Intranet Site Structure Review
Review an intranet site’s structure, navigation, permissions, and page lifecycle in one place so teams can spot findability gaps before they spread.
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Overview
This intranet site structure review template helps you inspect a site as a whole, not just individual pages. It is designed to capture the pieces that determine whether people can find and trust content: site purpose, page inventory, navigation, permissions, ownership, lifecycle status, and any structural gaps that create dead ends or duplicate paths.
Use it when a team site, department site, company site, project site, or knowledge base starts to feel cluttered, inconsistent, or hard to maintain. It is especially useful after a reorganization, before a migration, or when content owners are asking why users keep landing on outdated pages. The template supports a hub-and-spoke view of the site so you can check whether landing pages, child pages, and supporting pages are organized around a clear user task or audience.
Do not use it as a substitute for a page-level content edit or a full accessibility audit. If the site is already small and stable, a lighter checklist may be enough. But if the site has multiple owners, mixed page types, or unclear permissions, this review gives you a repeatable way to identify what belongs, what needs relabeling, what should be archived, and what should be moved into a better home. The result is a cleaner site structure that is easier to navigate, easier to govern, and easier to keep current.
Standards & compliance context
- Use the review to support WCAG 2.1 AA by checking that navigation, labels, and page structure are consistent and understandable.
- Confirm that audience-restricted pages follow your organization’s privacy, HR, or records-retention rules before they are published or linked.
- If the site contains policy or regulated content, verify that lifecycle status and ownership are documented so outdated guidance can be retired on time.
- For public-facing or semi-public intranet areas, make sure the page structure does not expose confidential content through menus, search, or related links.
General regulatory context for orientation only — verify current requirements with counsel or the relevant agency before relying on this template for compliance.
How to use this template
- 1. Define the site_type, page_type, and review scope so the audit covers the right pages, audiences, and navigation layers.
- 2. Inventory the site’s top-level pages, child pages, and linked resources, then record each page’s owner, purpose, and lifecycle status.
- 3. Walk the navigation as a user would, checking whether the page labels, menu paths, and landing pages support the main tasks for the site.
- 4. Review permissions and audience restrictions page by page to confirm that sensitive content is limited to the right groups and that open content is not over-restricted.
- 5. Capture findings, assign owners, and convert each issue into a concrete action such as rename, move, merge, archive, or republish.
- 6. Recheck the site after changes are made to confirm that navigation, findability, and page status now match the intended structure.
Best practices
- Start with the site’s primary user tasks and organize pages around those tasks instead of around internal team structure.
- Keep top-level navigation short and predictable so people can scan it without relying on search.
- Use role-based landing pages for audiences that need different entry points, such as managers, new hires, or frontline staff.
- Mark stale or retired pages clearly and remove them from navigation before they become false paths.
- Assign one accountable owner to every page so lifecycle decisions do not stall in a shared inbox.
- Check permissions at the page and section level to avoid exposing draft, policy, or HR content to the wrong audience.
- Review page titles and section labels for plain language, because internal jargon makes intranet findability worse.
- Treat broken links, duplicate pages, and competing hubs as structural defects, not minor cleanup items.
What this template typically catches
Issues teams running this template most often surface in practice:
Common use cases
Frequently asked questions
What does this template review?
It reviews the structure of a single intranet site, including its page inventory, navigation paths, permissions, ownership, and lifecycle status. Use it to check whether people can find the right page, whether the page type matches the content, and whether stale pages are still visible. It is meant for a site-level audit, not a single-page content review.
How often should we run a site structure review?
Run it when a site is first launched, after major reorganizations, and on a recurring cadence such as quarterly or semiannually for active sites. You should also use it before a redesign, migration, or permission change. Sites with frequent policy updates or many contributors usually need a shorter review cycle.
Who should own this review?
The review is usually owned by an intranet manager, site owner, or information architect, with input from content owners and a permissions admin. If the site supports a department or project, the business owner should confirm what belongs on the site and what should move elsewhere. The best results come when one person is accountable for decisions, not just collection of feedback.
Does this template help with accessibility and WCAG 2.1 AA?
Yes, indirectly. The review can surface navigation patterns, page labels, and structural issues that make a site harder to use with assistive technology or keyboard navigation. It does not replace a full accessibility audit, but it helps identify pages that need a deeper WCAG 2.1 AA review.
What common problems does a site structure review catch?
It often reveals duplicate pages, broken hub-and-spoke navigation, unclear page ownership, over-permissioned content, and pages that have outlived their purpose. It also catches content that is filed in the wrong section or labeled with the wrong page type. Those issues are common causes of poor findability and user frustration.
Can we customize this for different site types?
Yes. You can adapt it for a team site, department site, company-wide site, project site, or knowledge base by changing the sections you inspect and the approval roles you assign. For example, a project site may focus more on lifecycle status and archive rules, while a department site may emphasize role-based landing pages and policy links.
How does this compare with ad hoc site cleanup?
Ad hoc cleanup usually fixes one broken page or one confusing menu item at a time, which leaves the underlying structure unchanged. This template gives you a repeatable review of the whole site so you can see patterns across pages, sections, and permissions. That makes it easier to decide what to keep, rename, move, archive, or retire.
What should we do after the review is complete?
Turn the findings into a short action list with owners, due dates, and decisions for each page or section. Then update navigation, permissions, and lifecycle status in the site itself so the review results are reflected in the live experience. A follow-up check should confirm that the changes improved findability and did not create new dead ends.
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