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How to Add a Site Collection Administrator to an Existing SharePoint

Overview

Purpose

When a SharePoint site is created, the individual who created it is the only designated Site Administrator. All Site Admins need to be a Site Collection Administrator to perform admin functions. This article shows how to assign an individual as a Site Collection Administrator.

All SharePoint sites in the HDI organization require at least two site administrators, with Carter Fifield, HDI IT Director, being the primary required Site Administrator on all sites.

Scope and Prerequisites

  • These instructions show how a current Site Collection Administrator (site admin) can add an additional user as a Site Collection Administrator using only the SharePoint site web interface.
  • No SharePoint Administrator or Global Administrator role is required
  • You must already be a Site Collection Administrator on the target site. If you are not, ask an existing site admin to perform these steps.
  • The user you add must be an internal user and able to be resolved by the people picker.

There is only one SharePoint Administrator at the University, and it is the responsibility of UK Information Technology Services. 

Instructions

Step 1: Identify the Site Type

SharePoint in Microsoft 365 commonly uses these site types. The steps to add a site collection administrator are similar for most, but there are important exceptions.

  1. Team site (Microsoft 365 group-connected), often also connected to Microsoft Teams.
  2. Communication site (not group-connected).
  3. Channel site (private or shared channel in Microsoft Teams).
  4. Classic sites (older templates, may show classic Site Settings pages).
  5. Hub site or a site associated to a hub (hub and spoke).

Quick ways to recognize what you have:

  • If the site is reached from a Team or channel in Microsoft Teams, it is a team site or a channel site.
  • If the site is meant for broad publishing and typically uses Owners, Members, Visitors (without a Microsoft 365 group), it is commonly a communication site.
  • If you see the classic blue-and-white Site Settings page with sections like Site Collection Administration, you are in a classic experience area.
  • If you see a Hub menu and a mega menu (upper and lower menus), you are in a Hub or spoke site.
Team Site

What is a Team Site?

Team sites are collaboration sites. Their membership is usually managed by the Microsoft 365 group or Teams. However, a Site Collection Administrator can still add additional Site Collection Administrators from within the site.

Option #1: Modern path: Settings > Site information > View all site settings

  • Open the target site in a browser.
  • Select Settings (gear icon) in the upper-right.
  • Select Site information.
  • Select View all site settings.
  • Select Site collection administrators.
  • In the Site collection administrators box, type the name or email of the user you want to add, then select the match from the directory picker.
  • Select OK to save.

Option #2: Alternate path: Settings > Site permissions > Advanced permission settings

  • Open the target site.
  • Select Settings (gear icon) > Site permissions.
  • Select Advanced permission settings (if shown).
  • On the classic permissions page, select Site Collection Administrators.
  • Add the user in the people picker and select OK.

Depending on tenant and site configuration, you might not see the Advanced permission settings link. If you do not see it, use the A1 path instead.

B) Communication site (not group-connected)

Communication sites are usually not connected to a Microsoft 365 group and commonly use the SharePoint Owners, Members, and Visitors groups for permissions. Site collection administrators are still managed from the site settings UI.

B1) Modern path: Settings > Site information > View all site settings

  • Open the target site in a browser.
  • Select Settings (gear icon) in the upper-right.
  • Select Site information.
  • Select View all site settings.
  • Select Site collection administrators.
  • In the Site collection administrators box, type the name or email of the user you want to add, then select the match from the directory picker.
  • Select OK to save.

B2) Classic Site Settings path (often available)

·         Open the communication site.

·         Select Settings (gear icon) > Site settings.

·         Under Users and Permissions (or Site Collection Administration), select Site collection administrators.

·         Add the user in the people picker and select OK.

C) Team site that is not group-connected (including classic team sites)

Some team sites are created without a Microsoft 365 group (or are older classic templates). These commonly expose classic Site Settings more directly.

C1) Classic Site Settings path

·         Open the communication site.

·         Select Settings (gear icon) > Site settings.

·         Under Users and Permissions (or Site Collection Administration), select Site collection administrators.

·         Add the user in the people picker and select OK.

C2) Modern path (if available)

·         Open the target site in a browser.

·         Select Settings (gear icon) in the upper-right.

·         Select Site information.

·         Select View all site settings.

·         Select Site collection administrators.

·         In the Site collection administrators box, type the name or email of the user you want to add, then select the match from the directory picker.

·         Select OK to save.

D) Teams channel sites (private channel or shared channel)

Channel sites are special SharePoint sites created for private or shared channels in Microsoft Teams. For these sites, permission management is designed to be done from Teams, and SharePoint permissions are not intended to be managed separately.

·         Private and shared channels each have their own separate SharePoint site for the channel.

·         For private or shared channel sites, permission management must be done in Teams.

·         In SharePoint, permissions for channel sites cannot be managed separately and will display in read-only mode.

D1) Practical way to grant administrative control for a channel site

·         In Microsoft Teams, go to the Team that contains the channel.

·         Open the channel, then open Manage channel (or channel membership management).

·         Add the person as a channel owner (not just a member) if they need owner-level control.

·         Allow time for Teams membership to synchronize to the associated SharePoint channel site.

If your requirement is specifically to set the SharePoint Site Collection Administrator flag on a channel site, that typically requires tenant-level administration and is not reliably achievable solely from the channel site web UI.

E) Hub and spoke (sites associated to a hub, or hub sites)

Hub association changes navigation and theming and enables roll-ups, but it does not automatically grant site administration rights. There is also an optional hub-permissions sync mechanism that can increase visitor access across associated sites.

·         Only site collections can be associated to a hub site. Subsites inherit the hub association from the parent site collection.

·         When a site is associated to a hub, it inherits hub theme and hub navigation.

·         Content (such as news and activity) can surface in the hub and in hub-related experiences when users have access to the associated site.

·         You can choose to sync hub permissions to increase viewer access across all sites in the hub. This does not remove existing site permissions.

E1) Adding a Site Collection Administrator on a hub-associated spoke site

·         Follow the steps for the site type you are on (Section A, B, or C).

·         Hub association does not change the process for adding a Site Collection Administrator.

E2) Optional: Sync hub permissions (viewer access) for a spoke site

·         On the spoke site, select Settings (gear icon) > Site permissions.

·         If hub permissions are enabled for the hub, you will see a toggle to start inheriting hub permissions.

·         Toggle On to add hub-managed visitors to the spoke site, or toggle Off to stop inheriting hub permissions.

Important: Hub permission sync affects visitor access (read access) and is separate from adding Site Collection Administrators.

Troubleshooting and common gotchas

·         I do not see Site collection administrators: you are likely not a Site Collection Administrator for this site, or you are on a channel site where permissions are read-only.

·         I do not see View all site settings: use Settings > Site information first; if still missing, try Settings > Site settings (classic) if available.

·         People picker cannot find the user: confirm the user exists in your tenant directory and is not blocked by policy.

·         Hub association option is greyed out: this is controlled by hub configuration and permissions; it is unrelated to adding site collection administrators.

References

·         Microsoft Learn: Sharing and permissions in the SharePoint modern experience (site types, channel site constraints) https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/modern-experience-sharing-permissions

Microsoft Support: Associate a SharePoint site with a hub site (hub association and permission sync) https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/associate-a-sharepoint-site-with-a-hub-site-ae0009fd-af04-4d3d-917d-88edb43efc05

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