How to Make a SharePoint Online Team Site Full Width
Question details
The user wants to expand a SharePoint Online team site layout to use the full width of an ultrawide monitor without leaving unused space around the content.
- Product
- SharePoint Online
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Customizing the page layout and visual appearance of a modern SharePoint team site on a large display.
- Observed behavior
- The SharePoint site only uses part of the screen width, keeping content centered and leaving empty space around the page hero and other web parts.
Ensure you have the necessary edit permissions for the SharePoint site, and note that modern SharePoint pages use a responsive design framework with strict structural limitations.
Use Available Section Layouts as a Workaround
Since a global full-width setting is natively unsupported for Team sites, utilizing the widest available section layouts is the safest approach.
SharePoint Online restricts team sites from being completely full-width to maintain responsive design consistency across different devices. Techniques like manifest-editing are only supported in SharePoint Server environments and should not be used in SharePoint Online.
To maximize screen space, you can customize your current sections or consider using a Communication site if true full-width web parts are strictly required.
Navigate to your SharePoint Online team site and click the 'Edit' button located at the top right corner of the page.
Hover your cursor over the left margin of the page and click the '+' icon to add a new layout section.
Choose the 'One column' layout, which is the widest available container for a Team site. Note that the 'Full-width section' is generally reserved for Communication sites.
Once you have adjusted your web parts to fit the layout, click 'Republish' to make the layout changes visible to your team.
Submit Feature Feedback to Microsoft
Because this layout limitation is hardcoded into SharePoint Online Team sites, submitting feedback is the official route to request this feature.
Discover WPS Office for Seamless Document Collaboration
While SharePoint handles your team's intranet sites, WPS Office provides a lightweight, highly compatible suite for creating, editing, and sharing your documents, spreadsheets, and presentations without heavy layout constraints.
- 1. Download the installer: Visit the official WPS Office website and click the free download button for your operating system.
- 2. Install the software: Run the downloaded setup file and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.
- 3. Open and edit files: Launch WPS Office and instantly open your existing Microsoft Office documents with perfect formatting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use manifest-editing to force a full-width layout in SharePoint Online?
No, manifest-editing techniques are exclusively supported for SharePoint Server. Applying these methods to SharePoint Online is unsupported by Microsoft and can cause your site to break during standard updates.
Why do Communication sites have full-width sections but Team sites do not?
Microsoft designed Communication sites for broadcasting information visually, giving them access to full-width image and hero web parts. Team sites are optimized for collaboration and structured data, utilizing a fixed-width responsive container to keep text readable.
Is there a way to hide the left navigation menu to gain more screen space?
Yes. You can click the gear icon (Settings), select 'Change the look', then click on 'Navigation'. From there, you can adjust the visibility or style of the site navigation to free up horizontal space on your Team site.
