Create a New SharePoint Site in Microsoft 365

Summary

Instructions for creating a new SharePoint site in Microsoft 365, including choosing between a Teams site and a Communication site, filling in the site details, and adding owners and members. Applies to Bowdoin students, faculty, and staff who need a space to store and share content with a group.

Body

Questions

  • How do I create a SharePoint site in Microsoft 365?
  • How do I make a new SharePoint site for my team or department?
  • What is the difference between a Teams site and a Communication site in SharePoint?
  • How do I set up a space in SharePoint to store and share files with a group?
  • How do I add owners and members when I create a SharePoint site?
  • Where do I find the Create site button in SharePoint?

Environment

This article applies to Bowdoin students, faculty, and staff who have a Bowdoin Microsoft 365 account. SharePoint is a Microsoft 365 product designed to help people store, link, and share data with individuals or groups, and it can serve as a collaboration hub for people both internal and external to Bowdoin.

Resolution

  1. In a browser, go to login.bowdoin.edu.
  2. Select the Microsoft 365 tile.
  3. Select SharePoint from the list of applications on the Microsoft 365 homepage.
  4. In the SharePoint workspace, select the Create site button in the upper-left corner of the site ribbon.
  5. Select the type of site to create, a Teams site or a Communication site. Review the summary of each before continuing:
    • Teams site: A private site designed for collaboration with people inside and outside of the organization. Best used when a group of people need to connect, work together, and share data.
    • Communication site: A public site that serves content and is open to the entire organization. Best used for broad communications to a large audience.
  6. Begin filling in the Site name to open additional options for the site build. The options are described below:
    • Site name: The display name of the site.
    • Group email address: Each site is associated with a Microsoft 365 group, and this is the alias of the group email address. It is best practice to keep the site name and email address the same (minus spaces).
    • Site address: The direct URL to the SharePoint site. It is best practice not to modify the site URL.
    • Sensitivity: Currently on the Bowdoin road map, labels will be released to allow classification of site data sensitivity.
    • Privacy: Private or Public. Keeping the default is suggested for both Teams and Communication sites.
    • Select a language: The default language for the site.
    SharePoint site creation form with fields for site name, group email, site address, description, sensitivity, privacy, and language.
  7. Select Next.
  8. Add additional owners or members to the site. Each person receives a notification that they have been invited to the site.
    • Owners: Have Full Control of the site.
    • Members: Can add, modify, or delete site content.
  9. Select Finish to begin working in the new SharePoint site.
Note: After the site is created, its membership is managed through the site's permissions groups. For details, see Add and Remove Members to a SharePoint Permissions Group and Review User Permissions Inside a SharePoint Site in the Related Articles section.

Additional Help

If you need further assistance, you have several options:

  • Bowdoin Bot: Chat with Bowdoin Bot directly from any KB page for instant answers.
  • Phone: Call the Bowdoin College Service Desk at (207) 725-3030.
  • In person: Visit the Tech Hub in Smith Union during business hours.
  • Submit a ticket: Request assistance through the Service Catalog.

Details

Details

Article ID: 128549
Created
Tue 2/23/21 2:56 PM
Modified
Mon 8/3/26 4:51 PM