How to Use SharePoint Sites and Pages for Team Collaboration

Applies to: SharePoint Online (Microsoft 365)
Article Type: How-To
Last Updated: 2026-05-17

Summary

This article explains how to navigate SharePoint sites, create and edit pages, use web parts to add content, and share sites with your team — giving you a central hub for documents, news, and project information.

Prerequisites

• Microsoft 365 account with SharePoint access.
• A web browser (Microsoft Edge or Chrome recommended).
• Appropriate permissions to create or edit pages (Site Member or Site Owner role).

Instructions

1. Navigate to Your SharePoint Sites

Find and access the SharePoint sites available to you.

1. Open your browser and go to office.com (or microsoft365.com). Sign in with your work account.
2. Click the App launcher (grid icon in the top-left corner) and select SharePoint.
3. The SharePoint start page displays:
   • Frequent sites — sites you visit often.
   • Following — sites you have explicitly followed.
   • Recent — sites you visited recently.
   • News from sites — aggregated news posts from your followed sites.
4. Click a site name to open it.

Tip: Bookmark your most-used team site URL for faster access. You can also pin the SharePoint app in Microsoft Teams for one-click navigation.

2. Understand Site Types

SharePoint offers two types of sites, each designed for a different purpose.

Site Type	Best For	Key Features
Team Site	Department or project collaboration	Connected to a Microsoft 365 Group, shared document libraries, Planner integration, private by default
Communication Site	Broadcasting news and updates	Designed for a wider audience, visually rich page layouts, no associated M365 Group, open by default

• Team Sites are ideal for working teams that share files and collaborate daily.
• Communication Sites are ideal for announcements, reports, and company-wide updates.

3. Explore the Site Home Page and Navigation

Every SharePoint site has a home page and a navigation structure that organizes content.

1. Top navigation bar — horizontal links at the top of the site (e.g., Home, Documents, Pages). Site owners can customize these links.
2. Left navigation panel (Team Sites only) — a vertical menu with quick links to document libraries, lists, and sub-pages.
3. Site contents — click Settings (gear icon) > Site contents to see all lists, libraries, and sub-sites within the site.
4. Search bar — search within the current site by typing in the search box at the top of the page.

Verification: You can see the site's document library, pages, and any lists created by your team.

4. Create a New Page

Pages are the building blocks of a SharePoint site — use them for project updates, how-to guides, team wikis, or announcements.

1. Navigate to your SharePoint site.
2. Click + New in the top-left corner and select Page.
3. Choose a template:
   • Blank — start from scratch.
   • Visual — a template with a large hero image area.
   • Basic Text — a simple text-focused layout.
4. Click Create page.
5. Click the title area at the top and type a descriptive page title.
6. Add content using web parts (see Method 5 below).
7. When finished, click Publish in the top-right corner to make the page visible to site members.

Note: Pages remain in Draft status until published. Only you can see a draft. After publishing, click Edit at any time to make changes, then Republish.

5. Add Content with Web Parts

Web parts are modular content blocks you can add to any SharePoint page.

1. While editing a page, hover between existing sections. A + button appears.
2. Click + to open the web part picker.
3. Select a web part. The most commonly used web parts include:
   • Text — rich text with formatting, links, and tables.
   • Image — insert a photo or graphic from your computer, OneDrive, or a URL.
   • Document library — embed a file library directly on the page.
   • Quick links — a set of styled links to important resources.
   • News — display recent news posts from the site.
   • People — show team members with photos and contact info.
   • Planner — embed a Planner board from your Microsoft 365 Group.
   • Embed — embed external content (e.g., a YouTube video, Power BI report).
4. Configure the web part using the edit pencil icon on the right side of the web part.
5. Click Publish (or Republish) when finished.

Verification: The page displays the web parts you added with their content rendered correctly.

6. Create a News Post

News posts appear on the SharePoint start page and in the News web part, reaching a broad audience.

1. Navigate to your SharePoint site.
2. Click + New > News post.
3. Choose a template (e.g., Blank, Visual, Basic Text).
4. Add a title, a cover image, and body content (using web parts, same as pages).
5. Click Post news to publish.
6. The news post appears in:
   • The site home page (if a News web part is present).
   • The SharePoint start page for anyone following the site.
   • The Teams channel connected to the site (if applicable).

Tip: Pin important news posts to the top of the News web part so they remain visible.

7. Share a Site with Team Members

Control who can access your site and what they can do.

1. Click Settings (gear icon) in the top-right corner of the site.
2. Click Site permissions.
3. Click Share site (or Invite people).
4. Enter the names or email addresses of the people or groups you want to add.
5. Set a permission level:
   • Site Owner — full control (manage permissions, delete site).
   • Site Member — edit content, upload files, create pages.
   • Site Visitor — read-only access.
6. Click Add.

Note: For Team Sites connected to a Microsoft 365 Group, adding members to the Group automatically grants them Site Member access. See How to Request Access to a SharePoint Site or File for the visitor perspective.

8. Customize Site Navigation

Organize your site's navigation links so visitors can find content quickly.

1. Click Edit on the left navigation panel (Team Site) or top navigation bar (Communication Site).
2. Click + Add link to add a new navigation item.
3. Enter a Display name and the URL (or select a page within the site).
4. Drag links to reorder them.
5. To create a sub-menu, drag a link underneath and slightly to the right of another link.
6. Click Save when finished.

Verification: Navigation links appear in the expected order and all point to valid destinations.

Troubleshooting

INFO

Most SharePoint permission errors can be resolved by asking a Site Owner to verify your access level. If you are unsure who the owner is, click Settings > Site permissions to view the current owners.

Symptom / Error	Potential Cause	Solution
"Access Denied" or "You need permission"	Insufficient permissions	Request access from the Site Owner. See How to Request Access to a SharePoint Site or File.
"New" button is missing or greyed out	You have Visitor (read-only) access	Ask a Site Owner to upgrade you to Site Member.
Page edits not visible to others	Page is still in Draft status	Click Publish or Republish to make changes live.
Web part shows "Something went wrong"	Broken link or misconfigured source	Edit the web part and verify the data source (URL, library, or list) is correct.
Site does not appear in search results	Site is new or not yet indexed	Wait up to 24 hours for SharePoint search indexing to complete.

Related Articles

• How to Manage Files in SharePoint Document Libraries
• How to Follow Sites and Set Up Alerts in SharePoint
• How to Request Access to a SharePoint Site or File
• How to Use List Views and Filters in SharePoint
• How to Share Files and Folders via OneDrive
• Understanding Microsoft 365 Groups, Teams, and SharePoint Sites
• Understanding Where Your Files Live — OneDrive vs. SharePoint vs. Teams

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