What is a client portal for agencies?
A client portal is one private place where an agency's clients see where their project stands, approve work, share files and message the team. It replaces status calls and scattered email threads with a page the client can open at any hour.
Updated
What does a client portal do?
It gives each client a calm view of their own project, and gives the agency one place to keep everything the client needs. The jobs are the same in every agency.
- Status. Where the project stands, what happens next and when it launches.
- Approvals. A clear yes or a change request on each piece of work, kept with the work.
- Requests. Changes and issues in the client's own words, tracked until they are done.
- Messages. One thread with the team instead of a dozen email chains.
- Files and links. Everything shared, and everything the agency still needs from the client.
- Billing. Invoices and what is due, without digging through an inbox.
Why do agencies use a client portal?
Most client questions are the same question. Where are we, and what do you need from me? When the answer is always one click away, clients stop asking and start trusting the plan.
A portal also keeps decisions with the work. An approval in a portal has a name and a date on it, so nobody has to search old email to find what was signed off. And when a client brings in a colleague, that person sees the same project, the same updates and the same history from day one.
What should a good client portal include?
Look for the things a client uses every week, and for the controls an agency needs behind them.
- Live status with phases and a launch date, not a static report.
- Approvals with one click to approve and room to ask for changes in plain words.
- Messages with read receipts, so both sides know a note was seen.
- Files that open in place, including design and video links.
- Invoices and statements the client can download.
- Control over what each client sees, so a small client is not handed a busy screen.
- Access per person, so each client sees only their own projects.
- Nothing to install and nothing to learn. If a client needs training, it is the wrong tool.
How do you roll out a client portal?
Start small, make the portal the default channel early, and add clients once the rhythm works.
Pick one project
Start with one client who is friendly to new tools, and run the whole project through the portal.
Choose what the client sees
Turn off the areas this client does not need, so the first screen is simple.
Load the plan
Add the phases, the milestones and the launch date, so status is real from the first day.
Invite the client and their team
Send invites by email, and let the client's admin invite their own colleagues.
Send the next approval through the portal
Ask for the very next decision in the portal, not by email, so the habit starts right away.
Post a short update every week
Two or three lines on what changed, what is next and what you need. Then bring in the next client.
How does Sightpane work as a client portal?
Sightpane is a client portal and agency workspace in one, made by Wedge Studio. Clients follow live status, approve work, send requests, message the team with read receipts, open files in place, see links and meetings, and download invoices and statements. They can also ask Sightpane AI about their project and get an answer that shows its sources.
On the agency side, every project sits on one screen with its health, progress and launch date, every request lands in one queue, and the agency chooses which areas each client sees. Every Wedge Studio project runs on it.
Questions
Is a client portal the same as a project management tool?
No. A project management tool is built for the team doing the work. A client portal is built for the client, so it shows status, decisions and what is needed from them, without the internal detail.
Do clients need training to use a client portal?
They should not. A good portal opens in the browser, uses plain words and puts the next step in view, so a client can use it the first time they sign in.
Can clients invite their own team?
In Sightpane, yes. A client admin invites colleagues by email, and each person sees only the projects that are theirs.
Can an agency put its own brand on Sightpane?
Yes. An agency's logo, colours and domain are set up with it during onboarding, so its clients see the agency's brand.
See it on a real project.
Open the live demo with example projects, or book a short demo and we set Sightpane up with you.
- Set up with you
- Built by Wedge Studio
- david@wedgestudio.dev
Approvals
Waiting on you
Two column menu with section links and dietary tags. Have a look on staging too.
Open the designOpen to review DAsked by David, 1d ago Jordan Lee, Mia Chen said yes. Waiting on Alex Ito ApproveRequest changesHistory
