• OVERVIEW
• PREREQUISITES
• How to use these recipes
• Homepage recipe
• News and communication recipe
• Content showcase recipe
• Documents page recipe
• People and directory recipe
• Troubleshooting recipe pages

OVERVIEW

Use this article when you need a practical starting layout for a Bonzai 2 intranet page. Each recipe lists the page sections, the Bonzai web parts to place in those sections, the key property values to configure, and the SharePoint lists or libraries the page depends on.

Why recipes help: Bonzai 2 web parts are flexible, but a blank Modern page can leave editors unsure which components belong together. A recipe gives a tested structure so editors can build first and fine-tune later.

PREREQUISITES

• Bonzai 2 is installed and activated on the site.
• You can create and publish Modern SharePoint pages.
• You can create or update the required SharePoint lists and libraries for the recipe.
• You have sample content ready. Empty lists and unpublished pages make recipe pages look broken even when the web parts are configured correctly.

How to use these recipes

1. Create the page first: go to Site Contents > Site Pages > + New > Page, name the page, and keep it in draft until every section is configured.
2. Add sections before adding web parts. Layout matters because card, tile, and rollup web parts respond to the width of their container.
3. Add one web part at a time and configure its source list, library, or page metadata before moving to the next section.
4. Publish only after testing with real content and with at least one non-admin user.
5. Adjust titles, icons, item counts, and filters after the base recipe works.

Homepage recipe

Goal: Build a homepage with featured content, favourite sites, favourite documents, and site theming controls.

Section	Layout	Web part	Key configuration
1	Full width	Spotlight Rollup	Title = Featured Content; List = Site Pages; Display Template = Card; Items per page = 3; Items per row = 3; Show promoted items only = On; Title Icon Name = Lightbulb. Chrome Type = None.
2 left	66% column	Favourite Sites	Title = My Sites; Site Directory List Name = Site Directory; Showcase Column Name = Showcase; Showcase Value = Favorite; Maximum Sites to Display = 6; Show Site Description = On; Show Site Owner = On. Title Icon = FavoriteStar; Chrome Type = Title Only.
2 right	33% column	Favourite Documents	Title = My Documents; Document Library Name = Documents; Showcase Column Name = Showcase; Showcase Value = Favorite; Maximum items to display = 5; Show file type icon = On.
3	Full width	Theme Manager	Show only in edit mode = On; Save theme for all users on this site = On.

Why this works: The homepage uses high-visibility content first, then quick-access panels, then hides Theme Manager from normal visitors while still allowing editors to manage branding.

News and communication recipe

Goal: Build a central page for urgent messages and news articles.

Section	Web part	Key configuration
1 full width	Important Messages	Title = Important Announcements; List = Important Messages; Items to Show = 3; Enable Content Targeting = On; Title Icon = Info; Chrome Type = Title and Border;  Fixed Height = 0 (auto).
2 full width	News Rollup	Title = Company News; List = Site Pages; Showcase Value = News Rollup; Display Template = List; Max News to Show = 20; Show Paging = On; Items per Page = 5; Show Date, Category, and Comments = On. ; Title Icon = News; Chrome Type = Title and Border.

Create an Important Messages list with Title, Body, Category, StartDate, EndDate, MessageActive, AllowDismissal, and optional TargetAudience. Tag news pages with a Showcase or Featured value of News Rollup, or choose the option that shows all pages if you do not want curation.

Content showcase recipe

Goal: Build a visually rich department or resource page with tiles, cards, highlighted pages, and image links.

Section	Web part	Key configuration
1 full width	Landing	Title = Welcome; List Name = Bonzai_Landing or another tile list; Template = description; Items Per Row = 4; Show Overlay = On; Title Icon Name = ViewAll; Tile Height = 0 (auto) or 180-220 px.
2 left	Pages Rollup	Title = Recent Pages; List Name = Site Pages; Template = card; Items Per Row = 2; Items Per Page = 4; Sort By = modified; Show Paging = On; Title Icon Name = Page; Chrome Type = titleAndBorder.
2 right	Content Cards	Title = Featured Resources; Data source = a Content Cards list; Sort By = SortOrder; Max Items Per Row = 2; Items To Show = 4; Show Card Shadow and Card Hover Effect = On; Title Icon Option = custom; Title Icon Name = GridViewMedium; Site URL Mode = picker; Icon Position = top-left; Icon Size = 48.
3 full width	Slider	Title = Highlights; List = Site Pages; Showcase Value = Slider; Auto Play = On; Auto Play Interval = 5 seconds; Transition Animation = fade; Auto Loop = On; Slide Click Behavior = entireSlide; Show Overlay = On; Fixed Height = 500; Image Fit = cover; Slide Image Source = BannerImage; Title Icon Name = Slider.
4 full width	Image Link Gallery	Title = Quick Links; Data Source Mode = list or manual; Image Source Mode = listField or custom; Items Per Row = 4; Tile Height = 220; Show Title = On; Image Fit = cover; Hover Effect = zoom; Border Radius = 6; Show Paging = On; Open Links In New Window = On; Chrome Type = titleAndBorder; Title Icon Name = PhotoCollection.

Why this works: Each component has a different job. Landing and Content Cards use list items as tiles/cards, Pages Rollup and Slider use published pages, and Image Link Gallery can use either a list or manual image entries.

Documents page recipe

Goal: Build a complete document page with search, recent documents, table browsing, and curated favourites.

Section	Web part	Key configuration
1 full width	Document Portal	Title = Document Search; Search Scope = Current Site; Default View = List; Items Per Page = 30; Show Sort Dropdown, Filters Panel, Favourite Documents, and Hover Preview Card = Show; Title Icon = DocumentSearch; Chrome Type = Title and Border.
2 left	Documents Rollup	Title = Recent Documents; Site Selection Mode = Enter Site URL Manually; Document Library = Documents; Display Template = Card; Items per row = 2; Items per page = 6; Sort by = Modified; Show pagination = On; Title Icon = DocumentSet; Chrome Type = Title and Border.
2 right	Documents Table	Title = All Documents; Site Selection Mode = Enter Site URL Manually; Select Document Library = Documents; Default Sort By = Modified Date; Visible Columns = Name, Modified, Author, Size; Items per page = 10; Show table headers = On; Title Icon = Table; Chrome Type = Title and Border.
3 full width	Favourite Documents	Title = Featured Documents; Document Library Name = Documents; Showcase Column Name = Showcase; Showcase Value = Favorite; Maximum items to display = 10; Show file type icon and site location = On; Title Icon = FavoriteStar; Chrome Type = Title and Border; Fixed Height = 250.

Important distinction: Favourite Documents filters by a shared SharePoint column value. Document Portal favourites are per-user and require the favourite storage list. Do not treat the two behaviours as the same feature.

People and directory recipe

Goal: Build a people finder page with directory search, curated team listings, office locations, and site discovery.

Section	Web part	Key configuration
1 full width	Employee Directory	Result Source = Auto-detect (Recommended); Display Mode = Search Directory; Default View = Card View; Allow View Switching, Filter Dropdowns, Sort Dropdown, and Exclude Non-Employee Accounts = On; Items Per Page = 28.
2 left	People Listing	Data Source = SharePoint List; List Schema = Person/Group roster; List Name = Employee Directory; Person Column = Person; Display As = Cards; Items Per Page = 6; Show Search = On; Title Icon = People; Chrome Type = Title and Border.
2 right	Locations	List Name = Locations; Display As = Cards; Items Per Page = 9; Show Search = On; Title Icon Name = MapPin; Chrome Type = Title and Border.
3 full width	Site Directory	Enable Search Suggestions = On; Items Per Page = 12; Show Favourites, Site Owner, Created Date, and Description = On; Title Icon = SharepointLogo.

Why this works: Employee Directory is broad and directory-driven. People Listing is curated when set to SharePoint List mode. Locations reads an office list. Site Directory discovers sites through SharePoint Search and security-trims results to the current user.

Troubleshooting recipe pages

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
The page layout looks cramped	The web part is in a narrow section or item counts are too high for the container width.	Reduce items per row or move visual components such as Landing, Slider, Document Portal, and Employee Directory to full-width sections.
A recipe section is empty	The required list, library, Showcase value, or page publishing state is missing.	Confirm source content exists, is published where applicable, and matches the configured Showcase or filter value.
Favourite Sites or Favourite Documents is empty	The source items are not tagged with the configured Showcase column/value.	Create or populate the Showcase column and set the value to the configured value such as Favorite.
Document Portal does not find new files	SharePoint Search has not indexed the uploaded files yet.	Wait for indexing, then search again. Use direct library-based web parts if immediate display is required.
People components show no users	Directory search, Graph permissions, or the selected Person/Group list column is not configured.	Start with Employee Directory Auto-detect; for People Listing list mode, confirm the selected list contains a populated Person/Group column.
Theme changes do not apply for all users	Theme Manager preview was not saved site-wide.	Turn on site-wide persistence, select Save Theme, publish the page, and test in another browser.

If a recipe page still does not work, document the page URL, each web part name, its source list/library, screenshots of property panes, one source item that should appear, and any browser console errors before contacting Support.