2. Site Customization
• Two types of building blocks for sites
– Sites Definitions
– Custom Site Templates
• Either type determine the lists, files, Web Parts,
Features, or settings with which to provision a
new SharePoint site.
3. Building Blocks
• Site definitions consist primarily of multiple
XML and ASPX files stored on a front-end Web
server
• Custom site templates are stored in the
database and are created by using an existing
site as a model
4. Site Definition
• A family of one or more configurations
• Configurations allow you to specify which lists to
include in the creation of a site
• There are five site definitions natively installed in
Windows SharePoint Services
• Example: The STS Site Definition
– Contains the configurations for Team Site, Blank Site, and
Document Workspace
– Each configurations specifies the elements from the Site Definition
that it will use.
• A site is created when a configuration is
provisioned.
5. Custom Template
• A custom template is a customization applied to a
site or list definition
• A site or list customization created using the user
interface or SharePoint Designer 2007
• Consists of the difference between the original state
of the Web site and the state of the Web site or list
at the time that the custom template is generated
• Site templates are stored in the Site Template
gallery of the top-level site.
6. Why or When to Use Either
• Considerations
– Are the changes you need to make
simple or complex?
– Can you deploy changes to the front-
end Web server?
• Pros and Cons
7. Site Definitions: Pros and Cons
Pros
• Data is stored directly on the Web servers
• A higher level of list customization is possible
• Certain kinds of customization to sites or lists require use of site
definitions
Cons
• Customization of site definition requires more effort than creating
custom templates and requires access to the file system of the front-
end Web server.
• Editing a site definition after it has been deployed is difficult.
• Doing anything other than adding code can break existing sites.
• Users cannot apply a SharePoint theme through a site definition.
• Users cannot create two lists of the same type with different default
content.
8. Custom Templates: Pros and Cons
Pros
• Custom templates are easy to create.
• Almost anything that can be done in the user interface can be
preserved in the template.
• Custom templates can be modified without affecting existing sites
that have been created from the templates.
• Custom templates are easy to deploy.
Cons
• Custom templates are not created in a development environment.
• Custom templates are less efficient in large-scale environments.
• If the site definition on which the custom template is based does not
exist on the front-end server or servers, the custom template does
not work.
