The Hero web part is one of the most powerful and visually impactful web parts in SharePoint Online. It is perfect for communication sites, hub sites, and modern team site homepages when you want to immediately draw attention to the most important content (news, quick links, events, videos, documents, or pages).You can display up to 5 items (tiles, layers, or slides), each with a compelling image or video, overlay text, title, description, and optional call-to-action button. As of 2025, the Hero web part now includes three layouts:
- Tiles (classic grid layout, great for 3–5 equal-prominence items)
- Layers (stacked, tall layout, great for 1–3 items with depth)
- Carousel (new slideshow layout, introduced January 2025, ideal for rotating highlights)
How to Add the Hero Web Part
- Edit the page (Edit button at top right).
- Hover where you want the Hero and click the + button (or use the web part toolbox).
- Search for or select Hero.
- The Hero web part will be added (default is usually 5 Tiles on communication sites).
- Click the pencil icon (Edit web part) on the left to open the property pane.
Tip: For maximum visual impact, place the Hero in a full-width section (change section layout to Full-width column if available on your site).Choosing and Configuring the Layout
In the Hero property pane, the first option is Layout. Select one of the three:1. Tiles layout (most commonly used)
- Items appear in a responsive grid (1–5 tiles).
- The first/largest tile gets more prominence when using 2–5 items.
- Call-to-action button is only available on the largest tile.
- Good for quick links dashboards or “top 5 resources”.
2. Layers layout
- Items are stacked vertically with overlapping transparent layers.
- Each layer can have its own call-to-action button.
- Works best with 1–3 items (looks crowded with 4–5).
- Gives a modern, magazine-style depth effect.
3. Carousel layout (New in 2025)
- Slideshow format that rotates through up to 5 slides.
- Autoplay toggle (on by default, ~3.5 seconds per slide). Users can pause or navigate manually.
- Three brand-new slide styles (each slide can use a different style):
- Image Overlay – Text overlays the image/video (classic hero style)
- Text Block – Bold title/description on the left or right, image on the opposite side
- Diagonal Split – Modern angled split between image and text
- Supports images, Stream videos (play inline), documents, or pages.
- Text limits per slide:
- Topic: max 40 characters
- Title/header: max 110 characters
- Description: max 500 characters
- Best for home pages where you want rotating featured content without taking too much vertical space.
Existing Hero web parts in Tiles or Layers are not automatically converted to Carousel – you must change the layout manually.
Adding and Editing Items (Slides/Tiles/Layers)
The item management experience was refreshed in 2025 and is now much simpler:
- In edit mode, click Add slide (Carousel), Add tile, or Add layer button inside the web part.
- For each item, click Select link (or the pencil on the item).
- Choose your source:
- Recent – Recent documents/pages/images from the site
- Web search – Bing Creative Commons images (you are responsible for checking license!)
- Your organization – Assets from your Org Assets library (admin must set this up)
- OneDrive – Your personal files
- Site – Pick any site and browse its pages/documents/images
- Upload – Upload from your device
- From a link – Paste a direct link to an image or SharePoint/OneDrive item
- Once the item is added:
- Change image (to pick a different image/page)
- Custom image (upload or select new)
- Color only (Tiles layout only – uses site theme color)
- Set focal point (click the image toolbar → Set focal point → drag the circle)
- Alternative text (important for accessibility)
- Edit details → Add title, topic, description (Carousel has character limits)
- Call to action (toggle on → enter button text like “Learn more”, “Register now”)
- Repeat up to 5 items.
To reorder: In the property pane, drag items or use the ellipsis → Move up/down.
To delete: Ellipsis → Delete.
Working with Images and Videos
- Recommended aspect ratios:
- Tiles: 4:3 for images, web part height is 8:3
- Layers: near 9:16
- Carousel: wide landscape (16:9 or wider works best)
- Videos (Stream on SharePoint only): Link to a Stream video → it plays inline in the Hero (great for Carousel!).
- Always set a focal point so important parts of the image aren’t cropped on mobile.
Best Practices & Tips
- Use 1–3 items for Layers, 3–5 for Tiles, 4–5 for Carousel.
- Carousel + Autoplay is excellent for homepages with frequently changing featured content.
- Use high-quality, high-contrast images (at least 1500 px wide).
- Keep text short and punchy – especially in Carousel (40/110/500 limits).
- Always fill in Alternative text.
- Combine with the Quick Links or Highlighted Content web part below the Hero for deeper navigation.
- For branding consistency, use images from your organization assets library.
- Test on mobile! Carousel and Tiles are very mobile-friendly; Layers can feel tall on phones.
Limitations
- Maximum 5 items.
- No more than one call-to-action per tile in Tiles layout (only on the largest tile).
- Carousel autoplay interval is fixed (~3.5 seconds) – cannot be customized.
- Web search images are Creative Commons, but you must verify usage rights.
The Hero web part is included by default on new communication sites (Topic, Showcase, etc.), so you often only need to edit it rather than add it.With the 2025 Carousel layout and refreshed UI, the Hero web part is now more flexible and modern than ever – perfect for creating engaging, professional landing pages in minutes.