Set a SharePoint Home Site in Microsoft 365: Step-by-Step Setup

When you first sign into Microsoft 365, the SharePoint home site is the default landing page for your organization. Many admins want to replace this default page with a custom communication site that highlights company news, resources, and links. The home site feature in SharePoint gives you this control. This article explains how to set a SharePoint home site in the SharePoint admin center, what prerequisites you need, and common mistakes to avoid.

What Is a SharePoint Home Site and Why Set One?

A SharePoint home site is the top-level landing page for your Microsoft 365 organization. When users go to the SharePoint start page (sharepoint.com), the home site is the first site they see. It also appears in the SharePoint app bar and in search results as the primary destination.

The home site must be a modern communication site. You cannot use a team site, a classic site, or a site with a template other than communication. The site you choose should be designed to serve as a central hub for news, announcements, and links to other resources. Only one site can be the home site at a time.

Before you set a home site, the site must already exist. You can create a new communication site from the SharePoint admin center or from the SharePoint start page. You also need SharePoint admin permissions. Global admins and SharePoint admins can set the home site.

Steps to Set a SharePoint Home Site in the Admin Center

The easiest way to set a home site is through the SharePoint admin center. Follow these steps exactly.

1. Open the SharePoint admin center
   Sign in to Microsoft 365 with your admin account. Go to Admin centers and select SharePoint. The URL is admin.microsoft.com/SharePoint.
2. Navigate to Active sites
   In the left navigation, click Policies and then click Active sites. This shows all sites in your tenant.
3. Select the site to be the home site
   Find the communication site you want to use. Click on the site name to open the site details panel. Do not click the checkbox — click the text link.
4. Open the Settings tab
   In the site details panel, click the Settings tab. Scroll down to the Home site section.
5. Set as home site
   Click the Set as home site button. A confirmation dialog appears. Read the message and click Set as home site to confirm. The site is now the home site for your organization.

After setting the home site, it may take up to 15 minutes for the change to appear for all users. The SharePoint app bar updates to show the home site. Users see the home site when they go to the SharePoint start page.

Set a Home Site Using PowerShell

If you prefer command-line tools or the site is not visible in the admin center, use SharePoint Online Management Shell. Install the module first if you have not already.

1. Connect to SharePoint Online
   Open PowerShell as an administrator. Run Connect-SPOService -Url https://yourtenant-admin.sharepoint.com. Replace yourtenant with your tenant name. Sign in with your admin account.
2. Get the site URL
   Find the URL of the communication site you want to use. Example: https://yourtenant.sharepoint.com/sites/YourHomeSite.
3. Set the home site
   Run Set-SPOHomeSite -HomeSiteUrl "https://yourtenant.sharepoint.com/sites/YourHomeSite". No output means success.

To verify, run Get-SPOHomeSite. This returns the URL of the current home site. If the command returns nothing, no home site is set.

Common Mistakes and Limitations When Setting a Home Site

Even experienced admins make errors when setting a home site. Below are the most common problems and how to avoid them.

“You cannot set this site as the home site” error

This error appears when the site is not a communication site. Check the site template. Go to the site settings and look under Site information. If the template is Team Site or Classic Site, you cannot set it as the home site. Create a new communication site and move your content to it.

Home site does not appear for users

After setting the home site, users may still see the default SharePoint start page. This is usually a caching delay. Wait 15 minutes and ask users to refresh their browser. If the issue persists, clear the browser cache or sign out and sign back in. Also check that the site is not set to private. A home site must be accessible to all users, not just a few.

Cannot unset a home site

If you need to remove the home site assignment, you can set a different site as the home site or use PowerShell. Run Remove-SPOHomeSite in the SharePoint Online Management Shell. This removes the home site setting without deleting the site itself. After removal, the SharePoint start page returns to the default view.

Communication Site vs Team Site: Key Differences for Home Site Use

Item	Communication Site	Team Site
Can be home site	Yes	No
Template type	Communication	Team (Microsoft 365 group)
Default page design	News, hero, events, links	Document library, conversations
Microsoft 365 group	Not required	Required
External sharing	Controlled per site	Controlled per group

After you set a SharePoint home site, your organization has a single, branded landing page that all users see. The site appears in the SharePoint app bar and in search results. If you need to change the home site later, repeat the steps in the admin center or use PowerShell. For advanced customization, consider adding a global navigation bar to the home site using the SharePoint admin center > Settings > Global navigation.