---
title: Exploring Service Portal
description: Whether you're adapting a base system portal or developing a custom portal, learn more about the available features that help you provide a self-service portal that drives productivity and satisfaction for your employees or customers.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/platform-user-interface/service-portal/exploring-service-portal.html
release: australia
product: Service Portal
classification: service-portal
topic_type: concept
last_updated: "2026-04-27"
reading_time_minutes: 3
breadcrumb: [Service Portal, Configure UIs and portals, Configure user experiences]
---

# Exploring Service Portal

Whether you're adapting a base system portal or developing a custom portal, learn more about the available features that help you provide a self-service portal that drives productivity and satisfaction for your employees or customers.

## Benefits

<table id="table_benefits"><thead><tr><th>

Benefit

</th><th>

Feature

</th><th>

Role

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Create a self-service portal with an engaging, mobile-friendly user experience using a modular UI.

</td><td>

-   [Service Portal Designer](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-user-interface/service-portal/t_ConfigureAPage.md)
-   [Branding and styles](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-user-interface/service-portal/portal-css.md)
-   [Widgets](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-user-interface/service-portal/service-portal-widgets.md)

</td><td>

Developer

</td></tr><tr><td>

Provide simple access to resources to empower users with self-service and drive productivity.

</td><td>

-   [Service catalogs](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-user-interface/service-portal/associate-portal-catalog.md)
-   [Knowledge bases](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-user-interface/service-portal/associate-portal-knowledge.md)
-   [Agent Chat](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-user-interface/service-portal/configure-va-in-sp.md)

</td><td>

Administrator

</td></tr><tr><td>

Connect users to what they’re looking for in a powerful, consumer-grade search experience.

</td><td>

[AI Search](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-user-interface/service-portal/ai-search.md)

</td><td>

Administrator

</td></tr><tr><td>

Improve how external search engines index and rank public portal pages to make them more findable.

</td><td>

[Search engine optimization](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-user-interface/service-portal/seo-sp.md)

</td><td>

Administrator

</td></tr><tr><td>

Monitor metrics and interactions to understand a portal's user experience and identify how to improve it.

</td><td>

[Usage Insights](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-user-interface/service-portal/sp-analytics.md)

</td><td>

Administrator

</td></tr><tr><td>

Control who accesses your portal and what they can see.

</td><td>

[Security](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-user-interface/service-portal/portal-security.md)

</td><td>

Administrator

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>-   **[Understanding Service Portal](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-user-interface/service-portal/sp-what-to-know.md)**  
Service Portal provides a modular user interface framework for quick and easy building of application portals and dashboards for the platform. It helps developers and non‑technical administrators create attractive and engaging user experiences that drive employee adoption of critical enterprise applications.
-   **[Supported features in Service Portal](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-user-interface/service-portal/unsupported-features-sp.md)**  
Service Portal is an alternative presentation layer for the platform. As such, not all features of the platform are extended to Service Portal. Consider your full application and the abilities of Service Portal before making considerable investments.

**Parent Topic:**[Service Portal](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-user-interface/service-portal/c_ServicePortal.md)