6 Areas You Need to Master Before Building SharePoint Online Portals
SharePoint on-premises, as well as SharePoint Online portals, are widely utilized to build intranet portals. When looking from an infrastructure point of view, SharePoint Online has some differences and thus it is essential to understand certain aspects while building SharePoint Online Portals. SharePoint Online has grown in remarkable ways since its launch and more people are utilizing it for making intranet portals today. There could be performance issues if the SharePoint Online portals are built in the same way as with SharePoint on-premises.
Consider the following information carefully to develop well-performing portals from the SharePoint Online Platform.
Information Architecture
Having a proper information architecture is a must have for your portal to perform well. Detailed planning is the best way to achieve an optimal structure. Poor user adoption and performance issues are the main drawbacks that might occur if this area is not mastered properly.
Performance
Consider performance guidelines for client-side web applications and make an understanding of the evolution of SharePoint Online Customization Model. Client-Side Data Access Layer (DAL) Framework is also something you need to be aware of to get the performance area in good shape.
Navigation
Implementing a navigation system is a must-do process for portals. According to the project requirements, out of the box navigation components, or custom navigation components can be leveraged. You can also choose to accomplish a combination of the both in some cases.
Branding
When branding portals in a SharePoint Online Portals, you need to follow all general principles and branding requirements applicable. However, ensure that you do not override the Office 365 Suite Bar Branding. Utilize custom master pages to implement your custom branding by default. You can also customize branding for personal sites.
Content Aggregation
Creating a good awareness about techniques and best practices for content aggregation is essential. You should also have a good awareness of various cons in using real-time content aggregation.
Deployment
Everyone will be in a hurry to deploy the portal once it is finished after going through all the stages. Picking the right model of deployment is important. Look at the past deployment strategies and compare it with the currently recommended strategy. Utilizing a phased roll-out plan and telemetry is the recommended deployment model now. Master all the areas and go create a wonderful SharePoint Online Portal.
