When to Replace Your Intranet: How to Evaluate Performance and Plan Next Steps

When first launched, most intranets do a decent job supporting internal communication and employee workflows. But over time, many platforms lose relevance—especially if they’re not actively maintained or aligned with evolving business needs.

If you're experiencing declining usage, outdated features, or negative feedback from employees, it’s time for an intranet performance evaluation—and to assess when to redesign and when to replace your intranet.

Knowing when to replace your intranet starts with identifying clear warning signs as:

If only certain departments use the platform—or employees avoid it altogether—it likely isn't meeting user expectations.

Complaints about navigation, poor search, or content that’s hard to find signal serious usability issues.

Intranets filled with stale pages and unclear ownership quickly lose employee trust.

If your intranet doesn’t work well on mobile devices, it fails to meet the needs of remote and frontline workers.

Intranets that can’t connect with essential business systems (HR, CRM, file storage) limit productivity and collaboration.

Learn more about signs your intranet is outdated in this article.

Modern intranets serve as the digital headquarters for your organization. They’re more than just communication tools—they streamline workflows, connect people with the right resources, and help employees get work done efficiently. Here’s what a well-performing intranet should provide:

✔ Seamless experiences across desktop and mobile.

✔ Personalized content based on role or location.

✔ Integration with business-critical apps and tools.

✔ Governance to keep content accurate and consistent.

✔ Tools to support employee engagement and culture.

If your current intranet isn’t delivering these benefits, the business case for change is strong.

Modern intranet design is essential for creating intuitive, mobile-friendly, and personalized digital workplaces that employees actually use, driving engagement, productivity, and measurable business results. By applying proven design best practices and aligning with emerging trends like AI-driven personalization and smart automation, organizations can build intranets that support today’s hybrid workforce and long-term success.

Learn more: Explore intranet design best practices in this blog post.

Sometimes a redesign can address performance issues, but in other cases, replacement is the smarter option. You should consider a new intranet platform when:

✔ The existing solution lacks core functionality or mobile responsiveness.

✔ Customizations have made the platform too rigid or costly to maintain.

✔ User experience improvements are too limited by outdated architecture.

✔ Integration with Microsoft 365 and business systems is no longer feasible.

Choosing to replace your intranet gives you the opportunity to reset, align with business needs, and implement a scalable, future-ready solution.

Learn more: Discover advice and independent research about how to choose the best intranet platform for your organization in this article.

Whether you replace or improve your intranet, long-term success depends on clear goals, stakeholder support, and ongoing measurement. Define what success looks like, and choose a platform that:

✔ Aligns with your digital workplace strategy.

✔ Supports easy content management and governance.

✔ Engages users through personalization and intuitive design.

Download our Step-by-Step Guide to Intranet Success for help with planning, governance, adoption, and rollout strategies.

And if you're exploring the market, don’t miss the Intranet and Employee Experience Platforms Buyer’s Guide, with in-depth reviews of 20+ intranet solutions to help you make an informed decision.