5 intranet best practices based on real-world challenges

If you’re planning your intranet strategy, knowing what works (and what doesn’t) is key. That’s why we’ve pulled together five intranet best practices based on new survey data from ThoughtFarmer customers.

These tips reflect the real challenges and priorities teams are facing, and they’re designed to help you build an intranet that informs, connects, and engages employees.

Want the full picture? Download our 2026 State of the Intranet report.

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2026 State of the Intranet Report

Survey results, key insights, and top opportunities for intranet success

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Top 3 intranet challenges revealed in our 2026 report

Our recent customer survey uncovered several emerging trends on intranet priorities and challenges.

Here are three most commonly reported challenges that stood out:

51% shared that getting employees to regularly visit the intranet is hard 

The top challenge cited is sustaining employee visits and engagement. We all know that driving long-term behavioral change can be difficult. Some organizations find it hard to shift staff away from long-standing habits and alternate channels, like email or chat, for critical workplace information.

46% said keeping intranet content up-to-date is a challenge

Updated, relevant content is the cornerstone of a good intranet. Disparate content, employee turnover, and lack of clear ownership can make it challenging to keep content fresh and organized. 

42% indicated that it’s a challenge to find the right information 

Content discoverability is often a challenge that requires continuous improvement to address.  Inconsistent tagging and search results bogged down by stale content can make it difficult for staff to locate important information.

These challenges aren’t the only ones. Get the 2026 State of the Intranet report to see the full list.

5 best practices to improve your intranet in 2026

With these challenges in mind, it’s clear that building a successful intranet in 2026 is about more than just publishing more content. Organizations need a strategic, methodical approach that addresses the multi-faceted challenges intranets face. 

To help you boost intranet adoption and engagement in 2026, we’ve captured five of our favorite intranet best practices below. Each of these strategies is designed to help you overcome the challenges discussed in this article (and in our report), focusing on creating engaging experiences, keeping content fresh and updated, and improving discoverability. 

Do these tips work? Absolutely. They are all inspired by our actual customer’s wins and successes, you can rest assured these are tried and true tactics we stand behind.

1. Redesign your intranet homepage with rotating news, recognition, and must-see content

A great homepage sets the tone for your entire intranet. Think of your homepage as your staff’s home base. It’s where they log on for the day, find out what’s new, and navigate to the important resources they need to perform their jobs. Taking the time to get your homepage right is well worth it. 

Homepage additions to boost intranet engagement

• Customized role-based content: tailor the homepage experience to each employee’s needs and responsibilities.
• Automatic rotating news carousel: display stories relevant to each employee’s area of interest
• Employee shout-outs, spotlights, and peer recognition: celebrate achievements and bring staff together
• Must-read content labels: make it easy for employees to know what they need to review
• Culture-building highlights: showcase what matters most to your organization, whether that be your company-wide goals or a video from your recent all hands meeting

Remember, your homepage isn’t set-it-and-forget-it. You should regularly review your intranet analytics to see what’s resonating and getting the most engagement. We recommend using these insights to make tweaks and optimizations over time to continually improve the homepage experience.

2. Implement a structured content review process to keep content relevant and accurate

Our 2026 intranet survey asked customers their top intranet challenges. To nobody’s surprise? Keeping current content up to date was one of the most common perpetrators. 

Without structured content management, your intranet content will degrade over time. As content becomes less accurate, staff will lose trust and stop using your intranet. 

How to create a formal content review process

• Scheduled content reviews: Set automatic reminders that alert content managers when it’s time to give content a once-over and refresh (schedule automatic reminders in ThoughtFarmer!)
• Content audit reports: Track engagement with content over time, and determine what’s still relevant, and what needs to be updated or removed
• Auto-archiving: Automatically archive time-bound content, like meeting notes or completed project pages, to make your intranet easier to navigate

With these steps in place, you can ensure your intranet remains a trusted source of information for your team.

3. Improve search and navigation to streamline information discovery 

When building a successful intranet, don’t just focus on making great content. Make sure to consider how staff will discover your content, whether that’s through your navigation, links, or search. 

Intuitive discoverability makes it easy for employees to find what they need when they need it. Providing a better, frictionless experience helps you grow intranet engagement and adoption in the long term.

Tips to make your intranet content easily accessible

• Leverage intranet search analytics: Track the terms employees are searching for the most. This can reveal what staff are struggling to find through your existing pages, quick links, or navigation
• Implement a standard tagging system: Create and use a consistent set of tags to link related content and improve search results. Start small, too many tags can become overwhelming and confusing
• Redesign your navigation based on current priorities: Ensure your menus and page structures support and reflect current company goals and your most-accessed content
• Add quick links to high-level pages: Keep your most popular pages just one click away to save staff time and frustration

4. Decentralize content creation to empower staff to create more content 

A comprehensive intranet needs a team effort. Yet many organizations struggle to get employees involved in creating and sharing content. If you’re relying on a single “intranet manager” to create and maintain content, your intranet will quickly become stale or one-dimensional. 

Decentralizing content creation not only alleviates information-sharing bottlenecks, but it also ensures your intranet reflects the full breadth of voices, roles, and expertise across your organization.

How to empower staff to become content creators

• Host periodic training sessions: Teach employees how to use your intranet’s content-related features so they feel confident contributing. Highlight intranet AI features that can help create and enhance content
• Appoint department-level content managers: Ensure every team, region, or business unit is represented by assigning a content lead
• Build a template library: Provide pre-designed blocks and page layouts to make content creation less intimidating
• Create an internal blog: Give employees a space to share project updates, wins, learnings, or stories that build authentic connection

5. Ensure content speaks to staff across your entire organization – from head office to frontline staff 

Hybrid workforces, cross-country offices, and frontline teams can make it challenging to ensure everyone feels connected to your company culture. Your intranet can play a powerful role in bringing employees together no matter where they work, what their role is, or how often they’re at a desk.

Strategies to create an intranet that reaches every corner of your organization

• Offer a mobile intranet app: Give deskless employees an easy way to stay connected, access updates, and participate in company conversations
• Showcase your mission, vision, and values: Proudly display what your organization stands for right on your homepage to keep it top of mind
• Highlight people-focused moments: Feature birthdays, work anniversaries, and new employee welcomes to help staff feel seen and supported
• Gather feedback with polls and online forms: Use quick pulse checks to measure how your culture is resonating and identify where more support or clarity is needed

Get more insights with the 2026 State of the Intranet report

Implementing these five intranet best practices can help you address the top challenges organizations face for the new year. While they provide a strong foundation, there’s even more you can do to optimize your intranet experience this coming year.

Our 2026 State of the Intranet report dives even deeper, sharing data-driven insights from our customer survey, and revealing interesting trends and even more challenges that lie ahead. With input from organizations across healthcare, financial services, engineering, and more. Inside, you’ll discover:

• The top intranet challenges, including adoption, content management, and culture building
• Practical strategies you can implement immediately to improve engagement and usability
• Insights on how organizations are exploring AI to enhance intranet experiences

Download the full report to uncover all the data, challenges, and opportunities shaping the future of intranets.