SharePoint Online calendar options

We are often asked by our clients to add a calendar. Calendars are one of the most popular features used on both intranets and collaboration sites. In this article we will have a look at the out-of-the-box ‘calendar’ options available in SharePoint Online.

Group calendar

Group calendars are a web part that lets you display a Microsoft 365 Group calendar on a page. This is a great option for team sites that have a Microsoft 365 group associated with it, but this web part can also be used on communication sites and display any Microsoft 365 Group calendar.

Pros:

• The calendar is managed via Outlook.
• Members of the group can add and manage events.
• Users can add events to their personal calendars.
• The group calendar can be added to a personal view in Outlook.

Cons:

• The web part is not configurable and takes a lot of space on the page.
• There is no traditional ‘calendar’ view to display it in a grid by week or month.

Custom list calendar

Custom lists can be used for building many great solutions, including a calendar. This is the most flexible calendar option as it’s fully configurable and you can create exactly what you need for your needs.

Pros:

• Can add custom fields as required.
• A web part that displays by month calendar grid.
• You can allow users to manage the calendar or hide the tools bar.
• Can add custom formatting (e.g. colour code different event types)

Cons:

• The web part is not configurable and takes a lot of space on the page.

Events web part

This option is not strictly speaking a calendar solution, but it has calendar functionality that is often sufficient for intranets or collaboration sites.

Pros:

• Can add new events from the web part.
• Individual event pages, where you can add an image, date, location, etc.
• Event categories (e.g. meeting, holiday, birthday), plus you can add your own.
• A page to see all events and filter by date and category.
• A web part with two layouts (compact and filmstrip) and an option to display event images.
• Users can add events to their personal calendars.

Cons:

• There is no traditional ‘calendar’ view to display it in a grid by week or month.
• Can’t sync the events list to your calendar to display all events.

These are the three calendar options available in SharePoint Online out-of-the box. While you may find they are not perfect for your specific needs, they often provide an efficient way to manage and schedule events, meetings and project plans.