Forum Discussion
Creating SharePoint Intranet from scratch - What would you do?
Hello,
I've just started at a new company and they desperately need an intranet created for the purpose of communication (announcements, etc.) and document management. The company I came from had already begun their design and development journey with a particular vendor prior to me being onboarded there. They mostly used out-of-the-box functionality with a bit of custom development for some things. It was a Classic site.
This vendor did fine work but I am overall curious which direction you'd go given the opportunity to do it from scratch; either using any vendor you want and/or developing it yourself and the resources you'd use to accomplish that. I've of course Googled this myself but any direction or insight is greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
Morghan
5 Replies
Starting a SharePoint intranet from scratch is actually a great opportunity because you can avoid inheriting legacy design challenges and instead build around your company’s current communication and collaboration needs.
Here’s the approach I’d recommend:
- Define Business Objectives First
- Identify your key use cases: announcements, document management, collaboration, knowledge sharing, etc.
- Talk with stakeholders and end users to understand expectations and pain points.
- Choose the Right Foundation (Modern vs. Classic)
- I strongly recommend going with Modern SharePoint instead of Classic.
- Modern offers a more intuitive UX, better mobile responsiveness, Microsoft 365 integration, and lower maintenance overhead.
- Start with Out-of-the-Box Capabilities
- Use Communication Sites for announcements, leadership updates, and news.
- Use Team Sites connected to Microsoft Teams for departmental collaboration.
- Leverage Hub Sites for navigation and consistent branding.
- Governance & Information Architecture
- Set up proper document libraries with metadata and retention policies.
- Standardize permissions and sharing policies early to avoid sprawl.
- Enhance with Customization (Only Where Needed)
- Use Power Automate for workflows (approvals, notifications, etc.).
- Use SPFx (SharePoint Framework) for any custom components if business needs exceed out-of-the-box features.
- User Adoption & Training
- Roll out in phases and gather feedback.
- Provide quick-reference guides or training sessions to improve adoption.
I’ve actually written a detailed breakdown of the process here: https://www.sharepointdesigns.com/blog/how-to-create-a-sharepoint-site – it covers setup, design, and governance in depth.
For additional official resources, Microsoft has excellent guidance you can follow:
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/introduction
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/planning-hub-sites
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/modern-experience-site-classic-modern
By starting modern, keeping customization minimal, and focusing on user adoption, you’ll set your intranet up for long-term success.
- Define Business Objectives First
- I did this. I came to a new company that had been using a badly designed "intranet" with classic SharePoint. After extensive research, I moved to SharePoint Online communications sites. We have a main site (Hub) where news, calendar, and some "catch all" info is posted. We have sites for each department, which are part of the hub site. If you want more insight, I'm happy to connect offline.
Hi Joni_Kirk ! Thank you for the response. It sounds like we've been in the exact same position. Did your company build the Hub site + Communication sites yourselves or did you hire an outside vendor? Let me know your preference of connecting offline
Thanks again,
Morghan
- I built the Hub site and communication sites myself. Send me a note at joni.kirk@lcnw.org.
- You have different approaches here:
(1) Do yourself taking advantage of default SPO features + ideas taken from the SharePoint Lookbook: https://lookbook.microsoft.com/
(2) Ask an integrator specialized in SPO development to make a proposal and make the job
(3) Buy a product already made and simply deploy it taking into account your needs (Valo, Attolo and some others are good examples of Intranet in a box)
