How do I build a client portal?

Question

VX-N · Accepted Answer

Decide first what the client must be able to do without emailing you — check status, upload documents, approve something, pay. A portal that only displays information gets abandoned; one that removes a back-and-forth gets used. The unglamorous half is authentication, permissions, and making sure one client can never see another's data. That is where most of the build cost lives, and where a cheap build becomes a liability. Start with the single most common email your team receives from clients and make the portal answer that one thing well.