The Challenge

This company had grown to 120 office employees spread across two buildings and nine departments. As they scaled, their information management hadn't kept pace. Critical business information was scattered across multiple systems—or no system at all.

Paper records filled filing cabinets. HR forms required printing, hand-signing, and walking to another building. Policy documents lived in binders that were rarely updated. New employees received stacks of paper during onboarding that were outdated before they finished reading them.

Email had become the default database. Need the latest price list? Email someone. Looking for the vacation request form? Search your inbox and hope you find last year's version. Want to know who handles returns in customer service? Ask around until someone knows.

Shared network drives were a maze. Folder structures made sense to whoever created them years ago, but not to anyone else. Permissions were a constant headache—either too restrictive (people couldn't access what they needed) or too open (sensitive files visible to everyone). Version control was nonexistent; multiple copies of the same document lived in different folders, and nobody knew which was current.

The result was wasted time, frustrated employees, and inconsistent information. Sales reps quoted outdated prices. New hires took weeks to find basic resources. HR spent hours answering the same questions about policies and procedures. Managers couldn't easily share information with their teams without creating yet another email chain.

The company needed a single, authoritative source for internal information—something everyone could access, anyone authorized could update, and IT could actually manage.

The Solution

We built a WordPress-based company intranet that serves as the central hub for all internal information. WordPress was the right choice for this project: it's mature, well-supported, easy for non-technical staff to update, and flexible enough to handle diverse content types from news posts to document libraries.

Employee Directory

The intranet includes a searchable employee directory with:

• Photos, names, titles, and contact information
• Department and location (which building)
• Direct phone extensions and email addresses
• Reporting structure and team membership
• Search by name, department, or role

No more asking around to find who handles a specific function. New employees can quickly learn who's who, and everyone can find contact information without digging through email signatures or outdated org charts.

News and Announcements

Company news now has a proper home. The intranet homepage features:

• Company-wide announcements with priority flagging
• Department-specific news sections
• Event calendar for meetings, holidays, and company events
• New employee introductions
• Archive of past announcements for reference

Important information no longer gets buried in email. Employees check the intranet homepage to stay current, and managers post updates knowing everyone will see them.

Document Library

All those scattered files now live in organized, searchable document libraries:

• Company policies and procedures
• Product information and price lists
• Marketing collateral and brand assets
• Training materials and how-to guides
• Templates for common documents

Each document has clear ownership, version tracking, and last-updated dates. When a price list changes, it's updated in one place—no more hunting down every copy on every shared drive.

Departmental Resources

Each department has its own section with resources specific to their work:

Sales: Product specs, pricing tools, competitor information, customer presentation templates, and territory maps.

Marketing: Brand guidelines, approved logos and images, campaign calendars, and content archives.

Customer Service: Return procedures, warranty information, troubleshooting guides, and escalation contacts.

Operations: Shipping procedures, vendor contacts, and process documentation.

Department managers can update their sections directly. The information stays current because the people who use it also maintain it.

HR Portal

Human resources information moved from filing cabinets to the intranet:

• Employee handbook (always the current version)
• Benefits information and enrollment forms
• Time-off request forms and policies
• Expense reimbursement procedures
• Onboarding checklists for new hires
• Training requirements and certifications

Employees find answers to common HR questions without sending an email. Forms are always the current version, and submission instructions are clear.

Access Control

Unlike the old shared drives, the intranet has sensible, manageable permissions:

• Role-based access tied to department and position
• Sensitive content restricted to appropriate groups
• Easy administration through WordPress user management
• Audit trail of who accessed what

HR documents that should only be visible to managers stay that way. Sales resources are available to the sales team without being exposed to everyone. IT can manage permissions without complex folder hierarchies.

The Implementation

Discovery: Interviewed department heads to understand what information their teams need daily. Audited existing shared drives to identify critical documents. Mapped out the content structure.

Design: Created an information architecture that makes sense across departments. Designed the navigation to get people to content quickly. Built the visual design to match company branding.

Content Migration: Worked with each department to identify current, authoritative versions of documents. Migrated and organized content into the new structure. Retired outdated materials.

Training: Trained department administrators on content management. Showed all employees how to use the intranet effectively. Created quick-reference guides for common tasks.

Launch: Rolled out company-wide with the homepage as the default browser start page. Provided support during the transition period. Gathered feedback and made adjustments.

The Results

One source of truth. When someone asks "where's the latest version of X?"—the answer is always the intranet. No more version confusion or outdated information in circulation.

Faster onboarding. New employees have everything they need in one place. They're productive faster because they're not hunting for basic information.

Reduced email volume. Questions that used to generate email threads now have answers on the intranet. "Check the intranet" became a common (and helpful) response.

Empowered departments. Department managers update their own content without IT involvement. Information stays current because the people who know it best can maintain it directly.

Connected locations. Employees in both buildings have equal access to information. The intranet bridges the physical gap between locations.

Eliminated paper processes. HR forms are now submitted digitally. Policy acknowledgments are tracked electronically. Filing cabinets are gradually being retired.

Manageable permissions. IT can actually control who sees what. Access requests are handled through a clear process instead of ad-hoc folder sharing.

What's On the Intranet

Key Takeaways

WordPress is a legitimate intranet platform. It's not just for public websites. The content management capabilities, user management, and plugin ecosystem make it well-suited for internal sites. Non-technical staff can update content without IT involvement.

Content migration is the hard part. Building the platform is straightforward. Finding, cleaning, and organizing years of scattered content takes real effort. Budget time for this phase.

Adoption requires changing habits. People are used to email and shared drives. Making the intranet the browser homepage helps. So does consistently directing questions there instead of answering via email.

Distributed ownership works. When departments own their content, it stays current. Centralized content management creates bottlenecks and stale information.

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Ready to centralize your company's information? Learn about our web development services or contact us to discuss your intranet project.