Specific features of a portal depend on its type, for example, if the portal belongs to the general-purpose category, it shall serve the needs of a
very diverse type of visitor. In case the portal targets a specific user's category (as explained in niche-based portals above), all features
shall
revolve around that specific niche.
Based on our experience of using and developing different portals, below we share some common features no matter to which category the portal
belongs:
- Registration Module: It helps to ensure only related people could register themselves and access the protected or premium services available
for members.
- Authentication Module: It helps to make sure that only registered users may Sign In to use the provided services to the target audience.
- Forum: Most portals provide a forum where their members or visitors could post their questions so that others members could share their
knowledge
or experience regarding posted issues on the forum.
- Informational Articles: Most portals provide quality content contributed by the portal owners or portal members. Such information may be a
guide
related to that industry that the portal targets or it may be market analysis reports, fact sheets, white papers, or even links to published
research articles related to the portal niche.
- Help Desk: Most portals include a module to help users how to use the portal. Help desk may include usage articles but mostly it allows users
to
send queries to portal admin or management staff explaining the issues they are facing. Such queries are replied to by staff to help the
member
doing what the member intends to. Complete system is often implemented within the system to help users make use of it easily.