Over 2 Years to Build a Top 10 Intranet? Really? Somebody had a Big Budget!
The Top 10 Intranets of 2022 took an average of over two years to build, but why? Why start from scratch when there are already exceptional intranets out there? Instead of reinventing the wheel, you can learn from the best, study their approaches, and replicate their success. Investing two years in such a project is not only unnecessarily time-consuming but also wasteful.
Building an intranet doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. In fact, you can manage the entire process in-house without the need for costly consultants – and we should know, we're consultants ourselves! Here's a simple four-step approach:
Educate the Steering Committee:
The success of your intranet project hinges on a knowledgeable and empowered steering committee. Comprised of middle managers familiar with operational processes, this committee needs an "awareness" level understanding of Microsoft 365, its components, and how organizations are using the platform. (10 hours over 2 weeks)
Design an Intranet Specification:
Begin with a clear goal and scope strategy statement, which could focus on process automation, document management, corporate communications, or a combination of the three. Choose Microsoft "LookBook" templates for your intranet's top site and departmental sites. Develop and document a comprehensive intranet blueprint that identifies department sites, process sites, and resource sites, along with the M365 groups that will govern access to each site. This specification can then be put out to bid or quickly assembled in-house. (10 hours over 2 weeks)
Build the Intranet:
Using your design specification as a guide, this phase involves assembling the intranet rather than discovering what to do. Deploy the top site, apply your company's color scheme, and make it a hub. In the active directory, create M365 groups for each employee working group (this will also generate generic SharePoint sites and connected Teams). Start with the LookBook departmental template you chose and use tools like ShareGate to "Copy and Paste" templates onto all department sites, process sites, and resource sites. Collaborate with department site owners in online meetings to enrich all the department sites with their initial content and import key documents into the new departmental SharePoint libraries. (30 hours over 2 weeks)
Migrate More Content:
At this stage, many organizations turn to their network shared drives and disorganized legacy M365 storage to curate and migrate content into their new intranet.
If you find it challenging to accomplish all this within a couple of months, you might need external assistance. However, be cautious of organizations that want to start from scratch.
It's faster and significantly more cost-effective to educate your team, review top examples, document the functions and structures relevant to your business, and replicate them. Sounds too good to be true? It isn't.
We offer free videos and instructions on how to do it yourself, or we can provide help if you need assistance.
Back to the INSIGHTS catalog
About Jack Frost Design
We’re entering an era of astonishing change—where AI isn’t just a tool, it’s a shift in how work gets done. At Jack Frost Design, we help organizations ride that wave with confidence. With five decades of experience guiding clients through digital upheaval, we now focus on preparing Microsoft 365 environments for the Copilot era—where structure, clarity, and training turn potential into momentum.
We don’t tame the future. We help you ride it—with your hands on the reins.
👉 Discover how we make Copilot real-world ready: jackfrostdesign.com/why-safe-zones
👉 Take the 1-minute Strategy Fit Test: jackfrostdesign.com/strategy-fit-test
👉 Join an upcoming webinar: jackfrostdesign.com/webinars
Follow us for insight, clarity, and Copilot strategies that scale:
🔗 LinkedIn | 🐦 Twitter/X | 📺 YouTube
#AISafeZones #StrategicRelationalAI #EnterpriseAI #AIAdoption #CopilotReady #Microsoft365 #GovernanceMatters #JackFrostDesign #DigitalTransformation #LandingZones