Sharepoint is a highly customizable platform. We are often asked how to make SharePoint align with the look and feel of brand standards of the client. Without a doubt, the visual aesthetics are an important element of the finished product. But these efforts can be costly and often distract from important questions about function.
Success with SharePoint should ultimately be measured by how much business value it delivers to the organization. A well-developed SharePoint site should be impactful in both function and form, with a keen focus on helping users reach their objectives easily and intuitively.
The following are some guidelines for properly aligning SharePoint customization initiatives with business objectives and goals.
Understand the Difference Between UI and Functionality Changes
Changing your sites’ functionality involves altering its inner workings so that it behaves a certain way, while UI changes deal with how visual elements appear on the surface level. For example, replacing a SharePoint drop-down menu with another navigation item constitutes a functionality change, while changing the way the menu looks (e.g., colors or fonts) represents a change in the UI. Knowing the difference between the two is crucial for prioritizing customization needs.
Identify Branding Objectives
The purpose of extensive branding efforts is to ensure that your SharePoint site matches the expectations of what users — both internal and external — have of the user experience and functionality. Again, more complex motivations should be in play here that transcend UI concerns. For example, a company known for easy-to-use products may damage its brand’s reputation by launching an unwieldy SharePoint site — no matter how visually stunning it may be. Branding is a holistic activity that involves much more than changing colors and logos — it includes optimizing how your site functions on the underlying layers as well. Determining your branding objectives is, therefore critical to building a solid foundation around the site’s functionality.
Avoid UI Design for the Sake Of Design
Whether it involves form, function or both — SharePoint customization requires significant resources and can get expensive. You need to conduct appropriate cost/benefit analyses when evaluating projects for UI design change. These aren’t trivial undertakings (i.e., it takes more than a couple hours) and should be weighed against the perceived business benefits. And while there’s no question that out-of-the-box SharePoint installations leave much to be desired, budget-conscious firms are well-advised to consider functionality enhancements that might yield greater business benefits.
Prioritize Your SharePoint Concerns
In most cases, your money is better spent enhancing the SharePoint’s functionality, as opposed to sprucing up its default UI.
Consider this: a highly functional SharePoint site with an out-of-the-box UI will still help employees accomplish their business objectives. In contrast, a SharePoint site with a polished UI that functions terribly brings little to no business value to the organization.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make any changes to the UI. But once functionality concerns are addressed, it will be very clear what additional changes should be made to align the UI with your brand look and feel.
Final Thought
Getting caught up in aesthetics and how not to make SharePoint look like SharePoint detracts from the important question of how to make SharePoint not behave like SharePoint — which ultimately, is the better question to ask.
Learn more about turning your intranet around by downloading our free e-book, Designing A User-Centered Intranet For SharePoint Online.
