I am new to SharePoint website creation and branding and I need your advice.
For my first SharePoint site I have done the following:
1- Created/edited a master page.
2- Added CSS and JavaScript files.
3- Added images.
4- Added/edited web pages.
5- Added/edited SharePoint web parts.
6- Created lists and views.
7- Created workflows.
8- Edited the site settings (Themes, Navigation...).
I have done all these steps using the SharePoint ribbon and the SharePoint designer.
My questions are:
I- When do I need to create SharePoint features in visual studio, because all that I have done this far in this site will be different in the next site.
For example I created a workflow (Or master page, list, page...) in the SharePoint designer for a list in this site. Suppose that I have created it in a feature and deployed it, what it will benefit me?
II- This site is an intranet site for my company. When developing for customers do I need to package all my work in features to deploy them or can I use the SharePoint designer?