When advising clients on intranet design, have you considered the benefits offered by intranet templates? Some clients and designers are put off using intranet templates in the mistaken belief that their intranet will be exactly the same as everyone else’s. There are, however, a number of advantages to using intranet templates from the perspective of both the client and designer. So if you haven’t considered using an intranet template before, then read on to find out what they have to offer you and your clients.
Intranet Templates Make Deployment Quicker
There’s no getting away from it, designing an intranet from scratch is a time consuming process. And quite how time consuming may not have been fully appreciated by your client. The client may be somewhat alarmed to discover that an intranet implementation they envisaged would take a couple of weeks, may in fact take several long months and many false starts before it’s ready to go live.
With an intranet template the fact that there is an existing design to work with makes for a much quicker deployment. In our time poor working lives, the ability to get an intranet portal up and running in a matter of days rather than months is a considerable advantage. From the perspective of the designer, the quicker and easier deployment mitigates the sometimes abortive work that can be a consequence of long, drawn out design projects. It is, therefore, a much less risky investment of time and effort.
Customizable Solution
If you think that intranet templates are a one size fits all option then you’d be mistaken. A good intranet template allows designers to customize the design using colors, logos and brands that fit with the client’s business. In this way, the intranet can reflect the look and feel of the company’s main website, social media presence and existing marketing materials. For the company’s employees, it will be instantly recognized as belonging to the same family.
Customization doesn’t just mean company colors and branding either. It also means that the modules, pages and applications can be tailored to the client’s needs. So if for instance, your client has no need for the quizzes and surveys module, then it’s a simple task to take out that feature. Likewise, additional pages and modules can be quickly and easily added to the template if relevant for that particular business.
Tried And Tested Features
Intranet templates have been developed over several years. They have been tried and tested by many businesses and have a proven capability and functionality. Why waste your time or your client’s on reinventing the wheel?
There are a great many intranet features and pages that will be applicable to most businesses. Having an internal staff directory, for instance, is likely to be a feature that all companies will want for their intranet. So too will a latest news feature, document management system, corporate calendar, company blog and so on. With an intranet template, all these key features are already there, just waiting for your customization. There’s no need for you to start from the beginning and take the risk of developing features that the client subsequently decides not to go with.
Mobile Friendly Templates
Another great advantage of intranet templates is that they have already been optimized for smartphones and tablets. A mobile-first, ground-up methodology means that intranet templates meet the needs of mobile users first and foremost. So rather than trying to design an intranet that will also work on small screens, intranet templates have been designed to meet the unique needs of mobile users from the outset. Given that the world of work is changing with more remote and flexible working arrangements, having a mobile friendly intranet will be a must for your client.
Simple User Management
With an intranet template model, the user management system is already in-built. A designer building an intranet from scratch will have to decide how to layer permissions and create access for specific roles within the organization. With an intranet template, however, the basic management tools are already there and it’s a case of modifying the system to reflect the needs of the specific organization. This is a great time saver from the point of view of both the client and the designer.
Proven Security
Incorporating security features that will safeguard confidential data and client information is a tricky job for an intranet designer who will be required to be on top of the very latest trends in internet security. When you work with an intranet template, by comparison, you already have a variety of security features in place. These offer protection against both internal threats as well as external ones. Internal safeguards already incorporated into the intranet template include robust user and role permission management and access controls. In terms of external threats, readily available security features include the latest secure socket layer encryption technology as well as the most up-to-date anti-virus software.
The great advantage of intranet templates, therefore, is that the client can have confidence that their important and sensitive company information is as secure as it possibly can be. And the intranet designer can be confident that the security features are the most up to date and reflect best practice standards.
Make Your Life Easier!
As you can see, intranet templates have a lot to offer intranet designers and their clients that you may not have at first thought of. The proven capabilities of the intranet template make an inherently less risky option for designers. The customizable elements mean that the intranet will be completely different from any other and will be readily identifiable as belonging to that particular company. Couple this with the speed of deployment and it’s tried and tested features and an intranet template could well be the solution your clients are looking for.
Are you interested in finding out more about how intranet templates can make your life easier? Contact the team at MyHub today for a no-obligation consultation.
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