Over the past few days, I have been conducting research on the functionalities surrounding Site Templates, and I have been amazed by the extensive possibilities they offer. These templates provide remarkable benefits to both the users who apply them and the developers who create them. The users can leverage the convenience and consistency of preconfigured site structures, saving time and effort in setting up new sites. Meanwhile, developers can design and customize these templates to meet specific organizational requirements, enabling efficient site provisioning and empowering users with powerful out-of-the-box functionalities. The versatility and potential of Site Templates truly impressed me, opening up a world of possibilities for seamless SharePoint site deployment and management.

The benefits we gain from using Site Templates include:

• Functionality Catalog: A comprehensive repository of preconfigured features and components that can be easily applied to new sites, enhancing productivity and user experience.
• Functionality Governance Model: A structured approach to managing and controlling the deployment and usage of functionalities across sites, ensuring consistency, compliance, and efficient maintenance.
• Usage Metrics and Analytics: Tracking and analyzing the utilization of functionalities within sites, providing valuable insights for optimization, decision-making, and enhancing user engagement.
• Standardized Development Model: A consistent framework for designing and developing functionalities, enabling efficient collaboration, code reuse, and streamlined maintenance across different projects and teams.

And to illustrate my point, in this article, I want to showcase three example functionalities that can be addressed using "Site Templates":

• Analytics: Explore how to integrate tools like Azure Application Insights, Google Analytics, or other web metrics software to gather valuable insights on site usage and performance.
• Corporate Branding: Provide a simple and convenient method to configure and apply corporate colors, logos, and settings to ensure consistent branding across all sites, reinforcing the company's identity and visual representation.
• Document Management: Create a standardized foundation for efficient document organization, version control, and collaboration across different solutions within the organization.

Analytics

Envision offering our colleagues a solution that empowers them with advanced analytics capabilities on any SharePoint Online site. Our goal is to make this solution easily activatable by site owners without requiring IT intervention.

While the default metrics provided by the tool are valuable, we acknowledge the need for additional information. This can be achieved by incorporating a third-party tool through JavaScript code. Consider leveraging Azure Application Insights or a similar tool like Google Analytics.

To implement this solution, we will utilize SharePoint Framework (SPFx) to add the necessary JavaScript code as an Extension on each page within our site collection. By deploying the SPFx package to the tenant, it becomes readily available for integration into any SharePoint Online site collection.

Now, the crucial question arises: How can we simplify the process of applying this solution for other SharePoint Online site owners?

The answer lies in the utilization of Site Templates and Site Scripts. By harnessing these powerful capabilities, we can empower our users with a pre-configured site template. Applying this template automates the deployment process and seamlessly incorporates the Extension into the site.

Through this approach, our colleagues can effortlessly activate advanced analytics on their SharePoint Online sites, without relying on IT support. This not only streamlines the activation process but also amplifies the analytics capabilities accessible to site owners.

Here you have the example of a possible Site Script and, consequently, for a Site Template:

{
  "$schema": "schema.json",
  "actions": [
      {
          "verb": "installSolution",
          "id": "<<SPFx package identifier>>"
      },
      {
          "verb": "associateExtension",
          "title": "<<Extension title in the App Catalog>>",
          "location": "ClientSideExtension.ApplicationCustomizer",
          "clientSideComponentId": "<<Extension identifier in the App Catalog>>",
          "scope": "Site"
      }
  ]
}

Corporate branding

In companies and organizations, it is common to implement intranets, team sites, or other spaces where configuring corporate colors and adding the company logo becomes essential. Our objective is to provide an easy way to customize SharePoint Online sites with the corporate brand. Additionally, we aim to unify criteria by establishing regional settings, including time zone, language, and more.

In addition to this, we include IT personnel in the "Owners" security group to ensure the consistency in account responsibilities beyond the site's intended purpose.

These tasks can be performed manually or automated using PowerShell scripts or o365 CLI. However, our focus is to minimize IT involvement. Therefore, we offer functionalities that site owners can apply independently.

In this case, we have developed four Site scripts with specific objectives. Firstly, one script sets the company logo. Secondly, another script configures the color theme. Thirdly, a script handles regional settings such as time zone and language. Lastly, a script adds the appropriate owners to the site.

This separation allows these scripts to be utilized in other Site Templates, continually enhancing the template ecosystem. Let me share the corresponding one to the theme:

{
    "$schema": "schema.json",
    "actions": [
        {
            "verb": "applyTheme",
            "themeJson": {
                "name": "Intranet from the trenches",
                "isInverted": false,
                "backgroundImageUri": "",
                "palette": {
                    "themePrimary": "#66CD7A",
                    "themeLighterAlt": "#f8fdf9",
                    "themeLighter": "#e3f7e7",
                    "themeLight": "#ccf0d3",
                    "themeTertiary": "#9de0ab",
                    "themeSecondary": "#76d288",
                    "themeDarkAlt": "#5cb86e",
                    "themeDark": "#4e9b5d",
                    "themeDarker": "#397245",
                    "neutralLighterAlt": "#f8f8f8",
                    "neutralLighter": "#f4f4f4",
                    "neutralLight": "#eaeaea",
                    "neutralQuaternaryAlt": "#dadada",
                    "neutralQuaternary": "#d0d0d0",
                    "neutralTertiaryAlt": "#c8c8c8",
                    "neutralTertiary": "#b5d5bc",
                    "neutralSecondary": "#78ab83",
                    "neutralSecondaryAlt": "#78ab83",
                    "neutralPrimaryAlt": "#4a8456",
                    "neutralPrimary": "#397245",
                    "neutralDark": "#2c5735",
                    "black": "#204027",
                    "white": "#ffffff"
                }
            }
        }
    ]
}

Document management

In this scenario, our objective is to supply the essential set of document libraries for effective content management across all company sites. Moreover, we will create libraries for contracts, security policies, procedures, and product specifications.

Additionally, procedures will include an extra column for easy classification by typology. Furthermore, specifications will be organized into three folders based on their publication status: drafts, undergoing reviews, and public documents.

While manual creation is viable for a small number of instances, say in 1 or 2 site collections, PowerShell scripts or o365 CLI can also be employed for a bigger number.

However, our ultimate aim is to enable site owners to utilize this mechanism independently without IT intervention. Hence, through the utilization of Site Scripts and Site Templates, we can deliver the necessary functionality to fulfill these requirements. Below is a possible implementation example.

{
    "$schema": "schema.json",
    "actions": [
        {
            "verb": "createSPList",
            "listName": "Contracts",
            "templateType": 101,
            "addNavLink": true,
            "color": "yellow",
            "subactions": [
                {
                    "verb": "setDescription",
                    "description": "Library for final contracts only"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "verb": "createSPList",
            "listName": "Security Policies",
            "templateType": 101,
            "addNavLink": true,
            "color": "orange",
            "subactions": [
                {
                    "verb": "setDescription",
                    "description": "Library for security policies"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "verb": "createSPList",
            "listName": "Procedures",
            "templateType": 101,
            "addNavLink": true,
            "color": "green",
            "subactions": [
                {
                    "verb": "setDescription",
                    "description": "Standard procedures for general processes"
                },
                {
                    "verb": "addSPField",
                    "fieldType": "Text",
                    "displayName": "Type",
                    "isRequired": true,
                    "addToDefaultView": true
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "verb": "createSPList",
            "listName": "Specifications",
            "templateType": 101,
            "addNavLink": true,
            "color": "blue",
            "subactions": [
                {
                    "verb": "addFolder",
                    "path": "Draft"
                },
                {
                    "verb": "addFolder",
                    "path": "Review"
                },
                {
                    "verb": "addFolder",
                    "path": "Published"
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Conclusion

As you have witnessed, leveraging Site Templates enables the provision of a comprehensive set of functionalities to employees, who can effortlessly utilize them. Moreover, the combination of Site Templates and Site Scripts offers an extensive array of instructions for creating and configuring elements in SharePoint Online.

What are you waiting for? Start utilizing or proposing this solution in your company and unlock the benefits of streamlined site creation, enhanced user experience, and simplified management. Empower your employees with ready-to-use templates and unleash the full potential of SharePoint Online. Don't miss out on the opportunity to optimize productivity and collaboration within your organization.

References

Here are some useful links I've utilized for crafting the article:

• Build your first SharePoint Framework Extension (Hello World part 1): https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/spfx/extensions/get-started/build-a-hello-world-extension
• Deploying Application Customizers with a Site Design: https://spdcp.com/2019/10/24/deploying-application-customizers-with-a-site-design/
• The Ultimate Guide to SharePoint Site Templates and Site Scripts: https://laurakokkarinen.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-sharepoint-site-designs-and-site-scripts/
• Site Script schema: https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/sp/site-design-script-actions.schema.json
• Thanks to Hector Sosa, the author of usescreenshot.app application, for allowing framing pictures: https://usescreenshot.app/

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