Customer portals & member areas
A customer portal is a protected area where your customers look up documents, order status and contracts themselves instead of asking by email or phone. Member areas work the same way for clubs, associations or courses. Every user sees only what is meant for them.
When this is worth it
If you recognise yourself in any of these, a conversation is worth having.
- Your team answers the same questions about order status or documents every day.
- Documents go back and forth by email, and nobody knows which version is current.
- Your members or course participants should see content only after logging in.
- Customers should be able to handle requests, approvals or uploads themselves.
What you get
- Protected access with a personal login for every customer
- Documents, status and contracts in one place
- Connection to your systems, so nothing is maintained twice
- Accessibility to WCAG 2.2 AA
Customer portals & member areas: frequently asked questions
A dashboard is for your own team: it brings metrics from several systems together so everyone internally works with the same numbers. A customer portal faces outwards. Your customers log in and see only their own documents, orders and contracts. Often they can also act themselves, for example upload documents, approve quotes or submit a request. Both frequently draw on the same data, which is why they combine well.
Every customer logs in with a personal account and sees only the data assigned to them. The server checks that assignment on every request, not just the interface. The connection is encrypted, and the portal runs on our own servers in the EU. Which roles exist, such as contact person, accounts or guest, we agree with you before we start. We only store personal data as far as the portal needs it for its purpose.
If consumers use it to enter into contracts, book services or order, generally yes. The German Accessibility Strengthening Act has applied since 28 June 2025 and names such offerings explicitly. Pure B2B portals are usually not covered, nor are micro-enterprises with fewer than ten staff and at most €2m annual turnover or balance sheet total. Regardless of the obligation, we develop and test every portal to WCAG 2.2 AA at no extra cost. That includes customers who use a keyboard or screen reader in the planning from the start.
At least eight weeks, longer depending on scope. The duration depends mainly on which roles exist, which systems are connected so documents and status appear in the portal automatically, and whether customers should upload or approve things themselves. A portal that initially only provides documents is ready sooner and can then be extended step by step. You receive a binding schedule together with the fixed-price quote.
Small adjustments during the project are included in the fixed price. We work in short steps and show you the current state continuously, so changes surface early rather than at the end. If a new requirement comes up that goes beyond the agreed scope, you receive a quote for it first, also at a fixed price. You decide whether it is built now or in a later stage. Nothing gets more expensive without your prior agreement.
Both are possible. A customer portal can run as a protected area of your existing website, with login through the same site. Or it is a separate application at its own address, such as portal.your-company.com. Which route fits depends on what your website is built with and how much the portal should do: for documents and status an area within the website is often enough, for approvals, uploads and connected systems a separate application is usually the cleaner solution.
Goes with this
These services often come up in projects like this one.
Does that sound like your project?
A free initial consultation with David Kopka in person. We work out honestly whether we are the right fit and what your project realistically costs.
David Kopka, founder of Agilido