How to Set Up SharePoint for Small Businesses

Microsoft SharePoint is a leading document management and collaborative software, and it is essential for businesses moving towards more remote and home-based models.

The best way to understand how to set up SharePoint is to obtain Microsoft SharePoint training certification. If you want a basic overview of what that process looks like, keep reading. 

What Is SharePoint?

At its core, SharePoint is a web-based platform created by Microsoft to allow businesses to automate things like document approval and task assignment. To achieve this, you can create workflows in SharePoint that utilize ‘if/then’ logic. SharePoint simplifies the control, access, and sharing of business details through a unified web platform that’s accessible to every user. This, in turn, increases productivity and helps keep data and users organized.

Additionally, it offers a suite of tools and resources that enable users to create, edit, and share any form of media concerning the business, while ensuring version control and security. This centralization of data and documents simplifies workflows, minimizes confusion, and reduces the risk of data loss.

In today’s fast-paced business environment, understanding what SharePoint’s capabilities can elevate the productivity of your business.

What Is the Best Way to Set Up SharePoint?

Creating your first SharePoint site is fairly straightforward, and we’ll walk you through the process.

Planning

There are two types of SharePoint sites to choose from for your business: SharePoint Online and SharePoint Server. SharePoint Online is a cloud-based service that is part of Microsoft 365, and SharePoint Server is installed locally on your company’s servers. 

You’ll have to determine your business requirements for the SharePoint site, including what you want to use it for, who will have access to it, and what features you need. Here are four major features to research and consider:

• Office Applications
• Business Intelligence
• Project Syntex
• Yammer

Be sure to check out our post on what’s new in SharePoint 365 Online to learn about upcoming features. 

Create a SharePoint Site

After you have subscribed to a SharePoint plan appropriate for your business, you can create your first site.

From the SharePoint home screen, click on ‘Create Site,’ and choose either Team sites or Communication sites. Employees use team sites for collaboration, and organizations use communication sites to broadcast important information. Pick a template that suits your company’s needs, or create one from scratch.

Customize Your Site

The next step is to give your site a title and a description to communicate its purpose. For better security, you can set site privacy to ‘Private,’ which will allow only team or group members to access it.

Next, add members to your site by adding their names and e-mail addresses, and click ‘Finish.’ Your site should be live now. You can make further visual changes to your website at any time.

What Can SharePoint Do for Your Business?

SharePoint is a powerful platform for small businesses, providing a centralized location to share and access business files and documents from anywhere, on any device. 

Real-time collaboration features allow for seamless teamwork, eliminating the need for multiple document versions. SharePoint also streamlines business processes with workflows and task assignments, reducing the need for email communication.

Finally, the platform’s comprehensive search feature makes it easy to find documents quickly, while its security settings and compliance features keep business data secure.

How Much Does It Cost to Set Up SharePoint?

When buying a Microsoft SharePoint subscription, there are two plans to choose from:

Plan One

This plan is designed for small and mid-sized businesses. It comes with one terabyte of OneDrive storage, as well as other essential features that you can check out on their website.

This plan will cost you five U.S. dollars per user, charged every month. However, an annual commitment is necessary.

Plan Two

This plan comes with additional storage, along with other features necessary for a large-scale business. It’ll cost $10 per month for every user.

Final Thoughts

SharePoint is a powerful tool if used correctly. If you have a small business or are thinking of starting one, reach out to ONLC today to find out if SharePoint can help you increase your productivity and achieve your dreams!