Tips to Avoid Common SharePoint Customization Mistakes

There are plenty of reasons which force organizations to commit mistakes when trying to develop customizations for SharePoint. Starting from simply not comprehending the product and utilizing the tools of code analysis which do not inform about the persisting problems. Customization for Dynamics SharePoint in Brisbane can turn into downtime, permanent deletion of documents, corrupted files as well as a compromise in security. There have been countless reports that highlight the huge cost that is incurred by organizations because of Microsoft dynamics SharePoint downtime. To avoid such scenarios and save cost and resources, it gets imperative that common SharePoint customization mistakes are avoided. Given below are a few important tips and points that can be followed to avoid common SharePoint customization mistakes.

Edit Master pages with due care

Master pages in SharePoint can simply be customized to alter the entire feel and appearance of the SharePoint environment. Customizing the master pages is desirable, however, simple errors within the code can pass on throughout the libraries as well as the lists. Thus, it becomes vital to exercise proper precautions because this can simply harm the customization and may well prove to be tough to find the source of the problem. Microsoft comes with updates for master pages via its product updates with SharePoint online. Thus, in the event of an update, it is highly likely that your SharePoint customization may stop functioning or might get vanished completely.

Therefore, to avoid this scenario, one of the best tips is to avoid making changes to default files. You can make changes within a new file name and deploy the same at a proper time. Additionally, you can utilize a version control system in the event that if the changes prove a little bit tricky, you can always revert original customization. On the contrary, if you decide to create master pages on your own, you will expect to include certain components. However, if the Microsoft alters the functionality that exists between distinct versions of the SharePoint, your master pages may become useless.

In spite of that, the ongoing recommendation suggests avoiding making changes to the master pages in entirety and utilize other methods such as alternate CSS or themes. Granted that this limits the possibilities a bit but will allow you to minimize the risk of things breaking unexpectedly while improving maintainability.

Consider your Entire Workforce during Customization

At the time of customizing SharePoint, the majority of organizations do not consider their entire workforce. This, in turn, results in ineffective implementation and compromises the flexibility and usability. Therefore, SharePoint implementation should take into consideration almost all workforces associated with the organization such as mobile workers and factory people. Also, a significant number of companies disallow their contractors and partners from using their internet.

Thus, if you admire the flexibility that Dynamics SharePoint in Perth offers, then surely this mistake should be avoided at all cost. Instead of disallowing a group of individual’s all together, you could simply utilize the permission levels based on the role and make available access which they really need.

Avoid Rewriting SharePoint functionality from the beginning

Developers are asked on regular basis to implement and come up with new features for SharePoint. However, often SharePoint has preloaded features that are much similar and give productivity. Therefore, restructuring something that has already been developed by Microsoft can prove unproductive. Also, your organization’s feature may have a greater possibility of having bugs as they may have tested by less number of people.

So, it is important and advisable that you avoid developing new features unless it is absolutely necessary. At most of the times, you can simply extend and enhance what already exists in the SharePoint in a less time and at a slightly reduced cost.

Get working with SharePoint Designer –

SharePoint Designer is an extremely useful tool for users to start editing their SharePoint environment. SharePoint Designer can offer you more control to simply make better your SharePoint website – put the logo precisely where you desire and place the navigation menu at a new spot. Additionally, SharePoint Designer provides you with an additional bit of power and you are not required to be a professional developer to use it.

Avoid being too relaxed with permissions to customize

A faulty SharePoint customization can result in a significant amount of resources in the form of time and money. Therefore, you should make sure to take the assistance of only SharePoint administrators to apply anything apart from the minor changes to the environment. It is important that you ensure a regular review of the existing permissions policy and take a decision on who could make changes to the environment.

Slightly smaller SharePoint customization mistakes may result in a wasted time that may go into fixing the problems. On the contrary, bigger customizations if not reviewed thoroughly and are not tested in a proper manner can cause damage to the entire SharePoint environment. Thus, it may take days or weeks troubleshoot the issues resulting from relaxed or inappropriate SharePoint customizations. This may lead your organization into spending significant amounts of cash and wasting quality time and hampering productivity.

The author writes on Microsoft Dynamics Technologies and other Microsoft products to help excited buyers understand the technologies better.