Microsoft has announced a new update to SharePoint that will direct users to the template gallery, rather than a blank canvas, when they attempt to create new content on the platform. The Redmond giant said that this will boost productivity by making it easier for users to find the right template, however, it also creates a more rigid experience that promotes corporate-approved templates over custom user-designed templates. This comes as Microsoft is shifting the focus in SharePoint towards AI.
The change gives users access to 31 new templates and unified “Page” and “News” workflows. With this update, Microsoft will be hoping that more engagement-heavy content will be created now that the design work is being handled via templates.
One of the notable changes landing with this update is that the “Site Contents” menu will now trigger the full template gallery when a user clicks “New Page”. This is a pretty big change in terms of flow as it replaces an immediate action with a browsing step that could disrupt power users.
The update brings 31 new templates that specifically focus on storytelling and announcement scenarios. With this, Microsoft is trying to compete with modern internal communications platforms that give organizations a more polish, magazine-style aesthetic.
The update will follow a rather compressed timeline, moving from targeted release to worldwide general availability in just one month, giving organizations just a little bit of time to update training materials before the blank page entry disappears for staff. Internal communication teams stand to gain the most with filtering by categories such as News or Storytelling making it easier to enforce a consistent look across sites.
Notably, the announcement is vague about how custom organization-wide templates will interact with the new templates from Microsoft. It is unclear if the Microsoft templates will bury or sideline organizations’ custom templates.
The Targeted Release should have begun rolling out now, with completion expected in mid-March. General Availability for Worldwide, GCC, GCCH, and DoD tenants will the begin rollout in late March with completion by early April. You can learn more on the Microsoft 365 Admin Center under message ID MC1240743.