Best practices to improve SharePoint site usability

  • 4 minutes

Accessibility should be a component of the design process you consider before work on any SharePoint site begins. While site innovation is important, predictability is essential. When you make the navigation on your site easy to understand and predictable, it's more accessible to everyone. Designing sites with accessibility in mind helps to make your sites accessible no matter:

  • The device or input method someone may be using (for example, desktop browser, voice browser, mobile phone browser, automobile-based computer, and so on).

  • The constraints under which someone may be operating (for example, noisy surroundings, rooms with varying degrees of illumination, hands-free driving environments, and so forth).

When anyone creates content for the web or a company intranet site, and they are committed to making it accessible to people with disabilities, they must follow certain accessibility guidelines. Best practices include doing the following, at a minimum:

  • Identify your company's accessibility policies, requirements, and guidelines to which you must conform when building sites, including customized sites in SharePoint Online.

  • Get in touch with the accessibility contact in your organization and discuss the implications of customizing your site. Ask them to recommend tools for testing your site's accessibility.

  • Share your content plans with your accessibility contact and have them assess your plans and site customization progress at regular intervals to avoid potential accessibility roadblocks.

  • Talk with people in your organization who have disabilities. Ask for their opinion about your plans to customize your site in SharePoint Online. They may be able to provide insights into the daily challenges they face when using websites, in general, and the specific problems they encounter when using intranet sites—both of which will help you set realistic goals.

When ready to customize your site while keeping it accessible. Here are some suggested articles: