Informatiopn about web portals

A web portal is a gateway (entry point) to the internet. In addition to providing search engine capabilities, a web portal includes integrated features and forums. These range from news (weather, sports, business and entertainment) and news updates to email and online shopping. For those looking for quick information, directories (or channels) organize and group associated web pages into popular categories such as Education, Health and Arts. Some web portals also include groups, which contain bulletin boards, blogs and web pages devoted to a specific topic. These groups are contained entirely within the web portal and although free, usually require registration to join. Finally web portals are customizable; the user can change the layout and colors of the interface to suit their personal tastes.