Enabling Self-Service Site Creation

So far we discussed site creation from the point of view of a SharePoint administrator. Members of the SharePoint Administrator and Web Designer roles also have the power to create their own subsites. Users can even create subsites to MyPage. These subsites are complete SharePoint sites based on the site templates available to the user , containing home pages, news, announcements, and all the standard content provided by SharePoint. Subsites may have their own permissions established.

The Self-Service Site Creation feature takes this one step further, allowing users to create their own top-level SharePoint sites. By default, this feature is turned off. If you are in a multiple-server environment, you must enable the feature one server at a time. To create a site, users go to the signup page (scsignup.aspx) and fill in a few fields. When you enable self-service site creation, a notice containing this link is placed on the home page.

A site administrator can configure self-service site creation either from the command line or SharePoint Central Administration. From the command line, enter:

 stsadm -o enablessc -url http://My_Server require _ secondarycontact 

In SharePoint Central Administration, follow these steps:

1. On the SharePoint Central Administration page, in the Virtual Server Configuration section, click Configure virtual server settings from the Virtual Server List page .
   
   
2. Click the virtual server you want to enable on the Virtual Server List page.
   
   
3. On the Virtual Server Settings page, under Automated Web Site Collection Management, click Configure Self-Service Site Creation .
   
   
4. In the Enable Self-Service Site Creation section, click On next to Self-Service Site Creation is .
   
   
5. Click the Require secondary contact checkbox to require two contacts for each site. By default only one contact is required.
   
   
6. Click OK to save your changes.
   
   

Self-service site creation is an empowering tool for users. It frees the IT staff from these routine tasks as well. Be sure to provide a support infrastructure for end users who create these sites so they don't feel abandoned by the IT department.