How to switch SharePoint site navigation from left vertical to top horizontal

Until a recent update, SharePoint team sites always had a left side vertical navigation menu. Communication sites always had a top horizontal navigation menu that could be a cascading or mega menu style. Recently, Microsoft rolled out the ability to change a team site’s navigation from vertical (side) to horizontal (top).

Click to enlarge – Roadmap item for SharePoint Navigation Switcher.

Note: This change only applies to team site types. Communication sites are still top horizontal only.

Below are the steps to swap your team site’s navigation orientation. You must be a site owner to perform these steps.

How to change SharePoint team site navigation from left side to top

  1. Navigate to the team site for which you’d like to switch the navigation orientation.
  2. Click the settings wheel in the upper-right corner.
  3. Select Change the look.
  4. Select Navigation.
  5. Choose Horizontal and then choose either Mega menu or Cascading for menu style.
Click to enlarge – Navigation switcher options for a SharePoint team site.

How to delete and restore SharePoint Online sites

In this post, I’ll show how you can both delete and restore SharePoint Online sites.

Note: You must be a SharePoint administrator or a SharePoint site owner to be able to delete a site, and only SharePoint administrators can restore them.

How to delete a SharePoint site

If you’re a site owner, follow these steps to delete your site:

  1. Click the settings wheel in the upper right corner
  2. Select Site information
  3. Select Delete site
  4. Check the confirmation box and then click Delete

If you’re a SharePoint administrator, you can follow these steps to delete a site:

  1. Go to the SharePoint admin center (app launcher > Admin > SharePoint)
  2. Select Sites > Active sites from the left navigation menu
  3. Search or browse and select the site to delete
  4. Select Delete from the top ribbon menu
  5. Select Delete again in the dialog prompt

A video demonstration of both of these methods is below:

How to restore a SharePoint site

Deleted sites can only be restored within the first 93 days since its deletion. Otherwise, after 93 days, the site is permanently deleted.

Here are the steps a SharePoint admin can follow to restore a previously deleted site:

  1. Go to the SharePoint admin center
  2. Select Sites > Deleted sites from the left-hand navigation menu
  3. Select the specific site to restore
  4. Select Restore from the top ribbon menu

A video demonstration of these steps can be found below: