“It looks fine” is NOT the same as “I mean…it works”
A lot of intranet homepages look perfectly acceptable.
- The branding is there.
- The news is there.
- The quick links are there.
- The carousel is, as always, doing its best.
But looking fine is not the goal. Helping employees work better is.
If people cannot quickly find what they need, they leave, and slowly the intranet becomes less of a trusted starting point and more of a place people visit only when they absolutely have to.
“My intranet looks fine, but nobody really uses it.”
“I spend hours creating content that nobody reads.”
“We know the homepage needs work, but we do not have the data to prove it.”
And that last one matters.
Because when the problem is only based on instinct, it is harder to get buy-in. Harder to prioritize. Harder to know what to fix first.
Every homepage sends a message.
A strong homepage says
“You are in the right place. Here is what matters. Here is where to go next.”
A weak homepage says
“If you look hard enough the information is probably in here somewhere.”
The difference might seem small, but it has a BIG impact. Your homepage shapes whether employees trust the intranet, whether they come back, and whether the content your teams work hard to create actually gets seen.
It is not just a design question. It is an adoption question.
What should a homepage actually do?
A good intranet homepage should not try to be everything to everyone at once. That is how you end up with a page that technically contains everything, while helping absolutely no one.
Instead, it should make the employee’s next step obvious.
It should help people understand what is important. It should guide them to the right tools, resources, and updates. It should feel relevant enough that employees do not immediately look for the exit.
In other words, your homepage should reduce friction, not add another layer of digital fog.
Introducing the Intranet Homepage Scorer
“What’s that” you ask?
It is a simple AI-powered tool designed to help organizations understand the first impression their intranet homepage creates.
The idea is straightforward: upload a screenshot of your homepage, get an instant evaluation, and see where the experience is working — and where it may be creating friction.
❌No long audit.
❌No complex setup.
❌No three-week wait for someone to tell you the homepage is “a bit busy.”
✅Just a quick, practical way to see your homepage through the eyes of an employee.
From “we think” to “we know where to start”
The Intranet Homepage Scorer is not about giving your homepage a gold star or sending it to detention.
It is about creating a clearer starting point.
Instead of saying, “We think our homepage could be better,” teams can say:
“Here is what employees see first.”
“Here is where the experience may be confusing.”
“Here is the first improvement we should make.”
That changes the conversation.
It makes the problem visible. It gives teams something concrete to discuss. And it helps connect homepage design with the bigger goal: building an intranet employees actually want to use.
So, what is your homepage saying?
Every day, your intranet homepage tells employees something about your organization.
It can say: “You are in the right place!”
Or alternatively, it can say: “Please enjoy this bottomless collection of unorganized links, banners, and mystery navigation.”
As dramatic as that may sound, the difference really does matter.
Because first impressions at work are digital now. And your homepage is one of the first places employees decide whether the intranet is worth their time.
With the Intranet Homepage Scorer, you can take a fresh look at that first impression, spot what is helping or hurting the experience, and start improving your homepage with a little less guesswork.
Trinity Resting
Product Marketing Manager
Product marketing doesn’t have to be all jargon and slides—Trinity’s here to prove it’s about creating human connections. With 5 years in digital marketing, she’s been scaling, building, and transforming product strategies that resonate with real people. At Powell, Trinity ensures the message isn’t just heard, but felt. She’s passionate about helping teams go beyond the office and build lasting relationships. When she’s not crafting strategies, you’ll find her sipping tea (she’s a self-proclaimed tea-aholic) or working as a professional dog sitter—because, let’s be honest, dogs are the ultimate team players.
