SharePoint : Your Intranet: Explore Flexible Section Enhancements

Key insights

• Flexible Sections in SharePoint provide a dynamic canvas-style space, enabling users to drag, drop, resize, overlap, and group web parts for creating visually appealing pages.


• The technology offers Creative Freedom, allowing users to design pages without rigid column structures, enhancing user experience with ultimate flexibility.


• Featuring a User-Friendly Interface, the drag-and-drop system empowers users of all skill levels to create professional-looking intranet pages easily.


• With built-in Responsive Design Features, Flexible Sections ensure content remains accessible and visually appealing across different screen sizes.


• The approach breaks from traditional column layouts and supports integration with custom and third-party web parts, offering seamless customization possibilities.


• Potential future integration with design tools like Figma could further enhance design capabilities by importing designs directly into SharePoint.

Introduction to SharePoint's Flexible Sections

Microsoft has made a significant leap forward with the introduction of **Flexible Sections** in SharePoint. This new feature is transforming the way users design and interact with their intranet pages, offering a level of flexibility and creativity that was previously unattainable. In this article, we will explore the technology behind Flexible Sections, its advantages, and why it is considered a game-changer for intranet design.

Understanding the Technology

The core concept of **Flexible Sections** in SharePoint is to allow users to create dynamic and visually appealing pages without the constraints of traditional column layouts. Essentially, this feature provides a canvas-style space where web parts can be dragged, dropped, resized, overlapped, and grouped. This empowers users to build engaging pages with fine control over content placement. Consequently, non-technical users can create professional-looking intranets with ease.

Advantages of Flexible Sections

The benefits of using Flexible Sections are numerous and multifaceted:

• Creative Freedom: Users can break free from rigid column structures and design pages with ultimate flexibility, enhancing the overall user experience.
• User-Friendly Interface: The drag-and-drop interface makes it easy for users of all skill levels to create professional-looking pages without needing extensive technical knowledge.
• Responsive Design: Flexible sections adapt well to different screen sizes, ensuring content remains accessible and visually appealing on any device.
• Enhanced Customization: Users can stack, overlap, and group web parts to create complex layouts, offering endless design possibilities.

Basics of the Technology

Here are the fundamental aspects of Flexible Sections:

• 12-Column Grid System: Flexible sections use a 12-column grid, allowing precise placement and resizing of web parts across the page width.
• Drag-and-Drop Interface: Users can easily drag and drop web parts onto the canvas, with alignment cues to help position them accurately.
• Responsive Design Features: The feature includes built-in responsive design, allowing users to control how web parts reorder on smaller screens.

Innovative Approach

The new approach with Flexible Sections marks a significant shift from the traditional static templates in SharePoint. Here's what's new:

• Break from Traditional Column Layouts: Users are no longer limited by the three-column framework, allowing for more creative control and dynamic page layouts.
• Integration with Custom and Third-Party Web Parts: Flexible sections support seamless integration with custom and third-party web parts, ensuring consistent and professional appearances.
• Future Integration Possibilities: There is potential for integrating design tools like Figma, enabling users to import designs directly into SharePoint, further enhancing design capabilities.

Conclusion

In summary, SharePoint's Flexible Sections offer a powerful tool for transforming intranets into engaging, dynamic spaces that enhance collaboration and user experience. With its user-friendly interface, enhanced customization options, and responsive design features, this technology is set to revolutionize how organizations design and interact with their intranets. As organizations seek to create more engaging and efficient digital workspaces, the adoption of Flexible Sections in SharePoint represents a forward-thinking step in the evolution of intranet design.

Keywords

SharePoint Intranet Design Flexible Sections SharePoint Customization Intranet Transformation SharePoint Features Modern Intranet Solutions SharePoint Layouts Enhanced Collaboration Tools