SharePoint HTML pages are HTML files that run as real pages in your SharePoint site. They sit in the Site Pages library, open with your site’s header and navigation around them, and you can edit and publish them like any other page. Until now an HTML file in SharePoint opened in the file previewer, outside the site, which is why I’ve been calling these first-class citizens. They finally belong to the site.
If you’ve generated HTML dashboards with Copilot in SharePoint over the past few months, you’ll know where they ended up: a document library, opening as a preview, with no navigation and no way to change them except regenerating the file. As pages, people reach them from the site navigation, site owners can edit them on the canvas, and one can even be the homepage.
What makes an HTML page different from a file preview
In a preview, the HTML file is a document you happen to be looking at. No site header, no navigation, and any change means editing the file and uploading it again.
As a page, my Project Portfolio Command Centre opened inside the site with the header and navigation in place. In edit mode you can hover over sections, select text and change fonts and styles right on the canvas. Copilot in SharePoint opens on the right, so you can also ask it for the change. It renamed my page title from one prompt.
The person who builds the page doesn’t have to be the person who maintains it. A site owner can fix a heading or update a link without opening the HTML or chasing whoever generated it.
How to turn on HTML pages in a SharePoint site
- Open Site contents, then the Site Pages library.
- Select File types in the library settings.
- Turn on Allow HTML files. Site owners and members can then upload HTML files and publish them as pages.
There’s no tenant-wide switch to turn HTML pages off, so the control sits with each site through this setting.
Three ways to create a SharePoint HTML page
Describe it to Copilot. Choose New, then HTML page, and describe what you want. Copilot in SharePoint builds it.
Upload a file. Build the page anywhere as a single, self-contained HTML file and upload it. I design mine in Claude Design so the branding is right from the start. How to upload an HTML page and make it your homepage walks through it.
Run a skill that generates it. My request in the video was one line: “create my project portfolio command center”. One line works because the skill already knows which list to read, how the page should look and where to save it. The page landed in the Pages library ready to open.
Lock down who publishes before you flip the switch
The setting takes ten seconds. Before I’d turn it on for a busy site, I’d settle four things:
- Who publishes. The setting covers owners and members. On a team site that’s usually fine. On an intranet or a site with a big member group, I’d keep HTML publishing to a small group of owners until you’ve seen what people build.
- Where generated content lands. Write the rule down once in a SHAREPOINT.md file so every dashboard goes to a library with the right permissions. I explain the rule I use in building live dashboards from a Microsoft List.
- Who owns each page. Every page gets a named owner before it’s published. A command centre is only as current as the list behind it.
- What it’s built on. Start with information you already have in SharePoint. My command centre reads a project portfolio list with statuses and metadata already in it. An expense policy can become a claim checker people use.
What to know before you start
- Rollout. Microsoft’s roadmap had public preview from early October 2026 and general availability between mid-November and late December 2026. Check what’s available in your tenant before you plan around it.
- Licensing. Opening New, then HTML page, and using Copilot in SharePoint need a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence. Uploading a file straight into Site Pages, editing text, publishing and viewing don’t.
- Sandbox. Pages run in a sandboxed frame. JavaScript inside the page runs, but requests to outside websites and APIs are blocked, apart from a set of Microsoft-managed libraries such as Chart.js and Mermaid. Browser storage isn’t available.
- Branding. Uploaded pages don’t pick up your site theme, so build your branding into the file or ask Copilot to update the page to match.
Frequently asked questions
Is a SharePoint HTML page the same as an HTML file in a document library? No. A file in a document library opens in the previewer, outside the site. An HTML page is published in Site Pages, opens with the site header and navigation, and can be edited in edit mode and set as the homepage.
Who can upload HTML pages once Allow HTML files is on? Site owners and members. If you want tighter control on a busy site, limit who has member access or keep page publishing to owners by agreement until you’ve set rules for where pages live and who owns them.
Can I change an HTML page without editing the code? Yes. In edit mode you can select text and change fonts and styles on the canvas, or ask Copilot in SharePoint to make the change, such as renaming the page title, then publish.
Can SharePoint HTML pages use charting libraries? Yes. Scripts inside the page run, and Microsoft-managed libraries such as Chart.js and Mermaid are allowed. Other calls to outside websites and APIs are blocked, and pages can’t use browser storage.
Do I need a Copilot licence to view an HTML page? No. Viewing, uploading straight into Site Pages and editing text don’t need one. Creating a page through New, then HTML page, or changing it with Copilot in SharePoint does.
