Currently, a whopping 85% of fortune 500 companies use SharePoint. Hundreds of thousands of other organizations around the world rely on this content management system as well.
But while there has been a massive adoption of Microsoft SharePoint, it’s surprising that a large number of users still don’t know how to use the platform to its full potential. To get the best out of the software, you need to understand and adhere to SharePoint best practices.
That’s why we prepared this friendly guide on SharePoint 101. We tell you what you need to know about SharePoint, including how you can use it to increase efficiency with the platform.
Read on to learn more.
What Is SharePoint?
Microsoft SharePoint is a platform that lets you manage and share content, knowledge, and application in a dynamic manner. The platform is included in the Office 365 Business Essentials.
One of the top features in SharePoint is subsite creation. These subsites allow your employees to share information either internally or externally. The goal is to enhance seamless work and collaboration both inside and outside your business.
Why Should You Learn SharePoint Best Practices?
As mentioned earlier, Microsoft SharePoint enhances collaboration within an organization. Through this reliable content management solution, individuals and organizations can work better together.
But why is collaboration essential in a company?
Well, members of staff that collaborate typically stay on a task a lot longer than those who don’t. Collaboration, therefore, isn’t only about making your team feel good as they work; it’s also about improving performance in the workplace.
Understanding SharePoint best practices can help you streamline your business processes and boost collaboration throughout the organization.
What Are Some of the Collaborative Features of SharePoint?
To increase collaboration within your business, SharePoint offers a variety of helpful features. These include:
- The ability to share applications across the organization
- Cloud-based content sharing
- Sharing of news and resources
- The ability to set up intranet sites
- Accessibility from mobile and desktop
- Ability for employees to collaborate on files
- Task creation and deadline setting
- Security and permission features
- Enterprise search abilities
What Are the Best Practices for SharePoint?
So you intend to be using SharePoint for project management and want to make sure that you’re optimizing the software’s potential. In this section, we discuss seven SharePoint best practices that’ll help you cut costs, reduce manual tasks, and make your workflows super-efficient.
1. Whenever Necessary, Seek SharePoint Support
Once you implement SharePoint, it’s highly likely that you’ll be using the platform on a daily basis. Inevitably, you’ll encounter errors from time to time. When things don’t seem to be working well, it’s always advisable to seek help from a knowledgeable person.
If you’ve not yet undergone SharePoint training, you could spend hours or days trying to fix a problem that an IT professional will fix in minutes. To avoid frustrations and time wastage, contact your IT service provider for help whenever necessary.
2. Keep SharePoint Organized
As you’ve probably already discovered, poor organization of documents on your desktop or laptop can lead to loss of data. It’s the same thing with Microsoft SharePoint.
Every time you add or modify data, ensure you structure and organize it well. Doing so makes it easier to find any information you need.
3. Customize the Navigation
Microsoft SharePoint comes with a basic navigation feature in the login’s interface. You can customize this feature to suit your needs better.
How do you go about it?
Well, once you’re logged into SharePoint, you’ll see ‘edit links’ in the navigation bar on the top. Click on it to add or remove links as desired. Customizing navigation helps you to quickly access folders in your content management system (CMS).
In case you don’t see the customization option, you can contact your CMS administrator and request them for permission to make changes.
4. Personalize SharePoint Design
You may find that customizing navigation alone isn’t enough to make SharePoint suit your requirements. Like all other content management systems, SharePoint is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution. You need to add changes to the overall design and layout to fit the way your organization accesses and utilizes data.
Your IT experts should be able to customize the layout of SharePoint, so it’s easier to navigate and access information. The best system is built with your business in mind, ensuring it’s as organized and user-friendly as possible.
5. Get Appropriate Training
As a beginner, you may find that you frequently experience difficulties when trying to navigate your content management system. These hassles can significantly diminish your efficiency and productivity. That’s why it’s always a good idea to get some training before starting to use SharePoint.
For people who’ve been using Microsoft SharePoint for a considerable amount of time, additional training can also prove beneficial. Specialized training can reveal some new tips that you may not have been aware of.
6. Set Up SharePoint Alerts
Since SharePoint is accessed by multiple people in the team or organization, changes in the content in the libraries will inevitably be changed from time to time. Configure SharePoint to send you alerts every time there’s a change in a specific item in a library. This way, you won’t have to go back to SharePoint and manually go through every site for changes.
7. Understand the Limitations of SharePoint
SharePoint may provide an incredibly functional and highly versatile platform, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have limitations. For instance, SharePoint may not be perfect when it comes to organizing the inventory management of your company. You may need other tools or applications.
Take the time to understand where SharePoint struggles in your organization. This way, you won’t waste time trying to force it to do something it wasn’t designed to do.
Learn Sharepoint Best Practices to Get the Most Out of It
As a leader in the CMS market, SharePoint can go a long way in transforming the way you manage content and collaborate in your organization. Whether you’re new to SharePoint or not, the best way to successfully utilize the platform is to learn SharePoint best practices and stick to them.
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