How to Create SharePoint 2016 Design Package using Design Manager?

How to create a design package in SharePoint 2016?

The design package is a .wsp file that can be created through the Design Manager in SharePoint 2013, or SharePoint 2016 and contains branding assets that are stored in Design Manager. With the packaging feature of the Design Manager, we can package all our branding artifacts into a Re-deployable package (wsp) without using Visual Studio.

Here are the steps to create and apply a design package:

1. Create a design package using Design Manager in SharePoint 2016
2. Export design package WSP file from the source site collection
3. Import & Apply the design package to the target site

Step 1: Create a design package in SharePoint 2013/2016

Creating the design package is quite simple.

1. Go to Site Settings >> Design Manager 
2. Click on the “Create Design Package” link from the design manager left navigation

   

3. The design manager gives the name and version number for you automatically – You can rename it if required. Optionally, you can include the Site Collection search configuration in the package. Click on the “Create” button to create the WSP package.
   
4. Wait for a while it generates the WSP package with all branding artifacts, including MasterPages, Page Layouts, Display Templates, CSS Style Sheets, JavaScript files, images, etc. Once the package creation is completed, you’ll get the link to download the wsp file. This generates a WSP file that will live in the Solutions Gallery.
5. Export design package: Click on the “Your Package is ready. Click here to download” link to download the wsp.
   

The design package will be stored inside the solution gallery of the site collection, which can be found here: https://site-collection-url/_catalogs/solutions

Step 3: SharePoint 2013 import design package (WSP)

Once the design package is ready, it can be imported to any site through the “Import design package” option in Site Settings. We can port it anywhere and apply the new design through this package. Here are the steps to apply the design package to the target site.

1. Navigate to the site settings of the target site. Click on “Import Design Package” link under the “Look and Feel” section.

   

2. Click on the “Browse” button and select the WSP file generated from the previous step. Click on the “Import” button once.
   
3. Wait for a while till it gives the message “import of package “your package name” succeeded”.
   

That’s all. This activates the sandbox solution automatically, and your new design should be live now!