What does it do?

The Site Creation Plus Web Part provides benefits to both SharePoint users and administrators. It gives administrators the ability to better manage the creation of sites by standardizing URL and user group naming and restricting the site template that users can select. For users, it simplifies the site creation process by reducing the number of choices they must make and by adding new sites to a Links list automatically. This ensures that they complete an important step in the site creation process that is often forgotten.

Why did we build it?

Governance of SharePoint is a real concern for organizations today. In particular, SharePoint's dynamic site creation capability has become an issue. The adoption of this powerful feature is often stymied by administrators who are reluctant to put it into the hands of end users. The out-of-the-box end user interface for creating a new site requires a user to enter a site name, a description, and the URL path to the new site. They must also select a site template to use and identify the users who will have access to the new site. Finally, they must remember to add the site to a Links list. For many users, this just presents too many choices. For system administrators, the choices can lead to sites created that do not follow company best practices such as URL naming conventions or the use of certain site templates. Many sites also end up missing from the list of site links.

How is it used?

The Site Administrator configures the Web Part by:

• Selecting a Site Template to be used for the new site. All sites created through an instance of the Web Part create the same type of site.
• Selecting a Links list where information about the new list is added automatically. All sites created through an instance of the Web Part can be represented in a Links list on the same site where the Web Part resides.
• Providing standard user group names for sites that use unique permissions.

Site Administrators should also note that:

• The permission to create sites is still controlled and managed through SharePoint administration.
• The user interface for the Site Creation Plus Web Part supports translations, so the words that appear can be easily modified for your server.

The end user's job is simplified by minimizing the information/choices that must be made during site creation. When creating a new site, the end user:

• Provides a title for the new site.
• Provides a description for the new site.
• Decides whether the new site will inherit permissions of the parent site or use unique permissions.