Definition: a client portal is a private, authenticated section of a business's software where a specific client logs in to see and do things tied to their own account

Claim: A client portal (also customer portal or customer login) is a private, authenticated section of a business's website or software application in which a specific customer signs in to view and act on information tied to their own account.

Three technical layers: authentication (individual login credentials), content (files, records, messages stored), permissions (role-based, account-scoped — each client sees only their own data).

Source: Vendor taxonomies — sharefile.com/resource/blogs/what-is-client-portal ; softr.io/blog/what-is-a-client-portal ; wayfront.com/blog/what-is-a-client-portal ; cognitoforms.com/blog/4918/top-client-portal-software ; moxo.com/blog/what-is-a-client-portal

Confidence: Industry-consensus.

Caveat: All sources are vendors selling portal/file software. Definitions are nonetheless uncontroversial and align.

Why this matters for Candid: Settles vocabulary for client conversations. The portal is distinct from both a marketing site (A portal is private + authenticated + account-scoped — unlike a marketing site (public, anonymous, same for everyone) or an e-commerce account (transaction/order-history oriented)) and an e-commerce account, in ways that change what success looks like.