Forget about colors, images and intranet features. Intranet design begins with a thorough and documented understanding of employee needs and requirements. Intranet design shouldn’t be led by a creative team, intranet design must be led by a business team or an experience intranet consultant.

An intranet is not a website. If redesigning an intranet was as easy as throwing together some new graphics, the work could be done by buying Microsoft Templates, much like PowerPoint. 

Redesigning an Intranet requires a completely different approach to design than a consumer website (or mobile site, or mobile app). For starters, typical websites are primarily marketing vehicles, created with the purpose of selling a product, a service, an idea, a concept. Never make that mistake with your intranet. Employees do not want to be sold anything. Ever. Employees use the intranet to find information, as fast as they can. And management uses the intranet to engage employees in the business – often with highly relevant, targeted communication.

Your focus as an intranet manager must be on speed, access and content. Employees want information fast. They want it on all their devices. And they want it tailored to their specific situation.

Continue reading, from the Intranet Experts at Prescient Digital Media, Intranet Design Fundamentals

For intranet design examples and case studies see 7 Intranet Design Examples Loved by Employees