Significance of Web Portal

SIGNIFICANCE OF WEB PORTAL

A Web portal ,also called as, public portal refers to a Web site or a web service that provides a wide array of services and functionality, like forums, online shopping malls , search engines and e-mail.In the initial stages,web portals were online services which had an access to the web.But now,the scenario is different. Most of the traditional search engines like Yahoo,Google etc have transformed themselves into Web portals to influence and attract a larger audience.

A Web Portal can also be defined as a gateway or a starting point for a user to explore and experience the never ending world of World Wide Web.The portals can either be a general portal or a specialized portal.

Web portal is a 1-Click-Go to a world of content and services which offers a single log-in point. The contents are managed through databases, application windows and even cookies. Portals consists of forums or discussion groups, calenders,to-do lists,online search ,e-mail and address books.These provide information on daily news,weather, maps and online shopping.Portals often organize the contents so that the users may easily locate information according to their interests.

Portals are classified as Personal portals, Government portals,Corporate portals,regional portals,sports portals etc

Personal portals is an online site which is rather personalized to its user’s requirement.Other related contents are easily navigable from this portal.Personal portals are meant for Distributed Applications with a combination of various middle ware and hardware to provide services from different sources.

By the end of 1990s,the governments all over the world started to posses a web portal to their citizens. The major applications, governments were targeting, were e-Commerce applications ,Business within and across the borders of their respective states, precise information on their living in etc.

Earlier,large Companies and Organizations used intranets for their internal affairs and communications.But as the companies started to expand both internally and externally, beyond their national borders, Web portals replaced intranets. In large organizations ,the work management is done through portals.This includes workflow management,communication and collaboration between workers and a securely authenticated access to internal and external information of the company.

Recently, a revolutionary change has come in the field of portals through sports portals. Number of sport portals are increasing at a tremendous rate.Die hard sports fans create the portals where they can post their comment , information and perspectives on their most favorite sport and send wishes to their stars.