Set up an ArcGIS organization

An ArcGIS Online organization is a website through which named users can create, manage, and share maps, apps, and data. All ArcGIS subscriptions, from single-user organizations like ArcGIS for Personal Use to multi-user organizations, like implementations that power entire companies, are run from an organization website. In an organization, content and membership are managed by an administrator, who is responsible for configuring the website, managing members and licensing, and monitoring activity. In this tutorial, you'll learn how to activate and configure an organization, the first step in the administration process.

This tutorial is part of the tutorial series Administer your organization.

This tutorial was last tested on May 28, 2026

Requirements

• Administrator role in an ArcGIS organization (get a free trial)

Activate and configure your organization

Once you've purchased ArcGIS, the first thing you'll need to do to get your subscription set up is to activate your organization. An ArcGIS organization is a collection of ArcGIS users who belong to the same school, business, or other association. Through an organization, you can set licensing; create, host, and share content; and more. Once the organization is active, you'll perform some initial setup to configure your ArcGIS organization's customized view of the ArcGIS Online website. To make the site appealing to staff and visitors, you'll configure the home page using your company's logo and branding guidelines.

Activate your ArcGIS Online subscription

As the designated administrator, after purchasing an ArcGIS organizational subscription, your first step is to activate your subscription and create your administrator account.

Note:

Before starting this section, consider two questions.

• Do you already have an ArcGIS account, such as a Public account?

An ArcGIS Online Public Account is a free account that has limited privileges for viewing and creating maps in ArcGIS Online. If you currently have an ArcGIS Online Public Account, you can use it to activate your new ArcGIS organization. This will convert the ArcGIS Online Public Account to an ArcGIS organizational account.

• What do you want your organization's short name to be?

The short name uniquely defines the URL to your organization; therefore, it is recommended that you carefully consider the name you want to use. It is difficult to change a short name once configured, so consider carefully before you begin the activation process.

This section details activating a purchased ArcGIS Online organization. If you are activating a trial subscription, the steps will differ.

1. Open the email from Esri with the subject heading Activate Your ArcGIS Online Subscription.

   When you request a subscription to ArcGIS Online, you receive an email with an activation link from Esri Customer Service. The subscription must be activated by the person who will administer the organization.

   Note:

   If you requested the subscription and didn't receive an activation email, check your junk or spam folder. You can also contact Customer Service for assistance or go to MyEsri to retrieve your activation.

2. In the body of the email, click the link provided or copy and paste it into a web browser.

   The Activate your organization page appears.

   

   You can activate your subscription two ways. If you've already created an ArcGIS Online Public Account and want to use the account and any content associated with it, you can use the public account to activate your organizational subscription. The account will be converted to an organizational account.

   If you don't already have an account, or want to create a new one, for example, if the public account has personal projects and this organization is for business purposes, you can create a new account to activate the organization.

   This tutorial will show the Create a new ArcGIS organization option, but many of the setup steps will be the same if you choose to convert a public account.

3. Click Create a new ArcGIS organization.
4. On the Provide the basic settings for your organization page, enter the following information:

   • Organization name: This is the long, descriptive name for the organization, such as your company or nonprofit's full name.
   • Organization short name: This is what will form the organization's URL. Consider using an acronym or nickname to keep the URL short and easy to type.

   

   You can choose a specific region to determine the default basemap gallery and the default basemap and extent for new maps. The default extent shows the entire world. You can also choose to participate in the Esri User Experience Improvement Program.

5. Click Next.

   Now you'll set up the default administrator account that will be used to activate the organization.

6. For Provide your account details, enter the following information:

   • First name
   • Last name
   • Email

   

   These details can all be updated later from the My Profile page if needed.

7. For User type, accept the default (this will be the user type with the highest level of permissions that you have access to, Creator and above).
8. Review and accept the Esri Master Agreement and the Esri ArcGIS Online Privacy Policy and click Next.

   Your account is created and the subscription is activated.

9. On the Setup your login page, enter the following information:

   • Username
   • Password
   • Security question

   Once created, your username cannot be changed. It also has to be unique within the ArcGIS Online system. A common pattern is to add [_orgShortName] to your first or last name. For example, jdoe_MyCompany123.

10. Click Finish setup.

    A welcome window appears with a few suggestions to get started with your organization, including adding more members and customizing pages.

11. In the Welcome window, click OK.

    

    The organization overview page appears. This page shows important details about your subscription, including information on credit consumption and membership, and license allocation. As you begin creating content and adding members, this page provides a quick overview of the health of your organization.

Customize the appearance of your site

Now that you've activated your new organizational subscription, you can start customizing your organization's website and access. Before actions like adding members or provisioning licenses, a good first step is to customize the home page. The home page is the front page of your organization's website, and can be configured to match your company's branding, display GIS portfolio content, and otherwise act as a professional first experience for people who land there, whether they're your colleagues, potential clients, or potential employers. The home page can serve as a helpful landing page for organization members and visitors alike.

Note:

By default, your organization's home page is public. If you need to change the sharing settings, you can do so from the Security tab.

1. At the top of the site, on the Organization tab, click the Settings tab.

   

   The parts of the website you can configure appear on the side of the page.

   First, you'll add your company's logo. The logo appears on the home and organization pages.

2. If you don't have your own logo image, download and unzip the Sample_Data file to a location where you can easily find it.

   This tutorial will include instructions and graphics that use these files, but you are encouraged to use your own logos, images, and data.

   Note:

   Acceptable logo image formats include PNG, GIF, and JPEG.

3. Click General. For Organization profile, under Logo, click Upload logo.

   

4. In the Upload logo window, click Browse (or your browser's equivalent command).
5. Browse to the folder where you unzipped the Sample_Data folder and upload MyCompany_Logo.png.
6. In the Upload logo window, zoom and pan as needed to center the logo, then click Save.

   

   Next, you'll customize the home page. At this stage in configuring your organization, you'll just add a few elements to match your company's branding. As you and your colleagues begin creating and publishing content, you can add more to the home page to showcase your work, help new users onboard, and more.

7. On the side of the page, click Home page and click Launch editor.

   

   The home page editor appears. The home page editor includes a set of components and options. As you configure your page using the home page editor, a live preview of your design choices helps you achieve the look and functionality you want.

   Tip:

   For a detailed guide to organization home page design, see Create a great home page for your organization.

   First, you'll add a header.

8. In the side pane, under Content, click Header.

   

   The Header pane opens. In this pane, you can choose the title, logo and cover image. First, you'll add a title.

9. For Title, type your organization name or the title you want for your home page.

   Next, you'll add your company's logo.

10. For Show logo, turn the toggle button on and click Choose file.

    

    The Upload Logo window opens.

11. In the Upload Logo window, browse to the folder where you saved MyCompany_Logo.png earlier, select it, and click Save.

    Now that you have your logo, you'll choose a color scheme to match. You can upload a custom background, called a cover or cover image, matching your company's brand guidelines or choose from several stock covers. For the purposes of this tutorial, you'll use a stock cover.

12. For Show cover image, under Use a stock cover, click the default and choose Soil - gold or another stock image that suits your logo.

    

13. Click Choose file and browse to the location where you saved cover.png. Choose the file and click Save.

    

    The home page updates to show the new background. Next, you'll look at positioning for the title and background image.

14. Expand Layout Options.
15. For Cover Image, choose Half screen height.

    

    The cover image resizes to the upper half of the home page layout. This will allow you to add blocks below the background image, such as a description of your organization's work and a map gallery.

16. Adjust the Focal Point and Title and logo placement settings, if you like. When you're happy with the background and title, scroll to the top of the pane, click Header and click Page settings to return to the Edit home page pane.

    Finally, you'll add a description of the organization.

17. In the side pane, click Content blocks and click Add block.

    

    The Add block pane appears. There are three options: a Text block, an Item gallery, or a Link. You can add text blocks at any time, but you'll need to put some items in a group before adding the gallery block to your home page. You'll do that later in the tutorial. For now, you'll add a text block.

18. In the Add block pane, click Text.

    

    Each text block is configured with a headline and body copy. Since this block will sit underneath the title of the organization, you won't use the headline in this example.

19. For Show headline, turn the toggle button off. For Show body copy, type a few sentences to describe your organization and the role of this site.

    

    You can also change the alignment of the text and color of the background here, depending on what works with your background image.

20. At the bottom of the page, click Save. Once the page is saved, click Cancel to close the editor.

    The home page includes your logo and organization name, which overlay a cover image. The organization description appears in a box below the banner.

    

In this tutorial, you activated your new ArcGIS subscription and set up your administrator account. Then, you started configuring your home page with your company's logo and a description of the company and the site's purpose.

Now, you're ready to start using your organization. Depending on your goals, you can add colleagues to the organization or get started on your first map.

For more resources, see the tutorial series Administer your organization.

Acknowledgements