SharePoint Online: “Save Site as Template” Link Missing? Here is How to Enable!

Problem: The “Save Site as Template” option is missing in SharePoint Online!

sharepoint online save site as template missing

The “Save Site as Template” option is unavailable on Office 365 group-connected and Communication sites! However, there is another reason why you don’t see the “Save site as Template” link under site settings: Custom script disabled!

Why Can’t I Save My Site as a Template?

There are several reasons why the “Save site as template” option might be missing:

  • Site type: The modern Team site in SharePoint Online doesn’t support saving as templates directly. This functionality is primarily available for classic team sites and communication sites.
  • Publishing features: If your site has publishing features enabled at the site collection level, it won’t allow saving as a template due to security restrictions.
  • Custom script settings: Sometimes, custom script restrictions prevent access to the save as template feature.
  • Admin permissions: You might need specific permissions to access this functionality.

How to Enable Save Site as Template in SharePoint Online?

This feature is available for classic sites. Modern Team Sites and Communication Sites do not support saving sites as templates through the user interface. To resolve this problem, we need to enable custom scripts.

Here is how to fix the save site as template is not available issue:

  1. Login to the SharePoint Admin Center.
  2. Click Settings from the left navigation >> Scroll down to the “Custom Script” section.
  3. Set “Allow users to run custom script on personal site” and “Allow users to run custom script on self-service created sites” options. 
    sharepoint online save site as template error
  4. Click on “OK” to save your changes.

The above steps enable the save site as template link. However, this change may take up to 24 hours to reflect. Use this PowerShell script in the SharePoint Online Management Shell to enable scripting on a particular site collection immediately.

Bookmark this link to save a SharePoint Online site as template URL: https://crescent.sharepoint.com/_layouts/15/savetmpl.aspx

PowerShell to Fix Save Site as Template Option Missing in SharePoint Online Issue:

Use this PowerShell script to enable custom scripting on a SharePoint site immediately.

#Config Parameters
$AdminSiteURL="https://crescent-admin.sharepoint.com"
$SiteURL="https://crescent.sharepoint.com"
 
#Connect to SharePoint Online Tenant Admin
Connect-SPOService -URL $AdminSiteURL
 
#Disable DenyAddAndCustomizePages Flag
Set-SPOSite $SiteURL -DenyAddAndCustomizePages $False

This brings it back to the save site as template option in the SharePoint Online site collection’s site settings page (along with other features like “Web Designer Galleries”): You can now click on the “Save site as template” link, provide a template name and file name to create a WSP file from the site template and then create a new site from it.

save site as template not available in sharepoint online

Please note, the change by PowerShell script can be overridden in the next 24 hours If the settings don’t match in the SharePoint Online Admin center! So ensure you have the same settings (either disable or enable) in PowerShell and the SharePoint Online Admin Center “Custom Script” section.

Save as Template option is not supported for publishing sites and in sites with SharePoint Server publishing feature enabled!

Salaudeen Rajack

Salaudeen Rajack - Information Technology Expert with Two-decades of hands-on experience, specializing in SharePoint, PowerShell, Microsoft 365, and related products. He has held various positions including SharePoint Architect, Administrator, Developer and consultant, has helped many organizations to implement and optimize SharePoint solutions. Known for his deep technical expertise, He's passionate about sharing the knowledge and insights to help others, through the real-world articles!

One thought on “SharePoint Online: “Save Site as Template” Link Missing? Here is How to Enable!

  • Thank you, the URL helped a lot!

    Reply

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