SharePoint Tiles are still useful in 2026, but there is an important change from the way Tiles were handled in older versions of SharePoint.
In modern SharePoint, Tiles are a layout option within the Quick Links web part rather than a separate Promoted Links-style web part.
This makes Quick Links a practical way to create visual navigation on a modern SharePoint page. You can use it to help employees quickly access important pages, documents, sites, forms and other resources.
For organisations building a larger intranet, Tiles can also be part of a wider SharePoint intranet design, alongside navigation, News, Document Libraries, Hero sections and other web parts.
Quick answer: What are SharePoint Tiles?
SharePoint Tiles are a visual layout within the Quick Links web part that allows you to display links as tiles on a modern SharePoint page.
Tiles can be used to give employees quick access to frequently used resources such as:
- HR policies
- Finance resources
- IT support
- Forms and applications
- Project sites
- Important documents
- Internal systems
- External websites
If your organisation needs a more customised intranet experience, a standard Quick Links web part may not be enough. In that situation, custom SharePoint development can provide additional functionality and design options.
How SharePoint Tiles work in modern SharePoint
Older SharePoint versions used features such as Promoted Links to create tile-based navigation.
Modern SharePoint takes a different approach.
The Quick Links web part provides several layouts for displaying links, including Tiles. This means you can add a Quick Links web part to a modern page and choose the layout that best fits the page.
The important distinction is:
Quick Links = the web part
Tiles = one of the available layouts
This is why older guides that describe a standalone “SharePoint Tiles web part” or “Promoted Links web part” can be confusing for people working with modern SharePoint today.
How to add Tiles to a SharePoint modern page
Adding Tiles to a modern SharePoint page is straightforward.
1. Open your SharePoint page
Go to the modern SharePoint page where you want to add the links.
2. Select Edit
Select Edit to make changes to the page.
3. Add the Quick Links web part
Select the + button where you want the web part to appear and search for Quick Links.
Add the web part to the page.
4. Add your links
Select Add links and choose the content you want people to access.
Depending on your requirements, links can point to SharePoint pages, documents, sites, images or external websites.
5. Select the Tiles layout
Open the Quick Links layout options and select Tiles.
Your links will then be displayed in a visual tile-based format.
6. Customise the links
Depending on the selected layout and configuration, you can customise elements such as images, icons, titles and descriptions.
7. Publish the page
Preview the page to make sure the navigation is easy to understand, then publish your changes.
When should you use SharePoint Tiles?
Tiles work particularly well when users need quick access to a small group of important resources.
For example, an HR section of an intranet could contain:
HR Policies
Access company policies and procedures.
Leave Requests
Open the employee leave request form.
Employee Handbook
Read the latest employee information.
Training
Access training resources and learning materials.
The goal isn’t to add as many tiles as possible. The goal is to make important information easier to find.
SharePoint Tiles vs Hero web part
Quick Links isn’t the only way to create visual links on a SharePoint page.
The Hero web part can also be used to highlight important content using a more visual presentation.
The choice depends on what you are trying to achieve.
| Use case | Quick Links / Tiles | Hero |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday navigation | Excellent | Good |
| Department links | Excellent | Good |
| Frequently used resources | Excellent | Good |
| Featured content | Good | Excellent |
| Large visual content | Good | Excellent |
| Simple intranet navigation | Excellent | Good |
| Highlighting important announcements | Good | Excellent |
As a general rule, use Quick Links and Tiles for navigation and consider Hero when you want to give greater visual emphasis to featured content.
SharePoint Tiles for intranet navigation
Tiles can be particularly useful when designing a modern SharePoint intranet.
Instead of asking employees to search through multiple sites and menus, an intranet homepage can provide clear entry points to the areas they use most.
For example:
Employees
- HR
- Payroll
- Leave
- Policies
- Training
IT
- Service Desk
- Software Requests
- IT Policies
- Security
- Support
Finance
- Expenses
- Invoices
- Finance Policies
- Procurement
- Reporting
Projects
- Project Sites
- Templates
- Project Documents
- Reports
- Dashboards
The best layout depends on your organisation’s structure, the number of resources and how employees actually use SharePoint.
For larger environments, this is where SharePoint information architecture and intranet design become more important than simply adding more tiles.
How to design better SharePoint Tiles
A good tile layout should make your SharePoint site easier to use, not more complicated.
Keep tile names short
Use:
HR Policies
instead of:
Click here to access all of our latest human resources policies and procedures
Short labels are easier to scan.
Use consistent images
If your tiles use images, keep the visual style consistent.
Mixing unrelated images can make an intranet look cluttered and make important links harder to identify.
Group related resources
Don’t put HR, Finance, IT, Projects and external websites into one long collection of unrelated tiles.
Group resources logically so employees can understand where to go.
Don’t create too many tiles
More navigation does not necessarily mean better navigation.
If employees have to scan dozens of tiles before finding what they need, the page may need a better information architecture rather than more links.
Think about your users
Different departments may need different resources.
For larger organisations, features such as audience targeting can help present relevant content to different groups.
SharePoint Tiles and document management
Tiles are not a replacement for a proper document management structure.
They provide a navigation layer that can help users reach important content.
The underlying SharePoint environment still needs a sensible structure for:
- Document libraries
- Metadata
- Permissions
- Search
- Version history
- Content organisation
- Retention and governance
For organisations dealing with large volumes of documents, SharePoint document management should be considered as part of the wider solution.
A well-designed intranet should make it easy to reach important information without creating another layer of content sprawl.
What if standard SharePoint Tiles aren't enough?
The standard Quick Links web part works well for many organisations.
However, some businesses need more control over the appearance or behaviour of their intranet.
For example, you may need:
- Custom tile designs
- Branded navigation
- Additional interaction
- Custom data sources
- Dynamic content
- Integration with business systems
- Custom SharePoint web parts
- Special navigation requirements
In these situations, custom SharePoint development may be more appropriate than trying to force the standard web parts to do something they weren’t designed to do.
Our SharePoint development services cover custom SharePoint solutions, web-part development, intranet solutions, integrations and workflow development.
SharePoint Tiles after a migration
SharePoint migration is also an opportunity to rethink your intranet navigation.
Simply moving an old SharePoint environment into SharePoint Online can carry over problems such as:
- Duplicate sites
- Outdated pages
- Poor navigation
- Unused content
- Confusing site structures
- Broken or unnecessary links
Instead of recreating the old environment exactly as it was, organisations can use migration as an opportunity to simplify their information architecture and redesign the user experience.
If you are planning a move to SharePoint Online, see our SharePoint migration services for help with planning, content structure and migration.
SharePoint Tiles, governance and information architecture
A good-looking SharePoint homepage does not solve an underlying governance problem.
As organisations grow, they can end up with too many sites, duplicate content and unclear ownership.
Your navigation should therefore be considered alongside:
- Site structure
- Permissions
- Naming conventions
- Content ownership
- Lifecycle management
- Search
- Teams and Microsoft 365 governance
For example, if employees can create Teams and SharePoint sites without a clear structure, adding more navigation tiles may only make the environment harder to manage.
Good SharePoint design starts with understanding where information belongs and how employees should find it.
SharePoint Tiles and Microsoft 365
SharePoint is now part of a much broader Microsoft 365 environment.
Your intranet may connect employees to:
- SharePoint
- Microsoft Teams
- OneDrive
- Microsoft Forms
- Power Apps
- Power Automate
- Power BI
- Microsoft 365 search
- Other business applications
This means SharePoint Tiles should not be considered in isolation.
A tile might take an employee to a SharePoint document library, a Teams workspace, a Power App, a form or an external business system.
The best intranet design brings these resources together in a way that makes sense to employees.
FAQs
Tiles are still available in modern SharePoint, but the terminology has changed. In modern SharePoint, Tiles is a layout option within the Quick Links web part.
Add the Quick Links web part to a modern SharePoint page, add your links and select the Tiles layout
Quick Links is the web part. Tiles is one of the layouts available within that web part.
Yes. Quick Links can be used to provide access to SharePoint content such as documents, pages and other resources.
Yes. External links can be used where appropriate.
Use Quick Links with Tiles when your main goal is navigation. Consider Hero when you want to give greater visual emphasis to featured content.
The standard Quick Links web part provides built-in configuration options. If your organisation needs functionality or design beyond those options, custom SharePoint development may be appropriate.
Yes. Tiles can provide clear entry points to frequently used resources and departments. They work best when combined with good information architecture and an overall intranet strategy.
Final Thoughts
SharePoint Tiles are still useful in 2026, but the way they should be approached has changed.
Rather than looking for an old-style standalone Tiles or Promoted Links web part, modern SharePoint users can use the Quick Links web part with its Tiles layout to create visual navigation.
For a simple page, that may be all you need.
For a larger business intranet, however, the bigger question is how your SharePoint environment is structured, how employees find information and how your different Microsoft 365 tools work together.
At 365 Digital Consulting, we help businesses design and improve SharePoint intranets that make information easier to find, simplify collaboration and support the way their teams actually work. Explore our SharePoint Intranet solutions to see how we can help you build a more effective SharePoint environment.
For organisations that need functionality beyond SharePoint’s standard web parts, our SharePoint development services can extend SharePoint with custom web parts, integrations and tailored solutions.
