Create a SharePoint Site Template: The Complete Guide

In today's digital world, efficient information management and collaboration are paramount for any organization. SharePoint, Microsoft's collaborative platform, is a powerful tool to achieve these goals. However, to maximize its potential, it's essential to ensure consistency and standardization across your sites. This is where SharePoint site templates come into play.

This comprehensive guide will explain step-by-step how to create a custom SharePoint site template, whether using native SharePoint features or third-party solutions like Mozzaik365. Whether you are a SharePoint administrator, developer, or advanced user, you will discover how to standardize your sites, save valuable time, and optimize your content management.

Why are SharePoint Site Templates Essential?

SharePoint site templates are more than just a convenience; they are a cornerstone of efficiency and governance in your collaborative environment. Here's why they are indispensable:

• Consistency and Standardization: They ensure that all sites created for a similar purpose (e.g., project sites, department sites) have the same structure, navigation, libraries, and lists. This provides a uniform user experience and reduces confusion.
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• Time Savings and Efficiency: Instead of manually recreating the same elements (columns, views, pages) for each new site, a template allows you to deploy a complete structure with just a few clicks.
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• Error Reduction: By using a pre-validated template, you minimize the risk of configuration errors or omissions that could occur during manual creation.
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• Facilitating Governance: Templates help enforce your organization's predefined rules and structures, ensuring compliance and better content management.
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• Accelerated Deployment: New projects or teams can get started quickly with a ready-to-use, structured work environment.
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• Improved User Adoption: Uniform sites are easier to navigate and understand, which promotes better user adoption of SharePoint.

Prerequisites and Initial Considerations

Before you start creating your SharePoint site template, there are a few things to consider:

• Required Permissions: To create and manage templates, you generally need site collection administrator or site administrator rights on the site you wish to turn into a template.
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• SharePoint Version: The steps may vary slightly between SharePoint Online (Microsoft 365) and SharePoint Server versions (2013, 2016, 2019). This guide will primarily focus on SharePoint Online but will mention key differences.
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• Included/Excluded Content and Features: It's crucial to understand that certain elements are not always included in native site templates, such as complex workflows, unique permissions defined at the item level, or a very large volume of content. Careful planning is therefore essential.
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• Planning: Before you begin, clearly define your template's objectives, target audience, and specific features you need. What should your template include? Which libraries, lists, pages, and Web Parts are essential?

Steps to Create a SharePoint Site Template (Native)

Creating a SharePoint site template using native features is a relatively simple process, but it requires rigor.

A. Create the Base Site

Start by creating a SharePoint site that will serve as the foundation for your template.

• Choose the Right Site Type: Select the site type that best matches your template's purpose (e.g., a "Team Site" for internal collaboration or a "Communication Site" for information dissemination).
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• Name the Site Descriptively: Give your base site a clear name, for example, "Project Template Site" or "HR Department Template Site."

B. Customize the Site

This is the step where you configure your site to meet your specific needs.

Structure and Navigation:

• Create the necessary document libraries with custom columns (e.g., status, due date, document type) and views (e.g., "In Progress Documents," "Finalized Documents") that you need.
• Set up relevant lists (e.g., task list, event calendar, contact list) with their specific columns.
• Organize navigation by adding relevant quick links in the top menu or left-hand menu.

Pages and Web Parts:

• Design attractive home pages and subsite pages if necessary.
• Add and configure useful Web Parts (e.g., text Web Part, image Web Part, news, events, quick links).

Themes and Branding:

• Apply a custom theme or corporate theme to ensure visual consistency.
• Add your organization's logo.

Permissions (if applicable): Define the default SharePoint security groups you want to include in the template (e.g., "Project Members," "Project Visitors"). Important Note: Unique permissions defined at the item or folder level are generally not retained in native templates.‍

Default Content (optional): You can add example documents, pages, or list items to guide users who will create a site from this template.

C. Save the Site as a Template

Once your site is configured, you can save it.

• Go to Site Settings (usually via the gear icon in the top right).
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• Under "Site Actions," click the "Save site as template" option.
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• Give your template file a name (.wsp), a title (which will appear in the template gallery), and a description.
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• Decide whether you want to include content from the site in the template. If you check this option, existing documents and list items will be copied. If you don't check it, only the structure will be copied.

Modern SharePoint Alternative: If the "Save site as template" option is not available, use Site Scripts and Site Designs or the PnP Provisioning framework to export your configuration and deploy it to new sites. This approach is more robust for modern sites and supports automation at scale.

Use the PnP PowerShell or PnP CLI to extract the configuration of your base site into a provisioning template.

• This template will capture site structure, lists, content types, views, navigation, pages, and applied themes.
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• You can customize the template (XML/JSON) to refine what is included or excluded.

D. Download the Template (if necessary for SharePoint Server or reuse)

For SharePoint Server, or if you want to reuse the template on another site collection or environment, you will need to download the .wsp file.

• Go to the Solution Gallery (usually in site collection settings).
• Locate your .wsp file and download it.

E. Upload and Activate the Template

For SharePoint Online: Once the site is saved as a template, it will generally appear automatically in the list of available templates when creating a new site within the same site collection.

For SharePoint Server:

• Upload the .wsp file to the Solution Gallery of the new site collection where you want to use it.
• Activate the template feature in the site collection settings.

Modern Deployment Note: In SharePoint Online, deploying a .wsp template is only possible for classic sites. For modern sites, re-use is handled through Site Designs or scripted provisioning rather than manually uploading .wsp files.

F. Create a New Site from the Template

Now that your template is ready, you can create new sites based on it.

• When creating a new site (e.g., via the SharePoint Admin Center or directly from an existing site), you will have the option to select your custom template from the list of available templates.

Modern Experience Tip: With Site Designs, you can make templates available directly in the SharePoint site creation interface and even automate additional steps (e.g., applying a theme, adding navigation links) immediately after site creation.

Alternative: Create and Apply a SharePoint Site Template with Mozzaik365

Mozzaik365's Site Factory is a powerful feature that simplifies and automates the duplication of Modern SharePoint sites from templates. It offers a more centralized and robust approach than native features, especially for governance and large-scale deployments.

A. Overview of Mozzaik365 Site Factory

Mozzaik365's Site Factory allows you to quickly and easily duplicate SharePoint sites from templates. It distinguishes itself through two main actions:

• Create and Extract a Template: From an existing SharePoint site, you can extract a template.
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• Apply a Template to a Site: A saved template can be applied to an existing SharePoint site, transferring its structure and content.

A Mozzaik template is a faithful reproduction of most elements of a SharePoint site, including:

• Libraries, their settings, and their content (pages, documents, events).
• Lists and their content.
• Site-specific taxonomy.
• Site-specific search settings.
• SharePoint group permissions.
• Appearance elements (logo, header).

B. Technical Prerequisites for Mozzaik365

To use Mozzaik365's Site Factory, make sure you meet the following conditions:

Application Rights: The Site Factory requires specific rights, which are granted via the Azure Mozzaik365 Site Engine application. More information is available in the "Mozzaik365 Prerequisites and Installation" documentation.

User Access: The user must have access to the Site Factory in the Mozzaik365 configurator. This access is managed by the Mozzaik365 Global Administrator via the user management menu.

SharePoint Permissions:

• The user must be a Site Administrator of the site they wish to extract as a template.
• The user must be a Site Administrator of the site they wish to apply a template to.

C. Create a Template with Mozzaik365

Creating a template with Mozzaik365 is done by extracting an existing SharePoint site.

Process: A template is created by extracting an existing SharePoint site.

Steps to follow:

1. Create a SharePoint site of the same type (team or communication site) and with the same default language as the target site where you plan to apply the template.
2. ‍Customize this site by integrating all the libraries, lists, pages, Web Parts, and branding elements you want to find in your template.‍
3. Verify your rights: Make sure you are a Site Administrator of the site to be extracted. If not, request this role from your SharePoint Administrator.
4. ‍Access the Site Factory in the Mozzaik365 configurator.
5. ‍Select "Create a template."
6. Fill in the required information: a name for the template, the URL of the site to be extracted, and the SharePoint site category (team site or communication site). Validate.

D. Apply a Template with Mozzaik365

Once your templates are created, you can apply them to your existing sites.

Process: Apply an existing template to a target SharePoint site.

Steps to follow:

1. Copy the URL of the SharePoint site to which you want to apply your template.
2. Verify compatibility: The site type and default language of the target site must match those of the template for the application to be possible
3. Verify your rights: Make sure you are a Site Administrator of the target site.
4. Access the Site Factory in the Mozzaik365 configurator.
5. Choose the template you want to apply.
6. Enter the URL of the target SharePoint site and click "Apply."

Monitoring: You can track the progress of the template application in the Site Factory history, which will allow you to verify if the operation completed successfully or if an error occurred.

Best Practices for SharePoint Site Templates

Regardless of the method chosen, adopting best practices is crucial for the success of your SharePoint site templates:

• Careful Planning: Precisely define the needs and objectives of each site type before creating the template.
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• Simplicity: Do not overload the template with unnecessary features or excessive content. A simple template is easier to manage and maintain.
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• Rigorous Testing: Always test your template in different scenarios and with different users to ensure it works as expected and meets needs.
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• Documentation: Document each template: its purpose, content, custom elements, and usage instructions for administrators and end-users.
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• Version Control: Implement a version control process for your templates. SharePoint environments evolve, and your templates will need to be updated accordingly.
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• Governance: Establish clear policies on who can create templates, who can use them, and how they should be maintained.
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• User Training: Ensure that end-users are trained on how to use sites created from these templates, to maximize their adoption and effectiveness.

Common Issues and Troubleshooting

Creating and applying templates can sometimes encounter obstacles. Here are some common issues and troubleshooting tips:

• Template Size: .wsp files (for native templates) have size limits (often 50 MB for SharePoint Online). If your site is too large, the template cannot be saved. Reduce the included content.
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• Features Not Included: Remember that SharePoint Designer workflows, unique item-level permissions, and some complex features are not always included in native templates. Plan for manual steps or alternative solutions for these elements.
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• Dependencies: If your template site uses custom features or Web Parts that are not activated or deployed on the target site, creating the site from the template will fail. Ensure all dependencies are present on the target site.
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• Errors During Site Creation: Generic error messages may appear. Check ULS logs (for SharePoint Server) or the SharePoint admin center (for SharePoint Online) for details. Often, this is related to permission issues, template size, or missing features.

Conclusion

Creating SharePoint site templates is an essential strategy for any organization looking to optimize its content management and collaboration. Whether you use native SharePoint features or advanced solutions like Mozzaik365's Site Factory, the benefits in terms of consistency, efficiency, and governance are undeniable.

By investing time in planning and creating well-designed templates, you will enable your teams to get started faster, work in a more structured way, and generally improve the user experience of your SharePoint platform. Don't wait, start creating your own templates today and transform how your organization uses SharePoint!