SharePoint Intranet Build Guidebook

Description

YOU CAN BUILD YOUR OWN INTRANET WITH MICROSOFT 365 SHAREPOINT.

A good intranet will transform the way you work. Communication will improve between all team members, whether working from home, on-site, or on the road. Your corporate culture will become more open and engaged.

This book is a step-by-step guide that will walk you through the process of creating an intranet from start to successful finish. I created and refined the content here (and the The Intranet Build Toolkit) from real-world SharePoint and Teams projects and practical experience using and building Microsoft 365 every day.

 

Your intranet may be a simple “corporate home page” with news, templates, policies, and a shared contact list. The intranet is built with web technology, so it is a rich, engaging, and easily understood interface, unlike corporate file servers or your email program.

Studies have shown that “employees spend more than 25% of their time searching for the information they need to do their jobs (The Economic Times). Imagine your employees quickly finding any work-related information all in one place. If I need a report or a template or the company policy on travel and accommodation, I can easily find it. I always know where to look: the intranet.

And to further help find information, the intranet has powerful search tools, communication methods, and support materials so I am not stuck. We may not reduce that “25% searching” to “0%,” but let’s improve where we can. Let’s make it a lot easier for people to get their work done, anywhere and anytime that suits them.

That’s what a good intranet can do.

So how do we get that? How can you build an intranet for your small-business, school, or non-profit that supports efficient teamwork?  In this book I will show you what has worked for me. I will walk you through methods I have used for hundreds of projects. Allow me to explain how to develop an intranet that people can and will use effectively.

We will start with templates and engage your people. (A successful intranet project involves people far more than technology.) You have in your hands a blueprint to get people involved and launch your intranet on schedule and on budget. Our companion book provides many downloadable Microsoft Office templates and working SharePoint lists, such as a Vacation Calendar, Timesheet, Suggestion Box, and more.

Thank you for taking this journey with me. As you apply SharePoint in Practice, please feel free to reach out with questions or feedback. What was or wasn’t useful? How did you adapt these ideas to your specific situation? How may I be of service?

Let’s get started!

Gerry Brimacombe

SharePoint in Practice techniques, methods, and examples ensure your intranet build is a huge success. This content is based on years of experience and has been developed for real people and real projects. The proven methods here will get you over the finish line on time and on budget, with the entire company cheering for you and your team.

Includes chapters and stories on project management, user engagement, governance, training, SharePoint design and build, training, content migration, go-live, and more.

Consider our companion volume, The Intranet Build Toolkit, which includes working examples and downloadable templates (available separately here: Intranet Build Toolkit).

This is the Second Edition: Updated and enhanced for modern SharePoint and with new techniques. If you purchased the first edition, please contact the author (gerry@lightlever.ca) for a free upgrade.