Client Portal
A client portal is a private, login-protected space where a business and its clients share project information: messages, files, requests, status updates and payments. For web designers, it replaces scattered email threads with one place where clients can see what’s happening on their site, what’s next and what they owe.
What a Client Portal Includes
Every client portal is different, but the useful ones answer the same three questions without an email: what’s happening, what’s next, and what does the client need to do. Most portals for design work include some mix of these:
- A message thread for the project, so conversations don’t split across email, text and calls.
- A list of requests or tasks with a status on each one.
- Shared files, such as logos, copy and photos.
- Payments or invoices for work outside the original quote.
The word “private” matters. A portal is behind a sign-in, and each client only sees their own project.
How Client Portals Work for Web Designers
You set up a project, invite the client by email, and they sign in to see it. From then on, new requests go into the portal instead of your inbox. When you finish something, you mark it done and the client sees the change without you writing a status update.
The value shows up during revisions and after launch. A request that lives in a portal has a status, a date and a history. A request that lives in email has a subject line you have to search for. For more on what clients actually use, see what your clients need from a client portal.
Client Portals on Squarespace
Squarespace’s own tools for logged-in visitors, such as member areas, are built for your client’s customers. They aren’t designed for the conversation between you and your client about the site itself. That’s why most Squarespace designers use a separate tool for the portal.
Bridge is one option built only for Squarespace. Each project has a chat page that works as the client portal: clients sign in with an emailed link, no password, and can chat, share files and click “New request” to create a task. The same chat and tasks also appear in a widget inside the Squarespace editor. Bridge doesn’t do contracts, proposals or scheduling, so it covers the project conversation, not your whole business. You can read how client profiles work in the help center.
Common Client Portal Mistakes
- Adding a portal but still answering requests by email. Clients learn quickly which channel you actually respond to.
- Making clients create and remember a password for a tool they use twice a month.
- Putting everything in it. A portal with ten sections gets ignored; one with messages and requests gets used.
- Skipping it during onboarding. Show the portal on the first call, as part of onboarding a new client.
Common Questions
What is the difference between a client portal and a CRM?
A CRM tracks your relationships and leads, and only you see it. A client portal is shared with the client and is about the work on a specific project.
Do clients need a password for a client portal?
Not always. Many portals, including Bridge, sign clients in with a link sent to their email, which removes the most common reason clients stop using a portal.
Does Squarespace have a client portal for web designers?
Squarespace lets you invite clients as contributors to edit the site, but it has no shared space for project messages and requests between a designer and a client. Designers usually add a separate tool for that.
Chat directly
on Squarespace.
Bridge helps you stay connected with the clients you manage. Chat directly and make every conversation count.
