A multi-site portal strategy allows organizations to deliver tailored experiences through multiple Power Pages portals under a unified architecture. This approach supports businesses that need to serve diverse audiences (customers, partners, employees, vendors) or maintain brand segmentation across geographies or services.
This guide outlines a comprehensive, step-by-step strategy to help you plan, design, and manage multiple Power Pages sites efficiently.
1. Define the Purpose and Scope of Each Site
Before implementation, define why each portal exists and who it serves.
| Site Type | Audience | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Customer Portal | End Users | Support, product access, knowledge base |
| Partner Portal | Business Partners | Training, onboarding, document sharing |
| Internal Portal | Employees | HR, self-service, IT requests |
| Vendor Portal | Suppliers | Registration, compliance, invoicing |
Tip: Align each site to a business objective and user persona.
2. Evaluate Licensing and Capacity Needs
Each portal counts as a separate Power Pages site, which means:
- Licensing is per website instance, not per environment.
- Licensing is also usage-based: consider daily logins, page views, and Dataverse consumption.
- Microsoft provides per-site metering tools—track user volume to avoid overages.
Review the Power Pages licensing guide for details on authenticated and anonymous usage models.
3. Design a Governance Model
To manage multiple sites, set up governance rules early:
- Roles & Responsibilities: Who owns site content, IT configuration, and approvals?
- Branding Consistency: Shared brand assets (logo, colors, font) across all sites.
- Environment Strategy: Use Development, Test, and Production environments.
- Change Management: Use Solutions and ALM practices for versioning and updates.
4. Use Shared Resources Across Sites
Implement reusable artifacts to maintain consistency:
- Dataverse Tables: Shared data across portals (e.g., Accounts, Contacts)
- Custom Components: Reuse web templates, JavaScript, CSS files via Web Files
- Security Models: Define Web Roles, Table Permissions, and Azure AD B2C configuration centrally.
Note: Use managed solutions to distribute updates across environments.
5. Architect for Scalability and Performance
- Data Modeling: Avoid duplicating tables across sites; use conditional filtering and table-level security.
- Portal Caching: Use Portal Cache Management for performance.
- Telemetry: Enable Application Insights to monitor behavior across portals.
6. Plan Custom Domains and SSL
Each site can have its own custom domain and SSL certificate:
- Example:
customers.mycompany.compartners.mycompany.comintranet.mycompany.com
Use Power Pages admin center to configure custom domains and bind SSL certificates securely.
7. Plan for Authentication and Access
You can share the same identity provider (e.g., Azure AD B2C or Microsoft Entra ID) across all sites or customize per site.
- Use different user flows for external and internal users.
- Implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) at site and table levels.
- Consider custom authentication providers if using non-Microsoft identity systems.
8. Design a Scalable Navigation and UX Strategy
- Keep UI/UX consistent across sites with common design patterns.
- Use Liquid templates and CSS variables to align themes.
- Consider a central landing page with links to each portal.
9. Plan for Localization and Accessibility
Each portal can be:
- Multilingual: Use localization features to support global audiences.
- WCAG Compliant: Meet accessibility standards for all users.
Enable localization at portal setup or through the portal management app.
10. Setup ALM and Deployment Automation
To manage and deploy changes:
- Use Solutions to package portal customizations.
- Integrate with Azure DevOps for CI/CD pipelines.
- Schedule backups and maintain versioning of each portal instance.
11. Analytics and Insights
- Use Application Insights to collect portal telemetry across multiple sites.
- Embed Power BI dashboards for performance and usage reports.
- Analyze traffic, most visited pages, form submissions, and bounce rates.
12. Test, Monitor, and Optimize
- Use Portal Checker Tool to validate configurations.
- Continuously monitor performance, SEO, and accessibility.
- Conduct regular security reviews to audit user access and roles.