Customer portals
Less telephone support, happier customers, transparent processes.
What is customer portals – and why do you need them?
A good customer portal massively reduces manual effort. Customers can answer many questions themselves: “Where is my order?”, “How do I load my invoice?”, “How do I change my address?” This saves you time, your support, and costs – especially if you have many customers. Additional benefits: Better customer experience (access at any time, not just opening times), more transparency (customers see status updates, tracking, history), fewer errors (customers enter data themselves), cost savings (fewer support requests). For SMEs, a portal pays for itself quickly – often within a few months. A tailor-made portal adapts to your processes, not the other way around. That makes a big difference.
What you get
Secure Authentication & Access control
Strong logins with optional 2-factor auth, password recovery, role-based access (different users, different rights), SSO integration if available. Customers only see their data - not that of others.
Customer profile & Data management
Customers see their master data and can (partly) change it themselves - address, contact information, payment methods. With audit trail: who changed what and when? Important for compliance and security.
Order management & Live tracking
Customers see their order history, order status, shipping tracking with live updates. Optional: You can also place new orders if your business needs it.
Invoice & Payment management
Download invoices as PDF, view payment history, open invoices clearly arranged, reminders automatically. Optional: online payment directly from the portal.
Support ticketing system
Customers open support requests, track status, exchange messages with your support team. This saves emails, tickets are organized centrally, customers feel managed.
Document Management & Contract management
Upload files, sign contracts digitally, download documents. With version control - it's clear who has which version.
Reports & Business Intelligence (for B2B)
Company customers see their own statistics: spending trends, top products, comparisons. This helps them plan their business better - and binds them closer to you.
Messaging & Notifications
Customers receive automatic notifications about important events: new invoice, order shipped, updates. Via email, SMS, or push notifications.
Our process
-
1. Phase
Strategy & Analysis
Intensive workshops with you: What are your customer processes? What do customers want to do themselves? What data should they see? What actions can they carry out themselves? Integration with your existing systems (CRM, ERP, accounting)? Result: A detailed requirements document.
-
2. Phase
Conception
User flows and wireframing: How do customers register? How do you log in? How do they navigate to their orders? Wireframes show the structure. Feedback and adjustment.
-
3. Phase
Implementation
Design and development: Visual design (modern, trustworthy, responsive on all devices). Frontend development (nice UI), backend development (logic, database, APIs), integrations with your systems.
-
4. Phase
Launch & Acceptance
Complete integration, plan and test data migration, security audit, performance testing. Portal goes live. Your team will learn how to work with it. Customers will receive an announcement with instructions.
-
5. Phase
Support & Support
After launch: bug fixing, performance monitoring, addressing user feedback, small features based on real usage data.
Who is this ideal for?
B2B companies with major customers
Companies that order from you need access to their accounts, order history, invoices, tracking. A B2B portal turns you into a professional partner.
E-Commerce & Retail (B2C)
Individual customers want to manage their profile data, see order history, check tracking. A self-service portal massively reduces support requests.
Subscription & Membership Businesses
Manage subscriptions, change payment methods, upgrade/downgrade, cancellations - all self-service. This takes the pressure off your team.
Service providers (telecom, insurance, fitness, etc.)
Customers want to manage their contracts, invoices and service requests themselves. A good portal makes you a favorite.
How much does it cost?
Simple portal
20,000-35,000
Login + Invoices + Profile
Middle Portal
35,000-80,000
multiple features, integrations, ticketing
Comprehensive portal
80,000+
Marketplace-like, lots of features, highest security
Why digitalists?
Project Manager = Developer
Our PMs are developers themselves. They don't think in terms of features, but rather "how do we reduce the workload for your support team and make customers happier?" That's the crucial difference.
Individual concepts
We don't build standard portals. We analyze your processes, your customers, your pain - and build a portal that suits you specifically.
Everything from a single source
Strategy, design, frontend, backend, security, deployment, support – all from us. One contact, one responsibility. No coordination chaos.
Experience since 2018
We have been building customer portals for a wide range of industries for over six years. We don't just understand the technology - we understand customer service processes, how customers think, what builds trust.
FAQs
How secure is a customer portal? Is our customer data protected?
Security is not optional for us. HTTPS everywhere, strong password requirements, optional 2-factor auth, role-based access control, encrypted data in the database, audit trail for compliance (GDPR, PCI-DSS if necessary), regular security updates and penetration testing. That's not paranoia - that's responsibility.
Can customers place their orders themselves via the portal?
Yes, this is possible and very valuable for many B2B customers. You can place new orders without telephone/email. This saves them and you time. Not every portal needs this - it depends on your processes.
How do we integrate the portal with our existing system?
This depends on your system. Do we have an API? Then we'll talk directly. If not, we'll build one. We look at which data comes from where (ERP, accounting, shop, CRM) and build the flows accordingly. We also do data migration.
Which is better: a standard portal or a customized one?
Standard portal: Fast, cheap monthly, but not adapted to your processes. Tailor-made: Expensive upfront, longer development, but perfect for you, unlimited customization, your own. For longer-term requirements or medium to large companies, customized is usually better.
