Confluence Spaces

A Space is the top-level container in Confluence. Everything you write, share, or organise lives inside a space. Choosing the right space structure at the start saves your team from confusion later.

What a Space Really Is

Picture a large office building. Each department — Marketing, Engineering, HR — has its own floor. People from outside a department can visit, but each floor belongs to one team. A Confluence Space works the same way. Each space belongs to one team, project, or purpose.

Office Building Analogy

OFFICE BUILDING (your Confluence site)
│
├── Floor 1: MARKETING SPACE
│     ├── Campaign Briefs
│     ├── Brand Guidelines
│     └── Social Media Calendar
│
├── Floor 2: ENGINEERING SPACE
│     ├── Architecture Docs
│     ├── API Reference
│     └── Release Notes
│
└── Floor 3: HR SPACE
      ├── Employee Handbook
      ├── Leave Policies
      └── Onboarding Checklist

Three Types of Spaces

Confluence offers three space types. Each serves a different purpose.

Space Types Compared

TYPE            WHO SEES IT         BEST USED FOR
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Team Space      Your team members   Ongoing team work
Project Space   Project members     Time-limited projects
Personal Space  Only you (by def.)  Your own notes & drafts

A Team Space works for permanent teams that exist beyond any single project — like your engineering team or HR department. A Project Space works for a specific initiative that has a clear end date, like a product launch. A Personal Space is your own private notebook where you draft ideas before sharing them.

Creating a Space

Click Spaces in the top bar, then click Create Space. Confluence asks you to pick a template — choose Blank Space to start fresh or pick a pre-built template for common use cases like software projects or HR documentation.

Space Creation Steps

STEP 1  →  Click Spaces → Create Space
STEP 2  →  Choose a space type (Team / Project / Personal)
STEP 3  →  Select a template (Blank or pre-built)
STEP 4  →  Enter a Space Name     e.g.  "Marketing Team"
STEP 5  →  Enter a Space Key      e.g.  "MKT"
STEP 6  →  Click Create
STEP 7  →  Your space opens with a blank homepage

What Is a Space Key?

A Space Key is a short code Confluence uses internally to identify your space. It appears in every page URL within that space. Keep it short — three to five capital letters works best.

SPACE NAME          SPACE KEY   EXAMPLE PAGE URL
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Marketing Team      MKT         /wiki/spaces/MKT/pages/...
Engineering         ENG         /wiki/spaces/ENG/pages/...
HR Documentation    HR          /wiki/spaces/HR/pages/...

The Space Homepage

Every space has a homepage — the first page visitors see when they enter the space. Treat the homepage like a welcome desk. It should tell visitors what the space contains, who owns it, and where to find key pages.

Good Space Homepage Structure

[Space Name] — Home
────────────────────────────────────────────────
👋 About This Space
   What this space covers and who it belongs to.

📌 Key Pages
   Link to: Team Handbook | Meeting Notes | Roadmap

👥 Space Owners
   Priya Sharma (lead), Raj Mehta (backup)

📅 Last Reviewed
   June 2025

Space Permissions Overview

Each space has its own permission settings. The space admin controls who can view, edit, or administer the space. This topic introduces the concept — Topic 16 covers space permissions in full detail.

Basic Permission Levels

PERMISSION LEVEL    CAN DO
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
View                Read pages only
Edit                Read and write pages
Delete              Remove pages
Admin               Change space settings and permissions

How Many Spaces Should You Create?

More spaces means more places to search when you cannot remember where something lives. A common mistake is creating a new space for every project. Instead, think about whether the content needs its own navigation or whether it fits inside an existing space as a section of pages.

Decision Guide

SITUATION                               RECOMMENDATION
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
New permanent team joining Confluence   Create a new Team Space
Short project (under 6 months)          Add pages inside existing space
Sensitive content (HR only)             Create a restricted space
Personal drafts                         Use your Personal Space

Start with fewer spaces. You can always split a space later, but merging two spaces with lots of existing pages is harder work.