Vertical portals, also called Vortals are the types of portals that are built to provide a full-stack implementation of single business functionality. All of the sub-elements of a vertical portal are built to provide different features of a single business function. Vertical portals are very popular among electronic and web-based business web sites.

Web-based business application users prefer a feature-rich application with easy access to functionality and a productive user experience. Vertical portals try to provide all possible features to a user in the most efficient way, centered around the business function, thus making the experience of doing business mutually valuable to both the users and the business.

Web sites offered by brokerage houses, medical/health services, and so on, are almost always vertical portals, where their customers are provided with various services related to their businesses. As seen in the following example, the business uses a vertical portal to provide all the services related to its business to the user through a single channel. The various page segments are independent functionalities, but they all are a part of the offerings of the same business function.

Horizontal portals offer a broad set of functions that are not aligned to a single scope, function, or capability. The idea here is to provide users with a set of aggregated information from various disparate sources based on some loosely defined categories. Each individual portal segment is unrelated to the other, and each operates independently in terms of content, scope, and function. Horizontal portals are typically built to cater to a broader audience that has diverse interests and preferences. This is different from vertical portals, which are built for a specific audience with a focused scope.

Web sites such as iGoogle, Yahoo!, and so on, are prime examples of horizontal portals. As seen in the following screenshot, the horizontal portal provides functions from various unrelated sources, but together, they meet the diverse needs of the user.

This type of portal is built for interaction with other businesses, as opposed to direct customers. A B2B portal facilitates activities between businesses that are a part of their business workflow. Examples of these are verifications, transactions, approvals, reports, and so on, all without manual intervention. Some good examples are companies that offer EDI services to others businesses, who then retrieve the data as and when required. Logistics management in businesses leverages such B2B services for activities such as order processing, fulfillment, and so on. B2B portals are usually used by businesses as a method of servicing their customers, and are less reliant on personalization and user interface aspects, when compared to other portal types.

With the increasing popularity of the Internet-based transactions, improved reliability, higher bandwidth, and so on, more and more businesses are, today, looking at reducing construction costs and expanding B2B portals to serve their business customers, who in turn, are constantly looking for ways to optimize their processes through automation.

These are the most common type of portals, and encompass pretty much all e?commerce web sites that deal with customers directly. Examples of these portals are amazon.com, walmart.com, and so on. Instead of software systems and businesses interacting with the portal, a B2C directly interacts with the end customers, and hence, personalization, user interface, and user experience are of significant importance if the business wants to attract and retain its customers.

This type of portal can also be termed as an intranet portal; a B2E portal is built by a company or a business as a source of information and services for the exclusive use of internal company employees. Unlike a corporate intranet static web site, which is very generic in terms of its content and audience, a B2E portal is built to offer tailored information to an employee depending, typically, on his or her position, role, and location in the organization. Examples of the information and services provided by a B2E portal are: vacation reporting, performance summary, time management, resource ordering, pay information, and any specific — possibly sensitive — notifications.