SharePoint hub sites
A SharePoint hub site connects a family of related sites. It gives them shared navigation and branding, rolls up their content and search, and gives the family a home destination. A hub does not change the permissions of the sites associated with it, so people see only what they already had access to.
A SharePoint Administrator or above registers a hub site in the SharePoint admin center, and an organization can have up to 2,000 of them. This page covers what a hub does, the limits, how to create one, how sites join, and what to do before you delete or archive one.
What a hub site gives you
- Shared navigation and brand. Associated sites inherit the hub's theme and shared navigation. Hub navigation can have up to three levels.
- Roll-up of content and search. The hub's News, Highlighted content, Sites and Events web parts can show content from all associated sites or only selected ones. The hub's search scope covers its associated sites.
- A home destination. The hub site itself is the starting point for the family. Hub sites are most often created from a communication site.
News flows up from an associated site to the hub, not down from the hub to the associated sites. Information on the hub is security trimmed, so a person who cannot open a site will not see its content rolled up.
Limits
| Limit | Figure |
|---|---|
| Hub sites per organization | 2,000, including hub-to-hub associations |
| Sites associated with one hub | No limit |
| Hubs a single site can belong to | One hub family |
| Links if you show every associated site in hub navigation | Technically no more than 500, and no more than 100 recommended |
| Sites shown by the Sites web part filtered to all sites in the hub | 99 |
| Hub-to-hub association | Content can be searched and shown up to three levels of association |
For the shared search scope, Microsoft's planning guidance notes there is no hard limit on associated sites, but performance can suffer with very large numbers, around 2,000.
Create a hub site
A SharePoint Administrator or above can turn an existing site into a hub site. Microsoft recommends a communication site, or a team site that uses the new template. Sites already associated with another hub cannot be converted to a hub site.
- Go to Active sites in the SharePoint admin center.
- Select the site, select Hub on the command bar, and select Register as hub site.
- Enter a display name for the hub, and choose the individual users or security groups allowed to associate sites with it. If you leave People who can associate sites with this hub empty, any user can associate their site.
- Select Save.
To change the display name or the list of people who can associate sites later, use PowerShell or the hub site settings on the hub.
How sites join a hub
A site joins a hub family when its owner associates it with the hub, as long as a SharePoint Administrator has allowed that owner to do so. When a site joins:
- it inherits the hub site theme and shared navigation,
- its content rolls up in web parts set to all sites in the hub, and
- it is included in the hub's search scope.
Joining does not add the site to the hub navigation automatically. The hub site owner decides which sites appear there. From the Hub menu on the Active sites page you can also associate a site, change its hub, or disassociate it.
Permissions
Associating a site with a hub does not change the permissions on the hub or on the site. Make sure everyone you allow to associate sites with the hub has permission to the hub. For a better visitor experience, a read permission group on the hub can be added to associated sites.
Delete or archive a hub site
- To delete a hub site, unregister it as a hub site first, then delete it according to its site type. Sites associated with the hub can be deleted like any other site. How to delete a SharePoint site has the steps.
- To archive a hub site with Microsoft 365 Archive, unregister it as a hub site first. How to archive a SharePoint site covers Microsoft 365 Archive.
- To archive the inactive files inside the sites of a hub, Squirrel works at file level in document libraries, so the site, its hub association and the navigation stay as they are while inactive files move into Azure Blob Storage in your own subscription.
A hub's sites are where storage builds up, one library at a time. The free SharePoint Storage Explorer reports storage by site, library and file, which shows which sites in a hub family hold the weight.
Frequently asked questions
What is a SharePoint hub site?
A site registered as a hub that connects related sites with shared navigation and branding, a roll-up of content, and a shared search scope.
How many hub sites can I have?
Up to 2,000 per organization. Any site labeled as a hub counts toward the limit, including hub-to-hub associations.
How many sites can I associate with a hub?
There is no limit on the number of associated sites. For hub navigation, Microsoft recommends no more than 100 links, and the Sites web part filtered to all sites in the hub shows up to 99.
Can a site belong to more than one hub?
No. A site can associate with only one hub family. Hub families can be linked through navigation or hub-to-hub association.
Who can create a hub site?
A SharePoint Administrator or above in Microsoft 365. The hub site owner then manages navigation and the hub's content.
Does a hub site change permissions?
No. Associating a site with a hub does not change permissions on either site, and content on the hub is security trimmed.
How do I delete a hub site?
Unregister it as a hub site first, then delete it according to its site type.
Related reading
- How to delete a SharePoint site - the steps, the 93-day window and what happens to storage.
- How to archive a SharePoint site - Microsoft 365 Archive steps, pricing and limits.
- What a SharePoint site collection is - the unit that hubs connect.
- Every SharePoint Online limit - the numbers behind sites, libraries and navigation.
- SharePoint Storage Explorer - free tool that reports storage by site, library and file.
Mark Smith co-founded SmiKar Software in 2015 and has spent the past decade helping organisations solve Microsoft 365 data management challenges. He works with the SmiKar team to build solutions for SharePoint archiving, storage optimisation, governance and compliance, supporting customers from growing businesses through to Fortune 500 enterprises.
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