SharePoint Intranet Best Practices

1. Start with your users, not the technology

The most important step in any intranet project is understanding what users actually need. Conduct surveys, interviews, and workshops to map out which information employees search for most often, which tasks take the most time, and what frustrations they experience with current solutions.

2. Build a clear information architecture

Information architecture is the backbone of your intranet. Use hub sites to group related departments or projects, keep navigation flat and predictable, and use metadata and content types to make content searchable and filterable. A good rule of thumb: users should find what they need in no more than three clicks.

3. Prioritise search

Search is the single most important feature on any intranet. Configure SharePoint search with custom search scopes, promoted results for popular queries, and search filters based on metadata. Test search regularly with real user queries to ensure results are relevant.

4. Design mobile-first

More and more employees access the intranet on mobile devices. SharePoint modern pages are responsive by default, but you still need to test that content looks good on small screens. Avoid large tables, long text blocks, and images that do not scale.

5. Create engagement with news and targeted content

An intranet that is not updated will not be used. Use SharePoint news to publish regular updates, and use audience targeting to show relevant content to the right users based on department, role, or location.

6. Establish clear governance

Define who owns which areas of the intranet, who can create new sites and pages, and what guidelines apply to content publishing. Without governance, the intranet grows uncontrollably and becomes difficult to maintain.

7. Invest in training and change management

Even the best intranet fails if users do not know how to use it. Deliver training for both content authors and end users. Appoint digital champions in each department who can help colleagues and feed back to the project team.

8. Measure, learn, and improve

Use SharePoint analytics and Microsoft Viva Insights to understand how the intranet is being used. Which pages get the most visits? Which searches return zero results? Use these insights to continuously improve content, navigation, and functionality.