Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 implements a new structure known as a Feature, which is an end-user-oriented container of one or more elements. An element is an atomic Windows SharePoint Services concept.

The Feature is defined in XML format by using Collaborative Application Mark-up Language (CAML), similar to other existing structures in Windows SharePoint Services. Each Feature definition includes a set of XML files. Many items that were previously contained within a site definition in Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 are now modular and fit separately as an element.

In Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, a SharePoint site definition is basically transformed into a list of Features plus a layout page and a master page. The goal is that any templated SharePoint site can be transformed by an administrator into another templated SharePoint site simply by toggling Features on the site and possibly switching the layout page or master page. Web Provisioning is the act of selecting a template and, based on the contents of that template, populating the initial page, list, and Web Part structures.