An overview of SharePoint for business

Did you ever wish there was a way to communicate better with your employees? SharePoint for businesses is Microsoft’s solution, allowing you to build bespoke websites that house news, updates, project areas and portals.

As an IT consultancy based in Leicester, it’s something we encourage organisations of all sizes to think about when managing their teams – a dedicated place to keep them in-the-know about what’s happening around your company. Read on to find out how SharePoint works and how to use it for your business.

How SharePoint for business works

SharePoint allows you to build your own site from scratch. You can choose between three templates – Topic (for news and events), Showcase (for products and events) or Blank (for a bespoke design). Topic is the most popular, and Microsoft’s default option. Some of the advantages of SharePoint include:

• Building and editing huge document libraries 
• Customising layouts, themes and navigation 
• Creating and removing web pages
• Linking to an existing website or navigation 

On the Topic template, you have three sections: Hero (for featured images), News (for sharing blogs and links) Events (with a built-in calendar) and Documents (for editing and opening documents or showcasing those in a library or website).

On the Showcase template, the Hero section has more options, and you can also feature a gallery on the page.

Finally, the Blank template lets you build your ideal website by choosing a layout and then selecting the relevant blocks – like calendar, gallery or news – for a more tailored experience. 

With a range of templates to work from, you don’t need previous experience to set up your new site.

Why (and how) to use SharePoint for business

SharePoint for businesses is an easy way to share information with large groups of people – even across the whole of your business. Whether it’s a designated intranet page for all your business news and updates, or a one-off website for a product launch, project or event, there are countless ways to inform, engage and inspire your employees. 

As for how to use SharePoint websites, it’s easy:

• Consider the reason for using the website first, and what you want visitors and viewers to do when they’re there.
• Write and design content in a way that works for your audience. This includes creating sites in multiple languages, if needed.
• Outline your navigation, so users know where they are, what they can do while there, and where to go next.
• Build and create according to any applicable governance, as well as accessibility needs. Permissions are key here, so consider who will have control (owners), who will have set permissions (members) and who will have access (visitors)

Setting up SharePoint with Aurora

Working smarter and more efficiently is on every business tick-list, and SharePoint allows you to do just that. Where we come in is setting up your Microsoft Sharepoint license – so you’re then free to create the right sites for your business. Then, once you’re up and running, you can rely on Aurora’s IT consultancy based in Leicester for IT support, or even other solutions that can make your workplace more productive and streamlined. 

To get started, contact us or visit our LinkedIn business page for more about the team and how we can help.