive sync app (OneDrive.exe) to managed Windows computers
in their enterprise. This feature works for computers that are joined to Azure Active
Directory (Azure AD).

If you enable this feature, OneDrive.exe will attempt to silently (without user interaction)
sign-in to the work or school user account that was used to sign into Windows (known
as the Windows Primary Account). That Windows account must be a Microsoft Azure
Active Directory (Azure AD) account or be linked to an Azure AD account through a
hybrid authentication configuration (see Prerequisites below).

Before OneDrive.exe begins syncing, it will check the available disk space. If syncing the
user's entire OneDrive would cause the available space to drop below 1 GB or if the size
exceeds the threshold you set (on devices that don't have Files On-Demand enabled),
OneDrive will prompt the user to choose folders to sync. For info about setting this
threshold using Group Policy, see Set the maximum size of a user's OneDrive that can
download automatically.

When the user is configured in the sync app, if the same user account is syncing files
with the previous OneDrive for Business sync app (Groove.exe), the new sync app
(OneDrive.exe) will attempt to take over syncing those files.

） Important

We recommend enabling silent account configuration when you configure the sync
app. See all our recommendations for configuring the sync app

Prerequisites
Before you can enable silent account configuration, you need to join your devices to
Azure AD. You can join devices running Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 directly
to Azure AD. To learn how, see Join your work device to your organization's network.

If you have an on-premises environment that uses Active Directory, you can enable
hybrid Azure AD joined devices to join devices on your domain to Azure AD. Devices
must be running one of the following operating systems:
 Windows 10
Windows 8.1
Windows 7
Windows Server 2019
Windows Server 2016
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2

If you federate your on-premises Active Directory with Azure AD, you must use AD FS to
enable this feature. For info about using Azure AD Connect, see Getting started with
Azure AD Connect using express settings.

７ Note

For more info, see How to configure hybrid Azure Active Directory joined devices.
To check the join status and fix problems, see Troubleshoot hybrid Azure AD-
joined devices.

Enable silent configuration

If the computer