An intranet for small businesses is a private website for your own staff. It holds company news, work instructions, forms and the answers to questions that would otherwise keep landing with you or a colleague. It pays off most when your team is growing, works across several locations, or has a lot of knowledge stuck in loose folders, emails and people's heads.
In this article you will learn when an intranet makes sense for a small or medium-sized business, which features you really need, which options there are and how to make sure staff actually use it.
What is an intranet?
An intranet is an internal website or web application that only people inside your organisation can access. Staff log in at the office, at home or on their phone while out and about. Unlike your regular website, it isn't meant for customers or Google, but for your own people.
At large organisations an intranet is often an extensive system. For small and medium-sized businesses it doesn't have to be. A good intranet for a team of ten to a hundred people is often small and clear: the most important information, easy to find.
An intranet doesn't have to do everything itself either. Often it is mainly a starting point: one place where staff begin and from where they click through to the schedule, time tracking or the CRM. That makes it valuable straight away, without replacing your existing systems.
Signs your business needs an intranet
- New employees ask the same questions, and onboarding takes a lot of time.
- Work instructions and protocols are scattered across folders, emails and WhatsApp groups.
- Nobody is quite sure which version of a document is the right one.
- Staff on site or in the field miss company news.
- Leave requests, expense claims and reports go through loose emails or paper forms.
- Knowledge sits with a few people. When they are ill or on holiday, work grinds to a halt.
Which features belong in an intranet for small businesses?
Choose features that solve a real problem. Commonly used parts are:
- News and announcements, with the option to pin important messages.
- A knowledge base with work instructions, protocols and FAQs, with good search.
- Documents and forms, always in the latest version.
- A staff directory showing who does what and how to reach them.
- Digital requests, such as leave, expenses or materials, with an approval step.
- An onboarding programme for new staff with a checklist.
- Links to the systems you already use, such as scheduling, time tracking or HR.
A smart addition is AI-powered search that answers questions based on your own documents. How that works is explained in our article on an AI knowledge base.
An example from the day-to-day of many small businesses: an installation company with engineers on the road. Work instructions are in a folder at the office, news goes through a WhatsApp group and leave is requested by email. With a simple intranet on their phone, an engineer finds the instruction on site, catches up on the news and requests leave in two taps. The office sees everything in one place.
Intranet for small businesses: which types are there?
Broadly, there are three routes:
- Extend what you already have: if you use Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, you can create a simple intranet with SharePoint, Teams or Google Sites. Advantage: no extra package. Disadvantage: it quickly gets messy if nobody looks after the structure.
- A standard intranet package: ready-made software you pay for per user per month. Quick to set up, but you adapt your way of working to the package.
- A custom intranet: a web application that fits your processes exactly and connects to your own systems. More work up front, but no unnecessary features and no per-user costs.
The trade-off is the same as with other software. In custom or off-the-shelf software you can read how to make that choice.
Intranet or employee app?
If your people mostly work on the move, on building sites, in care or behind the till, they rarely sit at a computer. Then an employee app or an intranet that can be installed as an app on the phone often works better. A web application can be built to work just as well at the office as on the phone.
How to set up an intranet your staff will actually use
An intranet stands or falls with use. An empty or outdated intranet is quickly forgotten. These steps help:
- Ask staff which information they search for most right now. Start with that.
- Appoint one owner per section who keeps the content up to date.
- Make logging in easy, preferably with the account staff already have.
- Put the intranet at the centre of daily work: stop sending news by email and share it through the intranet instead.
- Remove old folders and duplicate documents, so there is one source of truth.
- Start small, see what gets used and build from there.
Expect the first few weeks to need extra attention. Show people where things are, answer questions through the intranet itself and ask after a month what staff are missing or find unnecessary.
What to watch for with security and privacy
An intranet often holds internal documents and employee data. Make sure you have two-step login, permissions per role and a good backup. Only include employee data where needed and take GDPR (AVG in Dutch) into account. You can read more about working securely in secure software for SMEs.
Also arrange what happens when someone leaves. Their account must be switched off immediately, so former staff no longer have access to internal information. If the intranet is linked to your existing accounts, this happens automatically as soon as you disable the account in one place.
Having a custom intranet built by Violexa
At Violexa we build custom web applications, including internal portals and knowledge bases for teams. We start with what your staff are missing now and build a first version that helps straight away. A custom web application starts from €1,799 excl. VAT (€2,177 incl. VAT). For a more extensive intranet with integrations, you get a fixed price up front, in writing.
Curious whether an intranet would pay off for your business? Book a free quickscan. In 30 minutes, online or in person, we discuss how your team works now. Afterwards you get short written advice with a price indication, with no obligation.
Frequently asked questions
Does a small business need an intranet?
Not always. With a few people at one location, a shared folder is often enough. If your team is growing, you work in several places or onboarding takes a lot of time, an intranet helps bring knowledge and agreements together in one place.
Is SharePoint a good intranet for small businesses?
It can be, especially if you already use Microsoft 365. It does need someone to look after the structure, or it quickly gets messy. If you want specific processes or integrations, a custom solution is sometimes easier to use.
What is the difference between an intranet and an extranet?
An intranet is only for your own staff. An extranet also gives people outside your organisation access, such as customers, suppliers or partners. A customer portal is an example of an extranet.
