Definition:
A vertical or vortal portal is a niche dedicated specifically to a niche market. It is a website dedicated to a specific topic in which specialized content is offered such as news and articles specific to the sector, statistics, chat,discussion forums, job offers, etc.
It arises as a contrast to horizontal or generalist portals that do not segment users by their interests, but try to cover the maximum possible spectrum.
The goal of a vertical portal is to help other users find what they need without leaving the same web space. In this way, loyalty is sought, for which it encourages them to continued use. From this it is concluded that much of the success of a vertical portal lies in the quality of the content it offers.
The difference between these and horizontal portals lies in these offer their services to users in general, regardless of the content of this same portal. While vertical portals focus this information or services for a given institution. This is done through intranets, extranets or vertical portals.
The intranet portal is the one used for corporate communication for the employees of a company. The extranet portal is also used in corporate communication, but in this case for suppliers or partners. Finally, the vertical portal is used to provide information with customers.
A third classification can currently be found. It is a diagonal portal, a mixture of this vertical portal and the horizontal. This case would include those portals that use social networks or applications such as LinkedIn, Flickr, Youtube, etc. These are complemented with content that is aimed at a particular audience.
Classification of vertical portals
Vertical portals can be classified as follows:
- Geographical portals:those specialized in a complete geographical area.
- Demographic portals:those specialized based on a specific theme.
Vertical portal examples
Here are some examples of vertical portals:
- Travel Portals: Expedia
- Educational portals: Educaweb
- Portals for lawyers: Abogacia.es
- Financial portals: Credimarket
- Geographical portals: Portal of the Autonomous Community of Murcia