Summary
At USNH, we have two primary options for publishing and sharing content: Microsoft SharePoint Online and a public-facing website. While both can display information and support communication, they are built for very different purposes and audiences.
Choosing the right tool ensures your content reaches the right audience securely and effectively—while choosing the wrong one can create security risks or limit who can access it. This article helps USNH faculty and staff identify the best fit for their content and audience.
Note: Throughout this article, public-facing website refers to a website that is openly accessible to anyone on the internet—no login or account required. This is distinct from SharePoint, which is part of USNH's internal intranet and requires authentication.
Section 1: Quick Comparison
Section 2: Decision Tree
Section 3: In-Depth Feature Comparison
Section 4: Important Notes for USNH SharePoint Users
Section 5: Use Case Examples
The blue panel describes SharePoint. The green panel describes a Public-Facing Website.
SharePoint
USNH's internal collaboration and document management platform. It requires a login and is NOT accessible to the general public.
Public-Facing Website
Open to anyone on the internet — no login required — and is the right choice when your audience includes prospective students, community members, or the general public.
Content
Section 1: Quick Comparison
The blue column lists reasons to choose SharePoint. The green column lists reasons to choose a Public-Facing Website.
✅ Choose SharePoint If...
- Your audience is USNH faculty, staff, or students who have a USNH Microsoft 365 account
- Your content is sensitive, confidential, or FERPA-protected
- You need to collaborate on documents in real time (co-authoring, version control, shared editing)
- You need to share content with a specific, named group of external partners who can authenticate with a guest account
- You are building an internal portal, intranet page, department hub, or team workspace
- Your content needs to integrate with Microsoft 365 tools like Teams, Planner, OneDrive, or Forms
- You need granular access controls and audit trails for sensitive institutional content
🌐 Choose a Public Website If...
- Your audience includes the general public, prospective students, donors, or community members
- Your content is intended to be publicly discoverable and indexed by search engines (Google, Bing, etc.)
- You need full branding and design control, custom layouts, or advanced multimedia features
- Your primary goal is marketing, recruitment, or public-facing communications
- You need forms, integrations, or features designed for anonymous public visitors
- You need the site to represent USNH, a college, department, or program to an external audience
- Content does not contain sensitive or restricted institutional data
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Section 2: Decision Tree — Still Not Sure? Use these questions to find the right tool.
Work through the question dropdowns below in order. Stop when you reach a recommendation.
A) Mostly USNH faculty, staff, and/or students with a USNH login → Go to Question 2
B) The general public, prospective students, donors, or community members → Use a PUBLIC-FACING WEBSITE. Your content needs to be accessible without a login. SharePoint cannot serve anonymous visitors.
A) Yes — student records, personnel data, financial information, non-public research data, or other restricted content → Use SHAREPOINT. SharePoint supports sensitivity labels, DLP policies, and granular access controls required for protected data. A public website is not appropriate for this content.
B) No — the content is general, informational, or non-sensitive → Go to Question 3
A) Yes — multiple people need to create, edit, or manage content together → Use SHAREPOINT. SharePoint is purpose-built for document collaboration, version control, and team-based content management within Microsoft 365.
B) No — content will mostly be read-only or managed by one person/team → Go to Question 4
A) Yes — people should be able to find this content without a USNH login → Use a PUBLIC-FACING WEBSITE. SharePoint content is not publicly indexed by search engines.
B) No — it's okay if only logged-in USNH users can find and access it → Go to Question 5
A) Yes, with specific named individuals (e.g., a vendor, partner institution, or grant collaborator) → Use SHAREPOINT with external guest access. Note: guests must be individually invited and must log in — this is NOT the same as public access.
B) Yes, with the general public or a large, undefined external audience → Use a PUBLIC-FACING WEBSITE. SharePoint cannot accommodate anonymous or open public access.
C) No — content is for internal USNH users only → Go to Question 6
A) Yes — the site needs to reflect a specific brand identity or requires design capabilities beyond SharePoint's templates and web parts → Use a PUBLIC-FACING WEBSITE or consult your campus web/communications team about CMS options.
B) No — standard templates and Microsoft 365 web parts are sufficient → Use SHAREPOINT. A SharePoint Communication Site is well-suited for internal portals, department pages, and informational hubs for USNH users.
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Section 3: In-Depth Feature Comparison
SharePoint features are shown in blue. Public-Facing Website features are shown in green.
| Feature |
SharePoint Online |
Public-Facing Website |
| Audience & Access |
Requires USNH Microsoft 365 login. External guests must be individually invited and authenticated. Cannot be accessed anonymously. |
Open to anyone on the internet. No login required. Indexed by search engines. |
| Data Sensitivity & Security |
Supports sensitivity labels, DLP policies, granular permissions, audit logging, and encryption. Appropriate for FERPA and Tier 2/3 data. |
Not appropriate for sensitive or restricted data. Content is publicly visible — assume anyone can see it. |
| External Collaboration |
Supported for specific named individuals via Microsoft Entra B2B guest accounts. Guests must authenticate. Not suitable for large or undefined external audiences. |
No concept of named collaboration — content is open to all. Appropriate for large or undefined external audiences. |
| Design & Branding |
Pre-built templates and web parts. Functional and modern, but limited custom CSS or pixel-perfect branding. Best for internal portals and hubs. |
Full control over design, layout, and branding. Supports custom CSS, JavaScript, multimedia, and modern web standards. |
| Content Management |
Document libraries, version control, co-authoring, and integration with Teams, Planner, OneDrive, and Power Automate. 100GB default storage quota. |
CMS-based publishing with editorial workflows. Structured content (news, events, programs) managed centrally. Optimized for SEO and accessibility. |
| Search & Discoverability |
Searchable within the USNH Microsoft 365 environment by authenticated users only. NOT indexed by Google or Bing. |
Fully indexed by search engines. Optimized for public discoverability and SEO. |
| Maintenance & Ownership |
Site owners manage permissions, membership, and content lifecycle per USNH governance policies. IT support via USNH Help Desk. |
Managed by department communications staff or web teams. Governed by campus web/communications policies and brand standards. |
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Section 4: Important Notes for USNH SharePoint Users
- SharePoint is NOT a public website.
USNH SharePoint sites are part of the university's internal intranet. They cannot be configured for anonymous public access. Do not use SharePoint to publish content intended for prospective students, the general public, or anyone without a USNH Microsoft 365 account.
- External sharing has limits.
You can share content with specific external collaborators, but they must be individually invited and must authenticate with a guest account. You cannot create open, public-facing sharing links for anonymous visitors.
- Sensitive data belongs in SharePoint — not on a public website.
If your content includes student records, personnel information, financial data, research data, or anything classified as Tier 2 or higher under USNH's data classification framework, it must be stored and shared through SharePoint or another approved secure platform — never on a public-facing website.
- Storage quotas apply.
All new SharePoint sites are provisioned with a 100GB quota. SharePoint is intended for active, collaborative work — not long-term archiving or backup storage.
- You may need both.
Many departments use SharePoint for internal collaboration AND a public-facing website for external communications. These tools are complementary, not mutually exclusive.
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Section 5: Common Use Case Examples
SharePoint recommendations are highlighted in blue. Public-Facing Website recommendations are highlighted in green. Mixed recommendations are highlighted in yellow.
| Use Case |
Recommended Tool |
| Department internal document hub |
SharePoint (Team Site) |
| Faculty committee shared workspace |
SharePoint (Team Site) |
| Internal policy and procedure library |
SharePoint (Communication Site) |
| HR onboarding portal for new staff |
SharePoint (Communication Site) |
| Grant collaboration with named external partners |
SharePoint (with guest access) |
| Sharing a report with a specific accreditation reviewer |
SharePoint (with guest access or secure sharing link) |
| Program page for prospective students |
Public-Facing Website |
| Department news and announcements for the general public |
Public-Facing Website |
| Public event listings |
Public-Facing Website |
| Research center public profile |
Public-Facing Website |
| Student records or FERPA-protected data |
SharePoint (restricted access) |
| Conference planning with mixed internal/external audience |
SharePoint for internal docs + Public Website for public info |
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Further Readings
SharePoint: USNH SharePoint Usage Guidelines and Governance
M365: Cleanup Tips for OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams
SharePoint: Sharing with Guest or External Users
SharePoint: Sharing with Anonymous/Anyone Links
Need additional help?
For assistance concerning site creation, content sharing, file synchronization, or other common SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, or Office app activities, we recommend our Microsoft 365 Learning sites:
Learn more about the great tools our Microsoft 365 Learning sites offer!
Visit the Technology Help Desk Support page to locate your local campus contact information or to submit an online technology support request. For password issues you must call or visit the Help Desk in person.