How to Create a SharePoint Site From Template: Full Tutorial

Last Updated on August 26, 2023

Do you want to create a site from a site template?

It makes sense for those who don’t want to waste time restructuring a site from scratch to achieve a certain look and feel.

In this article, I’ll explain how to create a site template first and then proceed on how to use that site template to create a SharePoint site.

Let’s get started.

What are SharePoint site templates?

Since the dawn of SharePoint, there were already site templates — which gave rise to different types of sites.

Currently, here are the basic site templates in SharePoint:

1. Team site (modern)
2. Communication site (modern)
3. Document center (classic)
4. Enterprise wiki (classic)
5. Publishing portal (classic)
6. Content center (modern)

Note: These are not SharePoint design templates. They are more on the different purposes of a site.

In addition, there are other templates you can access from the admin center. They are grouped into four categories:

1. Collaboration
2. Enterprise
3. Publishing
4. Custom

From the name itself, you can derive that the category we need to use later on is “custom” — where we upload the site template.

Currently, all methods to create a site are self-service. No out-of-the-box automatic SharePoint site creation yet.

Let’s now talk about how you can create a site template easily:

Related: Using Site Templates in SharePoint Online: Beginner’s Guide

How to create a SharePoint site template

Now, there may be a lot of site templates that come by default. However, it’s a different story if you want to create a site from an existing site that you have.

For that, you have to save a site as a template. But before you proceed with that, take note of these things first:

1. The “Save site as template” setting is only accessible through a link as they are slowly removing this feature.
2. This feature can’t be used with sites that come with a Microsoft 365 Group.
3. This feature can’t also be used with communication sites.

Note: Originally, you will be able to find the “Save site as template” option in the “Site Actions” group on the site settings page.

To save a site as a template, you need to add the link below to your site link:

/_layouts/15/savetmpl.aspx

For example, if your site address is:

https://tenant.sharepoint.com/sites/sitename

This is what the site URL will look like:

https://tenant.sharepoint.com/sites/sitename/_layouts/15/savetmpl.aspx

On the next page:

• Fill out the information about the template
• Decide whether or not to include the content (disable if the origin site contains confidential information)
• Click the “OK” button below the page

The system will then confirm to you that the operation was completed successfully and you can find the template in the solution gallery.

The next step will be to use that template:

Related: How to Create a SharePoint Online Project Site: Step-By-Step

How to create a SharePoint site from a site template

Previously, the steps here will depend on what you want to create — whether that’s a site collection or simply a subsite.

Unfortunately, it now seems that Microsoft has already taken away the option to create a subsite from a site template.

Note: This means you can only now use a custom template with a new site collection.

What you need to do first is to navigate to the SharePoint admin center:

• Click the app launcher icon in your tenant
• Click “Admin” from the app list

From there:

• Expand the admin center options in the left panel
• Click the “SharePoint” option from the list

Now that you’re inside the SharePoint admin center:

• Expand the “Sites” menu in the left panel
• Navigate to the “Active sites” page

On the next page:

• Click the “Create” button on the command bar
• Click “Other options” from the right panel

After that:

• Bring down the template dropdown list
• Click the “More templates” option from the list

On the next page:

• Fill out the details for the new site collection
• Go to the “Custom” tab in the template selection
• Select the custom template you want to use
• Click the “OK” button

Note: For applying SharePoint layout templates, check this guide: How to Use the SharePoint Look Book.

Do you have any questions regarding how to create a SharePoint site from a site template? If so, simply leave a comment below.

For inquiries and other concerns, please use the site’s contact form and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.