All about SharePoint Online Content Type Hub

What is SharePoint Online Content Type hub?

A Centralized location, a site collection where we can create all the site columns and Content Types so that these Content Types can be used across all other site collections. Content type hub in SharePoint Online is already created and fully functional. Every SharePoint Online tenant has a content type hub pre-built, we just need to use it. It is actually hidden through Admin Center and can be accessed with the generic URL:

https://teanant.name.com/sites/contenttypehub/

The content type syndication hub feature is already activated under this site collection. 

Publish a content type

On a content type hub that publishes content types to other site collections, we can publish, republish, or unpublish content types centrally.

After a new content type is created under content type hub, Publish option is there on the settings page to make the content type available to use for other site collections. 

Next, it is required to go to the Site Collection Administration on the Site Collection where we wish to use the new Content Type (Site Settings > [Site Collection Administration] Content Type Publishing), and enable the checkbox to “Refresh all published content types on next update”. 

This will update all published Content Types the next time the Content Type Subscriber timer job runs.  After the update, this Site Collection is subscribed to the new content type and it will be listed under the list of site content types.

Content Type Hub - Pros & Cons

Pros

1. create, configure, and maintain your custom content types within one central location. 

2. Re-usability

Cons

1. The timer job runs once every hour and we have no idea when it happens. 

2. Unnecessary content types deployed to all the site collections, creates confusion for SharePoint site owners.

2. Synchronization issues. Ex:  When a content type is retracted from the hub and deleted it, the content type is still being deployed to newly created site collections. 

4. The recommendation from Microsoft for the limit of Content types in the hub is a very less