Surviving in a competitive online racket is quite tedious and winning success is undoubtedly a huge ask. Companies looking to a flying start in such a stiff market have to be schooled about the importance of web portals. It is all about roping in a potential client base that counts. Fixing upon a good web portal design will guarantee you a profitable business. Wondering how? Well, portals ensure effective customer interaction.
It is not unknown that entrepreneurs are making it big with the introduction of web portal development. Several businesses are popping up every day, revolving around the internet. It surely contributes to wider business opportunities. Reaching out to customers is a piece of pie with such a facility on the boards. Think about it – is it easier to drop in at a storefront to make your purchase or avail even simpler shopping experience right at your fingertips? The generation today are always on tenterhooks to gather information online and clinch good deals afterward. This pretty much explains the importance of technology in the current market.
Now, many are of an idea that web portals and websites are one and the same. However, it’s important to understand the difference so that you walk down the right route for the betterment of your business.
Web Portals – What is it?
Describing it as a custom-made website would be appropriate. Contents in a portal, reflect varying information, curated from various sources, but scribed down with consistency. For instance, the portals act like dashboards for business eggheads and employees. What contents need to show up, the layout and how well they are organized, the final shots are called by the end users only. There are numerous types of web portals. A few of them include: Federal Portals, Stock or Financial Portals, Bidding Portals, Enterprise Portals, Search Portals, Domain Oriented Portals. and so on so forth.
Web portal development is not a cakewalk. We can choose to create the whole system from scratch, or to base on popular CMS, such as WordPress. If you choose the second way, you should find a company that offers WordPress custom development services. Only professionals with expertise over the years can wrap up the job well. Programmers dedicated to delivering ace development services need to reckon many factors before launching the portal for consumption. It is likely that the company that will run the portal will use one of the frameworks. The company may specialize in a larval web developer or use other tools, such as Symfony. Here’s sharing the limelight on a few key areas, one need to consider before kick-starting works on development.
Performance – The portal must perform smooth so as to keep the interest of consumers lingering. The cache must be used ideally, cookies must be controlled, positive attempts to cut-back HTTP requests must be made and usage of multimedia and image must be promoted to optimize the quality of content in the portal.
Easy to navigate interface – Portals that are user-friendly hit high grades amongst consumers. Efforts to hike up cross-browser compatibility and device compatibility tops the list of priorities for developers. Keeping tabs about Section 508 complaints and ensuring expert handling of friendly error messages must all be wrapped up.
Search Engine Optimization – SEO without a spec of doubt plays a big-league role in the development of web portals. Learning every nitty-gritty about how the search engine spiders work and putting out an accurate sitemap of the portal is essential. From link nomenclature to deploying SEO-friendly URLs, there’s a lot of wings to be concerned about.
What is a website and how does it differ from a portal?
A site, on the other hand, is home to a bunch of web pages, all of which are inter-linked and hosted from a single domain. The websites are rightly accessible over the internet or a private network that is navigated using a URL or Uniform Resource Locator. A few popular types of websites include static, dynamic and responsive. However, with a cutting-edge evolution in multimedia, a new genre springs up, also known as an interactive website.
Typically, a website earns its presence online, accessible by all and sundry. A portal, on the other hand, is privately located and can be accessed via username and password only. All contents of the site can be viewed by the public. Whereas, contents in a portal can be eyed upon by just the portal members. Personal login is mandatory.
So, if you are shopping around to sign up for professional web portal development services, here’s a checklist you must adhere to. Bear in mind, getting hands-on professional web portal software development company will play a major role in shaping the face value of your business. So, here’s what you must consider:
Expenses – Many of the small and mid-cap companies still fray away from the concept of web portals. The root cause being unnecessary hefty expenses. Well, although a fact, it certainly does not hold true for all professional services on boards. Do your share of research and then carefully opt for the one that suits your budget.
The eminence of the company – Too many new companies promising web portals design and development services spring up like mushrooms every day. However, it is most safe to choose services of a company that has been in the business for long. Check how big and favoring has their services been for average customers. Unlike a simple web page, creating a portal requires higher standards of skillset. Keep tabs on the history of the company and the years of experience under their hood.
Commitment and deadline – There is nothing worse than procrastination. Of course, development and software related services take time. Even then, when signing a deal with the company, it must be ensured that the company takes care of your project with optimum care and commitment. After all, a good portal mirrors the essence and purpose of your line of trade.
Portfolios – Looking around a bit gets easier when a professional company provides a portfolio on their previous works of web portals development and designing. Delve into the nitty-gritty and take into account the features of their services that you like and ones that you are not too fond of. Cast your opinion and have a voice about the services you are actually looking for.
Gain a little more than just acquaintance with the professionals you are keen to work with – Communication stands out when working in alliance. To make ends meet, it is imperative to be up close and personal with the company or bunch of professionals handling your work. After all, every little piece of information (work-relevant) needs to be communicated right away.
