1. Understanding the SharePoint Admin Center

The SharePoint Admin Center is the central hub for managing your organization’s entire SharePoint environment. It allows administrators to control sites, users, permissions, storage, and policies from one place.

Central Administration vs. Admin Center: For SharePoint Online, administrators use the cloud-based SharePoint Admin Center. This is different from the Central Administration used in on-premises SharePoint Server. The cloud-based admin center is automatically updated and maintained by Microsoft, while on-premises Central Administration requires manual updates and maintenance.

The SharePoint Admin Center is crucial for effective management. It helps administrators enforce security policies, monitor site activity, control access, and maintain platform performance. Without it, managing permissions, compliance, and overall SharePoint health becomes challenging. With the right SharePoint consulting support, organizations can make the most of the Admin Center by aligning its capabilities with their business goals and ensuring long-term efficiency.

2. How to Access the SharePoint Admin Center

Who can access

Only users with specific administrative roles can access the SharePoint Admin Center. The primary roles are:
- Global Administrator: Has full access to all Microsoft 365 admin features, including SharePoint.
- SharePoint Administrator: Can manage SharePoint sites, permissions, and policies but has limited access to other Microsoft 365 services.
Step-by-step instructions
- Go to the main Microsoft 365 admin center at admin.microsoft.com.
- Sign in using your admin credentials.
- In the left-hand navigation pane, find Admin centers and then select SharePoint.
When you first log in, you will see the SharePoint Admin Center dashboard. Key features include:
- Active Sites Overview: Lists all sites in your organization with their status.
- Storage Usage: Displays how much storage each site is using.
- Recent Activity: Shows recent changes, site creation, deletions, and user activity.
- Quick Actions: Options to create new sites, manage site collections, and configure settings.

3. Global Administrator and SharePoint Administrator: Roles and Permissions

Infographic comparing Global Administrator and SharePoint Administrator roles. Global Admin shown with a golden key and Microsoft 365 services access, SharePoint Admin shown with a blue key focused on SharePoint site management.

A well-managed SharePoint environment starts with understanding the key administrative roles. Two main roles define who can manage what in the SharePoint Admin Center.

Global Administrator:
- The most powerful role in Microsoft 365.
- Has full control over all services, including SharePoint, Exchange, Teams, and more.
- Can manage licenses, create users, and assign other admin roles.
- Acts as the master key holder for the entire Microsoft 365 environment.
- Use this role sparingly to reduce security risks.
SharePoint Administrator:
- Focused specifically on SharePoint administration.
- Can access the SharePoint Admin Center fully.
- Can create, delete, and manage SharePoint sites.
- Controls user permissions, external sharing, and site settings.
- Recommended for day-to-day SharePoint management to follow the principle of least privilege.

4. The Modern SharePoint Admin Center Dashboard

The SharePoint Admin Center dashboard is your central hub for managing your SharePoint environment. It provides a clear overview of your organization’s SharePoint activity and health, helping administrators make informed decisions quickly.

Key Components of the Dashboard:
- Active Sites Overview: See all active SharePoint sites in your organization, including their type (team site, communication site), URL, and owner. This helps track site usage and manage site lifecycle.
- Storage Usage: Monitor storage across sites to ensure you don’t exceed your limits. You can quickly identify sites using excessive storage and take action.
- Service Health: Get real-time updates about SharePoint Online service status, including any outages or maintenance alerts. This helps you proactively address potential issues.
- Recent Activity: View recent actions like site creation, deletion, or sharing events. This helps track changes and ensure compliance with governance policies.
- Quick Actions: The dashboard often includes shortcuts for creating new sites, managing permissions, or accessing settings, making administration more efficient.

5. Managing Sites and Hubs in the SharePoint Admin Center

Managing sites and hubs is one of the most important tasks in the SharePoint Admin Center. It helps keep your organization’s SharePoint environment organized, secure, and easy to navigate.

Creating and Deleting Sites

The first step in site management is creating a new site. Admins can create sites directly from the SharePoint Admin Center.

You can choose from two main types of modern sites:
- Team Sites: Connected to a Microsoft 365 group, these sites are ideal for collaboration. They focus on sharing content, files, and resources within a specific team.
- Communication Sites: Designed for a broader audience, these sites are perfect for sharing information, news, and events across a department or the entire organization.
How to Create a Site
- In the SharePoint admin center, go to Active sites in the left-hand navigation.
- Select Create.
- Choose the type of site you want to create:
- Enter a site name, site address, and select a site owner.
- Select Finish to create the site.
How to Delete a Site
- In the SharePoint admin center, go to Active sites.
- Select the site you want to delete by clicking its name.
- Select Delete from the toolbar.
- A confirmation window will appear. Read the information carefully and confirm the deletion. The site will be sent to the SharePoint recycle bin for 93 days.
Managing Site Storage Limits

SharePoint storage is pooled across your entire organization. By default, sites can use as much of this shared storage as they need, up to a maximum of 25 TB per site. But an administrator can manually set a specific storage limit for any site. This is useful for managing large projects or controlling costs. You can also set up email alerts to notify you and the site owner when a site is close to its storage limit.
How to Manage a Site's Storage Limit
- In the SharePoint admin center, go to Active sites.
- Select the site you want to manage.
- On the command bar, select Storage from the toolbar.
- A side panel will appear. You can view the current usage and the overall storage limit.
- Enter a new limit in the box. Select Save. You can also choose to set the limit back to Automatic.

6. Registering and Unregistering Hub Sites

Hub sites are an essential feature of modern SharePoint. They help connect related sites and centralize navigation, news, and branding across your organization. Proper management of hub sites is a key responsibility in SharePoint administration.

Registering a Hub Site: You cannot create a hub from scratch. Instead, you register an existing site, such as a communication site, as a hub using the SharePoint admin center. While registering, you can specify which users or groups have permission to associate other sites with this hub.
Associating a Site: Site owners can connect their sites to a registered hub. Once associated, the sites inherit the hub’s navigation, theme, and branding, creating a consistent user experience across connected sites.
Unregistering a Hub Site: If a hub site is no longer required, an admin can unregister it from the SharePoint admin center. This action does not delete the associated sites, but they will lose the hub’s navigation, branding, and centralized features.

How to Register an Existing Site as a Hub Site
- In the SharePoint admin center, go to Active sites.
- Select the site you want to make a hub.
- Select Hub site from the toolbar.
- Choose Register as hub site.
- Enter a Hub site name and select Save.
How to Unregister a Hub Site
- In the SharePoint admin center, go to Active sites.
- Select the site that is currently a hub site.
- Select Hub site from the toolbar.
- Choose Unregister as hub site.
- Confirm the action. The site will no longer be a hub, and associated sites will lose its navigation.

7. Managing Site Membership and Ownership

A key part of SharePoint administration is controlling who has access to a site. Proper management ensures security, governance, and smooth collaboration. Admins can:

Manage Owners: Add or remove primary site owners. Owners control the site settings, permissions, and overall management. Keeping ownership updated is essential to maintain proper control.
Manage Members: For group-connected team sites, admins can add or remove members from the linked Microsoft 365 group. This automatically provides them access to the SharePoint site and connected services like Teams and Planner.
Site-Level Access: Admins can adjust individual user permissions directly at the site level. This ensures users have the appropriate access, such as Read, Contribute, or Full Control, based on their role and responsibilities.

How to Manage Site Owners:
- In the SharePoint admin center, go to Active sites.
- Select the site you want to manage.
- In the site details panel, next to Owners, select Edit.
- Add or remove owners from the list.
- Select Save.
How to Manage Site Membership (for Team Sites):
- In the SharePoint admin center, go to Active sites.
- Select the team site you want to manage.
- In the site details panel, next to Group members, select Edit.
- A panel will open for the associated Microsoft 365 group. Add or remove members and owners from this panel.
- Select Save. Changes here automatically update who has access to the SharePoint site and other connected services like Teams.

8. Content and Policies in SharePoint Admin Center

Managing content and enforcing policies is a key responsibility of SharePoint administrators. The SharePoint Admin Center allows admins to apply rules and controls across the entire organization.

External Sharing Settings:

Admins can control how sites and documents are shared outside the organization. You can:
- Allow or block external sharing at the tenant level.
- Restrict sharing to specific users or domains.
- Set expiration dates for shared links to reduce risk.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Policies:

DLP policies help protect sensitive information from accidental or unauthorized sharing. Admins can:
- Create rules to detect sensitive data, like financial information or personal identifiers.
- Automatically block or warn users before they share restricted content.
- Monitor compliance and review policy reports regularly.
Term Store for Consistent Information Architecture:

The Term Store helps maintain a consistent structure for metadata and taxonomy across sites. Admins can:
- Define standardized terms and categories for tagging content.
- Ensure users classify documents consistently.
- Improve searchability and content discoverability across SharePoint.
Tips for Effective Content Management:
- Regularly review and update sharing settings and DLP rules.
- Train users on proper tagging and metadata usage.
- Monitor audit logs to track policy compliance and unusual activity.

Final Thoughts

The SharePoint Admin Center is the central hub for managing sites, content, users, and policies across your organization. Proper administration ensures security, compliance, and efficient collaboration. From managing site memberships and hub sites to enforcing DLP policies and consistent metadata, every setting contributes to a well-governed environment.

Working with a professional SharePoint consulting company like Congruent Software can make a significant difference. Our experts help organizations configure the admin center correctly, implement governance policies, optimize storage, and secure sensitive data. We also provide ongoing monitoring, user training, and strategic guidance to ensure your SharePoint environment is safe, efficient, and fully aligned with your business goals.

With the right partner, SharePoint administration becomes not just a technical task but a strategic advantage for your organization.

Comprehensive Guide to SharePoint Admin Center