To remove the old horizontal navigation links on your new modern SharePoint team site after associating it with a hub site, follow these steps. The process involves editing the site’s local navigation, as the hub site navigation is inherited separately and doesn’t affect the site’s own horizontal menu.
- Navigate to the Modern Team Site:
- Go to the modern team site where you want to remove the old horizontal navigation links.
- Check Permissions:
- Ensure you have at least Manage Lists permissions or are a site owner to edit the navigation. If you don’t see the “Edit” option (described below), contact your site owner or SharePoint administrator to grant you permissions or make the changes for you.
- Edit the Horizontal Navigation:
- Locate the horizontal navigation menu at the top of the site (this is the site’s local navigation, separate from the hub site’s navigation bar).
- To the right of the navigation menu, select Edit (if visible). If you don’t see “Edit,” it’s likely a permissions issue or the navigation is locked due to a classic feature like SharePoint Server Publishing Infrastructure.
- Hover over each unwanted link and select the ellipsis (...) or trash can icon (depending on the interface) to remove it. Alternatively, select the link and choose Remove from the options.
- To delete multiple links, repeat this process for each one you don’t need.
- Save Changes:
- After removing the unwanted links, select Save to apply the changes. If you want to discard changes, select Cancel.
- Changes to the site’s local navigation take effect immediately, unlike hub site navigation changes, which may take up to two hours to reflect across associated sites.
- Troubleshooting Potential Issues:
- If the “Edit” Option Is Missing:
- Verify your permissions, as you need at least Manage Lists permissions.
- Check if the SharePoint Server Publishing Infrastructure feature is enabled at the site collection level, as this classic feature can restrict modern navigation options. You can check this by appending /_layouts/15/ManageFeatures.aspx?Scope=Site to your site URL (e.g., https://yourtenant.sharepoint.com/sites/yoursite/_layouts/15/ManageFeatures.aspx?Scope=Site). If enabled, disabling it (by a SharePoint administrator) may restore modern navigation controls, but be cautious, as this could affect other classic functionalities.
- If Old Links Persist:
- Ensure you’re editing the site’s local navigation, not the hub site’s navigation (the hub site navigation bar is managed on the hub site itself).
- If the site was migrated from a classic team site, residual classic navigation settings might interfere. In this case, switching the navigation layout to “Horizontal” explicitly can help.
- Go to Settings > Change the look > Navigation, select Horizontal, and choose either “Mega menu” or “Cascading” for the menu style, then save. This resets the navigation to modern standards.
- If Navigation Is Empty but Still Visible:
- If you’ve removed all links but the navigation bar remains visible (e.g., as an empty bar), consider hiding the site navigation entirely if it’s not needed.
- Go to Settings > Change the look > Navigation, toggle Site navigation visibility to Off, and save. This removes the site’s local navigation while keeping the hub site’s navigation intact.
- If you’ve removed all links but the navigation bar remains visible (e.g., as an empty bar), consider hiding the site navigation entirely if it’s not needed.
- If the “Edit” Option Is Missing:
- Verify Hub Site Navigation:
- After removing the old links, confirm that the hub site’s navigation bar (which appears above the site’s local navigation) displays correctly. If it’s not showing as expected, ensure the site is properly associated with the hub:
- Go to Settings > Site information > Hub site association, and verify the correct hub site is selected.
- If changes to the hub site navigation aren’t reflecting, wait up to two hours or check with the hub site owner to ensure the navigation is configured correctly.
- After removing the old links, confirm that the hub site’s navigation bar (which appears above the site’s local navigation) displays correctly. If it’s not showing as expected, ensure the site is properly associated with the hub:
- Optional: Clean Up Navigation for Consistency:
- If your site’s local navigation is no longer needed (e.g., you rely solely on the hub site navigation), you can remove all local links or hide the local navigation as described in step 5.
- To organize remaining links, consider using Labels (non-hyperlinked text for categorization) or Audience Targeting to show links only to specific groups. When editing the navigation, select + to add a Label or enable audience targeting via the navigation settings.
- If your site’s local navigation is no longer needed (e.g., you rely solely on the hub site navigation), you can remove all local links or hide the local navigation as described in step 5.
By following these steps, you should be able to remove the old horizontal navigation links from your modern team site while preserving the hub site’s navigation. If you encounter specific errors or need further assistance, let me know, and I can guide you through additional troubleshooting.