How Much Does It Cost to Make a Web Portal in 2021?

Evaluating website development is a tricky business as the price includes a lot of factors. The list of what you want to include in your site also affects the number of pages, additional features, and capabilities. In this article, we will look at the features and costs of developing a web portal in 2021. And we’ll tell you what to consider when planning such an adventure.

What Is Web Portal Development?

Let’s give a clear definition “what is a web portal?”: it is a single point of access to various information provided by a company. In this case, information can be categorized or provided only by certain links. For example, if a company is engaged in the provision of services or services, on the portal you can find not only lists of specialists in the areas of interest to you but also educational materials on the topic.

An important distinguishing feature of the web portal is the availability of user accounts. To do this, they need to create an account on the system using, for example, an email address. This should allow users to also share useful information with the portal administration and other users.

Web Portal vs. Website: What’s the Difference?

Confusion between a web portal and a website is common, it’s all about some similarities. But their main difference lies in their purpose and several characteristics that cannot be called interchangeable.

So, the website is a digital business platform and is set up to familiarize the audience with the company’s activities. It does not imply any feedback from users, but it emphasizes the uniqueness of the brand itself and its significance and benefit to the user.

The website portal aims to provide a specific category of users with specific data. Portals focus only on dynamic content and wait for mandatory authorization from users. Thus, it is possible to provide each authorized user with the information he claims.

Key Types of Business Web Portals

B2C portal

A common example of an e-commerce portal that is being built to enhance the shopping experience. One of the main rules of such a portal is the ability for the user to choose whether to register or not. The account should act as an added convenience when using your portal. You can also enter incentives and bonuses for registered users.

B2B portal

Typically, such a portal includes more expensive and complex products. This includes buyer portals, supplier portals, and independent marketplaces. The customer journey is much longer here, and it’s important to pay attention to personalization and collaboration here.

Service portals

It is a platform that collects information from various sources to enable the user to solve problems on their own. An example of such a portal is employee self-service portals, compiled by company HRs.

Partner Portal

An excellent choice for companies that target indirect sales channels. Here it is necessary to provide comprehensive information and technical tools that will help partners achieve the desired result.

Community Portal

Used to promote the brand and increase its awareness. Here you can also collect feedback from the audience through questionnaires and discussion boards.

E-learning portal

Suitable as a solution for business and traditional educational institutions. The main requirement is a variety of materials in text, audio, and video formats.

Are Web Portals Popular These Days?

The pandemic has also affected web portals, popularizing them. This is due to the fact that many businesses had to go online and change the strategy of communication with potential and current customers.

The most popular are the Self-service portal, Community portal, and E-learning portal. They enable users to get productive work solutions and satisfy customer desires.

Top Benefits of Web Portal Development

Regardless of which industry your business belongs to, there are undeniable benefits to be aware of.

So, we are talking about such things:

• safe and easy access of users to information 24/7/365;
• all processes in your company become more transparent and understandable for the audience;
• comfortable self-service and training;
• user experience and loyalty are significantly increased;
• communication between the parties is being established;
• the convenience of gradation of types of users on the resource;
• ease of scaling the business;
• reducing the workload on employees and improving their learning ability.

How to Build a Web Portal

Of course, web portal development is based on the needs of the business. But there are also key features to consider.

Basic Features for a Web Portal

The basic functions of the web portal are aimed at providing a secure, unified and personalized information center.

Interactive dashboards

This is exactly what the user sees when they enter the portal. It is important to indicate here all the basic information and capabilities of the web portal. Also, don’t forget to list all the tools and introduce a hierarchy of services and services.

Tracking capability

This builds trust in your business. This is especially true if you can buy something on the web portal, and the client needs to track the status of the order and be able to comment and communicate with the support in case of difficulties.

Self service

Technology has led to the fact that most people first look for answers on the Internet, and only then contact support. The less direct interaction, the better. Therefore, take care of comprehensive information, perhaps even in a question and answer format. It will also reduce the burden on your support team.

Multiple device availability

The more portability, the more pleasant the user experience. Moreover, adaptation for different devices should be a priority for a business.

Drawing up reports

If you have a business engagement, this feature will be critical. This will help build a business process. By adding the interactive reporting feature for registered users, you get more loyalty.

Advanced Features of a Web Portal

In addition to the basic functions, the web portal may have additional advanced features.

User posts

In addition to a simplified moderation system, you can also provide a reward system for everyone who contributes to the development. This can be, for example, bonus points that are converted into a discount.

Incentives for users with an account

By doing this, you can motivate users to create an account. Accrue welcome bonuses and congratulate users on the holidays by offering promotional offers.

Read also: Automation in Inventory Management: Why You Should Adopt It in Your Business

4 Steps to Developing a Web Portal

Developing a web portal requires a lot of planning and work. Any mistake can lead to financial losses. Let’s take a look at the main steps.

Step 1: Planning

The goals of the future web portal should be defined here. You must clearly understand the target audience of your business and exactly what benefits and value your web portal can bring them.

Each function should solve some kind of client pain. You should also consider your brand book and the tone of voice of the business. Portal navigation should be intuitive and logical. Also, think over the format of the personalization of the message to the user and the type of notifications that you will be connected with.

Step 2: Architecture

This includes the look and feel of the portal. Everything should be thought out, including the contact form, so that the user feels and gets in touch with you at any time. The second important point is searches.

The user should get and consolidate an idea of ​​your company at a glance.

Step 3: Direct Development

You need to think over the content of the portal for each type of user who will be on it. You should also consider possible additions and changes that may be required over time, and prepare conditions for this.

Mandatory requirements for development:

• Convenient and clear navigation
• Support for all file formats
• Correct UI&UX
• Relevant information
• Increased data security requirements

Step 4: Testing

If you test the product well before release, then you will gain increased audience loyalty and will not waste time on constant bug fixes for the product already posted in the stores. There are different types of testing, and ideally, you should do all of them:

• Compatibility
• Responsiveness
• User experience
• Optimization
• Mobile responsibility
• Functionality
• User interface

All of these steps must be taken into account when developing a web portal in order to provide users with a quality working product.

The Cost to Create a Web Portal for Business

The cost of setting up a website or any other type of development is an important point that any business owner is interested in. It is possible to calculate the cost only after a clear understanding of what you want to receive in the end.

Speaking of Factors That Influence the Costs of Web Portal, the following should be mentioned:

1. Recruitment model
2. Development team (size and experience)
3. Functions and elements of the portal.

If everything is clear with the last point, then the first one can be puzzling. It can be outsourcing, outstaffing, or freelancing. You can also use the resources of your own development team.

The website developer costs for hour is directly affected by the level of a specialist’s qualifications:

• USA: $70–150 / hour
• Eastern Europe: $20–60 / hour
• Asia: $17–40 / hour
• India: $8–30 / hour.

Thus, the basic development of a web portal will cost between $5,000 and $50,000.

How TopDevs Can Help With Web Portal Development

TopDevs provides customers with exceptionally high-quality products, focused on business goals. Work on each project begins after analyzing the client’s niche and resources. This is especially true of already used technologies, for example, current CRM.

We are also exploring the client API that can make the portal even more functional. Our specialists have extensive experience in creating websites, web portals and are always in touch with the client during the process of working on a project, this guarantees the creation of a product that meets expectations. Ask us how to create a web portal and we’ll help you!

Conclusions

Web portal development is an important factor that influences the profitability of a business today. Increasing the competitiveness and loyalty of the audience will become your pleasant bonuses immediately after the launch of the web portal.

Conduct market research and study the needs of your audience in order to offer exactly what they need at the moment. Find out the best web portal examples and use as reference.