There is no more contested or challenging page on the intranet than the homepage. As it is the most visible page on the site, everyone wants their piece of the homepage.

There is also contention about the role of the intranet homepage:

• Should the homepage be mostly about news?
• Is navigation the key element?
• What tools should we surface on the homepage?
• How do we decide which links are included?

The many different stakeholders involved in the intranet will each have their own, potentially differing, opinions about these questions.

What is agreed is the importance of the homepage. It is the starting point for staff, and the jumping off point for the rest of the site. If the homepage doesn’t work well, then staff frustration will quickly be heard.

Time should therefore be spent carefully designing the homepage, and getting the balance of functionality right.

[October KM Column, read the full article]