SharePoint Interview Questions and Answers (2026): Online, Admin, SPFx and Developer

Interview panels for SharePoint roles stopped asking about master pages years ago. In 2026 they want to hear about modern sites, SPFx, Microsoft Graph and what replaced the retired workflow tools.

In this tutorial, we’ll walk through the SharePoint interview questions we hear most when we hire, grouped from basics to lists and libraries, admin and permissions, SPFx, REST and Graph, Power Automate, on-premises servers and senior scenario questions.

Quick answer: Expect three layers. Freshers get SharePoint Online basics: sites, hubs, lists, libraries, versioning and permissions. Admins get sharing, storage limits and governance. Developers get SPFx, REST, Microsoft Graph and PnPjs, plus one trap: SharePoint 2013 workflows and SharePoint Add-ins both stopped working on April 2, 2026.

What You Need Before You Start

Interviewers follow up with “show me” questions, so prepare with a real site open. Our SharePoint tutorials hub has a guide for every feature below:

• A Microsoft 365 tenant where you can create a site
• One sample list with a few hundred items. We use SPGDemo Orders (210 orders) on https://spguides.sharepoint.com/sites/SPGuides
• For developers: Node.js, VS Code, the SPFx toolchain and PnP PowerShell
• Two or three project stories: problem, what you built, result

Step 1: Answer the SharePoint Online Basics Questions

These come first in every interview. Keep each answer under a minute and add one example from your work.

1. What is SharePoint, and why do organizations use it?

SharePoint is Microsoft’s platform for team sites, intranets, document management and business lists. Companies use it to store files with versions and metadata, publish news, automate approvals and control access in one place. It’s also the file layer behind Microsoft Teams.

2. What is SharePoint Online, and how is it different from SharePoint Server?

SharePoint Online is the cloud service in Microsoft 365. Microsoft runs the servers, ships updates every week and sets the limits. SharePoint Server is installed in your own data center, where you patch it and can deploy farm solutions. We compare both in SharePoint Online vs SharePoint on-premises.

3. What is a site collection, and why are subsites discouraged?

A site collection, now just called a site, is the top-level container with its own URL, storage and owners. Modern SharePoint is flat: one site per team or project, connected through hubs, because subsites can’t be moved or regrouped easily.

4. What is the difference between a team site and a communication site?

A team site is for collaboration and is usually connected to a Microsoft 365 group and a Team. A communication site broadcasts to many readers, such as HR news. See communication site vs team site for a feature table.

5. What is a hub site?

A hub connects related sites with shared navigation, a shared theme and roll-up of news and search. Sites stay independent, so permissions don’t flow from the hub. An organization can have up to 2,000 hub sites. Our post on hub sites vs subsites shows when each fits.

6. When do you store files in OneDrive instead of SharePoint?

OneDrive is for files one person owns, such as drafts. SharePoint is for files a team owns, so they stay when someone leaves. Both run on the same platform with the same versioning and sharing. We cover the rule of thumb in OneDrive vs SharePoint for file storage.

7. What are modern pages and web parts?

Modern pages are responsive pages built from sections and web parts such as Text, News, Quick links and Document library. They need no code. Developers add custom web parts with SPFx.

Step 2: Prepare the Lists, Libraries and Content Questions

Expect hands-on follow-ups here, so we keep our SPGDemo Orders list open.

8. What is the difference between a list and a library?

A list stores rows of data with typed columns. A library stores files with metadata, check-out and co-authoring. List attachments max out at 250 MB; library files at 250 GB. To build one quickly, create a SharePoint list and add columns with PnP PowerShell.

9. Which column types does SharePoint offer?

Single line of text, multiple lines, choice, number, currency, date and time, yes/no, person, lookup, hyperlink, managed metadata, image and calculated. Interviewers like to probe the lookup column limit per view.

10. What are site columns and content types?

A site column is defined once and reused across lists. A content type bundles columns, a document template and settings, such as Invoice with Vendor, Amount and Due Date. Publish content types from the content type hub so every site uses the same definition.

11. What is a document set?

A document set is a special content type that groups related files, such as everything for one contract, with shared metadata and a welcome page. You can version the whole set at once. Our document set vs folder guide shows when a plain folder is enough.

12. How does versioning work in SharePoint Online?

Each save creates a version you can view or restore. Admins set version history limits per organization, site or library, Automatic or Manual (count plus optional expiration), up to 50,000 major and 511 minor versions. Our item SO-1002 shows version 2.0 with only the changed fields:

Lists also keep versions. Ours keeps 50. If you need to switch it off, here’s how to disable versioning in SharePoint Online.

13. What is check-out, and how is it different from co-authoring?

Check-out locks a file so only you can edit it until you check it in. Co-authoring lets several people edit an Office file at once. Required check-out blocks co-authoring, so most teams rely on version history instead.

14. What is Quick Edit called now?

In modern lists it’s Edit in grid view. It turns the view into a spreadsheet-like grid so you can edit many rows, paste from Excel and fill down:

15. What is the list view threshold, and how do you handle large lists?

A list can hold 30 million items, but a single view or query that scans more than 5,000 items is blocked. Index the columns you filter and sort on, filter views on those columns first, and use folders or pagination. A list allows up to 20 indexes:

The classic error message is covered in exceeds the list view threshold. Also mention that you can’t break permission inheritance on a list or folder with more than 100,000 items.

16. How long does the recycle bin keep deleted items?

93 days in total, counted from the first deletion, across the site and second-stage bins. Deleted sites can be restored from the admin center for 93 days too. See our SharePoint recycle bin tutorial.

17. What is managed metadata?

A central taxonomy of term groups, term sets and terms with synonyms. Managed metadata columns tag content with approved terms for better search. The term store in SharePoint supports up to one million terms.

Step 3: Handle the Admin, Permissions and Governance Questions

SharePoint administrator interview questions focus on access, sharing and storage. Give numbers where you can.

18. How do SharePoint permissions work?

Permissions inherit from the site to lists, folders and items. Assign permission levels (Full Control, Edit, Contribute, Read) to groups, not people, and break inheritance rarely: 50,000 unique scopes per list are supported, 5,000 recommended. See SharePoint permissions best practices.

19. What is the difference between a site collection admin and a site owner?

Site owners get Full Control through the Owners group. Site collection admins have every right, even where inheritance is broken, plus the second-stage recycle bin. Explain how you’d check site permissions in SharePoint Online in an audit.

20. How do you enable external sharing?

Admins set the organization level in the SharePoint admin center (Anyone, New and existing guests, Existing guests, Only people in your organization); each site can be equal or stricter. Then share the SharePoint site with external users.

21. How do you secure and protect data in SharePoint Online?

Data is encrypted at rest and in transit. Admins add Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels, data loss prevention, retention policies and the audit log, plus conditional access and multifactor authentication. Name one policy you configured and why.

22. How do backups and restores work?

Microsoft backs up the infrastructure. For content you rely on version history, the recycle bin, site restore, Restore this library (any point in the last 30 days) and retention policies. Many organizations add Microsoft 365 Backup or a third-party tool.

23. What are the storage limits?

Each organization gets 1 TB plus 10 GB per licensed user, and you can buy more. One site can hold 25 TB, a single file can be up to 250 GB, and an organization can have 2 million sites. Admins set per-site quotas in the admin center.

24. Can you still add custom script to a site?

Custom script is blocked by default on modern sites, OneDrive and the root site. An admin can allow it on one site with Set-SPOSite -DenyAddAndCustomizePages 0, but SharePoint resets it to Not allowed within 24 hours. The supported route for custom code is SPFx.

25. How do you monitor usage and activity?

Site owners check Site usage for visitors and popular content. Admins use the Microsoft 365 usage reports and the Purview audit log to see who viewed, shared or deleted a file.

Step 4: Prepare the SPFx Developer Questions

For SharePoint developer interview questions, SPFx is the core. Have a small web part on GitHub you can talk through. Our SPFx tutorials hub covers every topic below in depth.

26. What is the SharePoint Framework (SPFx)?

SPFx is Microsoft’s client-side model for web parts and extensions. Code runs in the browser in the current user’s context with no iframe, usually built with React. The same component runs in SharePoint, Teams, Viva Connections and, in preview, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and on SharePoint Server 2016 or later.

27. Which toolchain does SPFx use today?

Node.js, npm, TypeScript, Yeoman and webpack, with Heft replacing gulp in recent versions. Mention that you match the Node.js version to the SPFx release. Our guides cover how to set up an SPFx environment with the Heft toolchain and migrate from gulp to Heft.

28. What kinds of SPFx components can you build?

• Web parts for modern pages, Teams tabs and personal apps
• Application customizers for headers and footers on every page
• Field customizers to change how a column renders in a list view
• ListView command sets to add buttons to the list toolbar
• Form customizers to replace the new, edit and display forms of a list
• Adaptive Card Extensions for the Viva Connections dashboard

29. How do you deploy an SPFx solution?

Bundle and package it into an .sppkg file, upload it to the tenant or site SharePoint app catalog, and approve any API permissions in the admin center. Tenant-wide deployment skips adding the app to each site. Assets are hosted from the app catalog automatically, so no CDN setup is needed.

30. What is the difference between SharePoint Add-ins and SPFx?

Add-ins ran in an iframe or on your own server with Azure ACS tokens. They stopped working for new tenants on November 1, 2024 and for all tenants on April 2, 2026. SPFx replaces the UI; back-end apps use Microsoft Entra ID app registrations.

31. How does an SPFx web part read SharePoint data?

Use the built-in SPHttpClient, which adds authentication for you. This reads the three newest shipped orders:

import { SPHttpClient } from '@microsoft/sp-http';

const url = `${this.context.pageContext.web.absoluteUrl}/_api/web/lists/getbytitle('SPGDemo Orders')/items` +
  `?$select=Id,Title,CustomerName,OrderTotal&$filter=OrderStatus eq 'Shipped'&$orderby=Id&$top=3`;

const response = await this.context.spHttpClient.get(url, SPHttpClient.configurations.v1);
const data = await response.json();   // data.value is the array of items

For Microsoft Graph, use MSGraphClientV3 from this.context.msGraphClientFactory, as shown in calling Microsoft Graph in SPFx web parts. For your own API secured by Entra ID, use AadHttpClient.

32. What is PnPjs, and why do teams use it?

PnPjs is an open-source library that wraps the SharePoint REST API and Microsoft Graph in fluent TypeScript calls, with batching and caching. The same query in PnPjs v4:

import { spfi, SPFx } from '@pnp/sp';
import '@pnp/sp/webs';
import '@pnp/sp/lists';
import '@pnp/sp/items';

const sp = spfi().using(SPFx(this.context));
const orders = await sp.web.lists.getByTitle('SPGDemo Orders').items
  .select('Id', 'Title', 'CustomerName', 'OrderTotal')
  .filter("OrderStatus eq 'Shipped'")
  .orderBy('Id')
  .top(3)();

A good follow-up answer is how you’d filter SharePoint list items in SPFx for the current user.

33. What changed for scripts in SPFx solutions in 2026?

SharePoint Online now enforces a Content Security Policy. Script from sources that aren’t trusted, including inline script, is blocked. Bundle your code in the package, and have an admin add any external script host as a trusted script source. Avoid manipulating the page DOM, which Microsoft says isn’t an API.

Step 5: Answer the REST API, Graph and CSOM Questions

Interviewers often ask you to write a request on a whiteboard. We ran these against our demo list on 10/24/2026. Our full SharePoint REST API tutorial has every endpoint.

34. What is the SharePoint REST API?

It exposes sites, lists, items, files and users as OData endpoints under /_api/. You send HTTP requests and choose JSON with the Accept header. This browser call returns the first three shipped orders:

const site = "https://spguides.sharepoint.com/sites/SPGuides";
const url = site + "/_api/web/lists/getbytitle('SPGDemo Orders')/items" +
  "?$select=Id,Title,CustomerName,OrderTotal,OrderStatus" +
  "&$filter=OrderStatus eq 'Shipped'&$orderby=Id&$top=3";

const res = await fetch(url, { headers: { Accept: "application/json;odata=nometadata" } });
console.log(res.status, await res.json());

It returned status 200 and this body. odata=nometadata keeps the JSON short:

{"value":[
  {"Id":2,"Title":"SO-1002","CustomerName":"Fabrikam Inc.","OrderTotal":1499.88,"OrderStatus":"Shipped"},
  {"Id":5,"Title":"SO-1103","CustomerName":"Tailspin Toys","OrderTotal":358,"OrderStatus":"Shipped"},
  {"Id":9,"Title":"SO-1107","CustomerName":"Litware Inc.","OrderTotal":537,"OrderStatus":"Shipped"}
]}

35. How do you create or update an item with REST?

Outside SPFx, a POST needs a request digest. Get it from /_api/contextinfo; ours came back with a 1,800-second (30-minute) timeout. Then send it in X-RequestDigest. An update adds IF-MATCH and X-HTTP-Method: MERGE:

const ctx = await fetch(site + "/_api/contextinfo", {
  method: "POST", headers: { Accept: "application/json;odata=nometadata" } });
const digest = (await ctx.json()).FormDigestValue;

// Update item 3: only the fields in the body change
await fetch(site + "/_api/web/lists/getbytitle('SPGDemo Orders')/items(3)", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Accept": "application/json;odata=nometadata",
    "Content-Type": "application/json;odata=nometadata",
    "X-RequestDigest": digest,
    "IF-MATCH": "*",
    "X-HTTP-Method": "MERGE"
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({ OrderStatus: "Processing" })
});

A create is the same POST to /items without the last two headers. For a full walk-through, see create, read, update and delete list items with PnP PowerShell.

36. When do you use Microsoft Graph instead of SharePoint REST?

Use Graph when an app also touches Teams, users, mail or OneDrive, or runs outside SharePoint. SharePoint REST still covers more SharePoint-only features, such as views and site designs. The same list in Graph:

GET https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/sites/spguides.sharepoint.com:/sites/SPGuides
GET https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/sites/{site-id}/lists/{list-id}/items?expand=fields(select=Title,CustomerName,OrderTotal)

37. What are CSOM and JSOM?

CSOM is the .NET client object model: queue operations, then send them with ExecuteQuery, now with Entra ID auth. JSOM is its older JavaScript twin for classic pages. See CSOM in SharePoint Online and JSOM examples.

38. How do you script admin tasks with PnP PowerShell?

PnP PowerShell runs on PowerShell 7 and signs in with your own Entra ID app registration. A typical answer:

Connect-PnPOnline -Url "https://spguides.sharepoint.com/sites/SPGuides" -ClientId "<your-app-id>" -Interactive
Get-PnPListItem -List "SPGDemo Orders" -PageSize 500 |
    Where-Object { $_["OrderStatus"] -eq "Shipped" } |
    Select-Object -First 3 Id, @{n="Title"; e={ $_["Title"] }}

-PageSize is the detail panels listen for, because it keeps large lists under the threshold. Our PnP PowerShell scripts for SharePoint developers collect more.

39. What replaced event receivers in SharePoint Online?

Event receivers only exist on SharePoint Server. In SharePoint Online, use SharePoint webhooks, which call your HTTPS endpoint after a change, or a Power Automate trigger such as When an item is created or modified.

40. How do you handle throttling?

SharePoint Online returns HTTP 429 or 503 when a client sends too much. Honor the Retry-After header, batch requests and select only needed columns. PnPjs and PnP PowerShell retry automatically.

Step 6: Cover Power Automate, Power Apps and the Retired Workflow Tools

This is where old answers fail: several tools older guides praise are retired.

41. How do you build workflows in SharePoint Online today?

With Power Automate. SharePoint 2010 workflows were retired in November 2020, and SharePoint 2013 workflows were fully retired for all tenants on April 2, 2026. Our Power Automate tutorials show common SharePoint flows.

42. Is SharePoint Designer still supported?

No. SharePoint Designer 2013 reached end of support on July 14, 2026, with no further fixes or security updates. In SharePoint Online it has nothing left to run, since 2013 workflows are retired. If you inherit old designs, our SharePoint Designer workflow examples map them to Power Automate.

43. How do you customize a list form?

Use Power Apps (Integrate > Power Apps > Customize forms), JSON form formatting, or an SPFx form customizer. InfoPath 2013 reached end of support on July 14, 2026. Here’s how to customize a SharePoint list form with Power Apps.

44. What should you know about Power Apps on SharePoint lists?

Delegation: non-delegable filters only process the first 500 to 2,000 rows. Explain which functions delegate, as in our Power Apps filter SharePoint list examples, and when to move to Dataverse.

Step 7: Review the SharePoint Server (On-Premises) Questions

Some regulated employers still run farms. SharePoint Server 2016 and 2019 reached end of support on July 14, 2026, so the current version is SharePoint Server Subscription Edition.

45. What is a SharePoint farm, and what servers does it have?

A farm is a group of servers sharing one configuration database. MinRole assigns roles such as Front-end, Application, Distributed Cache and Search. SQL Server hosts the configuration, content and service application databases.

46. What are service applications?

Shared services such as Managed Metadata, User Profile, Search, Secure Store (credentials for external systems) and Business Data Connectivity. Distributed Cache speeds up authentication tokens.

47. What are web applications, zones and managed paths?

A web application is an IIS site hosting site collections. Zones give it several URLs and authentication options. Managed paths are explicit (one site) or wildcard such as /sites/ (many).

48. How do you manage timer jobs?

In Central Administration, under Monitoring, select Review job definitions to see schedules, run a job now or disable it. In PowerShell:

Get-SPTimerJob | Where-Object { $_.Name -like "*recycle*" } |
    Select-Object Name, Schedule, LastRunTime

Step 8: Practice Scenario Questions for Experienced Candidates

Senior SharePoint Online interview questions for experienced developers and admins are open-ended. Answer with the situation, what you did and the result.

49. How would you migrate a file share or an old farm to SharePoint Online?

Inventory sizes, path lengths (400-character limit), permissions and customizations. Pilot with Migration Manager or the SharePoint Migration Tool, map old sites to modern sites under hubs, rebuild workflows in Power Automate and migrate in waves. For lists, copy items between lists with PnP PowerShell.

50. A list with 300,000 items is slow and views fail. What do you do?

Index the columns people filter on and rebuild each view so its first filter uses an indexed column and returns fewer than 5,000 items. Archive closed rows with a flow and move heavy reporting to Power BI.

51. How would you design an intranet for 5,000 employees?

A communication site as the home site, department hubs with their own navigation, news rolled up to home, audience targeting and Viva Connections in Teams. Add a short governance policy for site creation and sharing.

SharePoint Interview Cheat Sheet: Retired vs Current

Most wrong answers we hear come from guides that still teach the left column.

Older answer	Status (Microsoft Learn)	Say this instead
SharePoint 2010 workflows	Retired November 2020	Power Automate
SharePoint 2013 workflows	Retired for all tenants 04/02/2026	Power Automate
SharePoint Add-ins + Azure ACS	Stopped working 04/02/2026	SPFx + Entra ID apps
SharePoint Designer 2013	End of support 07/14/2026	Power Automate, JSON formatting
InfoPath forms	InfoPath 2013 end of support 07/14/2026	Power Apps forms, form customizers
Script Editor, custom script	Blocked by default, resets in 24 hours	SPFx web parts and extensions
Delve	Retired December 2024	Profile cards, Microsoft 365 search
SharePoint Server 2016 / 2019	End of support 07/14/2026	SharePoint Online or Subscription Edition
Quick Edit	Renamed	Edit in grid view

Common Mistakes to Avoid in a SharePoint Interview

• Describing retired tools as current. SharePoint Designer approvals are a red flag in 2026.
• Mixing up the 5,000 limit. It’s the view threshold; a list holds 30 million items.
• Breaking inheritance everywhere. Prefer groups and separate sites.
• Listing features without a story. One project with numbers beats ten definitions.
• Hard-coding the tenant URL in code samples. Use pageContext.web.absoluteUrl in SPFx.

Are SharePoint Admin and Developer Interviews Different?

Yes, after the first ten minutes. Both start with Steps 1 and 2, then admin interviews go deep on Step 3: sharing, Purview, storage and site lifecycle.

Developer interviews move to Steps 4 and 5, usually with a coding task. Senior roles add Step 8. For Power Platform skills, our Power Apps tutorials pair well with this list.

Next Steps

Pick the ten questions closest to the job description and answer them out loud with a timer. Then build one proof, such as getting all SharePoint Online sites with PnP PowerShell, to show you can script at scale.

We’d study these next if your interview is coming up soon:

• How to Add More Than 5000 Items to a SharePoint Online List Using PnP PowerShell
• SharePoint Contribute vs Edit Permissions: Key Differences and Best Uses
• How to Merge Terms in SharePoint Term Store
• Fluent UI in SharePoint Framework (SPFx)

Frequently Asked Questions