SharePoint Site Navigation: Best Practices and Tutorial

SharePoint is a powerful platform for collaboration and content management, but sometimes navigating through a SharePoint site can be a bit overwhelming. In this article, we will discuss best practices for SharePoint site navigation and provide a step-by-step tutorial to help you improve your SharePoint experience.

Why is SharePoint Site Navigation Important?

Effective site navigation is crucial for a successful SharePoint implementation. It helps users quickly find the information they need, improves user experience, and increases productivity. By following the best practices outlined in this article, you can ensure that your SharePoint site is easy to navigate and maximizes the value of your SharePoint investment.

Best Practices for SharePoint Site Navigation

1. Plan your site structure: Before creating a SharePoint site, it is important to carefully plan the site structure. Consider the hierarchy of your site and how different pages and libraries will be organized. This will help you create a logical and intuitive navigation structure.

2. Use consistent and descriptive navigation labels: Make sure to use clear and descriptive labels for your navigation links. Avoid generic labels like "Home" or "Documents" and instead use specific labels that accurately describe the content of the page or library.

3. Limit the number of navigation links: Having too many navigation links can overwhelm users and make it difficult to find the information they need. Try to limit the number of links in your navigation menu to a manageable amount, ideally less than 10.

4. Use sub-sites or site collections for large projects: If you are working on a large project that requires multiple libraries and pages, consider using sub-sites or site collections to organize the content. This will help keep your main site navigation clean and focused.

SharePoint Site Navigation Tutorial

Follow these steps to improve the navigation of your SharePoint site:

Step 1: Enable the SharePoint Publishing Feature

In order to take advantage of advanced navigation features in SharePoint, you need to enable the SharePoint Publishing feature. Here's how:

1. Go to the Site Settings of your SharePoint site.
2. Under Site Actions, click on Manage site features.
3. Scroll down and find the SharePoint Server Publishing feature.
4. Click on Activate to enable the feature.

Step 2: Create a Navigation Structure

Once the SharePoint Publishing feature is enabled, you can create a navigation structure for your site. Follow these steps:

1. Go to the Site Settings of your SharePoint site.
2. Under Look and Feel, click on Navigation.
3. In the Global Navigation section, select the option to use Managed Navigation.
4. Click on Create Term Set to create a new term set for navigation.
5. Add terms to the term set to represent the different pages or libraries in your site.
6. Arrange the terms in the desired order to define the navigation structure.

Step 3: Customize the Navigation Menu

Now that you have created the navigation structure, you can customize the navigation menu to match your site's branding and design. Here's how:

1. Go to the Site Settings of your SharePoint site.
2. Under Look and Feel, click on Navigation.
3. In the Current Navigation section, select the option to show the navigation menu.
4. Choose the desired display option for the navigation links, such as Quick Launch or Top Navigation.
5. Customize the style and appearance of the navigation menu using CSS or SharePoint Designer.

Step 4: Test and Iterate

Once you have set up the navigation structure and customized the navigation menu, it's important to test the navigation on different devices and user scenarios to ensure a seamless user experience. Gather feedback from users and iterate on the navigation design if necessary.

Conclusion

By following the best practices outlined in this article and using the SharePoint site navigation tutorial, you can create a well-structured and user-friendly SharePoint site. Effective site navigation will improve user experience, increase productivity, and maximize the value of your SharePoint investment.