Site Template

Contains a customized site design based on an existing site definition. Site templates in this context exist outside of any site definition.

Real World Example

The marketing team has a new layout for sites from a particular product family, so a new custom site design that is based on a team site, but with preconfigured display layout, is created and a template saved from it.

Technical Details

Site templates are saved from within a site as an .stp file that contains a set of all modified files and lists in the source site. The file can also contain content from the source site, such as list items and documents. By default, the maximum size of an .stp file is 10 MB.

In earlier versions of SharePoint Products and Technologies, you could not configure the default maximum size of the .stp file. However, in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, you can configure the maximum size by using the following syntax.

STSADM -o setproperty -pn max-template-document-size -pv 20000000

Support Details

Adjusting the maximum size for an .stp file is not recommended because this could encourage the use of an. stp file as a form of site backup, which it is not intended for. Users who require a method of site backup should investigate the site backup features of Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007.

You can use a site template to create a site within an existing site collection if the site template has been uploaded into that site collection. To use it to create the top-level site in a site collection, you must make it available for the entire Web application. However, doing this can potentially pollute the site template list that is displayed when a user creates a Web site or site collection.