SharePoint web parts are incredibly powerful. They let you build pages that genuinely help your team. Display news, surface documents, show events, create navigation. All without needing technical expertise.
The thing is, a few smart choices make the difference between a page that feels effortless and one that feels cluttered.
Most intranet teams start with good intentions. Add a news feed, throw in quick links, include a calendar, embed a video or two. But pages build up over time. You add a web part here, another there, and suddenly load times are slow and people can't find what they're looking for. SharePoint hasn't failed you. A bit of purposeful curation just makes everything work better.
The real wins come from knowing what actually matters to your audience.
Is that news feed being read? Are people using those quick links? Does that calendar genuinely help anyone?
If a web part isn't earning its place, remove it. Your page gets faster. People find what they need. Everyone wins.
Same goes for accessibility. Proper heading structure, alt text on images, keyboard navigation. These aren't compliance boxes to tick. They're how you ensure your intranet works for everyone. And honestly, the simpler and cleaner your layout, the more naturally accessible it becomes.
SharePoint's built-in web parts are solid and reliable. They do the job. If you want even richer targeting, personalisation and design flexibility tailored specifically to internal communications, that's where custom options come in. But the foundation works best when you're choosing thoughtfully, building for clarity and testing on mobile.
What works best on your intranet? What's made the biggest difference for your team?
