Custom portal development
A portal gives customers, employees, suppliers or members their own environment to handle matters themselves, rather than by phone or email. Appfront designs and builds custom portals, from customer portals to dealer portals, with integrations into the systems you already use and security built in from the very first sketch.
What exactly is a portal?
A portal is a secured online environment in which a user logs in with their own account and then sees and does only what is relevant to their role. Where a public website is meant to inform a broad audience, a portal is about personalised access: a customer sees their own orders and invoices, an employee sees their own rota and leave balance, a supplier sees their own orders and documents.
From help desk to self-service
Many organisations find that much of their contact with customers, employees or partners consists of repeat questions: where is my order, can I receive this document again, what is the status of my request. A portal makes that information available in one place the user can check themselves, whenever suits them. That reduces the pressure on your service team and gives the user more control.
One central place for a relationship
A portal does not replace your CRM, ERP or accounting package. Rather, it exposes those systems to a specific audience, in an interface designed for that audience. A customer portal can show data from your CRM without the customer ever seeing the CRM itself, and an employee portal can make data from your HR system available in a way that staff find easy to understand.
How Appfront approaches a portal
Appfront does not deliver an off-the-shelf portal package that you then have to configure and populate yourself. Every portal we deliver is built around your own processes, user roles and systems. That takes more attention up front, but it prevents you from having to adapt your working practices to the software after delivery, rather than the other way round.
No package, but a foundation
We build on proven architectural patterns, but the functionality, roles and workflows are designed specifically for your situation. This stops you from hitting the limits of a generic package as soon as your process deviates slightly from the standard, and it means you are not dependent on an external software supplier for every change.
Integrations with what you already have
A portal never stands alone. It retrieves data from and writes data back to systems you already use, such as your CRM, ERP, invoicing software or document management. We connect via APIs, webhooks or custom integrations, so that data stays up to date without duplicate work.
Security as a starting point, not an afterthought
Before a single line of code is written, we map out who holds which role and what that role may and may not see. Role-based access, strong authentication and encrypted storage are therefore part of the design, not something added later.
Portal types Appfront builds
At Appfront, building a portal covers fifteen different variants, each with its own target audience and business logic. Below is an overview with a short description of each portal type and a link to the relevant page.
A self-service environment where customers can view their documents, invoices and the status of their projects or orders themselves.
More about the customer portalAn internal environment for HR matters, such as leave requests, payslips and internal communication.
More about the employee portalStructured exchange of orders, invoices and documents with suppliers, instead of via email.
More about the supplier portalAn environment for dealer networks with stock visibility, order processing and shared marketing material.
More about the dealer portalA self-service environment for members of associations and trade organisations, from membership details to events.
More about the member portalSecure exchange of financial documents and tax returns between an accountancy firm and its clients.
More about the accountant portalCentral management and distribution of product information to webshops, partners and sales channels.
More about the PIM portalManagement of certificates, audits and compliance processes for organisations that issue or maintain certifications.
More about the certification portalA searchable knowledge base for customers, employees or partners, with structured articles and search functionality.
More about the knowledge portalSupport for franchisees with reporting, marketing materials and monitoring of the franchise formula.
More about the franchise portalOrdering portal for business customers with customer-specific prices, quotes and order workflows.
More about the B2B e-commerce portalAn environment for applying for a mortgage, submitting documents and tracking the progress of a mortgage file.
More about the mortgage portalA mobile and desktop environment for staff with rosters, tasks and internal company information in one central place.
More about the staff portalDigital public services from government organisations to citizens, from applications to status information.
More about the citizen portalA self-service environment for placing, amending and tracking orders without the involvement of a member of staff.
More about the ordering portalTechnology and approach in brief
For each portal, we choose the technology based on your situation: existing systems, expected load, and the team that will maintain the portal after launch. There is no fixed stack that we apply everywhere.
Frontend, backend and infrastructure
For the interface, we usually work with React, Next.js or Vue.js, so the portal loads quickly and works well on any device. We build the backend with Node.js, Python or .NET, depending on your existing environment and scalability needs. We store data in PostgreSQL, MongoDB or similar databases, and we containerise the application so that hosting can grow along with usage.
- React, Next.js or Vue.js for the interface
- Node.js, Python or .NET for the backend
- PostgreSQL, MongoDB or Redis for data
- Container builds for scalable hosting
Working in phases
We work in short iterations. After the discovery phase comes a design phase with a clickable prototype, after which the functionality is built and tested step by step. Integrations with existing systems are set up in parallel, so that the portal works with live data from launch. After go-live, the portal continues to evolve based on usage and feedback rather than on assumptions made in advance.
- Analysis of roles and existing processes
- Design and clickable prototype
- Iterative build with interim deliveries
- Integration with existing systems
- Go-live and continuous development
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Why choose Appfront for a custom portal
Several parties can take on building a portal. The difference lies in how thoroughly the business logic behind the portal is understood, and how the portal holds up once it is live and usage grows.
From role model to production
Portals with multiple user groups, approval steps or a multi-tenant setup require carefully considered permission structures. We have experience with this kind of complexity, from simple customer and employee portals to extensive B2B environments with multiple organisations on one platform. The source code of the portal belongs to you, so you are not dependent on an external party for every change.
A portal as part of your processes
A portal that stands apart from your daily processes is rarely used well. That is why we do not start with a screen design, but with the question of which process the portal should replace or support. That makes the difference between a portal that users see as an obligation and one that actually saves time.
Frequently asked questions about building a portal
Related portal services
Each portal type has its own page with the specific functionality, integrations and points of attention for that audience.
Ready to build your portal?
From an initial conversation about your user roles to a working portal with integrations and secure access. Tell us which audience you want to build a portal for, and we'll help you choose the right approach.