SharePoint Consulting Services help organizations move from features to strategy.
Design Smarter Pages, Organize Links, and Scale Power Apps with SharePoint Data
On April 10, 2025, the dataBridge team hosted a SharePoint Concierge webinar focused on three foundational areas that directly shape the long-term success of SharePoint environments: page design, navigation and link organization, and data architecture for Power Apps.
As organizations continue to expand their SharePoint and Microsoft 365 footprints, these design and structural decisions become increasingly critical. Poor choices early on often lead to usability challenges, governance issues, and scalability limits later. For that reason, this session moved beyond theory and delivered practical, hands-on guidance that organizations can apply immediately—while still planning for future growth.
Below is a recap of the key topics covered and why each one matters as environments mature.
Design Better Quick Links with the New Design Ideas Feature
To begin the session, Katie introduced the new Design Ideas feature for the Quick Links Web Part. This enhancement helps site owners quickly improve how links appear on modern SharePoint pages—without requiring design expertise or custom development.
She demonstrated how to:
Add the Quick Links Web Part to a page
Create and manage collections of links
Use Design Ideas to generate layout, background, and style suggestions
Rapidly test visual options without rebuilding content
As a result, non-technical users can now create cleaner, more engaging pages that align with organizational branding standards. This capability directly supports the goals outlined in dataBridge’s SharePoint Design & Development services, where usability and consistency go hand in hand.
Preview Smarter Icon Suggestions for Quick Links
In addition to current capabilities, Katie also highlighted upcoming enhancements to Design Ideas. Soon, SharePoint will intelligently suggest icons based on the type of content being linked—such as recommending document library icons for document-centric links.
By introducing smarter defaults, SharePoint continues to reduce design guesswork while improving visual consistency across sites. These enhancements further reinforce the importance of intentional page design as part of a broader SharePoint Architecture & Governance strategy.
Organize Links Effectively Across SharePoint
Next, Leona shifted the focus from page layout to navigation and link organization. Rather than promoting a one-size-fits-all solution, she emphasized selecting the right approach based on scale, audience, and governance requirements.
This distinction is especially important for organizations planning long-term growth or managing multiple departments, hubs, or locations.
Use Quick Links for Page-Level Navigation
First, Leona demonstrated how quick links work best for localized, page-specific navigation.
She showed how to:
Add quick links to modern pages
Customize their appearance and layout
Use them as buttons or simple hyperlinks
In practice, quick links are ideal for contextual navigation where flexibility and visual clarity matter most. However, as sites grow, they should be used intentionally and supported by a broader navigation strategy.
Centralize Navigation with Hub Navigation
Next, Leona walked through hub navigation and how it supports consistent navigation across related sites.
She demonstrated how to:
Register a site as a hub
Edit and manage hub navigation
Create a unified navigation experience across associated sites
Because of this structure, hub navigation becomes essential for enterprise-wide or departmental intranets—especially when governance and consistency are priorities. These patterns align closely with dataBridge’s Information Architecture & Metadata best practices.
Manage Large Link Collections with Links Lists
Finally, for environments managing a large volume of links, Leona introduced links lists as a more scalable and governed solution.
She demonstrated how to:
Create a SharePoint list dedicated to storing links
Add metadata columns for categorization and filtering
Dynamically organize and surface links based on user needs
When quick links alone are no longer sufficient, links lists provide a flexible, metadata-driven approach that scales with the organization—without sacrificing manageability or governance.
Scale Power Apps with Data Flows and Dataverse Tables
Dylan closed the session with a deep dive into using data flows and Dataverse tables to improve scalability and performance in Power Apps solutions.
Move Beyond SharePoint Lists for Large Datasets
Dylan explained:
- When SharePoint lists reach their limits
- How Dataverse tables offer better delegation and flexibility
- Why large datasets perform more reliably in Dataverse
This approach helps prevent performance bottlenecks in complex apps.
Understand Delegation in Power Apps
Dylan clarified:
- The difference between delegable and non-delegable queries
- How delegation impacts data completeness and app performance
- Why backend data structure matters for user experience
Understanding delegation is critical for building reliable, scalable apps.
Sync SharePoint Data with Data Flows
Dylan provided a step-by-step walkthrough of:
- Creating data flows
- Syncing SharePoint lists to Dataverse tables
- Configuring schedules for ongoing synchronization
This pattern enables SharePoint to remain a content source while Dataverse handles scale.
Consider Licensing and Cost Implications
Dylan closed by emphasizing:
- Dataverse and data flows require additional licensing
- Organizations should evaluate costs early
- Architecture decisions should balance scalability and budget
Planning ahead avoids surprises later.
Why This Webinar Matters
Across all three topics, the message was consistent:
Great SharePoint solutions balance design, structure, and scalability.
When pages are easy to use, navigation is intentional, and data architecture supports growth, SharePoint becomes a platform that scales with the organization—not against it.
Missed the Session?
The SharePoint Concierge webinar series provides practical, real-world guidance for designing, governing, and extending SharePoint and Microsoft 365.
If you want help improving page design, navigation, or Power Apps scalability, the dataBridge team can help.
Schedule a SharePoint discovery conversation to design smarter and build for scale.
