How to Create a New SharePoint Site

SharePoint provides a central location for managing workflows, participating in projects, and liaising with coworkers while working from any location.

Creating a new site is one of the topics covered in our ONLC SharePoint 365 training courses. How your site is set up will depend on its purpose—you can create informational display sites and/or sites for collaboration and project management.

Templates include pre-designed layouts, varied web parts, privacy settings, and ownership tools. Here is some information on how to create your site for either purpose and how to change the name of a SharePoint site or make edits as required!

Guide to Creating a SharePoint Site

Once you have defined how you intend to use your site, the first step is to think of a name and select an appropriate layout through the SharePoint platform. The differences between an information-only and a collaboration site are:

• Communication sites (also known as information sites) are display tools and can provide a space to store and view videos or documents.
• Team sites (or collaboration sites) can link other sites, allow participants to work on a project, and edit or add new files as the project progresses. SharePoint coworking sites have various tools, such as a field to set up a group email.

The most used template is the SharePoint Team Site option, designed for collaborative workflows. You can also edit the site at any time if your requirements change.

SharePoint Privacy Settings

You can decide who has access to the site. With a public setting, the site is open to all authorized users within your organization; a private setting restricts access to only the group members you include.

Adding Members to SharePoint

The next field allows you to select owners who will have full editing permissions and members who can access the site but cannot make administrative changes (e.g. editing the site logo, header, or footer).

Members receive updates and notifications, and can access the documents and folders within your document library.

Customizing a SharePoint Site

Within SharePoint, there are multiple customization tools, including:

• Themes
• Pages
• Site headers and footers
• Navigation

Businesses can also use web parts such as: 

• Assignments to allocate tasks and deadlines
• Countdown timer to track the time until an event
• Document library to securely store folders and files that will be accessible to all members and owners
• Options to add dynamic content, images, videos, and other files with web parts

Web parts are useful, but select only those that are necessary additions to avoid cluttering the site and making it difficult to navigate.

Editing and Expanding Your SharePoint Site

Once your site is up and running, the Site Owner has the authority to use certain site actions to adjust the title, description, or logo through the Look and Feel fields.

You can also create a survey in SharePoint to gather feedback and ideas or add new features and apps to maximize the usage and benefits of your site.

To Summarize

Microsoft SharePoint is an intuitive tool. The templates and features of the platform make creating and customizing a site easy to do. Site maintenance is also important, so you should ensure the various web parts are updated when necessary and an online backup system is in place.