Deciding between SharePoint Classic and its contemporary counterpart can feel like a major puzzle. Many organizations still run on the older version. They face a big question: stick with what they know or move to the refreshed interface? This choice impacts how teams collaborate and share information daily. Understanding the SharePoint classic vs modern debate is crucial for making a smart decision.
It’s about weighing the familiar comfort of the old framework against the advanced capabilities of the new one. This article breaks down the essential differences and helps you navigate the options. We will explore everything from user interface aspects and the key UI differences to the big topic of migration to modern. We will also touch on customization in modern experience. To help you on your journey, we’ve created a comprehensive migration checklist that you can download at the end of this article.
What defines Classic SharePoint
Classic SharePoint represents the traditional approach to site-building. It has been the standard for many years, offering a predictable, table-based layout. Users who have worked with the platform for a long time are very familiar with its structure. Classic sites are hierarchical and often require more technical skill to manage effectively. They provide deep customization options, but this often comes at the cost of simplicity and mobile-friendliness. The entire SharePoint classic vs modern conversation often begins with the limitations of this older architecture.
Features & limitations
The traditional SharePoint platform is known for its robust set of features. It gives administrators granular control over nearly every aspect of the site. This includes custom master pages, page layouts, and a wide array of web parts. However, this level of control can also be a significant limitation. Customizations often require complex code, making sites brittle and difficult to upgrade. The user experience can feel dated compared to contemporary web applications. Another key point in the SharePoint classic vs modern discussion is that Classic was not designed for the mobile-first world we live in today.
Here are some key characteristics of the traditional SharePoint framework:
- Hierarchical Structure: Sites, subsites, and pages are organized in a rigid, top-down manner. This can make navigation and information discovery challenging for users.
- Code-Intensive Customization: Significant changes to the look and feel often require SharePoint Designer or custom C# code. This reliance on developers can slow down projects.
- Limited Mobile Support: Classic pages are not responsive. They do not adapt well to different screen sizes, providing a poor experience on phones and tablets.
- Slower Performance: The way these pages are rendered on the server can lead to longer load times, impacting user productivity and satisfaction.
The debate over the SharePoint Classic vs Modern Experience often highlights these limitations as a primary driver for change. While powerful, the older framework presents considerable hurdles for current collaboration needs. Many capabilities that are standard in the refreshed interface require significant workarounds in the legacy version. For example, creating a visually appealing news feed or a dynamic team site is a much more involved process. A thorough analysis of features modern missing classic is essential before planning any transition.
A key takeaway for anyone managing a Classic environment is to understand that its strength in deep customization is also its biggest weakness in an ever-evolving digital workplace.
Modern Experience — pros & cons
The Modern Experience in SharePoint is Microsoft’s answer to the demands of the contemporary workforce. It’s a complete reimagining of the user interface and underlying architecture. The focus is on ease of use, mobile accessibility, and faster performance. The updated SharePoint empowers users to create beautiful, engaging pages without writing a single line of code. This shift makes content creation more democratic within an organization. Properly navigating the SharePoint classic vs modern choice means understanding both the benefits and the trade-offs.
Speed, UI, responsive design
One of the most significant advantages of the refreshed SharePoint is its performance. Pages load much faster, thanks to a streamlined rendering process. The user interface is clean, intuitive, and aligns with other Microsoft 365 applications. Perhaps the biggest win is its responsive design. Updated sites look and work great on any device, from a large desktop monitor to a small smartphone screen. This is a critical factor in the SharePoint classic vs modern comparison.
Here is a table summarizing the key pros and cons of the new Experience:
| Pros | Cons |
| Fast performance and quick page loads | Fewer advanced customization options out-of-the-box |
| Fully responsive and mobile-friendly | Some classic web parts have no direct equivalent |
| Intuitive, user-friendly interface | Theming and branding capabilities are more restricted |
| Deep integration with Microsoft 365 Groups | Subsite creation is discouraged, changing navigation |
| Continuous updates and new features | Requires user training and adoption efforts |
The UI differences are not just cosmetic; they directly impact productivity. The new approach guides users with a more logical and visual page editing experience. For organizations weighing the SharePoint Classic vs Modern Experience, the performance and usability gains are compelling reasons to make the switch.
Comparing UI components
The visual and functional differences between legacy and current UI components are stark. Classic relies on a ribbon interface similar to older versions of Microsoft Office. The refreshed look adopts a sleek, command bar-driven approach. This change simplifies the user experience, presenting relevant options based on the user’s context. The way users interact with lists, libraries, and pages has been fundamentally redesigned to be more intuitive and efficient. This focus on a streamlined user journey is a core theme in the SharePoint classic vs modern evaluation.
Web parts old vs new
Web parts are the building blocks of SharePoint pages. In Classic, adding and configuring web parts was often a multi-step, cumbersome process. The available web parts also looked dated and offered limited interactivity. The updated experience introduces a rich set of dynamic, pre-built web parts that are easy to configure and visually appealing. Users can add things like dynamic news feeds, interactive charts, and video embeds in just a few clicks. This is one of the most visible improvements in the SharePoint classic vs modern landscape.
Here’s a look at some popular new web parts and their advantages:
- Hero Web Part: Creates a visually striking banner with links to important content. It’s a powerful tool for landing pages.
- News Web Part: Aggregates news from across different sites, displaying it in a clean, magazine-style layout.
- Highlighted Content Web Part: Dynamically displays content from other sites, lists, or libraries based on user-defined criteria. This is great for surfacing relevant documents.
- Power BI Web Part: Allows for the seamless embedding of interactive Power BI reports directly onto a SharePoint page.
One of the challenges organizations face is identifying features modern missing classic. While the current version offers many new capabilities, some very specific, highly customized web parts from the old framework don’t have a one-to-one replacement. This gap is a significant consideration during a migration to modern. However, the SharePoint Framework (SPFx) provides a path to develop custom solutions. Careful planning is needed to address any business-critical features modern missing classic.
Customization capabilities
Customization is a major point of discussion in the SharePoint classic vs modern debate. The traditional platform offered nearly limitless personalization through tools like SharePoint Designer and direct manipulation of master pages. Developers could inject custom CSS and JavaScript to change almost anything. While powerful, this approach often led to “brittle” customizations that would break during system updates. It made maintaining and upgrading SharePoint environments a significant challenge.
The contemporary SharePoint takes a more structured and secure approach. It closes the door on some of the “anything goes” methods of the past. Instead, it provides a robust, supported framework for development. This ensures that customizations are more stable, secure, and future-proof. The focus has shifted from deep, server-side code to client-side solutions that work within the established guardrails of the platform. A key aspect of the SharePoint Classic vs Modern Experience is understanding this new development philosophy.
SPFx, scripting
The primary tool for customization in modern experience is the SharePoint Framework (SPFx). It’s an open and connected platform that allows developers to build client-side web parts and extensions using current web technologies like React and TypeScript. This is a significant departure from the server-side code used in the past. SPFx solutions are responsive, mobile-friendly, and fully integrated with the new SharePoint UI. This structured approach to customization in modern experience is a core benefit.
This highlights a fundamental shift in philosophy. Microsoft is encouraging developers to create solutions that enhance the user experience while adhering to best practices. While direct script injection is blocked on new pages for security reasons, SPFx provides a safe and powerful alternative for achieving custom functionality. Understanding the new rules for customization in modern experience is vital for any team planning a transition.
The golden rule of modern customization is to leverage the SharePoint Framework (SPFx) for any solution that requires custom code, ensuring your enhancements are both powerful and sustainable.
Migration path from classic to modern
Moving from a classic to a refreshed SharePoint environment is a significant project. It’s not just a simple “flick of a switch.” A successful migration to modern requires careful planning, a clear understanding of the existing environment, and a phased approach. The goal is to leverage the new capabilities while minimizing disruption to users. The process involves inventorying classic sites, identifying customizations, and deciding what to move, archive, or rebuild. This transition is a central issue in the SharePoint classic vs modern discussion.
Tools & templates
Microsoft provides a range of tools to assist with the modernization process. The SharePoint Modernization scanner is an essential first step. It analyzes your tenant and provides detailed reports on classic site usage, customizations, and potential roadblocks. This information is invaluable for planning your strategy. For the actual move, you can use the SharePoint PnP (Patterns and Practices) modernization framework. This set of tools and scripts helps automate the process of transforming classic pages into new ones. The success of any migration to modern hinges on using these tools effectively.
Here is a simplified step-by-step guide to modernizing a classic site:
- Analyze Your Environment: Run the SharePoint Modernization scanner. This will give you a comprehensive overview of your classic sites, including which ones are good candidates for modernization. Review the reports to understand the scope of the project. This is also where you should begin to catalog any potential features modern missing classic that your users depend on.
- Connect to a Microsoft 365 Group: Contemporary team sites are connected to Microsoft 365 Groups, which provide a shared mailbox, calendar, and other collaborative tools. The first technical step is to connect your existing classic site to a new group. This can be done through the SharePoint admin center.
- Modernize Site Pages: Use the PnP Page Transformation engine to convert classic wiki and web part pages into client-side pages. The engine maps classic web parts to their current equivalents where possible. You will need to review and manually adjust the transformed pages.
- Adopt a Hub Site Structure: Reorganize your sites using hub sites instead of the traditional subsite hierarchy. Hubs provide a flat, flexible way to connect related sites and roll up news and activities. This is a key architectural shift in the SharePoint classic vs modern paradigm.
- Train Your Users: The refreshed experience has a different user interface. Provide training and resources to help users adapt to the new way of working. This is critical for driving adoption and ensuring the success of the project.
A key part of the SharePoint Classic vs Modern Experience transition is setting realistic expectations. Not every element of a classic site will migrate perfectly. Some custom solutions may need to be rebuilt from scratch using SPFx.
Impact on governance & training
Shifting to the updated experience has a profound impact on governance and user training. The old governance policies, written for a hierarchical and developer-dependent environment, may no longer be relevant. The new SharePoint empowers site owners and content creators in new ways. This requires a fresh look at your governance plan to ensure that this newfound freedom doesn’t lead to chaos. The conversation around SharePoint classic vs modern must include these operational changes.
Your plan needs to address things like site creation, hub site association, and external sharing in the context of the current framework. The ultimate choice in the SharePoint classic vs modern debate can be influenced by an organization’s readiness to adapt its governance.
Updating policies
Your governance plan needs to be a living document. As you move to the new platform, you’ll need to update your policies to reflect the new capabilities and architecture. For example, instead of policing the creation of subsites, your new policy might focus on a process for requesting a new site to be associated with a hub. You’ll need to define clear ownership and responsibilities for hub sites. This is a significant departure from legacy management techniques.
This means your training should focus on the “why” behind the new policies, not just the “how.” Users are more likely to follow the rules if they understand the benefits. The differences in governance approach are as important as the technical UI differences. A successful migration to modern depends on getting both the technology and the people ready for the change.
Always align your governance policies with the capabilities of the platform; a Classic policy will only create friction in a Modern environment.
FAQ
How do I decide whether to migrate or start fresh?
The decision depends on the complexity and usage of your classic site. If a site has heavy, business-critical customizations that are difficult to replicate, a phased migration might be best. If a site is primarily used for simple document storage or has outdated content, it might be easier to start fresh with a new site and migrate only the essential content. Analyzing the modernization scanner report, which helps identify any critical features modern missing classic, is key to making this choice.
Why are contemporary SharePoint pages faster than classic?
Newer pages are faster because they use a different page rendering architecture. Classic pages are built on the server, which involves a lot of back-and-forth communication. Current pages are rendered on the client-side, in the user’s browser. This approach, combined with up-to-date web development techniques, significantly reduces page load times, creating a much smoother user experience. This performance gain is a major factor in the SharePoint classic vs modern decision.
What are the main security differences in SharePoint classic vs modern?
The core security model (based on permissions and groups) is the same. However, the new experience introduces a flatter, more manageable architecture with hub sites. This can simplify permission management compared to deeply nested subsites with broken permission inheritance in the old framework. Additionally, the approach to customization in modern experience via SPFx is more secure than the script injection methods often used in Classic, as it prevents arbitrary code from running on pages.
What is the best way to handle features modern missing classic?
First, re-evaluate the business need for the legacy feature. Is it still relevant in a contemporary context? Often, a new web part or a Power Platform solution (Power Apps, Power Automate) can achieve the same business outcome in a better way. If a direct replacement is truly needed, the SharePoint Framework (SPFx) allows you to build custom components to fill the gap. Addressing this is a critical step in planning your transition.
The main key to understanding is the comparison of SharePoint Classic vs Modern Experience. This video will help clarify why the Modern Experience is not just a design update but a fundamentally new way of working and interacting within SharePoint.
Conclusion
The journey from Classic to the current platform is more than just a technical upgrade; it’s a strategic move towards a more agile, collaborative, and user-friendly digital workplace. We’ve explored the fundamental differences between the two experiences, from the visual UI differences to the deep architectural shifts. We’ve seen that while the old framework offers deep personalization, the new one provides speed, mobility, and ease of use. The SharePoint classic vs modern choice is clear for most organizations today.
The path to modernization requires careful planning, especially regarding your migration to modern strategy and how you will handle customization in modern experience. It’s an opportunity to rethink your information architecture, update your governance policies, and empower your users with powerful new tools. Don’t view it as a daunting task. Instead, see it as a chance to build a better intranet. The future of collaboration on the platform is here. Start by analyzing your current environment, engaging with your users, and creating a phased roadmap for your transition.
To make your transition smoother, we’ve developed a practical checklist below. This step-by-step guide is designed to be a hands-on tool for project managers and IT teams. We recommend you use it to track your progress so you don’t miss any important steps and confidently guide your organization through a successful transition to a modern level.
