Glossary / Client portal
What is a client portal?
A client portal is a private, logged-in area of a website where a business shares things with each of its clients, such as files, project updates, invoices and messages.
Instead of sending documents and updates over email, the business puts them in one place. Each client logs in and sees only their own projects and files.
Common features are document upload and download, status updates, invoices and payments, forms to collect information, and a message thread.
The most important part is privacy: every page and file must check that it belongs to the signed-in client. That is why login and data permissions matter more here than in a public website.
Examples
- An accounting firm collecting tax documents
- A design studio sharing drafts for approval
- A lawyer sharing case updates
Questions
Is a client portal secure?
It should be built so that each request is checked against the signed-in client, files are not reachable by guessable links, and sessions expire. Ask for those checks explicitly when you build one.
Can clients pay invoices in a portal?
Yes, by connecting a payment provider such as Stripe. The portal shows the invoice and sends the client to a secure payment page.