How to Create an Index in SQL Server
Last updated July 25, 2026 · By the SaturnSQL team
CREATE INDEX name ON table (columns) builds a nonclustered index. Add INCLUDE (columns) to cover a query, so SQL Server answers it from the index alone without key lookups.
CREATE INDEX ix_orders_customer_id
ON orders (customer_id);Covering index with INCLUDE
CREATE INDEX ix_orders_customer_created
ON orders (customer_id, created_at)
INCLUDE (amount, status);Key column order matters: put equality-filtered columns first, range or sort columns after. On Enterprise edition and Azure SQL, add WITH (ONLINE = ON) to avoid blocking writes during the build.
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