Corporate websites started to become prevalent in the mid to late nineties.  These earlier websites were often little more than electronic business cards for all but the largest corporations.  Even today many small to medium sized businesses fail to take advantage of the potential power and creative use of their corporate website, resulting in missed opportunities.

One of the modern uses of a corporate website is a portal.  Portals are nothing more than an intranet, a method of access to specific information, tailored to the audience needing the information.

For example, a website may contain an employee portal which is designed to allow employees to securely access an application to review their compensation, change federal and / or state tax withholding parameters, modify their mix of 401-k investments, and other tasks that would traditionally involve an administrative resource acting as an intermediary between the employee and the information.  The clients / customers of a company can also make use of a portal to check their balances, track order status, send email, and request a meeting with their sales representative.