Setting up your first portal

Use this guide to create your first portal, set the branding, organize your content, and get it ready for clients.

What you'll learn

• How to create a new portal and add a title

• How to customize your logo and brand colors

• How portal structure works with phases and modules

• How to add and organize content blocks

• How to preview and publish your portal

Before you start

Make sure you have:

• WordPress 5.0 or higher installed

• Client Portal activated

• Admin access to your WordPress site

• Your company logo and brand colors ready, if you want to use them

Step 1: Set up your global branding

Before creating your first portal, set up your default branding in Client Portal > Settings. This saves time by applying your company logo and brand colors to every new portal.

1. Go to Client Portal > Settings.

2. Upload your company logo.

3. Set your primary and secondary brand colors.

4. Click Save Changes.

New portals will now use these defaults unless you customize them per portal.

Step 2: Create your first portal

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Client Portal and click Add New. That opens Create a New Portal.

To start a blank portal:

1. Under Start from Scratch, click Create Blank Portal.

2. Add a title, such as a client name or project name.

You can also start from My Templates (these are portals that you create and save as templates to reuse), or pick a ready-made layout in Portal Gallery.

The Quick Add button on the portals list skips this screen and opens a blank portal.

The portal uses the logo and brand colors you set in the previous step.

Step 3: Customize portal branding

You can override the global branding for individual portals to match a client's brand or create a different look.

Customize the logo for this portal

1. Click the logo in your portal.

2. Choose Replace.

3. Select your logo from the Media Library and click Select.

4. Adjust the size under the Block tab in the right sidebar.

5. If needed, turn on Fixed logo width and set a custom width.

Update brand colors

Click the CP Portal tab at the top to edit portal-specific brand colors.

1. Scroll down and click the colors you want to change.

2. Click Apply this color after choosing a color.

3. Click Save Draft and refresh the page.

If the sidebar disappears, click the icon at the top right to show it again.

Style individual elements

You can also customize individual blocks by selecting any element and using the Styles tab in the sidebar.

Step 4: Understand portal structure

Portals are organized into phases, and each phase contains modules. This helps you organize files, tasks, and deliverables for clients.

What are modules?

Modules can be one of several types:

• URL modules - Link to external or internal URLs

• File uploads - Share files with clients behind login. These are the right choice for most client work.

• Private file uploads - Share documents with extra URL protection for highly confidential information. These do not support images or audio files.

• Client file uploads - Let clients upload their own files

• Image slider - Show multiple images in a slider

• Content pages - Add flexible pages with text, images, videos, forms, and embeds

Module settings

The sidebar contains the settings for each module:

• Module type - Choose the module type

• Icon - Select a different icon

• Due date - Add a deadline with email reminders

• Module status - Control how clients interact with it

Module status options

A module can be:

• Active - The client can interact with it

• Inactive - The client can see it but cannot use it yet

• Complete - Shows a checkmark to mark it as finished

Step 5: Add and organize modules

Edit module text

You can type directly in any module to change its text.

Add new modules

1. Select the phase where you want to add the module.

2. Click the plus icon at the bottom of the phase.

Remove modules

1. Select the module.

2. Open the menu with the three dots.

3. Choose Delete.

Step 6: Add and customize content blocks

Every block in your portal can be edited, removed, reordered, or added. There are three ways to add new blocks.

Method 1: Plus icon

Move your cursor where you want to add a block and click the plus icon.

Method 2: Add before or after

1. Select the block above or below where you want to add content.

2. Click the menu with the three dots.

3. Choose Add before or Add after.

Method 3: Document overview

Use the document overview panel to add blocks from a higher-level view.

Adding a new phase

1. Click the phase above where you want the new one.

2. Choose Select Parent Block.

3. Open the menu and click Add After.

4. Click the plus icon and choose Browse all.

5. Scroll down to Client Portal to see all available blocks.

6. Click Phases to add a new phase.

Step 7: Customize special content blocks

Project information section

Use this section for a welcome message, contact information, or anything you want clients to see first.

For example, you might include:

• A personalized welcome message

• How to contact you

• Business hours or other important information

Embed videos and other content

1. Type a forward slash and choose Embed.

2. Paste a YouTube link or most other video links directly.

3. For other embeds, choose Custom HTML to paste embed codes for forms, spreadsheets, and more.

Project status blocks

By default, project status blocks show the current phase, next phase, and estimated completion date. You can change these labels to fit your workflow.

For example, a doggy daycare might rename them to:

• Pet owner name

• Favorite toy

• Birthday, using the date picker

Manage status blocks

• Add blocks - Add as many as you need

• Remove blocks - Open the menu and choose Delete

• Reorder blocks - Select the block and drag it

• Adjust columns - Select the full block container to change the number of columns

Call to action section

Use the call to action section to add a link or button that encourages the client to do something next.

For example, you might add:

• A booking link

• Contact information

• An upsell offer

• A live feed or dashboard

• Any other next step you want clients to take

A doggy daycare, for example, might link to a live camera feed so pet parents can check in any time.

Step 8: Preview your portal

Once your portal is ready, preview it from your client's perspective.

Click the preview icon in the toolbar to see what the portal will look like for clients.

Step 9: Publish and add clients

When you're ready to share the portal:

1. Click Publish.

2. Add clients to the portal so they can access it.

Next steps

Now that your first portal is ready, continue with:

• How to add clients to your portals

• Using templates to speed up portal creation