The Learning central site template is a communication site designed to serve as an internal home page for your education team. Provide an internal landing experience for your organization that showcases events, news, and extra-curricular resources all in one place.
In this article, you can learn to use the elements that are on the SharePoint Learning central site template and how you can customize the site to make it your own.
Site features
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Customizable site that comes with pre-populated images, web parts, and content to inspire site editors when making customizations to fit the need of your learning center.
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Pre-populated pages and web parts that showcase learning objectives, access to important resources, and deadlines.
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Consider pairing the Learning central site template with the Training and development team and Training and courses site templates.
Notes:
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Some functionality is introduced gradually to organizations that have opted into the Targeted release program. This means that you may not yet see this feature, or it may look different than what is described in the help articles.
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When you apply a template to an existing site, your content will not automatically merge with the new template. Instead, existing content will be stored as a duplicate page in Site contents.
First, follow instructions on how to add a site template to a new or existing SharePoint site.
Note: You must have site creation permissions to add this template to your site.
Explore pre-populated site content, web parts, and pages and decide what site customizations will be necessary to align with your organization's brand, voice, and overall business objective.
Pre-populated site pages:
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Home page - Provides a landing place for viewers to engage in news, learning objectives, important deadlines, and access to more learning resources.
Once you've added the Learning central site template, it's time to customize it and make it your own.
Note: To edit a SharePoint site you must be a site owner or site member.
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Customize your site's look, site navigation, web parts, and content to fit the needs of your viewers and of the organization. When making customizations, ensure the site is in edit mode by selecting Edit in the top right of the site. As you work, Save as a draft, or Republish changes to make edits visible to viewers.
1. Use the Hero web part to highlight learning objectives and organizational resources
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Begin by selecting the Hero web part and choose Edit
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Then, choose the layer and tile options that best suit the organization’s needs.
Learn more about the Hero web part.
2. Use the Quick links web part to showcase frequently used resources
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Begin by selecting the Quick links web part and choose Edit
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Then, select the layout option that best suits the organization’s needs.
Learn more about the Quick Links web part.
3. Use the Image web part to display relevant learning center images
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Begin by selecting the Image web part and choose Edit
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Then, select Change, select an image source, and then select Insert.
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Add a web address to the image in the Link section to direct viewers to another page.
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Change the overlaying text of the web part by typing over the text that already exists.
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Repeat steps 1 through 4 for each image.
Learn more about the Image web part.
4. Use the Text web part to provide a welcome message or announcements
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Begin by typing text directly into the web part.
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Use the options above the web part to format the text.
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Then, select the button to edit the Label and the Link.
Learn more about the Text web part and theButton web part.
5. Use the News web part to display relevant updates to students
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Begin by selecting the News web part and choose Edit
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Then, select the news source that contains the information you would like to display.
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Select the layout, viewing options, and filter that best displays the members of the organization’s team.
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In the Organize section, determine the order in which the news should be displayed.
Learn more about the News web part.
6. Use the Events web part to list specific dates
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Begin by selecting the Events web part and choose Edit
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Begin by selecting the Source from which your events will come from, the events list and events category.
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Then, select the date range that should be displayed on the site.
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Next, select the Layout.
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Select the Maximum number of items that should be listed in this web part.
Learn more about the Events web part.
7. Use the Text web part to provide information for learning opportunities
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Begin by typing text directly into the web part and deleting the text that already exists.
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Use the options above the web part to format the text.
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To open more test and web part formatting options, select the ellipses in the formatting box.
Learn more about the Text web part.
8. Use the Image web part to display opportunities for students to learn and connect
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Begin by selecting the Image web part and choose Edit
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Then, select Change, select an image source, and then select Insert.
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Add a web address to the image in the Link section to direct viewers to another page.
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Change the overlaying text of the web part by typing over the text that already exists.
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Repeat steps 1 through 4 for each image.
Learn more about the Image web part or consider using the Gallery web part.
Customize the look and site navigation
Before you share your site with others, put the finishing touches on your site by ensuring users can find the site, navigate through links and pages easily, and quickly access content on the site.
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Edit document libraries by updating the folder names and uploading resources.
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Edit and customize site navigation.
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Change the look of your site by customizing the theme, logo, header layouts, and the look of your site.
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Add or remove pages to this site or the site navigation to accommodate existing content.
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Choose to associate this site with a hub site within your organization, or add this site to an existing hub site navigation if needed.
Share your site with others after you've customized your site, reviewed for accuracy, and published the final draft.
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Select Share site from the right hand corner.
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Get help managing your site by adding site owners and members who will have permission to edit site content.
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In the Share site pane, enter the names of people you want to share the site with. You can choose Everyone (except external users) if you would like everyone in your organization to have access to the site. The default permission level is Read only.
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Enter an optional message to send with the email notification that will be sent when the site is shared, or clear the Send email checkbox if you don't want to send an email.
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Select Share.
After you create and launch your site, the next important phase is maintaining site content. Ensure you have a plan to keep content and web parts up to date.
Site maintenance best practices:
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Plan for site maintenance - Establish a schedule to review the site content as often as needed to ensure content is still accurate and relevant.
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Regularly post news - Distribute the latest announcements, information, and status across the organization. Learn how to add a News post on a team site or communication site, and show others who will be posting announcements how they can use SharePoint news.
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Check links and web parts - Keep links and web parts updated to ensure you are leveraging the full value of your site.
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Use analytics to improve engagement - View site usage by using the built-in usage data report to get information on popular content, site visits, and more.
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Periodically review your site settings - Once you've created a site in SharePoint, you can make changes to the settings, site information, and permissions for the site.
More customization resources
Learn more about planning, building, and maintaining SharePoint sites.
See more SharePoint site templates.
