When you log on to the Office 365 portal, First select apps and click on SharePoint , the first thing you see is a clean SharePoint Start Page.
In this article, you will see what it is and how you can use it interactively.
SharePoint Start Page
SharePoint Start Page is the page you get when you click on the SharePoint link from Office 365 app launcher. It was first introduced in 2016, and has changed a lot now . The recent updates are very interactive, it has a dedicated section for sites and the overall look and feel is really great. Microsoft now calls it the SharePoint Start Page.
The Purpose of SharePoint Start Page
From the name itself it is clear that it acts as a Dashboard for the SharePoint.
What do you usually see on a Dashboard?
You can define it as a place for newsfeed or updates. Just like any other dashboard you can see here the updates from SharePoint sites you follow and visit.
The SharePoint Start page shows the activities, links and suggestions from various sites you visit regularly. It also shows categories like Following, Recent and Featured links from sites.
The Layout of Start Page
You have no control over the page layout. Just like the page layout of social media platforms, it cannot be customized.
It automatically displays New sites, Following sites, Recently accessed sites, Frequent sites, and Suggested Sites. Also, you won’t be able to point the link to any other location.
The only customization is you can add or remove Featured links in the left navigation.
The Key Components of the SharePoint Start Page
The SharePoint Start Page is quite unique.
The top navigation has two buttons “+Create site”, “+Create New Post” and a Search Box.
Left navigation shows sites Following, Recent visited sites and Featured links.
On the main page News from sites, Frequent sites, and Suggested Sites.
Outstanding Features
The SharePoint Start Page acts as an alternative to access the sites, based on your activities, and usage in the organization.
The Search Box of SharePoint Start Page can be used to search your own One Drive along with all of the sites you have access to.
If your organization does not have an Intranet Hub then the SharePoint Start Page would be the only place to access those sites from using the web interface.
Thus, the SharePoint Start page is a very much useful and user-friendly page on SharePoint.