Flexible Sections give SharePoint page authors the freedom to build layouts without a strict column structure, resizing, moving, and overlapping web parts freely within a section. That freedom is powerful, but it can also make it harder to keep pages predictable and consistent across the many ways people view them.

Today we're shipping a set of usability improvements designed to make flexible sections more predictable, easier to control, and faster to author, without giving up any of the flexibility that makes it useful in the first place. 

See this video with Katelyn Seemakurti and Vesa Juvonen for the live demo of new features.

Column layout guides

Flexible Sections now show visual layout guides that mirror the familiar column structures you already know from standard sections. These guides give your page an underlying sense of structure, so content reflows cleanly and predictably across email, mobile, and canvas resize.

When you add a web part to the canvas, it automatically matches the layout guide's column width, giving you a sensible starting point every time. And you keep full flexibility: resize, reposition, or overlap any web part whenever your design calls for it. The guides inform your layout; they don't constrain it.

Persistent grid layout guides

Sometimes you just want to see the structure while you plan. A new grid layout guides toggle in the page command bar lets you keep gridlines and layout guides visible the entire time you're authoring.

No more entering a drag or resize operation just to reveal the underlying grid. Flip the toggle on, and the guides stay put as a page-level setting, making it far easier to align content and plan your layout with intention.

Convert standard sections to Flexible Sections

Want to turn an existing page or section into flexible? You can now convert a standard section into a Flexible Section in a single click, directly from the section property pane.

Best of all, conversion is non-destructive. Your existing column structure (whether it's 1, 2, 3 columns, or a 1/3–2/3 split) is preserved, along with the placement and stacking order of every web part. There's no need to rebuild your page content; you get the flexibility of flexible sections while keeping the layout you already built.

Keep the feedback coming

None of this would be possible without the ongoing input from our customers and partners. Your feedback on layout consistency, authoring speed, and control has directly shaped these improvements to Flexible Sections, and we're grateful for the continued partnership as we keep making page authoring better.

Have thoughts on these updates, or ideas for what should come next? Let us know in the comments on this post or on the demo video. We read every comment, and your input helps shape our roadmap.