In Microsoft Teams, a team is a collection of people, conversations, files, and tools — all in one place. A channel is a discussion in a team, dedicated to a department, project, or topic.

Create a team from a template

Create a team to fit your needs with team templates that come with apps and channels that you might find relavent.

  1. In the left pane, select Teams and then select Create and join teams and channels.

  2. Select Create team.

  3. Select More create team options and then select a team template that best suits you needs. Click on each to see the channels and apps that are included. Then select Use this template to select it.

  4. Give your team a name and a short description.

  5. Select whether to make it Private (you need permission to join) or Public (anyone in the org can join).

  6. Select Customize to update any channels if needed.

  7. Select Create.

Create team in Teams.

Create a team from scratch

Create a team from scratch if none of the templates fit your needs.

  1. In the left pane, select Teams and then select Create and join teams and channels.

  2. Select Create team.

  3. Give your team a name, and a short description.

  4. Select whether to make it Private (you need permission from the team owner to join) or Public (the team is visible to everyone in the organization).

  5. Type a name for your first channel. You can add others after your team in created.

  6. Select Create.

Create a team from scratch.

Add a channel

Add additional channels to your team as needed.

  1. In Your teams find your team and select More options.

  2. Select Add channel.

  3. Type a channel name. 

  4. Type a description of the channel. 

  5. Select a channel type. You can select Standard (everyone on the team can access), Private (specific people on the team have access), or Shared (you can invite people or teams from outside your organization).

  6. Select Create.

Add a channel to your team.

Add members

  1. In Your teams find your team and select More options.

  2. Select Add member.

  3. Type the names of the members you want to add, and add them.

  4. When you are done selecting who you want to add to the team, select Add.

Add members to a team.

Next: Quick tips: Get started with meetings in Microsoft Teams

Learn more

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