The ability to preserve inactive SharePoint and Teams data in a non-editable state is a crucial part of governing your Microsoft 365 environment effectively. There are currently two methods by which this can be done, archiving or locking.
There are benefits and drawbacks to both approaches. In this article we will discuss what each approach means, when to archive or lock, and the key benefits of both approaches.
Archiving – SharePoint sites
What does it mean to archive a site
Archiving a site ensures that you retain existing content, whilst preventing the any changes or deletion by users. This differs from locking a SharePoint site (link to locking article) in that the SharePoint site and its contents are moved into Azure blob storage, where it no longer counts towards the tenant’s active quota and increases available SharePoint storage. Sites that have been archived are also not accessible to users until they have been reactivated by moving them from blob storage back into SharePoint storage.
When to archive a site
Archiving is best when a SharePoint site is no longer considered active, and its content does not need to be viewed or accessed, but it needs to be retained for legal or compliance purposes.
As an example, you have a project site that is no longer active because the project it is associated to has been completed. Instead of keeping the site active and cluttering your SharePoint environment, you decide to archive it. Archiving reduces storage costs, preserves the site and its contents, and improves content discoverability for active sites.
It is also possible to archive a team and its associated SharePoint site. To find out how to do this, read our article on <Link> What it means to archive a Microsoft team and how to do it </link>.
If you need to keep a SharePoint site available but prevent any updates to it (for example during an audit), it’s best to lock it instead of archiving it. To find out more about how this works, refer to <Link> How to lock a SharePoint site for compliance purposes. </Link>
How to archive a site
To find out more about how to archive sites, read <link>Reduce SharePoint storage costs by archiving sites</link>.
Key benefits of archiving a SharePoint site
- The site and its contents are preserved and cannot be edited.
- SharePoint storage costs are reduced because archive storage is cheaper than active storage (Archive pricing).
- Archiving sites removes clutter for users and administrators when searching for content.
- Archived sites can be restored if needed.
Locking – SharePoint sites
What does it mean to lock a SharePoint site
By locking a site, you either prevent any users with permission to access the site from adding, updating, or deleting content, or prevent all access to the site.
In SharePoint Online, you can set the ‘Lock state’ of a site to three different values:
- Unlock – This is the default state of sites and allows for editing.
- ReadOnly – Prevents any changes being made to the site and its contents whilst still allowing read access.
- NoAccess – All user access is restricted to the site and its content, users and admins are unable to view the site until it has been updated to either Unlock or ReadOnly.
Teams-connected SharePoint sites only make use of the Unlock and ReadOnly states, read our <link>How to lock a Team for compliance purposes</link> article to find out more about this.
When to lock a SharePoint site
Locking is ideal when a site is no longer considered active, but the contents of the site still need to be viewed or referred to by users. For this, you’d use the ReadOnly state.
As an example, you have an active project site that needs to be audited. During the audit process the project site is locked, prevent any changes to the site or its contents, and unlocked once the audit is completed, allowing work to resume.
Locking can also been seen as a form of accessible archiving, where site contents still need to be referenceable for historical purposes, but should not be updateable.
How to lock a site
To find out more about how to lock sites, read our blog post: <link> How to lock a SharePoint site for compliance purposes. </link>
Key benefits of locking a SharePoint site
- The site and its content are preserved and cannot be edited.
- Users can still access the site and its contents in a read-only state.
- Locked sites can be restored if needed.
Archiving - Teams
What does it mean to archive a team?
Unlike <link to How to reduce storage costs by archiving SharePoint sites > archiving a SharePoint site </link>, archiving a Microsoft team using the standard Archive button in Teams or the Teams admin center does not send the associated site to the SharePoint archive. Instead, the following actions are performed:
- The team is removed from the Teams and channels view – The team is removed from the Teams and channels view and is then only found in the Your teams and channels view where it is marked as Archived.
- Channel conversations are disabled – All conversation threads are set to a read-only state and no new posts or replies can be made.
- SharePoint site set to read-only for team members (optional) – The SharePoint sit is set to read-only for team members, but not for owners. If there are any additional permissions added to the SharePoint site (direct access, SharePoint, M365, or security groups), these will remain unaffected.
To summarize, when a team is archived, owners and admins can continue to perform actions such as updating membership and making changes on the associated site, but conversations are locked for everyone, and members can’t edit anything on the site anymore. A little confusing, right?
*Note: Teams that host private or shared channels cannot be archived.
When to archive teams
Archiving is ideal when a team is no longer considered active, but the team and its content (conversations and files) may need be referred to in future. This also helps reduce clutter in the Teams and Channels lists in the Teams app, especially for people who are members of dozens or hundreds of teams.
As an example, a project has been completed and no additional work is needed. Archiving the team for the project will remove it from the Teams and channels view for all owners and members.
How to archive a team
To find out more about how to archive a team, read our <link> What it means to archive a Microsoft team and how to do it </link> article. You’ll also learn how to optionally archive it in such a way that the associated site is moved into Azure blob storage to increase available SharePoint storage, instead of just being set as read-only.
Key benefits of archiving a team
- The team and its contents are preserved and cannot be edited.
- Users can still access the team and its contents in a read-only state.
- Archived teams can be restored if needed.
