To evaluate SharePoint intranet solutions, first decide your approach — build it yourself, buy an out-of-the-box product/template, or have a partner design and deploy a portal — then score the options against the criteria that actually drive success: fit to your needs, ease of use and adoption, design and branding, governance and maintainability, Microsoft 365 integration, security, and total cost and time-to-launch. The best choice is the one that gets a portal your employees genuinely use, sustainably — which usually depends more on design and adoption than on raw features.
This guide lays out the three approaches, the criteria that matter, how to weigh build vs buy vs partner, and a practical evaluation process.
Three Ways to Build a SharePoint Intranet
There are broadly three paths:
- DIY (in-house): Your team builds it on SharePoint directly. Lowest external cost, but slow and dependent on internal expertise and time.
- Product / template (“intranet-in-a-box”): A pre-built SharePoint intranet product. Faster, but may constrain fit and still needs configuration.
- Partner-built portal: A specialist designs and deploys a portal tailored to you, with adoption support. Balances speed, fit, and usage.
The Criteria That Actually Matter
Score every option against these:
- Fit to your real needs (comms, documents, departments, workflows).
- Ease of use and likely adoption.
- Design and branding quality.
- Governance, ownership, and maintainability.
- Microsoft 365 integration depth.
- Security and permissions.
- Total cost and time-to-launch.
Build vs. Buy vs. Partner
|
Approach |
Speed |
Fit |
Adoption support |
|
DIY in-house |
Slow |
High (if you have skills) |
On you |
|
Product / template |
Fast |
Moderate |
Limited |
|
Partner-built |
Moderate–fast |
High (tailored) |
Strong |
Evaluating approaches? A partner-built SharePoint intranet portal balances speed, fit, and adoption — and our must-have features guide helps you score capabilities.
Why Adoption Should Drive the Decision
The hard truth about intranets: the best-built portal fails if employees do not use it. So adoption — driven by usability, relevant content, good design, and rollout support — should weigh heavily in your evaluation, often more than a long feature list. Ask of every option: will our people actually use this, and what will make them?
A Step-by-Step Evaluation Process
1. Define your requirements (comms, content, departments, integrations, governance).
2. Choose your approach (DIY, product, or partner) based on speed, fit, and capacity.
3. Shortlist options and score them against the criteria above.
4. Weight adoption factors heavily — usability, design, and rollout support.
5. Assess total cost and time-to-launch, not just licensing.
6. Pilot or review real examples before committing.
If you want a portal designed for fit and adoption rather than just switched on, Centric designs and deploys SharePoint intranet portals tailored to how your organization works.
Ready to evaluate with a clear framework? See the Centric SharePoint Intranet Portal or talk to the Centric team.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you evaluate a SharePoint intranet solution?
Decide your approach (build, buy a product, or partner-built), then score options on fit, ease of use and adoption, design, governance, Microsoft 365 integration, security, and total cost and time-to-launch. Weight adoption heavily, since an unused intranet delivers no value.
Should we build a SharePoint intranet ourselves or buy one?
DIY offers control but is slow and depends on internal skills; a product is fast but may constrain fit; a partner-built portal balances speed, tailored fit, and adoption support. Choose based on your capacity, timeline, and how much fit and adoption matter.
What is an “intranet-in-a-box”?
A pre-built SharePoint intranet product that gives you a starting template and features quickly. It speeds launch but may limit how well the portal fits your specific needs and still requires configuration and adoption work.
What matters most when choosing an intranet?
Adoption. The best-built intranet fails if people do not use it, so usability, relevant content, design, and rollout support should weigh heavily — often more than a long feature list.
Choose the right approach with confidence. Explore the Centric SharePoint Intranet Portal.
