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Primary Audience
Why this score?
AT A GLANCE
END USERS
IT ADMINS
ROLLOUT TIMELINE
Mid-August 2026
📢 Official Microsoft Message Center Announcement
SharePoint Pages: Flexible Section Authoring Improvements
Message ID: MC1446804
What and Why:
We are making Flexible Sections in SharePoint Pages easier to use, more predictable, and faster to author. Flexible Sections allow authors to build pages without a strict column structure by resizing and moving web parts within a section. This update provides additional guidance and controls to help authors create flexible layouts while maintaining consistent page design.
New authoring improvements include visual column layout guides, persistent grid layout guides, and the ability to convert existing standard sections into Flexible Sections while preserving existing content layouts.
Rollout Schedule:
- General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin in mid-August 2026 and is expected to complete by late August 2026.
Impact on Your Organization:
Who is affected:
- SharePoint page authors using Flexible Sections.
Platforms and Services:
- SharePoint Online
What will happen:
- Authors will see new layout guides in Flexible Sections that mirror the column structure of standard sections.
- Layout guides will help authors create more predictable page layouts while continuing to resize, move, and overlap content.
- Web parts added to a Flexible Section will align to the layout guide width by default, while still allowing authors to adjust size and placement.
- The improved guidance helps Flexible Sections adapt more consistently across email, mobile, and browser viewing experiences, as well as when canvas sizes change.
- A new grid layout guides toggle will be available in the page command bar.
- Authors can enable a page-level setting to keep gridlines and layout guides visible while editing, making it easier to align content without initiating a drag or resize action.
- Authors can convert an existing standard section to a Flexible Section directly from the section property pane.
- When converting a section, the existing column structure and web part placement will be preserved, reducing the need to rebuild page content.
Action Required / Recommendations:
No admin action is required.
We recommend that you:
- Notify SharePoint page authors about the upcoming Flexible Section authoring improvements.
- Review and update any internal training or guidance related to SharePoint page creation.
- Prepare help desk and support teams for questions regarding the updated authoring experience.
- Review any authoring guidance that references standard section layouts and update it as needed.
Compliance Considerations:
No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.
Source: Microsoft Message Center • Analysed by MWPro
