One of the things that makes SharePoint such a great platform is the huge opportunity it offers for development.  However, SharePoint development can also offer some pitfalls, particularly for the less experienced.  “5 Common Mistakes Made by New SharePoint Developers” outlines a list of situations to avoid for the SharePoint development novice.

The first is not understanding the full capabilities of the platform.  You do not want to reinvent the wheel if SharePoint already has a wheel that does what you need.

Sometimes reinventing the wheel means you end up with a bigger wheel, but also you will have to look after and support that wheel for when it breaks, and you may also have wasted a load of time making that bigger wheel.

The second is  not making full use of SharePoint tools.  You need to understand when you just need the simple web UI, when you need Visual Studio, and when you need SharePoint Designer.  The third is not understanding best practices.  There are many resources available that will help you take into account factors like performance, security, scalability, and portability.  The fourth is not doing research to find out about not only best practices but also the capabilities of the platform and the tools.  The best place to begin is the MSDN Developer Centre.   The final  most common mistake is not asking the right questions.  You can use SharePoint StackExchange, MSDN Forums, LinkedIn, and also Twitter (by using the hashtag #SPHelp).

One “wheel” that falls short in SharePoint is search and navigation.  However, you do not need to waste your valuable time trying to invent a solution when Smartlogic provides a simple answer with the Semaphore Content Intelligence Platform.

Ken Toth, February 3, 2012

1. The Heat in SharePoint Semantics: January 27 – February 3 : Beyond Search says:

   February 7, 2012 at 5:10 am

   [...] material that is pertinent to both SharePoint end users and search enthusiasts. In the article “Avoid the Most Common Mistakes Made by Beginning SharePoint Developers,” Ken Toth shares an article that outlines a list of situations worth avoiding if you are a [...]

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2. The Heat in SharePoint Semantics: January 27 – February 3 : Beyond Search says:

   February 7, 2012 at 5:59 am

   [...] the article “Avoid the Most Common Mistakes Made by Beginning SharePoint Developers,” Ken Toth shares an article that outlines a list of situations worth avoiding if you are a [...]

   Reply