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How to Change the SharePoint Suite Bar Home Link in Server Subscription Edition
Question details
The user wants to change the default SharePoint link in the top Suite Bar to point to a custom portal homepage instead of the default sharepoint.aspx page.
- Product
- SharePoint Server Subscription Edition
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Customizing the top Suite Bar navigation to redirect users to a specific company portal or intranet homepage.
- Observed behavior
- The default SharePoint link is hardcoded to /_layouts/15/sharepoint.aspx and lacks a built-in UI or API setting to change the destination URL.
Before making server-level changes, note that modifying global redirects using IIS URL Rewrite will affect all users and sites across your SharePoint web application.
Add a Custom Home Icon or Navigation Link
Since the default product identity link cannot be natively modified, the safest and officially supported approach is to add a custom navigation link.
Microsoft provides supported branding properties that allow administrators to configure a custom logo, text, and link in the Suite Navigation Bar without breaking default functionality.
Navigate to your SharePoint site settings or use SharePoint PowerShell to access the Suite Navigation Bar branding properties.
Set up a custom logo or custom text link and point the destination URL to your desired portal homepage.
Save the changes and refresh your SharePoint site to ensure the new custom link appears and routes users correctly.
Configure an External Redirect via IIS URL Rewrite
Use server-level URL rewriting to redirect the default SharePoint page request to your custom portal URL.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why can't I change the SharePoint Suite Bar link directly in settings?
Microsoft designed the built-in SharePoint product identity link to point to /_layouts/15/sharepoint.aspx by default, and there is no officially supported API or direct UI setting to change its destination URL in Server Subscription Edition.
Will an IIS URL Rewrite affect all my SharePoint sites?
Yes, configuring an external redirect for the sharepoint.aspx page via IIS URL Rewrite will globally intercept requests and affect all users and sites hosted on that specific web application.
What is the recommended way to brand the Suite Bar?
The officially supported method is to use SharePoint's custom branding properties to add a distinct custom logo, custom text, and a custom logo link, rather than attempting to modify the default SharePoint text link.
Can I use a reverse proxy instead of IIS URL Rewrite?
Yes, network administrators can configure a reverse proxy or a custom HTTP module to intercept and redirect the /_layouts/15/sharepoint.aspx request to your custom portal homepage as an alternative to IIS URL Rewrite.
