So what do you get with SharePoint that requires zero customisation? First let’s define the difference between customisation and configuration.

Customisation is when you need to using developer tools like PowerShell, PnP, Power Automate etc to drastically enhance what the product can do.

Configuration is when you change a couple of default settings right in the browser that don’t affect any other element on the site.

For the purposes of this blog, we consider configuration and out of box activity. One would tweak the settings of elements to suit your needs.

Here’s 5 out of box, no code, no dev features :

01 Pages

You can make beautiful pages in SharePoint to make your site gorgeous, to use as online user manuals, and news posts. HOT TIP : Check out the SharePoint Lookbook for all the site design options for inspiration.

02 Document Libraries

You can create a document library in seconds and immediately start uploading documents into it. HOT TIP : Version control is on by default. Click the elipse on any doc and select Version History to see it.

03 Lists

You can create online list of data to capture and store clean data for various business purposes : telephone lists, project databases, sales deals databases, timesheets, task lists, audit management, etc.

HOT TIP : Create filters and views of your data for instant reporting.

04 Manage Permissions

You can restrict content to a very granular level with a bit of planning and understanding how the permissions model works. Manage all your site’s permissions from Settings > Site Permissions > Advanced Permissions. You can grant permissions on site level, list/library level, folder level and document level. Although we do not advocate that on document level, it’s a mess down there.

HOT TIP : Never delete the default Site Members, Visitors and Owners groups. They are there for a reason and provide a consistent experience across all site collections. You can add more if you need to though.

05 Site Usage Data

See how adoption of your sites is going on a month-to-month basis. HOT TIP : You can use this information as your body of evidence in your KPI’s / performance reporting. If SharePoint makes its way onto your KPI, don’t just state “I will create a site for my department”. That becomes a pure tickbox exercise. You could literally just give the site and name and technically have met your KPI. It doesn’t add any value.

However, if you say “I will increase the adoption of my site by 20% over the next 6 months”, it significantly changes the game. Now you need to think about strategies to get people to your site. Take screenshots at the end of every month and keep them so you can track the usage over time.