Maximize Your SharePoint Experience: Best Practices for Effective Content Management

SharePoint stands out as one of the best content management systems available today. Many organizations start with SharePoint for basic content management, only to discover its vast potential to enhance collaboration and efficiency across various functions.

With its extensive features, SharePoint streamlines content management by preventing document duplication, providing version control, and facilitating easy storage and mobility of documents. Once a document is created in SharePoint, multiple users can access and edit it simultaneously. To fully harness the power of SharePoint, consider the following best practices recommended by 1Point1’s SharePoint development experts.

Practice 1: Establish a Simple Document Folder Structure

Begin by creating a document folder structure that resembles a tree. This high-level site map should be simple, ideally no more than two or three levels deep. A straightforward structure enhances navigation and simplifies the search process within SharePoint.

Practice 2: Design a Sitemap Based on Organizational Divisions

Create a sitemap that reflects different divisions within your organization, such as:

• Payroll Management
• Candidate Information
• Production
• Planning
• Procurement
• Supply Chain
• Quality
• Design Development
  • Functional Requirements
  • Preliminary CAD Drawings
  • Approved Design Drawings
  • Materials and Part Drawings

Design SharePoint with multiple sites and subsites to align with this simple tree structure. For instance, create a dedicated site for development and testing, and establish subsites for various functions within these departments. Sync only the required sites to SharePoint Workspace to enable offline access. Utilize the standard SharePoint menu for easy content access, especially when using mobile apps like SharePlus.

Practice 3: Implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

Make use of SharePoint’s RBAC features to classify public and private documents within each library or folder. This practice enhances security by ensuring that confidential information is accessible only to a specific list of authorized individuals.

Practice 4: Optimize Navigation Settings

Set the navigation options on the site page to display a list of subsites for easy access. Consider creating a view that presents a tree view of the subsites when accessed. You can also enhance navigation with third-party plugins to create deeper navigation levels, improving user experience.

Practice 5: Utilize Content Types for Meta-Tagging

Implement content types for meta-tagging documents. Providing document attributes or meta-tags makes searching for uploaded documents in SharePoint easier and more efficient. Rely on meta tags instead of creating extensive network folders.

Practice 6: Set Up Security Features and Alerts

Utilize SharePoint’s security features by setting up alerts for document libraries. Alerts can be configured at both the library and document levels to notify the document owner of any changes or deletions, enhancing oversight and control.

Practice 7: Efficiently Use Version Control and Check-Out Features

Leverage SharePoint’s version control and check-out features to manage document versions effectively. Be mindful that maintaining multiple versions consumes memory. Enabling check-out prevents simultaneous modifications by multiple users, ensuring document integrity.

Practice 8: Take Advantage of Office Web Client Tools

One of the significant advantages of using SharePoint for document management is the ability to view and edit official documents online via the Office web client tool, eliminating the need for installed MS Office software on your computer. SharePoint Server 2013 also includes policies for auditing and document retention.

Conclusion

1Point1 has been a leader in providing digital enterprise solutions for years, particularly in SharePoint development. If you're looking for a reliable SharePoint development partner to enhance your content management strategy, your search ends here. Contact us today!

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