Can You Create Extranet Sites in Bulk?

Yes. Infodash can create extranet sites in bulk from a single spreadsheet. It builds each site from a template and ties it to its own client, matter and documents.

Law firms rarely need just one extranet site. A new client relationship can bring dozens of matters at once, and moving off an older extranet platform can mean hundreds of sites that all have to exist on day one.

How bulk site creation works

Every Infodash site starts from a template the firm defines. The template sets the layout, the modules each site gets (tasks, milestones, a timeline) and the data each page pulls in. When someone creates a site, they pick the client and matter from the firm’s own data instead of typing them in, and the site arrives already connected.

Bulk creation uses the same templates without the clicking. You fill out a spreadsheet with the metadata for each site. Matter name, client number and matter number are enough. Infodash builds every site to the template’s spec, syncs each matter’s documents from the DMS and connects its pages to the right data. It works for 100 sites or 1,000, and Infodash’s CTO puts the scale “in the thousands.”

Once the sites exist, post-creation webhooks can call another system to finish the job, whether that’s a workflow or an Azure function.

Provisioning a site automatically when a matter opens

Some firms skip the spreadsheet entirely. Infodash connects to the firm’s practice management system or data warehouse, so it can watch for new matters that meet the firm’s criteria. When one does, Infodash builds the matter’s site in the background and emails the managing or relationship attorney.

Infodash has more than 500 API endpoints, so anything it does on its own can also be triggered by the firm’s own workflow. Site creation follows the firm’s process instead of a request form.

Security on sites created in bulk

A site built in bulk follows the same rules as one built by hand. Pages pull live data from the firm’s systems and its iManage workspaces with existing security and ethical walls intact. Access can also be restricted down to individual rows and columns of data, even when the source system can’t do that itself.

IT connects the data sources and sets the security rules once. After that, the people building pages can’t break those rules.

Why this matters if you’re considering a custom build

Bulk provisioning, DMS sync and security trimming are all features a firm has to build and keep maintaining if it goes the custom route on SharePoint. For the longer version of that tradeoff, read Build vs. Buy and our comparison of Infodash and SharePoint.

Quick answers

Can Infodash create client extranet sites in bulk? Yes. A spreadsheet of site metadata is enough for Infodash to build every site from a template.

Does each site get its own matter documents? Yes. Each site syncs its matter’s documents from the DMS.

Can a matter site be created automatically? Yes. Infodash can build the site when a new matter meets the firm’s criteria in the practice management system, then email the responsible attorney.

Are ethical walls honored on bulk-created sites? Yes. Every site follows the firm’s existing security and ethical walls.

Source

This answer comes from Infodash’s webinar Beyond SharePoint, where co-founder and CTO Kam Berget built an extranet site live and took this question from an attendee. The bulk creation question starts at 27:09.