Basics of Web Portal Design
A Web Hosting Article Contributed by Frances Rhea
What is a Web Portal Design?
Before you can design a Web Portal, it is important to know how one functions. The building and design process is similar to Web site design but adds more functionality.
A Web Portal is basically a Windows desktop that has a variety of features all contained in one window view. The Web Portal design should provide a single point of access to many different page contents, viewer specific information, data, and applications. This Portal should allow personalization by the user and an administrator for a unified view by company employees, customers, and/or your business partners.
What a Web Portal Design Contains
A good Web Portal design will allow multiple Web applications to run within a single customizable Web interface. This interface should be able to be easily modified by the individual viewing the Portal.
Portlets are self-contained applications, data, or content that are built-in to the Web Portal Design providing each user with a unique experience. Good Web Portal design should support multiple pages with a tab-based navigation. Each individual page should contain its own contents and portlets.
Providing security in the Web Portal design are important factors since often the information contained is of a personal nature. The Web Portal should have built-in encryption, and a robust authentication and authorization security system.
Another feature of a good Web Portal design should be personalization features for a Portal Administrator. This would allow one individual the ability to determine what content a specific visitor or group of visitors can have access to. This will determine how they can interact with the information, and how that information will appear to the specific visitor.
Each visitor to the Web Portal should be able to personalize their experience and select his or her own content such as moving portlets around the Web Portal desktop.
Functions of a Web Portal Designer
Other than possibly creating the original Web site design, a Web Portal designer should be an architect for the structure of the navigation. The Web Portal designer will also need to act as a librarian creating and maintaining the content for the particular Web Portal.
Business Advantages of a Web Portal
An effective Web Portal design should be a single point of access to your corporate information and services. This will increase the employees' efficiency and productivity by giving them instant access to different content and data that is needed to accomplish their various tasks. This can be for relevant reports, analysis, and queries. It should allow your company to personalize and synthesize this information. With an effective Web Portal, your company should receive a Return On Investment (ROI) by increasing employee productivity and efficiency.
Publishing a Web Portal Design
Publishing is the procedure through which your company makes the Web Portal available to other users. The files that make up the Web Portal are all copied to a Web server. Your company Web Portal design can be published either using the Internet or an internal Intranet.
