Customizing SharePoint so it doesn’t look like SharePoint is one of the most common tasks site owners get asked by users. While the task may seem daunting, the right tools, a solid understanding of HTML, CSS will take you a long way, and even a little familiarity with ASP.NET master pages technology may help as well. That said, the following resources should help you get started from taking SharePoint out of the box to something that you will be proud of!
Tools
Two essential tools to get started with customizing SharePoint’s look and feel are SharePoint Designer and the Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar.
- Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointdesigner/FX100487631033.aspx - Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar
https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=e59c3964-672d-4511-bb3e-2d5e1db91038&displaylang=en
Office Online
Office Online is a starting point for learning product details for the Office System. SharePoint Designer is a key tool for customizing your SharePoint look and feel.
- Customize SharePoint sites with Office SharePoint Designer
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointdesigner/HA102199841033.aspx?pid=CH102201271033 - Masters Page reference for SharePoint Designer
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointdesigner/CH100667701033.aspx - Introduction to ASP.NET master pages (Fundamentals of Master Page technology)
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointdesigner/HA101551701033.aspx
Samples
Starting with a sample may help you get a master page look and feel together faster than starting from scratch (Though note the expert consensus is to start with a minimalblank master page). Here are some starter samples available for download from Microsoft.
- Sample Master Pages
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointdesigner/HA102223711033.aspx - Sample Master Pages Download page
https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=7C05CA44-869A-463B-84D7-57B053711A96&displaylang=en
Videos
See SharePoint being customized in action.
- Building Simple Master Pages for SharePoint http://wm.microsoft.com/ms/msdn/office/2007OfficeVisualHowTos/WSS3.0BuildingSimpleMasterPages.wmv
- Customize SharePoint sites with Office SharePoint Designer http://office.microsoft.com/home/video.aspx?assetid=HX102200491033&width=0&height=0&startindex=1&CTT=11&Origin=HA102199841033
WebCasts
MSDN Webcast: Customizing and Branding SharePoint Portal Server and Windows SharePoint Services
http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/webcasteventdetails.aspx?eventid=1032269755&eventcategory=5&culture=en-us&countrycode=us
MSDN
Microsoft’s Developer Network Site is a great resource for in-depth topics.
- Master Pages (SharePoint Overview)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms443795.aspx - Customizing Master Pages in Windows SharePoint Services
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms476046.aspx - How to: Create a Minimal Master Page
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa660698.aspx - Building Simple Master Pages for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb684920.aspx - How to: Customize Themes
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa979310.aspx - Customizing and Branding Web Content Management-Enabled SharePoint Sites (3 Part Series)
- Understanding Web Content Management and the Default Features (Part 1 of 3)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa830818.aspx - Extending WCM (Part 2 of 3)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa830815.aspx - Creating and Configuring WCM-Enabled Sites (Part 3 of 3)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa830817.aspx
Expert Resources
Heather Solomon, Microsoft MVP, Expert on SharePoint Design Techniques
- Heather SharePoint Branding Site & Blog
http://www.heathersolomon.com/
http://www.heathersolomon.com/blog/articles/sp2007.aspx
http://www.heathersolomon.com/blog/archive/2007/01/26/6153.aspx
Heather’s Presentations
- SharePoint Tools for Style: How to Start Branding SharePoint
http://www.heathersolomon.com/downloads/Solomon_StartBrandingSharePoint_Blogversion.zip - SharePoint Tools for Style: Advanced Techniques for Branding SharePoint
http://www.heathersolomon.com/downloads/Solomon_AdvancedTechniques.zip
Examples
Sometimes it’s easier to envision what’s possible when you can see customized sites in action. Here’s a listing of some public facing SharePoint sites.
- Canon – http://www.canon.com/
- Equiniti Shareview – http://www.shareview.co.uk/Pages/Default.aspx
- GLU – http://www.glu.com/noram/Pages/home.aspx
- Hawaiian Air – http://www.hawaiianair.com/Pages/Index.aspx
- Library of Congress – http://myloc.gov/Pages/default.aspx
- Orange County (FLA) Public Schools – https://www.ocps.net/Pages/default.aspx
- Paul Mitchell – http://www.paulmitchell.com/Pages/Home.aspx
- SharePoint Conference – http://www.mssharepointconference.com/Pages/default.aspx
- SharePoint Gear Up Site – http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/gearup/Pages/default.aspx
- speakTECH – http://www.speaktech.com/Pages/default.aspx
- Swiss Airlines –http://www.swiss.com/web/EN/Pages/index.aspx?Country=US
- UK National Health Services –http://www.nhs.uk/Pages/homepage.aspx
- US Marines –http://www.marines.mil/news/Pages/marinestv.aspx
- Viacom –http://www.viacom.com/Pages/default.aspx
The site WSS Demo, hosted on SharePoint as well, is also a great reference location that lists all the above sites and more for examples of customized SharePoint sites in action.
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