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SharePoint Highlighted Content Web Part: Source Limits and Performance
Question details
The user needs to know the recommended maximum number of sources for the SharePoint Highlighted Content web part and how its performance compares to the Search Results and News web parts when retrieving data from approximately 100 hub-connected sites.
- Product
- Microsoft SharePoint
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Aggregating and displaying news articles across approximately 100 hub-connected SharePoint sites without causing page latency.
- Observed behavior
- Concerns regarding potential performance degradation and increased query times when configuring a high number of site sources in a single web part.
Ensure you have Site Owner or Member permissions to edit SharePoint pages, and check your current hub site connections to verify the total number of sites you intend to query.
Use the SharePoint News Web Part for Aggregation
The News web part is specifically optimized by Microsoft for rolling up news articles across multiple sites, offering better performance for news aggregation than the Highlighted Content web part.
Because the News web part is designed specifically for news posts, it handles metadata filtering and hub-site rollups more efficiently. This makes it the ideal choice to avoid latency when retrieving updates from numerous connected sites.
Navigate to your SharePoint page, click 'Edit' in the top right corner, hover over the canvas to reveal the '+' icon, and select the 'News' web part.
Click the pencil icon next to the web part to open the property pane. Under 'News source', select 'All sites in the hub' or 'Select sites' to target your hub-connected sites.
Scroll down in the property pane to the 'Filter' section. Apply page properties or managed property filters to refine the news items displayed without overburdening the initial query.
Click 'Republish' to save your changes. Monitor the page load times to ensure performance remains optimal.
Utilize the Search Results Web Part
For highly complex queries or massive environments (100+ sites), leveraging search-driven web parts reduces page rendering latency.
Optimize the Highlighted Content Web Part
If you must use the Highlighted Content web part, streamline its configuration to minimize the performance impact of querying multiple sites.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a maximum number of sources for the Highlighted Content web part?
Microsoft does not document a strict maximum limit for the Highlighted Content web part. However, aggregating from a large volume of sources (such as 100+ hub-connected sites) can significantly increase query time and negatively affect page performance.
Why is the News web part better for news aggregation?
The News web part is purpose-built by Microsoft specifically for retrieving and displaying news posts. It natively handles hub-site relationships, metadata filtering, and caching more efficiently than a generic Highlighted Content configuration.
Will using the Search Results web part fix page latency?
Yes, for high-volume environments, relying on search-driven rollups (like PnP Search Results) is much faster because it queries the indexed data rather than executing live queries against multiple site lists. However, be aware there is a slight delay in updates based on crawl times.
