Happier using Windows Explorer over SharePoint?

Some of us go to great lengths to brand and customise SharePoint Online sites. We do it to increase user adoption, give it personality and make the site feel like it belongs to the business users.

Then the end user connects to the SharePoint doc libraries they use and sync them locally, never visiting the site. Some IT Pros go to great lengths to map drives to doc libraries to give a Windows Explorer experience, therefore missing out on other SharePoint goodness.

If end users are happier with the plain old look and feel of Windows Explorer to work with files, which isn’t branded or skinned, why do we bother branding and skinning SharePoint Online sites? It’s becoming more restricted in what can be changed, without disrupting on-going upgrades. Is it better now to use the minimal tools available to change the look of a SharePoint Online (using supported configurations and methods), and focus on helping users understand how to use SharePoint?

Brand less and train more?

Discuss…