SharePoint design ideas for a site people want to open
Good SharePoint design is mostly about order and clarity, not decoration. These seven ideas come from the intranets and portals we build. Each one is something you can do in modern SharePoint, with or without a developer.
Seven design ideas that work
Put the most used things at the top
Decide the five things most people come for and place them above the fold: news, quick links, search, key tools and people.
- Search sits in the header on every page
- One news story, not five competing banners
- Four to six quick links for the tasks people repeat
Idea 2 of 7
Keep navigation shallow and named in plain words
Two levels is usually enough. Use the words your staff use, not department jargon.
- Two levels of menu is usually enough
- Name items after the task, such as Request leave
- Test the labels with a few real users
Idea 3 of 7
Use one clear page template
Repeat the same layout across sections so people learn it once.
- Same header, intro and links position on each page
- Put the owner and last updated date at the bottom
- Make two or three templates and reuse them
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Idea 4 of 7
Brand it lightly and consistently
Use your logo, one or two colours and one site theme. Avoid heavy images that slow pages and hide content.
- Logo in the header, one site theme
- Keep to your brand colours and fonts
- Keep images small so news stays above the fold
Idea 5 of 7
Design for phones and Teams
Many people open the intranet on a phone or inside Microsoft Teams. Check every page there.
- Open every page on a phone before you publish
- Check how it looks as a tab inside Teams
- Keep tap targets large and layouts to one column
Idea 6 of 7
Make people and news visible
Faces, recent news and events make a site feel alive. Outdated content does the opposite.
- Show dates on news so people see it is current
- Feature new joiners and real team photos with permission
- Remove events and stories once they are old
Idea 7 of 7
Build in accessibility and search
Good contrast, headings and alternative text help everyone, and clear titles make search work.
- Check colour contrast on text and buttons
- Use real headings in order, H1 then H2 then H3
- Give pages and files plain, searchable titles
Questions to answer before you design
Design follows the answers. Write them down first.
Who uses the site, and for what?
Office staff, field teams or both. List the five tasks they come to do.
What must stay one click away?
Leave requests, approvals, policies, the phone book. Put these where nobody has to hunt.
Who owns each section?
A page with no owner goes stale. Name an owner before you build.
What does your brand allow?
Check colours, fonts and logo rules so the site looks like part of the company.
Where will people open it?
Desktop, phone, Teams. This decides how much you can put on a page.
What exists already?
Reuse good content and templates before you design something new.
How to design a SharePoint site, step by step
This order avoids most rework.
- 1
List the tasks and content
Write what people need to do and find, then group it.
- 2
Sketch the home page
Draw boxes on paper: news, quick links, tools, people. Agree it with a few real users.
- 3
Plan the navigation
Build a shallow menu from the groups, using plain words.
- 4
Choose a theme and templates
Set the site theme once and make two or three page templates for the site to reuse.
- 5
Build with real content
Use real news, real links and real names. Placeholder text hides problems.
- 6
Test on phone and Teams, then adjust
Ask a few people to find something without help. Fix what slows them down.
Ready-made template, built-in design or custom build?
All three are valid. The right choice depends on how special your needs are.
| Route | Best when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in SharePoint design | You need a clean site quickly and your needs are common. | Pages that look the same as everyone else's unless you add your brand. |
| Ready-made intranet product | You want news, department sites and a people directory without starting from zero. | Check that it is set up in your own Microsoft 365 and can be changed. |
| Custom design and build | You have special layouts, integrations or branding rules. | Keep it maintainable. Ask for a handover your own team can follow. |
Design mistakes that make intranets unused
Too much on the home page
When everything is important, nothing is. Keep to a few clear blocks.
Deep menus
If people need four clicks to find the leave form, they will ask a colleague instead.
Decoration over content
Large banners push useful content below the fold. Keep images small and purposeful.
Different layout on every page
People have to relearn the site at each section.
Stale news
A news feed from six months ago tells visitors nobody is looking after the site.
Never testing on a phone
A page that looks fine on a big screen can be unusable on a phone.
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