SharePoint Online Roadmap Moves Fast

SharePoint is always being enhanced to make it the best platform for compelling and engaging intranet sites. The following are three ways that its roadmap moves fast:

1) Updates to SharePoint Online occur monthly.

2) Updates that need opted in or out have short timeframes for decision making purposes.

3) New functionality appears within a broad timeframe and a lot of times isn’t fully documented. Additionally, it leaves one with little time to customize documentation and create videos if applicable.

See the SharePoint Online official roadmap here:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=SharePoint

5 Key SharePoint Graphical User Interface Guidance Aspects

The following are five SharePoint graphical user interface guidance aspects:

1) Requirements documents

2) Control documents and drawings

3) Definition documents

4) Graphical user interface control plans

5) Graphical user interface management tasks

The 3 SharePoint Design Levels

The following are three SharePoint levels that are part of the design ecosystem:

First Level: This represents the top-level navigation, typically displayed as tabs across the top of a site.

Second Level: Below the top-level tabs, one has the second level. These are the sub-links associated with each tab. They provide more specific navigation within a category.

Third Level: The third level is indented or below the second level. It’s essentially the sub-sub-links associated with the second-level sub-links.

Top 3 Common SharePoint Fixes

The following are three common SharePoint fixes to consider:

• Permissions and Access Control Problems:
• SharePoint permissions are sometimes complex due to the hierarchical structure. Make sure that permissions are appropriately set to balance security and operational requirements.
• Address overly restrictive permissions that might hinder users’ productivity.
• Troubleshoot permission inheritance based issues.
• File Syncing Errors:
• If experiencing syncing issues, try the following:
• Check the internet connectivity.
• Update SharePoint and OneDrive clients.
• Clear the sync cache.
• Use the SharePoint Online Health Checker for diagnosis and resolution.
• Slow Site Performance:
• Identify the cause of slow performance in SharePoint Online.
• Optimize the SharePoint environment to improve speed.

4 Customizations for Hub and Local Navigation

The following are four customizations for hub and local navigation:

1. Change the Look: Customize the page’s navigation style, colors, and logo.
2. Edit Links: On a hub site, team site, or communication site, one can add, edit, or remove links on the navigation menu.
3. Audience Targeting: one can use modern SharePoint in Microsoft 365 to target navigational links to specific audiences.
4. Multilingual Support: One can setup a multilingual site name, navigation, and footer on communication sites.

3 Top Scenarios Using Power Automate with SharePoint Online

The following are the top three scenarios using Power Automate with SharePoint Online:

• Manage Approval Flows:
• Customize SharePoint Online page approvals as needed.
• Require approval of documents and other content in SharePoint Online using Power Automate.
• Route finished documents to a team for further approval.
• Work with Files and Lists:
• Manage list items and file based permissions.
• Move files to different folders or document libraries after they’re approved in SharePoint Online.
• Create an item in SharePoint Online when a new order or request is added in a supported system via the proper connector.
• Other Key Scenarios:
• Utilize HTTP requests to manage lists and libraries.
• Create SharePoint Online based reminder flows.

Top 3 Key Aspects Related to SharePoint That Are Useful

The following are three aspects related SharePoint that are useful:

• Information Architecture in SharePoint:
• Information architecture is key for organizing and labeling content in SharePoint. It includes aspects such as navigation, search, site hierarchy, taxonomy, and security.
• Key components:
• Global Navigational Structure: Top-level navigation spans the entire SharePoint tenant, including the home site of the Intranet.
• Hub Structure and Organization: Hubs group similar topics, tasks, and content together.
• Local Site and Page Navigation: These aspects link content within each site and page effectively.
• Metadata Architecture: Utilized with search, browsing, compliance, and retention policies.
• Search Experiences: Used for how the users consume information architecture.
• Personalized Content Experiences: Targets content for specific users or groups.
• External Sharing in SharePoint:
• Utilized for collaboration with vendors, clients, or customers.
• Allows the sharing of content with people outside the organization, making collaboration seamless and secure.
• SharePoint Tips & Tricks:
• In order to maximize productivity, utilize best practices and useful tips for SharePoint.
• Optimize workflows, managing permissions, and leveraging features such as MS Teams integration.

Top 3 Examples of SharePoint Intranet Homepages

The following are the top three SharePoint Intranet homepages that can inspire ones own design:

• Company-Wide Homepage:
• Such a homepage serves as the central hub for an organization. It unites employees by providing essential information, news, events, and resources.
• SharePoint Home Sites:
• SharePoint home sites are communication sites specifically designed to serve as the top portal for an organization.
• Custom Design and Look:
• Modern SharePoint Intranets can use vibrant custom design and aesthetics.
• Such designs can build consensus among managers.

3 Top Ways to Organize Links in SharePoint

The following are three ways to organize links in SharePoint:

Navigation Links:

In SharePoint Online’s modern experience, one can have up to three levels of navigation links (two levels of sub-links). For example, one can create a hierarchy such as:

Main Link

Sub-Link 1

Sub-Sub-Link 1.1

Sub-Sub-Link 1.2

Sub-Link 2

Sub-Sub-Link 2.1

Sub-Sub-Link 2.2

Featured Links on SharePoint Start Page:

From the app launcher, one can see the alphabetical list of all available Microsoft 365 apps.

Shareable Links in OneDrive and SharePoint:

A popular example is the Anyone links: Such links give access to the item to anyone who has the link.

Top 3 SharePoint Mistakes

The following are the top three SharePoint mistakes and how to avoid them:

• Neglecting to Implement a Governance Strategy:
• What is governance? Governance encompasses policies, roles, responsibilities, and processes that dictate how an organization’s departments work together to achieve common goals.
• Why is this important? A clear governance strategy leads to a successful roll-out and long-term usage of SharePoint. It contributes to adoption and change management, integrates business processes, and helps manage Microsoft 365 Groups.
• Solution: Develop a solid governance strategy which aligns with the organization’s goals and ensures effective collaboration and content management.
• Failing to Account for Change Management:
• What is change management? It is the discipline which guides how ti prepare, equip, and support individuals to successfully adopt change.
• Why is this important? A lack of change management leads to user resistance and hinders adoption.
• Solution: Create a change management strategy which prepares users for the transition, provides training, and supports throughout the process.
• Using Folders Instead of Metadata and Views:
• What’s the mistake? Some organizations replicate their existing folder structure from file shares directly into SharePoint libraries. However, this approach doesn’t fully leverage SharePoint’s capabilities.
• Why is this a problem? Folders can become unwieldy, making it hard to find and manage documents. Additionally, they don’t take advantage of metadata and views.
• Solution: Embrace metadata and views.

Top 3 Branding Aspects to Consider in SharePoint Online

The following are the top three branding aspects in SharePoint Online:

• Classic Experience vs. Modern Experience:
• In classic SharePoint Online, default themes require significant customization. Additionally, they are not responsive across different devices.
• Customizing classic sites involves using custom master pages or alternate CSS configurations. These can become problematic when SharePoint updates occur.
• Modern Site Branding:
• In a modern SharePoint Online experience, one can have more flexibility. Default site themes are responsive and therefore work on any device.
• One can customize the site’s logo and colors to match a brand without writing code.
• Additional branding can be achieved utilizing custom themes or site templates. Custom themes allow one to create additional color schemes, while site templates let one control customizations such as site navigation and default applications.
• Branding Hub Sites:
• When branding a SharePoint hub site, one can apply the site branding to any associated sites.

Top 3 SharePoint Sizing & Scaling Aspects

The following are the top three image sizing and scaling in SharePoint modern pages:

• Aspect Ratio:
• Relationship between the width and height of an image. It’s usually expressed as two numbers, such as 16:9 or 4:3.
• Images typically work best across layouts and devices when they have an aspect ratio of either 16:9 or 4:3.
• Column Layouts:
• SharePoint pages can have different column types and layouts, such as full-width columns, one column, two columns, three columns, and more.
• Overall, images expected to fill the width of a column is that they should be at least as wide as the column in which they are placed.
• Some width guidelines for different column layouts:
• Full-width column: 1920 pixels
• One column: 1204 pixels
• Two columns: 586 pixels per column
• Three columns: 380 pixels per column
• One-third left column: 380 pixels for the left column; 792 pixels for the right column
• Automatic Scaling:
• Modern pages and web parts are fully responsive across devices. Automatic image scaling ensures a proper experience on mobile devices.
• Images are resized and cropped automatically to display a result across various devices and layouts.