As a web design professional with over 15 years of experience, I‘ve seen firsthand how an intranet can transform communication and collaboration within small business teams. Implementing a WordPress intranet is one of the most impactful things a growing organization can do.
In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll walk you through how to create an easy-to-use intranet tailored for your small business using WordPress.
Contents
Why Every Small Business Needs an Intranet
Let‘s first understand what an intranet is and why it‘s become essential for small businesses:
What is an Intranet?
An intranet is an internal website used by employees of a company to access company information and collaborate with team members. It is only accessible by employees and authorized users, unlike a public website.
For small business owners with 5 to 50 employees, an intranet delivers powerful benefits:
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Enables smooth communication – A central hub for announcements, discussions, sharing documents, and team messaging. No more email clutter.
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Increases productivity – Employees spend less time searching for information and more time working.
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Improves collaboration – With shared calendars, task lists, project management tools.
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Stores company data – Policies, guidelines, databases, templates etc. can be accessed anywhere.
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Allows remote access – Employees can securely access the intranet and resources from any device, anywhere.
According to Forrester research, large enterprises using collaboration tools see on average 32% higher team productivity compared to those who don‘t. Small businesses can get similar benefits from an intranet.
But how can small business owners implement one without big budgets? This is where WordPress comes in…
Why Use WordPress for Your Small Business Intranet
Over the years, I‘ve used various platforms like SharePoint to build intranets. Most were clunky, expensive, and required complex configuration.
WordPress offers a much better intranet solution for small businesses. Here‘s why:
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100% free and open source – No expensive license fees or proprietary lock-in.
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Easy to use and customize – Intuitive interface, thousands of resources, and extensions available.
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Robust functionality – Plugins allow you to add any features needed.
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Great security – Tools like WordFence provide enterprise-grade protection.
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Flexible hosting – Can be self-hosted on a local server for optimal speed and security.
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Scalable – Can easily manage hundreds of users and high traffic as your business grows.
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Mobile-ready – Employees can access the intranet on any device.
WordPress essentially allows small businesses to create a feature-rich intranet that looks great and functions smoothly at little to no cost.
Intranet Adoption Rates
According to research by Prescient Digital Media, intranet adoption has been growing rapidly among organizations of all sizes:
- Small businesses – 77% have an intranet
- Mid-size companies – 97% have an intranet
- Enterprises – 93% have an intranet
The most successful intranets have seen:
- 80% faster access to knowledge and experts
- 60% increase in workforce productivity
- 55% growth in employee engagement
This shows that an intranet should be a top investment priority for every small business owner today.
Next, let‘s look at how to plan and implement your WordPress intranet.
Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your WordPress Intranet
Here is an easy 5 step process to create an intranet tailored for your small business using WordPress:
Step 1 – Install WordPress and Configure Settings
You‘ll first need to install WordPress using one of two options:
Self-Hosted on a Local Server
This is the best approach if feasible, as it provides greater speed and security. The steps are:
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Set up a computer on your office network as the server. This can be an existing workstation or a low-cost Raspberry Pi.
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Install local web server software like XAMPP or WAMP on the server computer.
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Download the WordPress files and save them in the designated folder on the server.
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Access WordPress by visiting the server‘s local IP address from client computers.
For detailed configuration guides, refer to resources like this WordPress installation tutorial.
Managed Hosting Provider
If you don‘t want to manage your own server, you can easily self-host your WordPress intranet with a web hosting provider like Bluehost. The steps are:
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Buy a custom domain name for your intranet e.g. yourcompanyintranet.com
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Sign up for managed WordPress hosting. Shared hosting plans start around $2.75 per month.
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Use their 1-click installer to deploy WordPress.
While convenient, third-party hosting may have slower performance and fewer security options.
Once you have WordPress up and running, go to Settings and:
- Give your intranet a title and tagline.
- Disable search engine visibility to make it private.
- Restrict authorship to company email domains only.
This provides a solid foundation to build your intranet on top of.
Step 2 – Install Essential Intranet Plugins
The real power of WordPress comes from its plugins – extensions that add functionality. For an intranet, some essential plugins include:
| Plugin | Features |
|---|---|
| BuddyPress | User profiles, activity feeds, messaging, groups |
| Ultimate Member | Custom user profiles and hierarchy |
| WPForms | Create forms, surveys, quizzes |
| Google Drive Embedder | Embed Google documents |
Refer to the WordPress plugin directory to find and install these plugins for free. Configure them to build out key intranet features.
Step 3 – Choose an Intranet-Ready WordPress Theme
While WordPress has thousands of free themes, many are designed for blogging. For an intranet, you need a theme with features like:
- Clean, professional look
- Customizable homepage
- Member profiles and groups
- Page builder to create custom layouts
- Tight integration with plugins
Some top paid and free intranet themes to consider are:
| Theme | Price | Pros |
|---|---|---|
| Socrates | $59 | Mobile-friendly, powerful customization options |
| Moosend | Free | Minimalist, easy to customize |
| BuddyX | Free | Built for BuddyPress, simple interface |
Once installed, activate your chosen intranet theme and customize it as needed.
Step 4 – Add Pages and Populate Intranet Content
Now it‘s time to build out your intranet‘s structure by adding pages and content:
Some essential pages to include:
- Homepage – Announcements, quick links, reminders
- About Us – Company information and history
- Teams – Details about departments and members
- Resources – Templates, knowledge base, databases
- Policies – Company guidelines and rules
Take advantage of your theme‘s drag-and-drop page builder to create attractive page layouts. Use ample visuals like images and videos to engage your employees.
Step 5 – Lock Down Security
Since an intranet contains sensitive company data, security is critical. Some best practices include:
- Install a security plugin like WordFence to prevent intrusions and malware.
- Enable SSL encryption to make site access private over HTTPS.
- Restrict access to company IP addresses only.
- Use strong passwords and enable 2-factor authentication.
- Regularly update WordPress and plugins to close vulnerabilities.
- Allow admin access only to trusted senior employees.
Take these steps seriously to keep your intranet and company information protected.
Getting Employee Buy-In
The technology is important, but getting your staff to actually use the intranet is key to seeing real business benefits. Here are some tips:
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Involve team members in the intranet design process to get their input.
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Train everyone on using the intranet and highlight benefits like less meetings and email.
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Incentivize activity by making contributions visible and rewarding engagement.
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Seed content like FAQs and office photos to make it feel welcoming.
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Show leadership commitment by having management post regularly.
With consistent use, your WordPress intranet will become an invaluable hub for your small business‘ communication and collaboration needs.
Conclusion
Creating an intranet with WordPress is one of the best technology investments a growing small business can make. It streamlines communication, makes knowledge sharing seamless, and enables remote collaboration.
By following the five steps covered in this guide – installing WordPress, adding plugins, choosing a theme, creating content, and locking down security – you can have a fully-functional intranet tailored for your small business running smoothly in no time.
The result will be a more productive, coordinated workforce and an organization positioned for scale.
