Let’s face it, SharePoint is the backbone of many companies, but when things go wrong it’s also a major productivity killer. Over my years of work, I noticed a handful of recurring problems causing headaches for users and developers alike. If you recognize any of these, this post is for you — and it includes practical, code-backed solutions.

1. Slow Sites That Drive Everyone Crazy

When your SharePoint site takes ages to load or filter data, it can feel like a drag you just have to accept. The main culprit? Lists that go over the 5,000-item threshold, which causes SharePoint throttling to slam your speed to a halt.

# PowerShell to check list item counts
$web = Get-SPWeb "https://yoursite.sharepoint.com"
$lists = $web.Lists
foreach($list in $lists) {
    Write-Host "$($list.Title): $($list.ItemCount) items"
}

The fix: create indexed columns on fields you filter or sort by often, archive or split huge lists into smaller ones, and always have filtered views.

2. Messy Permission Structures That Confuse Everyone

Have you ever lost track of who has access to what? Setting permissions per user or breaking inheritance on every library leads to an unsustainable mess.

To avoid this, stick to SharePoint groups and assign permissions to groups instead of individuals. Maintain a simple document or spreadsheet listing what permissions each group has so you have a clear permission matrix.

3. Search That Returns Irrelevant or No Results

Often, users complain they can’t find documents through the SharePoint search. The main reason is the lack of managed metadata and inconsistent naming conventions across documents and libraries.

The solution is to add metadata columns using managed term sets, enforce consistent naming conventions, and educate users on leveraging advanced search filters like refinement panels.

4. Version Control Confusion When Multiple Users Edit the Same Document

Multiple simultaneous document edits without check-in/check-out enabled can cause changes to get overwritten and confusion over which version is final.

To prevent this, require check-out in your document libraries, enable major and minor versioning, and where appropriate implement approval workflows to control document publishing.

5. A Poor Mobile Experience Drives Users Away

f your SharePoint pages don’t render well on smartphones or tablets, people simply stop using the platform on the go.

Build your sites using modern SharePoint pages, which are responsive out of the box. Avoid custom CSS that might break mobile layouts and always test on real mobile devices rather than relying on browser dev tools alone.

Pro Tips for Better SharePoint Performance

Monitor your sites with SharePoint admin center analytics. Set up alerts for performance issues.

Use SharePoint Framework (SPFx) for custom solutions. It plays nice with modern SharePoint.

Keep your on-premises SharePoint updated. Old versions have known performance problems.

Remember: SharePoint works best when you work with it, not against it.