How to create a client portal without a developer

Rangee publishes client portals, so we have a stake in this topic. The other tools' prices were checked on 4 November 2026 on their official pages, and we say when another method fits better.

A client portal is an online space where each client signs in and finds their own data: their orders, their projects, their documents, their invoices. They see nothing of other clients. For the business, it is the end of "where is my order?" e-mails, and of files sent as attachments.

For a long time, a portal meant custom development. That is no longer the case: no-code tools publish one from data your team already keeps. This guide explains what a client portal is for, the three ways to create one, what each costs, and a method to set one up in six steps.

What is a client portal?

A client portal is a private website, open to people outside the company, where each person sees only the information that concerns them. The client signs in with an identifier, often their e-mail address. The portal then shows their own rows, drawn from the same database the team uses.

Three terms often mean the same thing:

A portal also differs from two related tools. A share link shows the same view to everyone who has the link. An online form collects information without showing anything back. A portal does both, with one sign-in per person.

What is a client portal for?

A client portal gives each client direct access to their information, without going through an employee. It answers recurring questions, centralises documents and cuts down on e-mail back-and-forth. Its value grows with the number of clients you follow at the same time.

Some typical uses, by trade:

• Agency or studio. The client follows their projects and the progress of each deliverable, and finds approved mock-ups.
• Manufacturer or distributor. The client sees their current orders, their status and the expected delivery date.
• Tradesperson or builder. The homeowner follows their site: stages, photos, signed quotes.
• Consultancy or accounting firm. The client finds their files, the documents still to provide and the reports.
• Nonprofit. The member checks their membership fee, their registrations and the organisation's documents.
• Purchasing. A supplier sees the orders that concern them, with no access to the rest of the database.

The right test is simple: count this week's e-mails and calls asking for information you already have in a file. If the answer fits in one spreadsheet row, it can live in a portal.

What are the three ways to create a client portal?

There are three ways to create a client portal: have it custom-built, connect a portal tool to your data, or use a no-code database that publishes the portal itself. They differ mainly in lead time, upfront cost and where your data lives.

Custom development

This is the right path when the portal is your product, or when business rules are very specific: complex calculations, ERP integration, a long client journey. The price depends on the specification, and maintenance continues after delivery. For a small business that mostly wants to show the status of its files, it is often too much.

A portal tool connected to your data

Tools such as Softr build a portal on top of a data source: Airtable, Google Sheets, or their own database. They offer many blocks and settings. The trade-off is a second tool to pay for and manage, and data that lives somewhere other than the portal.

A no-code database that publishes the portal

Here, the database where the team works publishes the portal itself. There is no sync and no second subscription: the client sees the database's rows, filtered for them. Airtable offers this with its Portals add-on, Rangee with its Business plan. It is the fastest path when the team already manages its projects or orders in tables.

How much does a client portal cost?

As of 4 November 2026, according to its documentation, Airtable's Portals add-on starts at $120 a month for 15 seats on the Team plan, and $150 on Business. According to its pricing page, Softr Pro costs $99 a month billed annually, with 50 clients included.

Two rules change the bill. At Airtable, only guests who can edit or comment take a seat: according to its documentation, read-only guests "are not considered billable". At Softr, the price depends on the number of app users, and a Gmail address always counts as a client.

This calculation compares portals that do not all do the same thing. At Airtable, clients who only read do not take a seat; the add-on becomes necessary once they edit. At Rangee, the portal opens read-only today. So compare like for like: what must your client be able to do?

How do you create a client portal in 6 steps?

A client portal can be set up without code in six steps, if your data is already organised in a database. Most of the work is not the portal itself but the data structure upstream: a clients table, with each row linked to its client. The steps apply to most no-code tools.

1. Gather the data in a database

The portal shows what the database contains: orders, projects, documents. If that information lives in Excel files, start by importing it and organising it into tables. Our guide to the Excel dashboard shows how to structure a file before turning it into a tool.

2. Create a contacts table

Each person who will be able to sign in is a row: name, e-mail address, company, and an "Access" checkbox. The e-mail address must be unique. Two rows with the same address create an ambiguity the tool should refuse.

3. Link each row to its client

Each order, project or invoice must carry a link field to the client or their company. A plain text field with the client's name is not enough: one typo and the row disappears from the portal, or worse, shows up for another client.

4. Build the pages and filter on the signed-in person

Lay out the portal's pages: a list of orders, a project record, a dashboard. Then filter each block on the signed-in person, for example "Company is the signed-in person's company". A block without that filter shows the same data to every client.

5. Check it as a client

Before publishing, display the portal as a specific client will see it, with their data. Do it for two or three different clients, including one with no orders. It is the only reliable way to catch a forgotten filter.

6. Invite your clients and publish

Tick access for the first clients, publish, and send them the portal's address. Start with three or four trusted clients, collect their feedback, then open it to the rest. Removing access must close the portal immediately.

How do you secure a client portal?

The rule that matters most: the per-client filter must be applied by the server. If the tool sends every row to the browser and hides the other clients' rows on screen, a curious client can read them. Article 32 of the GDPR requires security measures suited to the risk.

Ask the publisher, in writing, where the filter is applied. The right answer fits in one sentence: "the client's browser never receives a row outside their scope". Be wary of answers that talk about "hidden views" or "hidden pages".

Four other points to check:

• Sign-in. A code sent by e-mail avoids weak and reused passwords. The tool must not reveal whether an address has access.
• Removing access. Unticking access or deleting the contact must end their session immediately, not at the next sign-in.
• Attachments. A file must not be reachable through a permanent public address. It must go through the same check as the rows.
• The log. Sign-ins and failures must be recorded, so you know who saw what and when.

Your clients entrust their information to your tool, which becomes your processor under the GDPR. So check where it hosts the data and who its own sub-processors are. Our article on data sovereignty gives ten questions to ask any provider.

Which mistakes should you avoid?

The most common mistakes are not technical: they come from the data structure and from skipping checks before publishing. Five come up often:

1. Filtering on a name in a text field instead of a link field: one typo is enough to mix up two clients.
2. Forgetting an unfiltered block: a "latest orders" list added at the bottom of a page, visible to everyone.
3. Leaving duplicate e-mails in the contacts table.
4. Opening it to a hundred clients at once, without testing on a few.
5. Still sending documents by e-mail after launch: the portal then becomes one more copy, never up to date.

These mistakes shaped the design of our portal: a badge flags every unfiltered block, and publishing reminds you how many blocks show the same data to all contacts.

And Rangee?

Rangee publishes the portal from your team's database, on the Business plan: €9 excl. VAT per editor per month, 50 portal users included, then €10 excl. VAT per pack of 50. The team's readers and commenters stay free. Details are on our client portal page.

What the portal does today: each client signs in with a code received by e-mail, with no password, and sees only their rows, filtered by the server. Pages open by role (client, partner). The portal carries your logo and colour, at an address on name.rangee.site. "View as a contact" shows the portal exactly as a client will see it.

Its limits, stated plainly. The portal opens read-only: your clients view their data, and you receive their requests through a shared form. A workspace has a single portal, attached to one database. Custom domains are not available yet. If your clients need to edit records today, Airtable Portals or Softr already do it.

The portal can be built and tried as a draft on every plan, Free included; only publishing requires the Business plan. To compare the prices of the databases themselves, see our no-code database pricing survey and our comparison of European Airtable alternatives.

If you want to set up a first portal on your own data, join the Rangee beta: the Free plan never expires, and readers never pay.