🌐 What Is a Hub Site in SharePoint?

A Hub Site in SharePoint Online is a special type of site designed to connect related sites—such as team sites and communication sites—under a single, logical structure.

Hub Sites don’t replace individual sites. Instead, they bring them together by providing shared navigation, consistent branding, and better content discovery. This makes Hub Sites a key building block for scalable and well-organized intranets.

❓ Why Do Hub Sites Exist?

Before Hub Sites were introduced, organizations relied heavily on subsites to organize content. Over time, this led to complex hierarchies, permission issues, and navigation challenges.

Hub Sites were created to solve these problems by:

Connecting multiple independent sites under a common navigation
Applying consistent branding and themes across related sites
Expanding search scope to find content across all connected sites
Rolling up news, events, and updates into a central view

In short, Hub Sites bring structure without dependency.

🚀 Key Features of Hub Sites

Hub Sites offer several powerful capabilities that improve both user experience and governance:

Unified navigation
A shared top navigation bar across all associated sites.
Shared branding
Common themes, logos, and colours for a consistent identity.
Expanded search scope
Search results include content from all associated sites.
Content roll-ups
News and events from connected sites appear in one place.

These features help users move seamlessly across related content without needing to know where it physically lives.

📊 Hub Sites vs Regular Sites vs Subsites

Aspect	Hub Site	Regular Site	Subsite
Purpose	Connects multiple related sites	Independent collaboration or communication	Dependent child site
Navigation	Shared across associated sites	Local to the site	Inherited from parent
Branding	Consistent across hub	Unique per site	Usually inherited
Search scope	Across all associated sites	Site-only	Parent + subsite
Modern recommendation	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	❌ Limited / legacy

This comparison highlights why Hub Sites are preferred over deep subsite hierarchies in modern SharePoint.

✅ Benefits of Using Hub Sites

Organizations that adopt Hub Sites gain several advantages:

Clearer governance and structure
Easier cross-site navigation
Consistent branding and identity
Better scalability as new sites are added
Improved user experience with centralized content

Hub Sites allow growth without forcing redesigns or migrations.

💡 Real-World Use Cases

Hub Sites are commonly used in scenarios such as:

HR Hub
Connecting recruitment, onboarding, training, and policy sites.
Project Management Hub
Central access point for multiple project sites.
Departmental Hub
Unifying Marketing, Finance, IT, or Operations sites.
Corporate Intranet Hub
Company-wide news, announcements, and resources.

Each use case benefits from shared navigation and consistent experience.

🛠️ Best Practices for Hub Sites

To get the most value from Hub Sites:

Create Hub Sites only when multiple related sites need to be connected
Keep hub navigation simple and intuitive
Apply consistent branding across all associated sites
Associate sites thoughtfully—avoid random or unrelated connections
Review and refine hub structure as the organization evolves

Good planning prevents clutter and confusion later.

🧠 Final Thoughts

Hub Sites are essential to building a modern, scalable SharePoint environment. They provide a clean way to connect related sites while keeping each one independent.

By improving navigation, consistency, and discoverability, Hub Sites enable organizations to create a connected, user-friendly, and future-ready digital workplace.

What is a Hub Site?