A checklist for keeping your intranet clean and organized
An intranet only remains a valuable resource if the information within it is reliable. When users encounter outdated news or policies, too many unmanaged pages and communities, or broken links, they quickly lose trust in the platform as a "source of truth".
This guide is here to help you maintain your intranet's long-term health and keep everything well-structured through regular maintenance.
Understanding the content lifecycle
Content shouldn't stay on your intranet indefinitely just because it was once important. A healthy lifecycle keeps the platform uncluttered, so your new strategies can be implemented effectively.
Review Regularly check content that's always needed and relevant (like HR policies or office guides) to ensure accuracy. Set up review reminders for wikis.
As you clean up your content, remember that your organization might have specific legal or data retention policies. It's best to align your clean-up efforts and schedule with your internal compliance rules to ensure you're keeping what's necessary and removing what's not.
Maintenance checklist
Establishing a routine prevents content management from becoming an overwhelming task. Use this checklist to manage your cleanup efforts.
Want a checklist that you can check off? Download our checklist template below! 🤩
📅 Every month (30-60 minutes)
A quick scan to catch small inconsistencies early.
Ask yourself:
Actions to take:
News & Announcements
Are current news items still relevant? Are there expired announcements that should be archived?
Are there posts with particularly high interaction?
Archive expired blogs or unpublish announcements that are no longer relevant. Do this for the most important pages.
Identify high-engagement posts to plan future communications. This content can serve as inspiration for future communication.
Comments & Interactions
Are there questions or comments that still need to be answered?
Are there discussions that require moderation?
Check for comments or questions that still need a response. Use analytics to identify posts with many comments as potential active discussions.
Identify content with negative sentiment to find discussions that might need input or moderation.
Documents & Links
Do important links still work?
Are important documents still up-to-date?
Verify that links to important external tools or internal documents still work. Do this for the homepage(s) and most important pages.
Review important documents hosted either on the intranet or in a drive. Focus on the most important pages.
Content performance: Which posts have the most views? Which posts have many reactions or comments?
Page performance: Which pages are visited most frequently? Which pages have very little traffic?
Study the posts that connect with your audience to understand which topics are most relevant or generate the most interaction. Use this knowledge to guide your future communications.
It's key to keep track of which pages on your intranet are the most visited by users; focus on maintaining those as top priorities. Conversely, determine if unused pages are hard to find, outdated, or simply no longer needed.
Authors & Content Owners
Which editors publish content regularly?
Are there important topics or spaces without active ownership?
Identify your "power users" and recognize their contributions with kudos. This helps keep people active.
Assign new responsible editors and admins to pages that are neglected or unmaintained.
Is important information easy to find? Are people visiting the apps with the most important information?
Merge similar content to have only one source for certain information. Get rid of duplicate pages, if possible.
Check app analytics for your important pages. If your most important apps don't receive traffic, consider renaming them or moving them in your page architecture.
Are there communities without activity in the last 6 months?
Do all communities have an admin or manager?
Are there communities with very few members?
Archive communities that have been inactive for a long time. Communities tend to vary in activity levels over time, but you can always archive those that are no longer relevant.
Every community needs a manager or admin. Appoint a new manager (often a power user) for active communities that lack oversight. This is especially important for team or project communities.
If some communities are still actively used by even a few members, consider promoting underutilized interest communities (e.g., with the Suggested communities widget) or archiving them.
🌿 Every year (2-3 hours)
A high-level check to ensure the intranet aligns with company goals.
Ask yourself:
Actions to take:
Core Content
Are central documents (HR guidelines, onboarding, processes) 100% accurate?
Is there old content still cluttering the navigation?
Conduct a deep-dive audit of all "always relevant and important" content with the relevant department leads. Every content item on the intranet needs to be up to date and bring value.
Begin with the homepage and evaluate each element to determine if it still fulfills its purpose; check the content as well as the widgets and settings. Proceed to other pages and ensure all structures are streamlined.
User Feedback
According to employees, what is currently missing from the intranet?
What information do users find most difficult to locate?
Gather feedback through short surveys, feedback posts, or interviews. Your employees are the best source of knowledge for what is truly relevant on your intranet. Find the steps and questions in Conducting effective intranet feedback surveys.
Adjust the intranet and content based on user pain points. If you request feedback, you should act on it.
Cleanup Events: Consider hosting an annual "Spring Cleaning" campaign or event where all page and community owners are tasked with using one hour to update their spaces. Having everyone do it simultaneously can spread out the effort and foster a sense of community through the shared struggle.