How to Create a SharePoint Hub Site? A Step By Step Tutorial

If you are also one of those who need help to keep tracking the different SharePoint sites of your organization. It is a frustrating task and sometimes you might not remember to update the information on the necessary sites. That’s where the SharePoint hub Sites came into the picture. A SharePoint hub site is like a central location for your SharePoint environment. It simplifies the process of managing your SharePoint sites efficiently. In this guide, we will walk you through the steps for how to create a SharePoint hub site.

We will also cover the best practices to help you get the most out of this SharePoint hub site feature. So, let’s get started.

What is a Hub Site in SharePoint Online?

Hub sites in SharePoint Online are a new method to manage multiple SharePoint sites effectively. There are different SharePoint sites and each has its look and feel. However, sometimes you might need to move from one site to another. But it is impossible with a few clicks. Fortunately, we now have the hub site option that can tie multiple sites into one place. Through this, you can navigate through all of them in a few clicks.

Features of Hub Sites in SharePoint Online

There are several features of hub sites in SharePoint Online. Some of them are as follows:-

1. All the associated sites of a hub follow a consistent look as per the theme and logos used in the hub site.
2. Improvised the navigation through all the SharePoint sites.
3. Searching the hub site shows the content from all the associated sites. It also solved the issue of SharePoint search not working.
4. All the activities of the users are done on the associated sites.

Limits of Hub Sites

According to Microsoft, there is a limit to the hub sites:-

• You can create a maximum 2,000 of hub sites in one tenant.
• There is no limit to creating associated sites in one hub.

Prerequisites for Creating a Hub Site in SharePoint Online

• Before directly jumping to the creation of a hub site in SharePoint Online. You must implement a number of changes.
• Having a running Microsoft 365 subscription plan to run SharePoint.
• You need to have admin rights to perform the sensitive actions in the Microsoft 365 tenant.
• A Communication site for making it a hub site.

How to Create a SharePoint Hub Site?

After completing all of the prerequisites for the hub site. It’s time to create a hub site. It involves several steps. So, let’s start discussing them sequentially.

Step 1. Register Site as a Hub Site

You cannot directly create a hub site. However, you need to create a communication site and then make SharePoint site as hub site. So, let’s create a communication site first.

1. Open the Microsoft 365 Admin Center and then the SharePoint Admin Center.
2. Click Sites and then Active Sites.
3. Click Create a Communication Site.
4. Apply the details such as theme, title, and so on, Then finally create.
5. Now go to the Active Sites and enable the checkbox of the newly created communication site.
6. From the drop-down option of hub, choose the Register as hub site option.
7. Assign the name of the hub and then Save.

You can also create a SharePoint hub Site using the below PowerShell command.

Register-SPOHubSite -Site https://Demo.sharepoint.com/sites/Dept -Principals $null

Step 2. Associate Other Sites to the Hub

You can add the other sites to the hub, by using the two different approaches..

SharePoint Admin Center

1. Open the SharePoint Admin Center.
2. Go to Sites > Active Sites.
3. Tick the checkbox of the site that you want to add to the hub.
4. Now, from the hub drop-down, select the Associate with a hub.
5. Provide the hub name and Save.

SharePoint Site Itself

Open the SharePoint Site, click on the Gear icon, and then Site Information.
Select the hub where you want to associate the site and then Save.

PowerShell

Add-SPOHubSiteAssociation https://Demo.sharepoint.com/sites/Accounts `
-HubSite https://Demo1.sharepoint.com/sites/Dept

Step 3. Customize the Hub Site

Now, it’s time to make the hub site interactable. So, first, add the website’s links.

1. Hub Navigation

1. Open the SharePoint hub.
2. Now, click on Add Link.
3. Enter the link of the associated site and Name.
4. Finally, click on OK and Save.

2. Theme

Apply a consistent theme to the created hub Site and that will automatically applied to the associated sites. It will give a unified look and feel.

3. Implement Hub Search

To simplify the search within the hub, you need to add the global search option. It will return the result of the query based on all of the associated sites within the hub site.

4. Add Hub Logo

To add the logo to the hub site, you need to open the hub site. Then click on the Gear icon and then hub site settings. Now hit on the upload option to choose the logo and then Save.

Restrict Users from not Connecting their Sites to the Hub Site

If you do not want, anyone can connect their sites to the hub site. Then you need to set up the below setting.

1. Open the Hub site settings.
2. Now, enable the “require approval for associated sites to join” option.
3. Hit Save.

It will prevent the users from directly connecting to the hub site. If any users try to connect to your site, then it will send the approval request to the hub owner.

Best Practices for SharePoint Hub Sites

1. When you create a SharePoint hub Site, then you can use the SharePoint hub sites effectively with the below best practices.
2. Regularly review and remove irrelevant or outdated content from the hub site.
3. Manage a consistent and relevant theme for the associated sites for a unified experience.
4. Educate teams about the importance of hub sites and how to contribute to them.
5. Use strong security measures to protect the sensitive data from unauthorized access.

Have you ever thought, if you need to perform migration due to any reasons then what will you do? No worries, most of the organizations are still unaware of the migration process. But there is a Most Reliable SharePoint Migration Tool that can migrate all of your sites to the destination account.

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Here are the quick steps of the professional tool.

• Step 1. Install and Run the tool.
• Step 2. Choose Office 365 as the Source & Destination.
• Step 3. Check the Sites checkbox.
• Step 4. Complete Source & Destination account details.
• Step 5. Load the users and Start Migration.

Conclusion

How to create a SharePoint hub site? Now the query is resolved and you do not need to go anywhere else in search for the same. Here we have elaborated on the complete process of creating and customizing SharePoint hub sites. Also, do not forget to follow the best practices to get efficient outcomes from the SharePoint hub sites.