Web Portals
Websites that offer a broad range of content and services all on one website are called portals. The word 'portal' refers to a gateway, so web portals function as gateways to the web.
Portals offer any combination of:
- Content, including user-generated content
- Search engine - either local or for searching the web
- Web directories
- Forums or online groups
- Email services
- Email discussion lists
- Instant messenger services
- Social networking services
- Online shopping
- Entertainment
- Customisation options
When would you use Portals?
Portals are a "one stop shop" for information, web services and tools.They are particularly useful for people with a special interest or hobby, e.g. gardening or bird watching. Not only do you find information on your topic of interest, but you often meet the online community.
Popular portals for a general audiences
- Yahoo
- Microsoft's MSN
- BBC
- About.com - Guides (experts) write informative articles with listings to quality websites. Just a warning - the advertising can be very distracting at times.
Useful New Zealand portals
- New Zealand Government portal
- Maori.org.nz
- Te Kete Ipurangi – The Online Learning Centre
- Everybody: Health Information for New Zealanders
- Garden.nz
- Science Learning Hub
- MarineNZ
- New Zealand Literacy Portal
Special Interest Portals
As with the web directories, these portals focus on a special topic or subject area. Look through the listed portals and note the features and services they offer to their community:
- Drug Information Portal
- EarthTrends : Environmental Information
- SciTech Daily Review
- Selected Web Portals for Scientists compiled by the Stanford University
- eHow - tutorials on "how to do just about everything"
An easy way to find web portals for a specific subject is to add the term 'portal' to your search query.
Updated: September 2010
