How Web Portals Are Fighting Back – Tech Femina

 

 

Technical Enhancements Of Web Portals In 2017

A look at how web portals have changed since their adoption in the 1990s including features such as ERP which they now utilise to stay current.

The classic web portal was adopted in the mid to late 1990s. Regular web users at the time would have been familiar with AOL or My Yahoo which many chose to use as their home page. These portals offered excellent content discovery capabilities that pre-dated the likes of Google and other major search engines being able to return relevant search results for a user.  Of course, much has changed since the 1990s, particularly with regards to the dependence that all web users have on search engines. Few still use a web portal as their main method of content discovery, and so portals have been forced to adapt in order to survive.

Evolution Of Web Portals

Effective communication and access to data are now at the heart of web portals that are being developed in 2017. Portals can be utilised in a variety of different ways to enhance internal collaboration between team members, or alternatively to create an impactful user experience for clients visiting your portal. Here are some of the different types of portals that can be introduced into your organisation.

Client Portals

This type of extranet portal allows your client base to log in and gain access to resources or data which is of importance to them. Client portals are popular with retail banking institutions, where customers regularly use online facilities to carry out financial transactions and check their statements. Another example would be the UK’s government portal – this allows users to file their HMRC tax return, renew a passport, book a driving theory test or apply for a primary school place.

Member Portals

This type of portal can be built to deliver a pre-determined set of resources to a select group of people. This is ideal if you have a subscription-based website which allows you to unlock certain pages for a secure list of members. The option of offering paid subscription services is integral to the operation of some portals, and enterprise resource planning software (ERP) delivers pricing models that makes this a simple component to implement.

Staff Portals

Regardless of the size of your organisation, a staff portal can provide a centralised digital space which offers the easy sharing of reports, files, contact lists or any other type of resource that is shared across team members, departments and branches. You can assign various levels of permission, so that you are able to customise access requirements to fit the structure of your business.

Real-Time Integration

Many portals are now being built with real-time updates and the integration of social media channels. The ability to display the most current and relevant information for your users is vital to how the Internet is being utilised in 2017. ERP also enables the easy addition of bespoke add-on services such as advertising.

Portals Are Still Thriving

New web portals are being developed constantly; in fact, the Odisha government has recently announced its plans to launch a portal specifically for start-ups, which is designed to be a one-stop shop for investors, incubators and entrepreneurs. The platform is based on three core principles which include knowledge sharing, ease of usage and transparency – all common goals for those involved in web portal development. 

So long as they continue to keep up with the ever-changing demands of Internet users, and can provide dynamic content, then there’s every reason to believe that web portals are here to stay.


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