SharePoint User's Guide

Creating Your Own Sites

Once a team site has been created for your company or group, you can create additional sites and workspaces. SharePoint places no restrictions on the number of sites you create; however, you may be limited by the quality of the hardware on which the site resides. Larger, more powerful computers with more memory can host more sites than smaller, less powerful machines.

When you create your own site, you will usually choose a site template that automatically generates a predefined layout. Once the site is in place, you can modify it by adding additional Web Parts, rearranging its layout, or performing other customizations.

Using a Predefined SharePoint Template

A site template provides a default structure and starting point for creating a team site. Some companies use a site template to ensure that a consistent style is maintained throughout all of its SharePoint sites. Even after a template is implemented, you can still make modifications to the site by adding additional Web Parts or by changing the site layout.

A SharePoint team site comes equipped with eight predefined templates. You can use any of these templates for your own site, or you can create a new site template for your own use. Windows SharePoint Services includes the following default site templates:

Team site

Includes both document libraries and lists teams can use to manage information.

Blank site

Using a web page editor, you can add SharePoint Services features to your site. This option leaves you with a blank site with no features on its home page.

Document workspace

Provides everything necessary for managing documents, including a document library, a task list, and a links Web Part.

Basic meeting workspace

Provides the basic skeleton for a meeting, including a document library and the list items attendees, agenda, and objectives Web Parts.

Blank meeting workspace

Similar to a blank site, a blank meeting workspace gives you full customization over the meeting site.

Decision meeting workspace

Provides everything necessary to manage decisions, including everything in a basic meeting workspace with the addition of the decisions list Web Part.

Social meeting workspace

Provides everything necessary to manage social occasions, including picture library, attendees, discussions, directions, images, and things to bring Web Parts.

Multipage meeting workspace

Provides a basic meeting skeleton, including agenda, attendees, and objectives, and two blank pages for customization.

Anyone with permission to create a new site can create one with a site template. To implement a site template:

1. Click on the Create link on the top link bar.

2. Select Sites and Workspaces.

3. Enter the following information:

   • The title of the site

   • The description of the site

   • The URL of the site

   • The user permissions mode

4. Click the Create button.

5. Select a template from the Template list on the righthand side. Figure 1-8 shows the Template Selection page.

6. Click OK.

Figure 1-8. Template Selection screen

Using Custom Site Templates

If the eight default templates are not sufficient to meet your needs, you can create a custom site template. The process of creating a custom site template requires that you have administrator-level permissions for the site.

To create a custom site template:

1. Click Site Settings on the top menu bar.

2. Select Go to Site Administration under the Administration section.

3. Click "Save site as template" under the Management and Statistics section.

4. Enter the following information into the form that is displayed:

• The filename to use for the site template in the File name text box.

• The title to use for the template in the Template title text box. This will appear in the template gallery selection box.

• A description for the template in the Template description box.

• Optionally, you can include all the content that currently exists in the site. To do this, select the Include content checkbox.

1. Click OK.