A guide for SharePoint users to understand and use hub and spoke sites

What are hub and spoke sites?

• Hub and spoke sites are a way of organizing SharePoint sites into a flexible and scalable hierarchy.
• A hub site is a central site that connects and aggregates content from multiple associated sites, called spoke sites.
• Hub and spoke sites can help you create a consistent and unified experience for your users, while allowing them to work independently and collaboratively on their own sites.

Why use hub and spoke sites instead of subsites?

• Subsites are sites that are created under a parent site, forming a rigid and nested structure.
• Subsites can create problems such as navigation complexity, content duplication, permission inheritance, and site sprawl.
• Hub and spoke sites offer several advantages over subsites, such as:
• Easy and flexible navigation: You can use the hub site navigation bar to access any spoke site, and use the site logo to return to the hub site. You can also use the hub site search to find content across all spoke sites.
• Consistent look and feel: You can apply a common theme, logo, and branding to all spoke sites, and manage them from the hub site.
• Shared content and functionality: You can use the hub site to share news, events, documents, lists, web parts, and apps with all spoke sites, and control their visibility and access.
• Dynamic and adaptable structure: You can easily add, remove, or reorganize spoke sites as your needs change, without affecting the hub site or other spoke sites.

How to create and manage hub and spoke sites?

• To create a hub site, open a ticket to your support center indicating the URL to your SharePoint site that you are an Administrator.  Also indicate any user(s) that you would like to be allowed to associate spoke sites to your hub site.   The collaboration services team can make your site into a Hub site.
• To associate a spoke site with a hub site, go to the spoke site, click on Settings, and select Site information. Then, click on Hub site association, and select the hub site you want to join. Click Save.  You must be a site collection administrator for the spoke site.
• To manage a hub site, you need to be a hub site owner or have the permission to edit the hub site.
• You can manage the hub site settings, such as navigation, theme, logo, and permissions, from the hub site itself.
• You can also manage the spoke sites that are associated with the hub site, such as adding, removing, or reordering them, from the hub site settings.