Upcoming changes to SharePoint Online Public Website

Starting in January 2015, Microsoft is making changes to the SharePoint Online Public Website feature. Customers who currently use this feature will continue to have access to the feature for a minimum of two years following the changeover date. New customers who subscribe to Office 365 after the changeover date won't have access to this feature. Moving forward, Office 365 customers will have access to third-party offerings that will enable them to easily integrate their public presence with their Office 365 service. Additional details about these solutions will be made available in January 2015.

Why is Microsoft making this change?

As part of the evolution of the Office 365 service, we periodically evaluate the capabilities of the service to make sure that we’re delivering the utmost value to customers. Today, we're making a difficult decision to discontinue the SharePoint Online Public Website feature. This lets us then focus on future investments while broadening our partnership with industry leaders.

What does this mean for existing customers of Office 365 plans?

Office 365 customers who currently use the SharePoint Online Public Website feature will continue to have access to the feature for a minimum of two years following the change. Moving forward, customers will have the option to subscribe to third-party solutions for public website functionality. Customers should plan to move to one of these third-party solution within the next two years.

What does this mean for new customers of Office 365 plans?

As of the changeover date, Microsoft will no longer be offering the SharePoint Online Public Website feature to new customers. New customers who subscribe to Office 365 after the changeover date won't have access to this feature. Moving forward, Office 365 customers will have the option to subscribe to third-party solutions by using links from Office 365.

How will this change be communicated to Office 365 customers?

All Office 365 administrators who currently have provisioned SharePoint Online will receive a notification in the Office 365 Message Center.

Overview of third-party offerings

What are the third-party solution offerings?

Office 365 customers will have access to industry-leading tools and services that are provided directly from third-party solution providers for building and managing your online presence. Microsoft will provide additional details about the third-party solutions in January 2015.

How does the new third-party solution offering compare to existing SharePoint Online Public Sites?

The existing SharePoint Online Public Website feature was designed for customers who needed only a basic online presence. These new solutions will provide more robust tools and solutions needed for delivering, supporting and managing a fuller online presence.

What countries and languages will be available?

Microsoft will provide additional details in January 2015.

Implications for new customers

Will the price for the affected Office 365 offers be reduced?

No. This change is aligned with our commitment to delivering a superior productivity experience in Office 365 and won't affect the pricing of Office 365. Third-party solutions will be offered at discounted pricing rates for Office 365 customers where available.

Microsoft will provide additional details about the third-party solutions in January 2015.

Can I use other website hosting services or do I have to use the partners which Microsoft is referring to?

Yes. Customers can use any external website hosting service and aren't limited to the third-party solutions that will be provided in Office 365. These particular third-party solutions will be offered at discounted pricing rates for Office 365 customers, where available.

Implications for existing customers

What is our guidance to customers for existing SharePoint Online Public Websites?

There is no immediate change for existing customers. Office 365 customers who currently use the SharePoint Online Public Website feature will continue to have access to the feature for a minimum of two years following the change. Moving forward, customers will have to plan to move to one of the third-party solutions offered, or a different solution of their choice.

When will the existing SharePoint Online Public Websites be discontinued?

Microsoft will support SharePoint Online Public Websites for existing customers for a minimum of two years following the change. As per our policy on disruptive service changes, we will provide at least one year of notice before we make any significant changes to the Office 365 service.

I am using existing SharePoint Online Public Websites. How do I switch to one of the new third-party solutions?

Microsoft will provide additional details in January 2015.

Will customers or end-users lose any content while making the transition?

All content and data migration is currently a manual process to be completed by the customer. To avoid disruption and data loss, customers should backup all content and data from the SharePoint Online Public Website before switching to any new solution or service. This will minimize potential disruptions.

Microsoft will provide additional details in January 2015.

I have subscriptions to Office 365 but haven't provisioned SharePoint Online yet. Will I still have access to SharePoint Online Public Websites after this change?

No. If you haven't used SharePoint online yet, the situation will be the same as if you are a new customer. In order to be considered an existing user of the SharePoint Online Public Website feature and maintain access for two years following the changeover date, you must take action by the end of January 2015. Our guidance going forward is to use the third-party options after they are available.

Source...