As an online agency, Brthrs enjoys working on innovative projects. For example, we help companies integrate AI by connecting the ChatGPT API to business processes and make existing online products digitally accessible.
At a time when the digital world is evolving faster and faster, it is important to keep up with new technologies and trends. A great example of such a development is the focus of this article: headless websites and portals.
More and more organizations and companies are taking this approach to Web development to provide a better customer experience, manage content more efficiently and launch new features faster. In this article, learn more about the benefits of developing headless portals.
What are web portals?
Before we dive into the technology behind headless development, let’s zoom in on the concept of portals. What is a portal anyway? A portal is a Web site or Web application that offers services, information and tools to users in one central location. The purpose of a portal is to bundle functionality and provide a personalized experience in one place: the online portal.
Portals are often used when multiple applications or online services need to be integrated. Here, it is important to present information in an easy and accessible way.
With the rise of the Internet, portals have become increasingly important in everyday life as well as in business. Portals make life easier for individuals and business visitors. They do this by offering information and services in an accessible way.
Types of web portals and their applications
There are different types of portals. For example, portals can be public, such as an e-commerce website, or private, such as a corporate portal that is only accessible to employees. Below we have listed some common uses of portals:
Customer portals
The customer is king. Today, a customer expects to be able to get an answer to his or her question within minutes. This can be done by calling someone at the help desk, asking the question through a chat feature or looking up the answer online. A customer portal offers all of these features (and more!) in a convenient application or web app. In an earlier article, we wrote about the benefits of developing customer portals.
Business portals
Company portals are internal portals used for communication, collaboration and knowledge sharing within a company. For example, employees can access company information, HR tools, internal messages and share documents. This type of portal is especially useful for companies with many employees or multiple locations.
E-commerce portals
This type of portal focuses on selling products or services online through a web shop. E-commerce portals provide a seamless user experience for customers, with personalized product recommendations, easy checkout and other tools to improve conversion. E-commerce portals are suitable for companies that have online sales as their main revenue source and would like to get to know their customers better.
Government Portals
Government portals provide citizens with access to government information and services. These may include services such as tax returns, applying for permits or viewing government documents. One example is the central government’s Berichtenbox app. Through this app, you can easily view messages from the government. This type of portal is designed to make communication from the government more accessible and convenient.
Medical portals
Medical portals provide a secure online environment for physicians, patients and healthcare providers to share medical information and communicate about patients’ health. For example, this type of portal provides access to medical records, patient information and medical guidelines.
By understanding the different types of portals and their applications, you can determine which type of portal best suits your business goals.
Headless portals and websites
Now that it is clear exactly what portals are, we can go deeper into the concept of headless portals. Headless development differs from the traditional way of developing websites and portals. Traditionally, there is often a direct link between the frontend and backend. A good example is WordPress websites. The content, layout and technology behind the website all run on the same server.
With headless portals, things work a little differently. This is because there is no direct link between the backend and the frontend. Both operate independently of each other. Here, the backend (WordPress, for example) is responsible for managing and delivering the content, while the frontend (the portal or website) is separately responsible for displaying the content.
Developing headless portals has several advantages, including greater flexibility in design and presentation, the ability to serve multiple platforms and devices, and the ability to work faster and more efficiently. Moreover, headless development makes it possible to improve the functionality of a Web site or application without affecting its presentation.
An important part of headless development is the use of a headless CMS. This is a content management system that is only responsible for managing and delivering content, not presenting it.
Instead, the CMS uses APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to deliver content to various channels, such as websites, mobile apps and social media. There are specific CMSs released for headless websites, but Brthrs primarily develops headless WordPress websites and portals.
Benefits of headless portals
The benefits of headless portals were briefly discussed above. One of the key benefits is the flexibility and scalability offered by headless portal. Because the frontend and backend work independently, it is easier to make changes to the presentation and functionality of a Web site or application. This makes it possible to react quickly to changes in the market and to easily add or remove new features.
Headless portals and websites are generally faster than traditional websites. Because the technology behind the website and the content are separate, it has less impact on website load times. Great for your visitors as well as SEO.
Separating these two factors offers another advantage. Because the back end of your website is not linked to the part visitors see, the website is more secure. This makes it harder for hackers to access sensitive information. On the other hand, at the front end of the portal, you don’t have to consider security issues as much. After all, there is nothing of interest to hackers here.
In addition, a headless portal provides the opportunity for personalization and targeting. Because the content and presentation of a website or application are independent of each other, users can receive personalized content based on their preferences and behavior. This can help increase user engagement. The application of this, of course, varies by type of portal.
Finally, it is easy to offer content on multiple platforms through a headless CMS. With a headless portal, content can be easily distributed to different channels and devices.
Capabilities of headless portals
The possibilities of headless portals are practically endless. With a headless portal, companies can create customized solutions that seamlessly fit their specific needs. All previously mentioned applications of portals can be offered headless by Brthrs.
Want to learn more about headless portals? We would be happy to tell you more about the applications of headless websites and portals for your organization. Please feel free to contact us for more information.
