In this SharePoint Online tutorial, we will discuss the sharepoint online sites web part.
We will discuss, What is sharepoint online sites web part is and how to dynamically display the sites in the modern SharePoint Sites web part we will see a few examples based on the modern SharePoint online environment.
The Sites web part is not available in SharePoint Server 2019.
What is SharePoint Online Sites web part?
- In Modern SharePoint, Microsoft provides a lot of Out of box web parts, one of the web part is the Sites web part.
- SharePoint Online Sites web part is used to display sites on the SharePoint Online site page.
- We can display sites dynamically, based on the frequent sites for the current users or the recent sites for the current users.
- We also have an option to select a specific site that we want to display in the modern SharePoint sites web part.
- The maximum number of sites that we can display on the site’s web part is 99.
- When we select sites from the SharePoint modern page, it navigates to the selected site.
Read SharePoint Online Divider and Spacer Web Part
How to add sites web part in SharePoint online
Let us see how to add the Sites web part to modern SharePoint sites,
- Go to the modern SharePoint site page where you want to add the Sites web part to the SharePoint site page.
- Choose Edit Page at the top right of the SharePoint site page.
- Select + circled icon then add a new Section layout.
- In the search box, enter the sites and select the Sites web part.
In the below screenshot, we can see that the site’s web part is added, Select +Add to select sites to display in the site’s web part. In addition, we can also add titles to the Sites web part in the modern SharePoint site.
This is how we can add the Sites web part in the modern SharePoint.
Configure Sites web part in SharePoint online
Let us see how we can edit and configure the sharepoint online sites web part.
- Click on the Edit web part properties icon in the Sites web part, it will open the sites web part properties panel as shown below:
- Now we can see two options in the property panel of the sites web part, they are:
- Content
- Layout
Modern SharePoint Sites web part contents
Let us discuss how to select and display contents in the SharePoint online sites web part,
- We can see two options Under Contents in the property panel of the sites web part, they are:
- Frequent sites for current user
- Select sites
- If we select the Frequent sites for current users display the most recently used sites in the Modern SharePoint sites web part.
- If we select the Select sites option then we can select a specific site from the frequent site and recent sites to display sites in the Modern SharePoint sites web part.
- We can also able to see the selected sites count, Click Republish to save your changes.
In the below screenshot, we can see the selected sites count, and also in the Sites web part, it displays only the selected sites.
This is how we can select and display sites in the SharePoint online sites web part.
Read SharePoint Image Web Part
SharePoint Online Sites web part Layout
Let us now discuss the layouts presented on the modern SharePoint sites web part.
- We can select different layouts like Filmstrip, Grid, and Compact to display the sites in the site’s web part in modern SharePoint.
- We can also hide the sites web part if there are no sites to display. For that, we have to check the hide this web part option.
Filmstrip Layout
By default, it displays 8 site items. Below the screenshot, represents the Filmstrip layout in SharePoint online sites web part. Click Republish to save your changes.
Grid Layout
By default, it displays 8 site items. Below the screenshot, represents the Grid layout in SharePoint online sites web part. Click Republish to commit your changes.
Compact Layout
By default, it displays 8 site items. Below the screenshot, represents the Compact layout in SharePoint online sites web part. Click Republish to save your changes.
These are the three layouts presented on the SharePoint online sites web part.
- The maximum number of sites that we can display on the site’s web part is 1 to 99.
- We can also hide the sites web part if there are no sites to display. For that, we have to check the hide this web part option as shown below:
This is how we can edit and configure the Sites web part in modern SharePoint.
Read SharePoint Quick Links Web Part
Reorder and Remove sites in modern SharePoint sites web part
Let us see how we can reorder and remove sites in the Sites web part in modern SharePoint.
Yes, it is possible to reorder and remove the sites in the site’s web part.
Follow the below steps to reorder sites:
- We can reorder the site items only in the card layout (Grid Layout).
- It is not possible to reorder the site items in the filmstrip layout and compact layout.
- Only in the edit mode, we can reorder the site items, once published we cannot edit them.
- We can also use the ctrl +left arrow or the ctrl +right arrow to reorder them and click Republish to commit your changes.
In the below screenshot, you can see I have reordered the sites and displayed them in the modern SharePoint sites web part.
Follow the below steps to remove sites:
- Only in the edit mode, we can remove the site items, once published we cannot remove them.
- Select the X icon to remove the selected sites.
- We can remove the selected items in all three layouts presented in the site web parts. Click Republish to commit your changes.
In the below screenshot, you can see I have removed two sites called the Internal site and the Team site example site, the remaining site are displayed in the modern SharePoint sites web part.
This is how we can reorder and remove sites in the Sites web part in modern SharePoint.
Read How to use File viewer web part in SharePoint Online
SharePoint Online sites web part not showing all sites
- Currently, there is no option called All sites in the hub in the site selection.
- Either we can select a specific site from the frequent site and recent sites to display sites in the Modern SharePoint sites web part.
Move, duplicate or delete the Modern SharePoint Online Sites Web Part
Let us see how we can move, duplicate or delete the sites web part in modern SharePoint Online.
To Move the sites web part, select the Move web part option in the toolbox on the left of the site’s web part box.
To make the Duplicate Sites web part select the Duplicate Web Part option available in the toolbox. This will make a duplicate copy of the site’s web part.
To delete or remove your site’s web part from the SharePoint Online site, select the Delete web part option in the toolbox.
This is how we can move, duplicate or delete the site’s web part in the modern SharePoint Online site.
You may like the following SharePoint web part tutorials:
- SharePoint Highlighted content web part
- SharePoint Image Gallery Web Part
- SharePoint Button and Call to action Web Part
- SharePoint Group Calendar Web Part
- SharePoint Online Events Web Part
- SharePoint Text Web Part
In this SharePoint tutorial, we learned the SharePoint Online Sites web part, and how to add a Sites web part for the SharePoint Online modern site. And also covered below topics:
- Configure the Sites web part in SharePoint online
- Modern SharePoint Sites web part contents
- SharePoint Online Sites web part Layout
- Reorder and Remove sites in modern SharePoint sites web part
- SharePoint Online sites web part not showing all sites
- Move, duplicate or delete the Modern SharePoint Sites Web Part
After working for more than 15 years in Microsoft technologies like SharePoint, Office 365, and Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI), I thought will share my SharePoint expertise knowledge with the world. Our audiences are from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, etc. For my expertise knowledge and SharePoint tutorials, Microsoft has been awarded a Microsoft SharePoint MVP (9 times). I have also worked in companies like HP, TCS, KPIT, etc.