Effective internal collaboration and seamless information flow are crucial for modern organisations’ success. Organisations that struggle with this often find themselves at a competitive disadvantage.
SharePoint, a powerful platform included in your Microsoft 365 subscription, offers a robust solution for creating custom intranets and collaborative spaces that can transform your team’s work.
In this comprehensive guide, we will explore how to create a site on SharePoint that will empower your team to work more efficiently and cohesively.
Let’s begin.
What is a SharePoint intranet?
Before we discuss the details of creating a SharePoint site, it’s essential to understand what a SharePoint intranet is and why it’s so valuable for modern businesses.
A SharePoint intranet is a secure, web-based platform built using SharePoint that serves as a central hub for your organisation. It provides a collaborative environment where employees can access company documents, policies, news announcements, and other critical information, enhancing overall workflow and productivity.
SharePoint offers a variety of features to customise your intranet, allowing you to create SharePoint lists and discussion forums and even integrate with other Microsoft 365 applications for a unified user experience. You can also customise it to cater to specific departmental needs, ensuring easy access to well-organised information.
Are you interested in an in-depth exploration of the various benefits that SharePoint can provide for your organisation? We recommend checking out our detailed article on the topic by clicking here – SharePoint Intranet For Your Organization
Are you looking for specific SharePoint requirements?
How to create a site on SharePoint?
Now that we understand the basics let’s dive into the detailed, step-by-step process of how to create a site on SharePoint:
Step 1: Access SharePoint
Log in to your Microsoft 365 account and navigate to the SharePoint application. You can find it in the app launcher (the grid icon in the upper left corner). Once you are in, you will see options to create a new site.
Step 2: Choose the type of site
SharePoint offers two main types of sites:
- Team Site: This site is ideal for collaboration within a specific team. It includes features like document libraries, task lists, and calendars.
- Communication Site: Best for broadcasting information to a larger audience. It focuses on delivering content through pages and news posts.
Select the type that suits your needs by clicking the “+ Create site” button.
Not sure which template is right for your business needs? Learn more about designing an effective and custom intranet homepage by clicking here.
Step 3: Configure site settings
After choosing the type of site, you will need to configure it:
- Site Name and Description: Enter a name and a brief description for your site. Ensure the name is intuitive and the description clearly explains the site’s purpose.
- Privacy Settings: Decide whether your site will be public (anyone in your organisation can view it) or private (only members can view it). This is crucial for controlling access and maintaining confidentiality where necessary.
- Site Classification: If your organisation uses classifications for security or compliance, select the appropriate one. This helps categorise your site for better governance.
Step 4: Add members and owners
Next, add members and owners to your site. Owners have complete control over the site, including permissions and settings, while members can contribute content and collaborate. At least two owners are essential to avoid any administrative bottlenecks.
Step 5: Customise your site
Now that you know how to create a site on SharePoint, it’s time to make it your own.
- Add Web Parts: Use web parts to add functionality to your site. Common web parts include document libraries, news, quick links, and calendars. Web parts are the building blocks of your site, allowing you to tailor the functionality to match your team’s needs.
- Document Library: For storing and managing documents.
- News Feeds: To Keep your team updated with the latest information.
- Quick Links: Provide easy access to essential resources and external links.
- Calendar: Manage events and deadlines efficiently.
You can add many more web parts to suit your needs.
- Create Pages: Add pages to organise your content. For example, you might create a homepage, a news page, and a documents page. You can customise each page with different layouts and web parts to suit its purpose.
- Homepage: It should be engaging and provide an overview of the site’s purpose.
- News Page: Central hub for all updates and announcements.
- Documents Page: Organised repository for all documents and files.
- Apply Themes: Customise the look and feel of your site by applying a theme. You can adjust the layout by adding, removing, or rearranging sections and columns. SharePoint offers a variety of themes to choose from, or you can create a custom theme to match your company’s branding and visual identity.
Confused between custom SharePoint site development and exploring off-the-shelf solutions? Click here for useful tips and insights – creating an intranet
Step 6: Set up navigation
Effective navigation is crucial for a user-friendly SharePoint site. Set up your site’s navigation to ensure users can easily find the necessary information.
- Quick Launch: This is your main navigation menu on the left-hand side. Add links to the most important pages and resources.
- Top Navigation: Provides a secondary navigation option at the top of your site. Use it for global links that are relevant across multiple sites.
Step 7: Configure permissions
Setting up proper permissions is essential for maintaining security and control over your newly created SharePoint site. SharePoint allows you to configure permissions at various levels, from the site level down to individual items.
- Site Permissions: You can control who has access to the site and their level of access (Read, Edit, Full Control).
- Library and List Permissions: Fine-tune permissions for specific libraries or lists.
- Item-Level Permissions: Restrict access to individual documents or items if necessary.
Consider creating custom permission levels for more granular control. More importantly, regularly review and audit permissions to maintain security.
Concerned about intranet security? You should be. Learn how to protect your company intranet and sensitive information from external threats by clicking here – intranet security.
Step 8: Integrate with other tools
SharePoint seamlessly integrates with other Microsoft 365 tools, enhancing its functionality and providing a more cohesive user experience.
- Microsoft Teams: Integrate your SharePoint site with Microsoft Teams for enhanced collaboration and communication.
- OneDrive: Link your document libraries with OneDrive for easy file access and synchronisation.
- Power Automate: Automate workflows and processes with Power Automate to increase efficiency.
You can also consider third-party integrations to extend the functionality further.
Step 9: Test and refine
Now that you have all the necessary components in place, it’s time to test the website and make any changes based on the outcomes of those tests.
- Invite team members to explore the site and provide feedback.
- Conduct user testing to identify any usability issues.
- Collect feedback and make necessary adjustments to improve the user experience.
- Consider creating a feedback mechanism within the site for ongoing improvements.
Step 10: Publish and share
Once you’re satisfied with your site, publish it and share it with your team. Communicate the new site’s availability and provide any necessary training to ensure a smooth transition.
Remember, these steps provide a comprehensive framework for creating a SharePoint site. Depending on your organisation’s specific needs and the complexity of your desired intranet, you may need to implement additional features, integrations, or customisations.
Ready to kick off your SharePoint intranet site project? Don’t miss our list of 8 essential SharePoint questions to answer before getting started.
Best practices for SharePoint site creation
To ensure the success of your SharePoint site, consider these best practices:
Plan thoroughly: Before creating, clearly define your objectives, target audience, and required features.
Keep it simple: Start with a clean, uncluttered design and add complexity as needed.
Focus on user experience: Prioritise intuitive navigation and easy access to frequently used resources.
Encourage adoption: Provide training and resources to help users maximise the new site.
Maintain consistency: Establish design and content guidelines to ensure a cohesive look and feel across your intranet.
Regularly update content: Keep your site fresh and relevant with frequent updates and new content.
Monitor and analyse: Use SharePoint’s built-in analytics to track usage and identify areas for improvement.
Iterate and improve: Continuously gather feedback and make incremental improvements to your site.
Conclusion
Learning how to create a site on SharePoint is just the first step in harnessing the full power of this versatile platform. Following the detailed steps and best practices outlined above, you can establish a solid foundation for your custom intranet, fostering improved collaboration, communication, and productivity within your organisation.
However, creating a truly effective and tailored SharePoint site often requires expertise and experience beyond the basics. This is where Neologix comes in. Our SharePoint specialists bring a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience to help you implement a custom intranet solution that seamlessly integrates with your existing business processes, ensuring minimal disruption and maximum impact.
You can also explore the complete list of our comprehensive SharePoint services by clicking here.
If you need help with SharePoint Development please don’t hesitate to contact Neologix. You can contact us at info@neologix.ae or +971-521043226 for a detailed consultation, or use our contact form for any inquiries.
