How to build a knowledge base in SharePoint, with an FAQ and a glossary

Create a team site, add one site page per topic, and link the pages from a home page. Add the FAQ web part for common questions, and keep terms in a SharePoint list for a glossary.

What is a knowledge base in SharePoint?

SharePoint has no single button called Knowledge base. You build one from parts you already have: a site, pages, web parts and lists. Menu names can vary between tenants, so check your own screen if a step looks different.

A small team needs three things. Pages that explain how to do a task, an FAQ for quick answers, and a glossary for terms. All three can live on one site.

Should you use a team site or a communication site?

Microsoft describes team sites as a collaboration space for teams and projects, and communication sites as a way to broadcast news and status.

Microsoft describes team sites as built for collaboration and communication sites as built for broadcasting news and status. A knowledge base that several people edit fits a team site. If staff only read it, a communication site can work.

How do you create the pages?

Write one page for one task or one question.

Microsoft documents these steps for a modern page. You need a page title to save the page, and people cannot see the page until you publish it.

Open the home page of your site.
Select New, then Page.
Choose a page template, such as Blank, and select Create page.
Type a page title.
Add text and other content with the web parts. Select the plus sign under the title, or the Toolbox on the right.
Select Save as draft while you work, then Publish when it is ready.

How do you add an FAQ?

SharePoint has a built-in FAQ web part. Microsoft says you can add questions and answers by hand, or have Copilot in SharePoint draft them. The web part is not AI when used by hand, so anyone who can edit the page can add it without a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.

Put one FAQ on the home page for the top questions. Use categories, such as HR, IT and Sales, so people can skip to theirs. You can also turn on a field that lets viewers submit questions. Microsoft says each one reaches the FAQ author anonymously, so you see what the page is missing.

How do you make a glossary of terms?

Use a SharePoint list, not a page. Add a Term column (the Title column works), a Meaning column and a Category column. Anyone can add a row, and you can sort and filter it like any list.

Then show the list on a page with the List web part. This is a pattern we use with small teams, not a Microsoft template. If the list grows past a few thousand rows, read our guide on the list view threshold.

How do people find things?

Link every page from the home page, grouped by topic. Add the Highlighted content web part to show the newest pages or pages of one type. Microsoft says its Type setting picks the kind of content to show, and the available filters depend on that type.

Keep file attachments in mind too. See where list attachments go. Files stored as Word or Excel will not open as site pages, so write the knowledge as pages and link the files from them.

How do you keep it from going out of date?

Give each page an owner and a review date, kept in a list or on the page itself. A page with no owner is the one that goes wrong first. This is advice, not a SharePoint rule.

For procedures, see our guide on what to do when an SOP version is not current. For team notices, see one place for team updates.

Want help setting this up?

If you want a knowledge base built around your own process, I am Al Davies at 250 High Street LLC. I build SharePoint and Power Automate trackers for small teams, remotely. One tracker is $5,000 and takes 2 weeks, and the first call is free. You can see past work in the portfolio.

FAQ

Does SharePoint have a knowledge base template?

Not as a single button. You build one from a site, pages, the FAQ web part and lists.

Do I need Copilot for the FAQ web part?

No. Microsoft says anyone who can edit the page can add questions by hand without a Copilot license.

Where do I keep the glossary?

In a SharePoint list with Term, Meaning and Category columns, shown on a page with the List web part.