SharePoint Online: create a modern blog

Key insights

• A modern SharePoint blog can use a Communication site and the News web part instead of a dedicated blog template.
• A Choice column in the Site Pages library lets authors tag posts with categories such as CEO messages or sales updates.
• Authors set a post's category through Page details before publishing.
• The Page Properties web part can display a post's title and category on the page.
• Save a configured news post as a template using the menu beside Save and exit.

A SharePoint Online blog can be built with a Communication site, News posts, category metadata and a reusable page template, giving readers a central place to find articles by topic. This approach is useful for site owners and communicators publishing leadership messages, department updates or company news. SharePoint Maven Inc demonstrates the setup using standard SharePoint pages and web parts.

What it does

This is a way to assemble a blog from SharePoint’s modern publishing features rather than relying on a separate blog-specific structure. The site provides the home page, while each article is a news post stored as a page in the Site Pages library. A News web part displays posts on the site, and a category column provides a way to label and organize them.

The category can represent distinctions such as “Message from CEO,” “Sales Update” or “Industry Update.” Readers can use links to filtered library views to open posts for a particular category. The demonstration also adds a Page Properties web part to a post so its title and category appear alongside the article, and saves the layout as a template for future posts.

The approach suits organizations that want a standalone publishing site for internal updates, rather than mixing blog content into another site’s existing pages. The publisher’s description also says SharePoint supports scheduling posts in advance and using multiple News web parts filtered by category. The demonstrated category navigation uses saved views and Quick links.

Who it is for and what you need

Site owners or communicators can create and arrange the site, web parts, metadata and templates. Authors can create news posts, choose a category in Page details and publish them. The example uses a Communication site, the Site Pages library, a Choice column, a News web part, a Quick links web part and a Page Properties web part.

The demonstrated site starts from a blank Communication site. The publisher describes that site type as a fit for one-way information sharing, in contrast with a Team site used for collaboration. The example does not specify a required Microsoft 365 license, an administrator role, a tenant setting, a region or a rollout stage. Those requirements and availability details are not established by the material provided here.

How it works

Start with the site and homepage, then add the category metadata before asking authors to publish posts. The steps below follow the demonstrated setup. Labels can vary across SharePoint interfaces; the menu names included here are the ones stated or shown in the demonstration.

1. Create a site and choose the Communication site type. Start with a blank layout if you want to build the homepage from the needed web parts.
2. Edit the homepage and add a News web part. The demonstration places it in one column of a two-column section and leaves space in the other column for Quick links.
3. Open the Site Pages library and add a Choice column named Category. Add the categories authors should select. The example leaves the column optional, though the publisher notes that it could be made required.
4. Create a News post. Before publishing, open Page details and select the appropriate value in the Category field.
5. To show metadata within an article, edit a page and add the Page Properties web part. Select the properties to display, such as Title and Category.
6. Format a sample post with the layout and content areas you want to reuse. Publish it, edit it again, and use the drop-down beside Save and exit to select Save as template.
7. Create a new News post and choose the saved template. The demonstration finds saved templates in a Templates folder within the Site Pages library.
8. To add category navigation, create a filtered view in the Site Pages library for a category, save the view and copy its URL. Add that link to the homepage with Quick links.

As new posts are published and tagged, the library’s category views can provide a direct route to the matching content. The homepage can combine the News web part with links to these category views. The publisher’s description also mentions using multiple News web parts filtered by category, but the demonstrated navigation step is based on saved views and links.

Limitations and open questions

This setup depends on authors applying the right category to each post. In the example, the Category field is optional, so a post could be published without one. Making the field required is mentioned as an option, but the material does not show the steps for changing that setting or explain how uncategorized posts should be handled.

The video does not detail permissions, approvals, governance, branding, audience targeting or a full News web part configuration for filtering by page properties. It briefly leaves site branding and logos as later cleanup. The publisher’s description mentions scheduled posts and multiple category-filtered News web parts, but the demonstration does not walk through scheduling or configuring those web part filters.

The template-saving interface has changed from the method described by the publisher as the previous approach: using Promote to save a page as a template. In the demonstrated interface, Promote is for promoting content, while Save as template is in the menu beside Save and exit during editing. The material does not identify a version, rollout date or availability conditions for this interface.

Sources

• SharePoint Maven Inc demonstration of a modern SharePoint blog
• SharePoint Maven Inc website

Frequently asked questions

How do I create a blog in modern SharePoint?

Create a Communication site, add a News web part, create a category Choice column in the Site Pages library, and use News posts for articles. You can add category links and save a post layout as a template.

How do I add categories to SharePoint news posts?

Add a Choice column named Category to the Site Pages library. Authors select a value from Page details before publishing; the demonstration leaves the field optional.

How do I save a SharePoint news post as a template?

Edit the post and use the drop-down beside Save and exit, then select Save as template. The demonstration says saved templates appear in a Templates folder in the Site Pages library.

What license do I need to create a SharePoint blog?

The material does not state a license requirement or confirm availability by plan, tenant or region.