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Site Templates

Site templates are pre-built designs Microsoft provides for SharePoint team sites and communication sites. Each ships with pre-populated pages, page templates, news post examples, and web parts arranged around a specific business scenario, such as a department site, IT help desk, crisis management hub, or new employee onboarding experience. Applying a template gives a site a professional starting point in minutes, and everything in it remains fully customizable, so teams adapt the structure instead of designing from a blank page.
Related Features
Communication Site, Hub Site, Page Templates, Site, Team Site

Common Use Cases

  • Department sites: the Department template provides a ready-made structure for HR, finance, marketing, and other functions
  • IT help desk: a template with pages and web parts arranged for service announcements, resources, and support content
  • Crisis management: a communication-focused template for sharing urgent updates and authoritative resources
  • New employee onboarding: a template that organizes welcome content, checklists, and resources for new hires
  • Project and event sites: team site templates such as project management and event planning that give working teams a head start
  • Standardized site rollouts: organization templates that stamp consistent branding and structure onto every new site

Benefits

  • Speed: a site goes from empty to presentable in minutes instead of being designed from scratch
  • Professional design: templates reflect proven layouts and web part combinations for each scenario
  • Built-in examples: pre-populated pages, news post templates, and page templates show authors what good content looks like
  • Consistency: teams that start from the same template produce sites that look and behave alike
  • Fully customizable: everything a template adds can be edited, rearranged, or removed afterward
  • Organization templates: companies can publish their own templates so new sites match internal standards automatically

How It Works

  • Template gallery: site owners browse available templates, with Microsoft-provided templates and organization templates shown in separate tabs
  • Preview before applying: each template can be reviewed in detail to see what pages and web parts it includes
  • Type-specific options: team sites and communication sites each have their own set of templates suited to collaboration or communication
  • Additive application: applying a template creates a new default home page and new content while existing pages, lists, and libraries remain in Site contents
  • Site scripts behind the scenes: organization templates are built from site scripts that can apply themes, create lists, and set navigation automatically

Limits and Nuances

  • Site owner permission required: applying a template requires site owner permissions or higher
  • No content merge: a template does not blend into existing pages; it adds new content alongside what is already there
  • Templates are scenario starters: the pages and web parts contain sample content meant to be replaced, not a finished site
  • Scoped availability: administrators can control which organization templates are available, including limiting specific templates to certain people
  • Modern templates only: the built-in template gallery applies to SharePoint in Microsoft 365
  • Reapplying templates: a different template can be applied later, which again adds new content without deleting existing pages

Common Questions About Site Templates

What is a SharePoint site template?

A site template is a pre-built design for a SharePoint site that includes pre-populated pages, page templates, news post examples, and configured web parts arranged around a business scenario. Microsoft provides templates for both team sites and communication sites, and organizations can add their own templates so new sites start with approved structure and branding.

Does applying a template delete my existing content?

No. When a template is applied to an existing site, the new content does not merge with or replace what is already there. A new default home page is created along with the template’s pages and web parts, while existing pages, lists, and libraries are preserved and remain accessible from Site contents.

What permissions do I need to apply a site template?

Applying a site template requires site owner permissions or higher on the site in question. Site members and visitors can use the site once it is built, but only owners can change its template. For organization templates, administrators can additionally control which templates are visible, including limiting specific templates to certain people.

What is the difference between Microsoft templates and organization templates?

Microsoft templates are built-in designs that ship with SharePoint and cover common scenarios such as departments, projects, onboarding, and crisis communication. Organization templates are custom templates created by your administrators using site scripts, and they appear in their own tab when choosing a template. They typically carry company branding, navigation, and pre-approved structure.

Can I customize a site after applying a template?

Yes, completely. A template is a starting point, not a locked design. Every page, web part, list, and navigation link the template adds can be edited, rearranged, or deleted. Most organizations replace the sample content with their own, keep the layout patterns that work, and adjust the structure to match how the team operates.

Are built-in templates enough for a full intranet?

Built-in templates are excellent starting points for individual sites, but a complete intranet also needs information architecture, hub structure, navigation, and consistent design across many sites. Greg Zelfond, the consultant behind LookBook 365, builds full SharePoint intranets out of the box, and the LookBook 365 gallery shows finished designs that go well beyond the starter templates.