It's hard to imagine getting away from what we call "Web Parts" no matter which version of SharePoint you're using.
You may think of SharePoint as your computer in non-technical terms, and the apps you have are actually web parts. Following this analogy, your computer would be quite useless if it didn't have apps and software, right? Web parts are a great way to add new functionality to SharePoint, make your life easier by consolidating all necessary information on one page, or even connect to other Microsoft applications to enhance the current SharePoint capabilities. If we go by official definition from Microsoft, web parts are “the building blocks of your page. You can add text, images, files, video, dynamic content, and more using the web parts.”
The great thing about web parts is that Microsoft is continuously attempting to make our life easier by delivering new "modern" team site page experiences. This is where you'll hear and see the term "modern web parts," which refer to the ability to create web parts directly within the page.
Let's have a look at the Web Parts that are currently available:
- Bing Maps
If you want to include a map on your page, you can use this web part. Simply enter an address or a well-known name to have your map show in SharePoint. You can even change the map's appearance and type. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Button
This web part is used to add a button quickly and easily with a custom label and a link to a SharePoint page. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Call to Action
Do you want to draw attention to a specific intranet page? Like "Learn More" or "Explore Career"? Then simply use this web part to create a call-to-action button on your SharePoint page. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Code Snippet
Consider this scenario: you're the Leader of a crypto company, and you'd like to write a how-to article about Bitcoin Core so that your colleagues may learn from it. This web part displays code on your page as text for others to use or learn from. Syntax is even auto corrected by the web part. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Connectors
Assume you're using Trello for team collaboration and want to see updates, alerts, and notifications for your favorite boards' activities on a team site page. Or perhaps you'd like to learn about the most recent news from the company's LinkedIn profile? Then simply use this web part - it's certainly something worth considering adding to your SharePoint, believe us! Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Countdown Timer
This web part might be used to inform everyone how much time remains till an important event, such as the company's Christmas party! You can include a title, date format, description, and even a link to a call-to-action button. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Divider
This web part serves a more visual/user experience function; you may use it to break up your page and make information easier for readers to digest. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Document Library
One of the most useful web parts in SharePoint for creating and customizing Document Libraries. In practice, we can, for example, create a document library for 2022 projects. It's critical to set aside some time for library organization so that you don't end up with a confused mess in your SharePoint. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Embed
Do you want to show some content from other websites? For example, do you have a YouTube channel and want your most recent posts to be available on your SharePoint team site? Or maybe you want to add embedded content from LinkedIn? Then simply use this web part to make it happen! Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Events
Inform your colleagues about important events that are taking place in your organization. For example, suppose you're planning an event in Miami next week and another in San Diego in a month. This web part will help you in displaying and adding upcoming events to your page so that everyone can see them! Check this link for detailed instructions.
- File Viewer
Assume you have an HR page for new employees. This web part allows you to include files such as PowerPoint presentations, videos, PDFs, and much more so that newcomers can immediately orient themselves without having to click on several links or download hundreds of different items. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Group Calendar
Allow your teammates to know who will be out of the office next week or when the next all-hands meeting will be held. Use the Group Calendar web part to add a group calendar to your page! Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Hero
Add a Hero web part to your site to make it more visually appealing to teams. It enables you to concentrate on the most crucial aspects of your intranet. By combining text and graphics, you can display up to five elements. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Highlighted Content
This web part lets you dynamically show content (documents, pages, news, videos, and so on) from a document library, a set of sites, a site collection, or all sites. Note that this web part displays your most recent content by default, so if you don't have anything to show, your page will be blank. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Image
Incorporate an image from your site, OneDrive, or your hard drive into your text content. You may also crop, resize, and edit inserted images. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Image Gallery
Let's imagine you had a fantastic team building event in Vancouver and want to share photos with your colleagues. Simply include this web part in your page and you'll be able to share collections of images from your trip. You can even reorganize the added images, bringing the most "funny" ones to the top. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Kindle Instant Preview
Maybe your SharePoint has a "must-read" section? Then you simply cannot go further without a Kindle Instant Preview web component, which allows your colleagues to preview a Kindle book. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Link
Unfortunately, this one is fairly simple - use the Link web part to add a link to an internal or external page, video, image, or file, along with a preview. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- List
Assume you want to help your team in preparing for a SharePoint conference in New York. You can use the List Web Part to create and customize a list, as well as assign items to certain teammates! Say Jake needs to pick up a printed card from a store on Monday. The list will include a title (Pick up printed cards), an assigned to (Jake J), a due date (1/12/2022), and a status (in progress). Check this link for detailed instructions.
- List Properties
Consider your company operates in multiple regions, and you have a list for each of them to track sales. Jake wants a bird's-eye view of all quarterly sales in the Northern region. He will be able to connect to a list web part on the same page and display things from the list based on his preferences using the List properties web part. So, with a single click, he'll be able to view quarterly sales in the Northern region. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Markdown
You may wonder why it matters at all. SharePoint contains bold, italics, and headings by default. Things can get interesting with the Markdown web part since you'll be able to extend the features that the Text web part now lacks: additional headers (H4, H5, H6), images, line breaks, code highlighting - it's a combination of numerous web parts. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Microsoft Forms
Using the Microsoft Forms web part, you can make your site more interactive by adding surveys, quizzes, and polls. In practice, for illustration, you can use it to select a Rockstar of the Month. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- My Feed
One of the most used web parts in SharePoint, it helps to bring a mix of content from throughout Microsoft 365 to your page depending on what's most likely to be relevant to the current user at any given time. This is a very clever and handy feature. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- News
Using the News web component, ensure that everyone is up to date on the latest announcements, news, status updates, and more. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Organization Chart
This is a very useful feature that allows you to visualize organizational and team structure. You can also select several reporting levels using this web part. A must-have for any HR-related SharePoint site. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Page Properties
Properties are informational characteristics that assist describe your page, such as the title, date, content type, or custom properties that you set by adding columns to your page’s library. It merely assists your teammates in understanding what this page is about without having to read it. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- People
Department sites are fairly frequent in SharePoint. It's usually a good idea to list who's on the team, what they're in charge of, and some contact information so it's clear how to reach them. This is exactly what the People web part does - it displays a specific group of people and their profiles on your page. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Planner
Why use a third-party tool like Trello when you can easily create a board in SharePoint with your team's tasks and assignments using the Planner web part? Check this link for detailed instructions.
- PowerApps
For more experienced SharePoint users, however it's still a fantastic idea to have it on your site. You may be aware that PowerApps allows you to create business apps that operate in a browser, on a phone or tablet, with no coding necessary. Once you've created or customized an app, you can add it to your SharePoint page with this web part and let everyone know what you've done. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Power BI Report
Share an interactive Power BI report on your page to inform your team about the last quarter's results! It's remarkable what one chart can accomplish - it's quite effective in team engagement and results sharing among your colleagues! Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Quick Chart
We are all aware that reading texts is tedious (I am saying by having literally no images here). To add simple charts to your page, use the Quick Chart web part. It functions similarly to any other chart in Microsoft applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Quick Links
It's typical for your SharePoint to develop quickly, making it difficult to maintain track of important information and pages. This web part lets you pin critical items to your page for quick access. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Recent Documents
Say you have a SOPS department, and it is critical for you as a manager to know what is going on with policies and procedures on a daily basis. The idea behind this web part is similar to Quick Links, however instead of displaying the most important links, we can display the most recently added or edited documents. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Saved for Later
Oh, this is a fantastic addition to SharePoint pages. Users can "save" pages, news posts, and documents in SharePoint to view later. Assume Jake is on his way to a crucial meeting, but he just saw the new quarterly report for the Northern region. He will simply save it for later using this web part and check it when he has more time. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Site Activity
Assume you are a SharePoint Administrator who wants to keep an eye on everything that happens on your site. This web part will automatically display the most recent action on your site, such as file uploads, edits, lists and libraries, and so on. Imagine you can see that Mary recently downloaded a large number of files. Isn't that suspicious? You browse to the global directory and find that she is leaving the company the next day. You can track and report suspicious actions with the aid of this web part. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Sites
Make a basic preview of key sites on your page, such as Welcome @Consovenio, Live @Consovenio, Benefits Planning @Consovenio, and so on. This web part displays sites on your page. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Spacer
You may recall that I mentioned the Divider web part earlier. Similarly, we are using the Spacer web part to adjust the vertical space on your site in order to make it more visually appealing and digestible. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Stream (Classic)
If you haven't already, run and start Microsoft Stream. However, for the purposes of this web part, assume Jake recorded his conference in Miami and wants to share it with his team. He uploaded it to Microsoft Stream, but how can he get it into SharePoint? Instead of uploading video, he simply enters a link to Microsoft Stream, and it is automatically turned into a video on the SharePoint page without taking up any extra space or slowing down the page load! If you create video material, this is an excellent web part to have. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Text
If you don't style your text, you'll lose your teammates after the first paragraph. Include a Text web part to your page to add paragraphs and tables, as well as format styles, bullets, indents, highlighting, and links. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Twitter
A web part specifically intended to broadcast your most recent tweets to your SharePoint pages. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Weather
It's so simple, but why not? By broadcasting weather forecasts on your SharePoint pages, you can assist your coworkers in dressing appropriately so they won’t get cold. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- World Clock
Assume your company operates in multiple countries and time zones. It'll be great to know that it's now night in New York, so you won't wake up Jake. This web part displays the time in various locations across the world. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Yammer
If your organization has an active Yammer network, embed Yammer conversations on your page to let your folks know what is currently hot in Yammer discussion. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- YouTube
A web part specifically intended to broadcast your most recent videos from YouTube to your SharePoint pages. Check this link for detailed instructions.
- Custom SharePoint Web Parts
Still unable to locate a web part that can help you in addressing your own issue? A site owner or user with the relevant permissions can alter the Web Parts page by inserting, modifying, or deleting a Web Part using internet browsers. You may enhance the extent of user customization and personalization by creating custom Web Parts for SharePoint sites, e.g., C# programming or modern SharePoint Framework. Creating custom Web Parts results in a straightforward and effective method of extending intranet sites.
I hope that you now have a better grasp of what SharePoint web parts are, how to use them, and why you should leverage them to improve user experience. Keep an eye on our YouTube channel and subscribe - we'll be releasing a SharePoint Web Parts video this week so you can learn even more!
About Consovenio
Consovenio is a multicultural team of Microsoft developers and SharePoint Experts who come from many different countries and continents. Yet there is one thing that brings us all together: a passion for current trends in technology and business. We are always eager to learn - and to share what we've discovered with others. That is why we have teamed up on a mission to provide our knowledge and experience to organizations that struggle with their SharePoint Intranet.
We have worked with various companies throughout our 11 years of work experience, ranging from small local businesses to international corporations. Our know - how is your golden opportunity.We are ready to tackle new projects with the kind of confidence that comes from a deep mastery of our field.