How to Build Better SharePoint Sites
Lay the Foundation for Better Collaboration
I’ve been lucky to work with many organisations in the past on reviewing and improving their internal systems, often including SharePoint.
While the requirements of each business obviously vary, I do believe there’s a trend in the most common issues faced by in-house IT teams when managing SharePoint sites.
While these issues are by no means critical (perhaps explaining why they’re so often overlooked), I do think they’re the most common cause of administrative burden.
As such, in an effort to negate SharePoint red tape, here are four simple methods for maximising the efficiency and usability of SharePoint.
1. Consistent Design
A mistake I see often is the customisation of pages with no consideration given to consistency.
When teams have free reign over the design of their pages, it’s inevitable that over time the site drifts further and further from a single design standard.
Design Is A Language
In addition to making things look nice, an important purpose of design is to provide a language for our subconscious to digest information without requiring our attention.
It’s the reason road signs are identical across the country —so that if you see one, or if you’re looking for one, it requires no conscious effort to recognise and read. They all look the same.
Design Guidelines
Web design is no different. Adhering to a single document that outlines the design guidelines for your site — how headings, buttons and other elements should look — will ensure the design of your site remains consistent throughout.
Page layout, font, text size and colour can all be streamlined, particularly through the use of page templates.
Both frequent and infrequent users will save a great deal of time reading and interpreting pages when the design is consistent, and it’s wild the improvement that this can amount to.
As it turns out, it makes no sense to switch languages between pages.
If you’re looking for inspiration, a great example is Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines.
2. Clear Permissions
Establishing and maintaining permissions can be one of the most frustrating and time consuming processes, even more so when setup incorrectly.
If there’s an easier solution than what would otherwise be the correct process, its a matter of time until you’re left with a tangled web of unique permissions.
Permissions Framework
Drafting a single permissions framework that clearly outlines how the site will be governed and how permissions are granted can save an enormous amount of time for users and administrators.
At a minimum, a permissions framework should contain a list of every group, including details on the intended members and the access the group provides.
Whether groups be broken down by role, site, region, team or anything else really depends on the needs of the business — I generally stick to whichever is simplest.
As long as the framework is followed, maintained and updated as the site grows, it will drastically reduce the administrative burden that comes with managing permissions.
3. Metadata & Search
Metadata may not seem obvious, but it can be incredibly useful for improving search effectiveness.
Since it’s usually impossible to control how users name their files and structure their document libraries — as the site grows in size so too does the time it takes to find the documents you’re looking for.
Required Fields
Fortunately, SharePoint allows administrators to enforce required fields for document libraries.
Custom fields that track key details of every document uploaded, especially fields that align with popular search terms, can have a massive impact on search results. As a result, the time it takes to search is also reduced.
Of course, we don’t want too many fields, otherwise the time we save searching is just added to the time it takes to upload. A few will usually suffice — here’s a few examples:
- Document Type
- Approval Status
- File Description
- State or Region
- Operating Period
4. Seamless Navigation
Navigation and site structure is usually pretty good for most organisations. Unfortunately, as the size and complexity of a site grows, so too does the task of updating it’s layout and navigation.
The reality is that it’s easier to add new pages and libraries here and there than it is to create new subsites and update nav menus.
The issue with the former is that it leads to a labyrinth of buried pages and document libraries, followed closely by unique permissions everywhere they shouldn’t be.
Site Map
Regular audits of a site’s content, layout and nav menus can help paint a picture of how the site is being used and whether the layout and flow of navigation can be improved or not.
Prioritising a flat site architecture and splitting subsites up as they grow can prove advantageous in keeping business functions siloed.
Creating pages that act as a portal to other subsites can also be a valuable tool in reducing the clutter from navigation menus.
Good Enough?
I think it’s easy to adopt a ‘good enough’ attitude when managing SharePoint. Microsoft handles so much behind the scenes that even when site’s are a mess, they are almost always still usable.
Having said that, it’s amazing what an impact a clean and usable SharePoint can have on users and administrators alike.
Do you have any tips of your own? Leave a comment below, I’m keen to hear how others implement best practice in SharePoint.
