Create Content Type Hub in SharePoint 2013

What is Content Type Hub SharePoint 2013?
Content Type Hub is a centralized repository of SharePoint Content types where we can manage and publish content types. Any Web application that subscribed to this content type hub can consume content types from this store. Content type hub is associated with the help of Managed Metadata Service Application.

Why we need content type hub in SharePoint?
Well, content types are limited within site collection scope. When you have a requirement to consume content types beyond site collection boundary, or even between different SharePoint farms (E.g. Dev-UAT-Production) – Content type hub is the answer! Without content type hub, You’ll end up creating same content type again and again on all of the site collections – I’m sure this situation is pretty common in your  organization.

How to configure content type hub SharePoint 2013?

The Content Type Hub is actually a Site Collection. You can either create a dedicated web application and then a top-level site collection in it or create a separate site collection in any existing web application. Technically, You can choose any existing site collection and make it a content type hub, however, as a best practice, let’s create a dedicated site collection explicitly for content type hub.

Create a content type hub SharePoint 2013:

Creating a new Content Type Hub is really a simple process. As the best practice says: Use explicit site collection for content type hub, let’s create an explicit managed path for content type hub.

• Go to SharePoint 2016 Central Administration site
• Application Management >> Select the Web application from the list, click on the “Managed Path” button from the ribbon.

  

• Add a new path “CtypeHub”, choose the Type as “Explicit Inclusion” and click on the “Add Path” button.

  

• As stated already, you can just create a new site collection inside an existing web application. The above step is completely optional. Alright, let’s create a site collection on the managed path we created. Go to: Application Management >> Create site collections 
• Select the web application, provide a Title for the content type hub site collection, select the Web site address as “CtypeHub” 

  

• Scroll down and select Template as “Team Site”, select Site Administrators,etc. and click on “OK” to create content type hub.

Enable “Content Type Syndicate Hub Feature” for Content type Hub site Collection

• Go to: Site Settings >> Site Collection Features under Site Collection Administration section.
• Find the Content Type Syndication Hub Feature and Click on Activate Button to use this site as a Content Type Hub.

  

Now, we have the content type hub ready. The next step is to associate it with Managed Metadata Service Application

Connect content type hub with Manage Metadata Service Application:

Let’s Set up a content type hub in Managed metadata service in Manage Service Applications from Central Administration.

• Go to Central Administration >> click the Application Management >> under Service Applications, Select Managed Metadata Service >> Click on Properties from the ribbon.
• In Managed metadata service application properties, Enter your Content Type Hub site collection URL in Content Type. In my case its: http://intranet.crescent.com/ctypehub

  

• Go back to Service Applications page, Select the Managed Metadata Service Connection >> Click on Properties from the ribbon, and set “Consume content type from the content type gallery”

  

That’s all! We have completed setting up content type hub SharePoint 2013. Now your Content Type Hub Site Collection is registered with Managed Metadata Service Application. Content Type hub is available to all Lists or Libraries in the farm. Web applications can subscribe to this hub and pull down the published content types. You can also use PowerShell to create content type hub for SharePoint How to Create Content Type Hub in SharePoint using PowerShell?

Last but not least: If you want to change content type hub URL in SharePoint, use PowerShell: Change content type hub URL in SharePoint 2013