{"id":34970,"date":"2024-11-20T00:59:36","date_gmt":"2024-11-20T00:59:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/?p=34970"},"modified":"2024-12-20T02:42:13","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T02:42:13","slug":"how-to-choose-sharepoint-site-type","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/insights\/geek-speak\/modern-workplace\/how-to-choose-sharepoint-site-type\/","title":{"rendered":"Hub, Communication or Team? How to Pick Your Ideal SharePoint Site"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Have you ever needed to create a SharePoint site but felt overwhelmed by all the different options available?&nbsp; You find yourself asking, which one is the best fit? Maybe you&#8217;re starting a new project and want a place for your team to share files and updates, or you\u2019re looking to keep everyone in the company informed about upcoming changes.&nbsp; Which SharePoint site type should you choose?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Choosing the right SharePoint site type can be tricky because each type serves a different purpose, and the options are often subtle in their differences. SharePoint offers a variety of site types, all of which look useful, but selecting the one that aligns perfectly with your goals can be a difficult decision.The challenge lies in understanding the nuances of each type and how they align with the specific needs of your project or team.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Understanding the purpose of each site type, and matching that with your specific requirements, takes a bit of thought, but once you have clarity, choosing the right SharePoint site type becomes much easier.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>TYPES OF SHAREPOINT SITES<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The following scenarios will help clarify each option, making it easier to choose the right site for every need:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Hub Sites <\/strong>are ideal for organising multiple related sites in one structure, connecting departments, business units or project portfolios with consistent, easy-to-navigate links&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Communication Sites <\/strong>are best for sharing information broadly across the organisation and work well for resources, announcements and intranet-style content&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Team Sites <\/strong>are built for collaboration within a team or project group, allowing real-time document sharing, task tracking and integration with Microsoft Teams to support effective teamwork&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The table below outlines various scenarios showcasing different SharePoint site types and their ideal uses:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>SCENARIO<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td><strong>RECOMMENDED SITE TYPE<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td><strong>IDEAL USE<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td><strong>KEY TIPS<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Company-wide announcements&nbsp;<\/strong><\/td><td>Communication Site&nbsp;<\/td><td>A company news portal where executives share updates, employee recognition or new policies&nbsp;<\/td><td>Use the news web part and set up regular content updates to keep employees engaged and informed&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Project-specific collaboration<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td>Team Site&nbsp;<\/td><td>A product development team working on a new feature release with shared files, tasks and discussions. Automate approvals and process management&nbsp;<\/td><td>Integrate with Microsoft Teams for seamless chats, meetings, and file sharing directly from the Team Site. Utilise the Approvals app for workflows and notifications&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Department with multiple sub-teams<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/td><td>Hub Site (connected to multiple Team Sites)&nbsp;<\/td><td>A Marketing hub linking sub-sites for Content, Design, Social Media and Analytics teams&nbsp;<\/td><td>Use consistent branding and navigation to unify the experience and make cross-department resources easy to locate&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>HR portal for policies and resources&nbsp;<\/strong><\/td><td>Communication Site&nbsp;<\/td><td>An HR site where employees can access policy documents, benefits information and onboarding materials&nbsp;<\/td><td>Use audience targeting to ensure specific resources are shown only to relevant audiences (e.g., new hires). Consider Viva Engage web parts to guide new users to conversations and useful communities&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Temporary committee or task force&nbsp;<\/strong><\/td><td>Team Site&nbsp;<\/td><td>A short-term committee working on a sustainability initiative with tasks, timelines and deliverables&nbsp;<\/td><td>Set an end date and create a plan to archive or delete the site when the project is complete&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>IT support knowledge base&nbsp;<\/strong><\/td><td>Communication Site (or Hub for larger organisations)&nbsp;<\/td><td>An IT site where employees can find FAQs, troubleshooting guides and contact information for technical\/helpdesk support&nbsp;<\/td><td>Use the search functionality and organise content by categories (e.g., software, hardware, accounts support) to make information easy to find&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Large project with distinct workstreams&nbsp;<\/strong><\/td><td>Hub Site and Team Sites for each workstream&nbsp;<\/td><td>A strategic company initiative (e.g., digital transformation) with separate sites for infrastructure, training and change management teams&nbsp;<\/td><td>Link relevant news and events from each Team Site to the Hub Site to keep everyone aligned on progress and milestones&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>FEATURES AND BENEFITS FOR EACH SITE TYPE<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are the notable features of each site type. Compare the benefits of each site type to help you pick the ideal one for your project needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Hub Sites<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Intuitive Navigation:<\/strong> Hub Sites create a top-level navigation bar that is consistent across all linked sites, making navigation intuitive and easy for the end user&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Consistent Branding and Appearance:<\/strong> Hub Sites allow for standardised branding (e.g., logos, colours) across all connected sites for a uniformed experience&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Search across Sites: <\/strong>Hub sites aggregate search results from all connected sites, making it easy to find relevant content&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Cross-site News and Events:<\/strong> Hub sites pull in news and events from associated sites, making them visible in one central location&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Communication Sites<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Visually Rich Layouts:<\/strong> Communication Sites are designed to be visually appealing, making it easy to highlight important content with customisable templates, such as quick links, embedded videos&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Target Audience:<\/strong> Set up targeted content based on user\u2019s roles or departments to personalise the experience&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Limited Collaboration: <\/strong>Communication Sites work best for one-way information sharing rather than active document collaboration or project management&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Mobile Friendly: <\/strong>Ideal for viewing on mobile devices, which is helpful for widespread communications which are easily accessible&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Team Sites (Microsoft 365 Group Connected)<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Real-Time Collaboration:<\/strong> Team Sites support document co-authoring, comments and version control, making it easy to work together on shared files&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Microsoft 365 Integration: <\/strong>Integrates tightly with Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Planner and OneNote, which means team members can communicate, schedule and track work within the platform&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>User Permissions:<\/strong> Team members typically have full access, while external users or viewers can be restricted as necessary&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>News and Activity Feeds: <\/strong>Users get updates on recent activities, files and other team-specific content&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Private vs. Public Sites<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The purpose of having a private or public site is to control access and protect sensitive information while allowing certain sites to be open to broader audiences.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Use Cases:<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Private Sites: <\/strong>Use for teams dealing with sensitive information (HR, Legal, Finance) where document security is critical&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Public Sites: <\/strong>Ideal for Communication Sites that provide resources or information for the entire company&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Features and Benefits:<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Permission Control:<\/strong> Private sites have restricted permissions, and users need an invitation to access them&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>External Access Control:<\/strong> For both private and public sites, access for external users can be configured and managed based on organisational policies&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We hope this guide helped you in your decision in choosing the ideal type of SharePoint Site for your project. If you\u2019re interested in unlocking a more sophisticated, advanced version of SharePoint, check SharePoint Premium. Download <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/insights\/geek-speak\/modern-workplace\/the-essential-guide-to-sharepoint-premium\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Essential Guide to Sharepoint Premium<\/a> to learn more about this automation-powered content solution.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/insights\/resources\/ebooks-and-guides\/the-essential-guide-to-sharepoint-premium-whitepaper\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2024\/11\/Sharepoint-Premium-Banner.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-35483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2024\/11\/Sharepoint-Premium-Banner.png 600w, https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2024\/11\/Sharepoint-Premium-Banner-300x125.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Struggling to pick the right SharePoint site type? This guide explains Hub, Communication and Team sites to help you choose the best fit for your project needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":230,"featured_media":34974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-modern-workplace","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/230"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34970"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35485,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34970\/revisions\/35485"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insentragroup.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}