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In this “Create Team Site Without Microsoft 365 Group” article, we will learn how to create a team site in SharePoint Online without Microsoft 365 Group or Office 365 Group, often referred to as creating a team site with no Microsoft 365 Group. Typically, when we receive a request to create a team site, it’s easy to default to setting up the site with a Microsoft 365 Group connection—whether it’s necessary or not. However, this approach automatically generates several dependent components, services, and applications across the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, which may not always be required. I will dive into these additional components and their impact on your environment.
This guide will walk you through the exact steps to create a SharePoint team site without Microsoft 365 Group. Before we begin, it’s essential to understand what a team site and a Microsoft 365 Group are, and how they function within the broader Microsoft 365 product ecosystem.
Create Team Site in SharePoint Online without Microsoft 365 Group
Before we start creating the team site in SharePoint Online without the Microsoft 365 Group connected, let us have a fair understanding of the topic.
What is a Team Site in SharePoint Online?
A team site in SharePoint Online is a central hub where users in an organization can collaborate on documents, manage tasks, and share information. It provides features like document libraries, lists, and pages that help teams work together efficiently. Team sites are commonly used for project management, department collaboration, or any situation where teams need to organize, store, and share information.
Key features of a team site include:
- Document collaboration: Store and co-author documents, which are synced across devices.
- Shared resources: Access shared resources such as calendars, lists, tasks, and more to streamline team workflows.
- Customizable pages: You can add web parts like task lists, file viewers, and news feeds to keep your team informed and on track.
- Permissions management: Manage who has access to your team site and set different permission levels for viewing and editing content.
What is a Microsoft 365 Group?
A Microsoft 365 group is a powerful feature that brings together a collection of people and resources to support collaboration across Microsoft 365 services. When you create a Microsoft 365 group, you not only create a team site in SharePoint Online but also provision a set of additional resources, such as:
- Outlook mailbox: A shared inbox for group email communication.
- Shared calendar: A calendar for scheduling meetings and tracking group events.
- Planner: A tool for managing tasks within the group.
- OneNote notebook: A digital notebook for sharing and organizing notes.
- Microsoft Teams: A collaboration space for chat, video conferencing, and more (if Teams is enabled).
How the Two Work Together: Team Site and Microsoft 365 Group
In a typical scenario, when you create a team site in SharePoint Online, it is automatically associated with a Microsoft 365 group. This integration offers a wide range of collaboration tools that go beyond what a basic team site offers. However, this also means that several other components, like a group mailbox, calendar, and Planner, are created—whether they are needed or not.
Why Create a Team Site Without a Microsoft 365 Group?
Sometimes, you may want a team site without a Microsoft 365 group. This could be to:
- Minimize complexity: Avoid creating unnecessary shared resources like group mailboxes or calendars.
- Streamline management: Reduce the overhead of managing multiple applications and permissions tied to a Microsoft 365 group.
- Narrow focus: If your team site is purely for document management or task tracking, you might not need the extra tools provided by a Microsoft 365 group.
Microsoft 365 Group vs. No Group: What Happens When You Create a SharePoint Team Site With and Without Group?
For ease of understanding, I have created the below comparison table that outlines the differences in technical aspects of creating a team site with and without Microsoft 365 Group:
| What Happens When We Create a Team Site with Microsoft 365 Group | What Happens When We Create a Team Site Without Microsoft 365 Group |
|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Group Created: Automatically generates a Microsoft 365 Group, which provides additional resources like an Outlook mailbox, calendar, and Planner. | No Microsoft 365 Group Created: Only the SharePoint site is created, without additional resources or applications tied to a Microsoft 365 Group. |
| Email Address Assigned: The group is assigned an email address for shared communication among group members. | No Email Address: Since no group is created, there’s no shared email address associated with the site. |
| Shared Calendar: The group includes a shared calendar in Outlook for scheduling events and meetings. | No Shared Calendar: Users must manage schedules outside of a group calendar, as none is provided. |
| Planner Integration: Automatically adds a Planner board for task tracking and management within the group. | No Planner Board: No Planner board is created, so task management features need to be managed externally. |
| Microsoft Teams Option: The group can be integrated with Microsoft Teams, allowing for chats, video calls, and file sharing within Teams. | No Microsoft Teams Integration: Without a group, the site cannot be directly linked to Microsoft Teams for team collaboration. |
| OneNote Notebook: A shared OneNote notebook is created and linked for collaborative note-taking. | No Shared OneNote Notebook: There is no default OneNote notebook; users must manually create or link their own notebook if needed. |
| Security and Permissions: Group members have automatic permissions to the team site, managed via the group. | Manual Permissions Management: Permissions must be managed at the site level in SharePoint without automatic sync with group memberships. |
| External Sharing and Guest Access: Group-based permissions allow external users and guests to be added to the group. | Limited Guest Access: External sharing is still possible but must be configured manually for each user at the site level. |
| Unified Management: Admins can manage all resources (SharePoint site, Planner, OneNote, etc.) in one place via the Microsoft 365 Group. | Site-Only Management: Admins manage only the SharePoint team site; additional resources must be handled separately if needed. |
| Storage Allocation: The Microsoft 365 Group consumes shared storage, impacting both the site and group resources. | Independent Storage: The team site has its own SharePoint storage allocation without group-based storage usage. |
| Yammer Integration: Allows for integration with a Yammer community, providing a social platform for group communication. | No Yammer Community: The site cannot directly link with Yammer for social interactions. |
The above table will clarify the differences and technical aspects associated with creating a team site with or without Microsoft 365 Group; this will help you to decide which option suits your specific needs.
In the following sections, I will explain step-by-step how you can create a team site without Microsoft 365 group and the benefits of doing so.
How to Create Team Site in SharePoint Online without Microsoft 365 Group?
To create a team site without a group (Microsoft 365 Group/Office 365 Group), we need to follow the below steps:
Step 1:
Login to your SharePoint Online Admin Center portal with our administrator account.
From the left side panel, click on the “Active sites” link.
Then, click on the “+ Create” menu.
Now, we will see the “Select the site type” screen to select the site template where we will see Team site and Communication site. Generally, we select any of these site type templates.
Confused on when to select which site template? For this, I have written a separate article; you may read that: Team Site vs Communication Site? Should I Create Which Site in SharePoint Online?
We can see what the above team site and communication site offer.
Do not select any of the above red highlighted templates; rather, select the green highlighted template shown above, which is “Browse more sites: select another site, such as a publishing portal or non-connected team site”.
Here in this screen, make sure the “Team site” is selected as a template, though it will be selected automatically.
Read out the description about this team site as shown below:
“A site for a team of people to share content when they work together. This option does not create a Microsoft 365 Group, shared Outlook inbox, shared calendar, OneNote notebook, or Planner plan.”
Pass the site name and primary administrator; the site address will be auto-generated; however, you may change it.
Then, click on the “Next” button.
On the next screen, select your language and time zone.
Click on the “Create site” button.
After a couple of seconds, your team site will be created without the Office 365 or Microsoft 365 group connected, and this version of the team site will look like below:
By the way, the “Microsoft 365 group” is one of the group types available in the Microsoft 365 product.
Why do we need a Team Site without a Group?
Creating a Team Site in SharePoint Online without a Microsoft 365 Group can offer a streamlined, standalone workspace, especially useful when collaborative tools like group emails or shared calendars aren’t needed. This setup avoids creating linked services (like Teams, Planner, etc.), making it ideal for content-focused sites with strict permissions, simpler governance, or when minimizing unnecessary Microsoft 365 dependencies.
It’s particularly useful for controlled document management or departmental sites where communication features aren’t required, thus keeping the SharePoint environment more manageable.
PowerShell to Create Modern Site without a Group in SharePoint Online
To create a modern SharePoint Online site without an associated Microsoft 365 Group using PowerShell, you can use the PnP.PowerShell module. Here’s a simple script for it:
# Install PnP.PowerShell module if you haven't already # Install-Module -Name PnP.PowerShell # Connect to SharePoint Online Admin Center Connect-PnPOnline -Url https://yourtenant-admin.sharepoint.com -Interactive # Create the Team Site without a Microsoft 365 Group New-PnPSite -Type TeamSite -Title "SiteName" -Alias "sitealias" -IsPublic:$false -Lcid 1033 -Url "https://yourtenant.sharepoint.com/sites/siteurl" -Description "Description of the site" -Classification "Low Business Impact"
The above script sets up a standalone modern Team Site, ensuring no Microsoft 365 Group is associated. Replace "yourtenant", "SiteName", "sitealias", "siteurl", and "Description of the site" as needed. Make sure to run the script with appropriate permissions.
You can also create a modern site with SharePoint Online Management Shell, as:
# Connect to SharePoint Online Admin Center Connect-SPOService -Url https://yourtenant-admin.sharepoint.com # Create the site without a Microsoft 365 Group New-SPOSite -Url "https://yourtenant.sharepoint.com/sites/SiteName" -Owner "owner@yourtenant.onmicrosoft.com" -StorageQuota 1024 -Template STS#3 -Title "Site Title"
Replace "yourtenant", "SiteName", "owner@yourtenant.onmicrosoft.com", and "Site Title" with your specific details. The STS#3 template creates a modern Team Site without a Microsoft 365 Group connection.
YouTube Video Demo: Create Team Site in SharePoint Online With No Microsoft 365 Group
Summary: Create Team Site in SharePoint Online Without Microsoft 365 Group
In this article, we’ve explored how to create a team site in SharePoint Online without connecting it to a Microsoft 365 Group. We covered key concepts, including what a team site in SharePoint Online is and what a Microsoft 365 Group does. Additionally, we discussed the technical differences between creating a team site with a Microsoft 365 Group connection versus without and the distinct features and limitations of each approach. This guide provides a complete overview for those looking to understand when and why to create a SharePoint team site without Microsoft 365 Group integration.
FAQs on Creating a Team Site Without Microsoft 365 Group in SharePoint Online
1. Can you use Microsoft Teams without SharePoint?
No, you generally cannot use Microsoft Teams without SharePoint in Microsoft 365. Teams relies on SharePoint Online to store and manage files shared within channels. When you create a new team in Microsoft Teams, it automatically creates a SharePoint team site to handle file storage for the associated team’s channels. Although Teams can integrate with other file storage options (like OneDrive and third-party storage providers), SharePoint is essential for core file sharing and collaboration functionality within Microsoft Teams.
2. Why would I create a Team Site without a Microsoft 365 Group?
Creating a Team Site without a group reduces dependency on additional Microsoft 365 resources (such as Teams or Planner) and is ideal for simpler content-focused sites without collaboration tools.
3. Can I still add users and manage permissions?
Yes, you can add users and set permissions directly within SharePoint using SharePoint groups, without linking a Microsoft 365 Group.
4. What’s the difference between a Team Site with and without a Microsoft 365 Group?
A Team Site with a group is connected to multiple Microsoft 365 tools (like Teams, Calendar, etc.), while a standalone Team Site is simpler, focusing solely on document management and basic collaboration within SharePoint.
5. How do I create a Team Site without a Microsoft 365 Group?
You can create it through the SharePoint Admin Center, PowerShell (PnP or SharePoint Online Management Shell), specifying it as a standalone site without group integration.
6. Can I convert a Team Site without a Microsoft 365 Group to one with a Group later?
No, once created without a Microsoft 365 Group, it cannot be converted. You would need to create a new Team Site with a Microsoft 365 Group if the integration is needed later.
7. Does creating a Team Site without a Microsoft 365 Group affect storage?
No, storage allocation is managed per SharePoint site collection and isn’t impacted by the presence or absence of a Microsoft 365 Group.
8. Can I integrate Microsoft Teams with a Team Site that doesn’t have a Microsoft 365 Group?
No, Microsoft Teams requires a Microsoft 365 Group for full integration, as this enables shared channels, files, and conversations.
9. Will a Team Site without a Microsoft 365 Group have limited customization options?
No, you still have access to the same customization options available in SharePoint Online, including web parts, layouts, and settings.
10. Are external sharing and guest access supported in a Team Site without a Microsoft 365 Group?
Yes, you can enable external sharing on the site level through SharePoint settings, but it will not be managed through group policies.
11. Can I still use OneDrive to store files for a Team Site without a Microsoft 365 Group?
Yes, you can add links to OneDrive files or libraries as needed, but files directly uploaded to the Team Site are stored in SharePoint by default.
12. What are the primary use cases for a standalone Team Site?
Stand-alone Team Sites are ideal for internal departments, document libraries, or project management where extensive collaboration features are unnecessary.
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