Is there a type of custom web part I can make that is available to all sites without having to first add the app to the site?

Question

I'd like to create a web part that shows the time in specific time zones and some other organization specific info so that any site in our farm can add the web part to any page.

Using SPFX and because we're on 2016 it seems you have to first add the app to sites before you can use it on pages.

Is there a different option that will allow users to easily add it as a web part to web part pages without having to "install" it to the site?

Answer 1

Unfortunately not, if you are on 2016. In SP Online there is an option, when uploading the web part package to the tenant app catalog, to choose

Make this solution available to all sites in the organization

which will make it immediately available on all sites. Unfortunately that deployment option was only added in SPFx v.1.4, and if you are on 2016 you are forced to use SPFx v.1.1, as noted early on in this Microsoft documentation.