SharePoint Team Site - Missing the "Change the Look" Option

It seems that the option to "Change the Look" may not be available to you due to the specific settings or permissions of your SharePoint Team Site. The ability to customize the navigation pane is typically available to site owners, but there can be restrictions based on the type of site or recent updates from Microsoft.

If you are unable to find the "Change the Look" option, you might consider the following steps:

1. Check Permissions: Ensure that you are indeed listed as a site owner. Sometimes, permissions can be misconfigured.
2. Use Modern Navigation: Modern SharePoint sites allow for some navigation customization through the settings. You can edit the left navigation directly by selecting "Edit" at the bottom of the left navigation pane.
3. Explore Hub Site Navigation: If your site is part of a hub site, you may need to manage navigation through the hub settings instead.
4. Contact Support: If the option is still missing, it might be worth reaching out to Microsoft support or checking the SharePoint community for any recent changes regarding this feature.

Unfortunately, if the "Change the Look" option has been removed or is not available, you may not be able to move the navigation pane from the left to the top as you desire.

References:

• Customize your SharePoint team site for file storage and sharing
• Navigation

Dear @Karl Rakkerson, 

Welcome to the Q&A Community.    

Thank you for reaching out regarding the missing “Change the Look” option on your SharePoint Team Site. I understand how important it is to customize your site’s navigation for better usability. 

To use the “Change the Look” feature, your site must be in the modern experience, and you need Full Control or Design permissions. 

You mentioned assuming you were the site owner because you created the site, but you don’t see your name under Site Owners in Settings > Site permissions. This is normal for group-connected sites. Instead of listing individual names, SharePoint manages permissions through your Microsoft 365 Group membership. 

If you are an Owner of the associated group, you already have full control, even though your name doesn’t appear in the Site Owners list. Typically, you’ll see the group name (e.g., [Site Name] Owners) rather than individual users. 

So, the fact that no one appears under “Site Owners” does not necessarily mean there are no owners. It means ownership is controlled by the group. 

Here are some steps you can take to verify the issue: 

Option 1: Verify your role in group membership 

Click the member count in the top-right corner of the site to view the group membership. Locate your name and confirm that your role is set to Owner. 

Option 2: Add yourself as a site owner 

Go to Settings > Site permissions and check if you have permission to make changes. 

If possible, click Add members > Add members to group > Add members, enter your email address, and select the Owner role. 

Alternatively, if you cannot add yourself as an owner, select Share site only, enter your email, and assign Full Control permissions. 

• Once you’ve successfully added yourself as an owner, navigate back to Settings, and you should see the “Change the Look” option to switch navigation from left to top. 

This article provides further guidance on the topic: Change the look of your SharePoint site - Microsoft Support 

Option 2: Reach out to your IT administrator 

If you’re unable to complete the steps above or don’t see the necessary options, please reach out to your SharePoint or Microsoft 365 administrator. They can set you as a site admin or primary owner through the SharePoint Admin Center. 

You can share this document with them for reference: Manage site admins - SharePoint in Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn 

Option 3: Contact Microsoft Support 

After you’ve been added as an owner and the “Change the Look” option still doesn’t appear, the next step is to have your IT admin contact Microsoft Support for further investigation. 

A technical support engineer can perform a remote session to investigate the situation, verify the backend configurations, and run any necessary synchronization tools to resolve the problem. If the issue requires further attention, they can escalate it to a specialized team for deeper analysis.     

• I sincerely recommend reaching out to your IT administrator to create a support ticket via Microsoft Admin Center > Support > Help & Support for further investigation. The backend team can review product design and service-level configurations to identify the root cause.  

• Microsoft provides customer service phone numbers based on your region. You can find the appropriate contact number here: Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support 

As community moderators, we kindly ask for your understanding that our access to internal development details is limited. Our primary role is to guide users toward the appropriate resources and support channels. While we may not have visibility into performing deeper backend analysis, we’ll continue doing our best to support you within the scope of our responsibilities.  

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this.    

Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you. 

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have any extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment". 

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