How to Effectively Use Zoho Creator Customer Portal?

Zoho has become one of the most important platforms being used by businesses all across the world. It has multiple functionalities aimed at improving the business processes within organizations. One of these functionalities is the Zoho creator customer portal which is the best way for any business or an organization to permit its clients and customers to log in important details.

The Zoho users can easily use the Zoho creator portals as opposed to creating their own security authentications and mechanisms. In fact, users also have an option to log in to their dedicated portal, submit data, and access shared applications.

The process of data sharing with people through the Zoho Creator Customer Portal is a powerful feature of a low code platform like Zoho Creator. There are so many times when we want to present some of our data to our customers with a login system. Every time we do this, our customers can collaborate easily and keep everything secure.

In this blog, we will understand how to effectively use Zoho Creator Customer Portal for our benefit.

What is Zoho Creator Customer Portal?

A customer portal is one of the best ways for an organization to enable its customers to log into their dedicated internal system while accessing restricted data. Rather than building your own authentication and security mechanisms, you can use Zoho Creator portals so that your users can sign up with your portal rather than signing up with Zoho’s account.

With the customer portal, customers can log into a dedicated portal, access applications shared with them submit data, and most importantly, they can view and edit the records. Zoho Creator customer portal offers you an opportunity to present the application with a brand identity that is personal to your organization.

You can manage and configure various characteristics of the customer portal and the characteristics are as follows:

1. Customers: The customers are considered the most important users of the customer portal. You can add customers independently or import the customers in bulk. Just after the customers are added, they will be sent an invitation requesting that they can register for the customer portal.
2. Permissions: The permissions can be issued by the admin to all users of the portal.
3. Email Notifications: The email notifications allow the admin of the customer portal to communicate easily with the users of the portal. It is possible to customize different types of emails that the customer portal is sending to the users.
4. Portal Pages: The portal pages are for displaying information to the user of the customer portal when they want to log in, sign up or even reset a password.
5. Custom Domain: The custom domain allows the admins to host customer portal on their own domain rather than the default Zoho Creator domain.
6. Portal Types: The portal types are different types of accesses that get granted to the customer portal. They can be public, private, or restricted.
7. Title and Logo: The title and logo can be displayed when the customer portal is opened in a browser.
   

Enhanced Way to Communicate With Customers

In case you are a business that is looking to improve ways for interacting with the customers while also offering the user-friendliness of application then the customer portal offers many ways in which you can increase the business organization development and customer satisfaction. Other than this, you will also be improving your business measures without breaking your business bank because of the portal’s cost.

The thing to understand here is that in case you do not still have Zoho’s customer portal then you are probably missing out on many opportunities of enhancing your business with stronger customer relationships.

Use Cases For Better Understanding

 

In case you have a financial management firm that needs clients to complete paperwork online, an institution that offers its own online application, a shop that processes orders and sells products on the internet, then you must understand the process of developing, creating, and safeguarding sites.

You must also understand that the information should be safely stored. When the customers fill out any kind of form on the internet, they want the information to be safe and simple. The onus lies upon you to keep the information of your customers safe.

Development of a site that provides all of these features may seem like a time-consuming task. Owning a business does not leave you with any time to create a portal like that. In addition, it is also possible that you may already have an application that enables your customers to submit such data. But the fact is that the technology changes quickly and ensuring that your application has the ability to reflect changing business needs is important.

The custom portal of a low code development platform such as Zoho Creator ensures that your application has all the features. It helps in implementing simple design and development features that have actually made the application development services of Zoho Creator so important. With the customer portal, you can share important data with your customers while also enabling them to submit data and edit various records. All this data gets stored in one place and is restricted from any unauthorized access.

Regardless of the kind of business you are in, the customer portal offers you an opportunity to create a portal that fits the needs of your organization. On the portal, you can easily create forms that customers can fill out and save.

Vital Information is Secured

 

An organization that has not been able to turn to online applications for collecting and storing important data can rely on Zoho completely. The good thing is that Zoho acknowledges and understands that security concerns might be a primary issue for this thing.

Many times, customers are also hesitant to make an online change because they do not understand what will become of the data that is provided online. They also don’t know where the tax records and credit card information will end. For them, the internet may seem like an empty place, a place where all information may be lost.

This kind of fear is entirely understandable, but the fact is that in case you do not make a switch, you will be left behind competitors. The Zoho Creator customer portal makes it possible for a customer to see right where the data is being stored. The portal also uses better security measures so that the customers get restricted access to private data.

What matters is that you have a distinct ability to control the users who can access records that are stored in the portal. Based on the kind of permissions you offer, you can have control over who accesses forms and records, who can view and edit them, and which users can import data to the portal. All of these measures are put into place just so that unauthorized users can access information easily.

Customer Satisfaction in a Cost-effective Way

 

The customer portal makes data easy to collect and access for both you and your customers. Regardless of the number of customers you have, the customer portal will cover all of them.

It is of utmost importance to understand the difference between users and customers when it is about Zoho Creator’s Customer Portal. The users are the ones who are in the organization, the people who use the application for things like workflow management and form creation.

In contrast, the customers are external because they are the ones who will be taking the benefit of the customer portal for keeping records or purchases. Zoho does not even charge a fee per customer. When you get more customers, the business thrives automatically. The Zoho Creator Customer Portal can help you in managing the data as the number of customers keeps growing.

Setting-Up of Customer Portal

In order to set up a customer portal, take the following steps:

1. The first step is to click on the option of Customer Portal under the Users and Control section given on the Settings page.
2. In case you haven’t yet confirmed your primary email address for the Creator account, you will get a message that says, “Click Proceed to Account for confirming your email address.”
3. On the next page, click on the Configure Portal button.
4. When you do this, the portal URL page will appear. On this page, you can choose to host the customer portal on Zoho’s default domain or on a custom domain.
5.  For hosting the customer portal on the default domain, select the Default URL option on the portal URL page. This will make the Portal Type appear again. On this page, the access type for the customer portal can be easily selected from the three options that are available including Public, Private, and Restricted.
6. The Portal Permission page is going to appear wherein the permission for the user can be selected from the two options called Customer and Custom.
7. The Custom option helps in creating a new customized permission set for the users accessing the customer portal. Right when the custom option gets selected, the Custom Permission tab appears. You can configure the name and permissions and click Add so that the portal page can be set up.
8. The option of Customer helps in creating a customer portal for the users. The portal will now be set up and the changes will appear on the Customer Portal page.
9. For hosting the customer portal on the custom domain, it is important to upgrade the account so that you can set up the customer portal on the custom domain.
10.  You can now enter the domain URL and click on Next
11. When the portal page is created successfully, it is now important to verify the custom domain URL and the domain verification can be done by:

1. Click Verify Now below the domain URL. When you go to the Domain Verification tab, you can create a CNAME for your domain.
2. Create a TXT record for the domain. In case you have not created a CNAME for the site and if you have the needed permissions, you can easily upload files on your site.
3. Next, click Verify. After successful verification, the Domain Verification pane will get closed and you will see a pop-up with the message that says Domain verified successfully.
   

Conclusion

 

Zoho Creator is the best way to ensure that an application fits all your business needs completely. However, businesses need expert assistance while working with Zoho Creator and Zoho Creator Customer Portal. If you have that business then take comfort in the fact that you do not have to go through the process alone.

A Zoho Creator Certified developer can help you at each step in your journey of making the best use of the Zoho Creator Customer Portal. A good developer will be familiar with all the best practices needed for seamlessly integrating your software’s data into the new application.

Stay Tuned for more!

Cheers!

Abhi

(Seasoned Zoho Authorized and Certified Partner)

Feel free to contact me if you have any queries

Email: abhishek(@)encaptechno(dot)com

Call: +1-416-405-8185

• Topic Participants

• Abhishek - Zoho Partner

  

• Sticky Posts

• Share your success story

  We would like to hear from our passionate users how much Zoho Creator has changed the way you work and benefited you. If you would like to share your story to us and be featured as a proud user of Zoho Creator, then this is for you. Fill up the form below and if you want to be included in a case study, we will get in touch with you to get further details. So what are you waiting for? Tell us your story. Charles

• Merge and Store v1 API depreciation

  Hi Zoho Writer users, The Merge and Store v1 API allows you to store the merged document in Zoho WorkDrive. The response of this API will be returned with the document's ID only after the merge is complete. In Deluge, the maximum timeout for operation

• Zoho Creator Developer's Conference 2017 !!!

  We welcome all our Creator Developers! You're invited to join us for our annual Zoholics Developers conference August 29th–31st! This is your chance to get training and guidance on Zoho Creator from our most knowledgeable custom app builders.       Zoholics Developers is a three-day event where you'll participate in interactive workshops to hone your app-building skills, get questions answered by Creator experts with personal one-on-one sessions, and connect with other Creator developers from around

• Recent Topics

• Wrapping up 2025 on a high note: CRM Release Highlights of the year

  Dear Customers, 2025 was an eventful year for us at Zoho CRM. We’ve had releases of all sizes and impact, and we are excited to look back, break it down, and rediscover them with you! Before we rewind—we’d like to take a minute and sincerely thank you

• Introducing the Zoho Projects Learning Space

  Every product has its learning curve, and sometimes having a guided path makes the learning experience smoother. With that goal, we introduce a dedicated learning space for Zoho Projects, a platform where you can explore lessons, learn at your own pace,

• Create CRM Deal from Books Quote and Auto Update Deal Stage

  I want to set up an automation where, whenever a Quote is created in Zoho Books, a Deal is automatically created in Zoho CRM with the Quote amount, customer details, and some custom fields from Zoho Books. Additionally, when the Sales Order is converted

• How to show branch instead of org name on invoice template?

  Not sure why invoices are showing the org name not the branch name? I can insert the branch name using the ${ORGANIZATION.BRANCHNAME} placeholder, but then it isn't bold text anymore. Any other ideas?

• Admin asked me for Backend Details when I wanted to verify my ZeptoMail Account

  Please provide the backend details where you will be adding the SMTP/API information of ZeptoMail Who knows what this means?

• Unable to remove the “Automatically Assigned” territory from existing records

  Hello Zoho Community Team, We are currently using Territory Management in Zoho CRM and have encountered an issue with automatically assigned territories on Account records. Once any account is created the territory is assigned automatically, the Automatically

• Kaizen #223 - File Manager in CRM Widget Using ZRC Methods

  Hello, CRM Wizards! Here is what we are improving this week with Kaizen. we will explore the new ZRC (Zoho Request Client) introduced in Widget SDK v1.5, and learn how to use it to build a Related List Widget that integrates with Zoho WorkDrive. It helps

• Set connection link name from variable in invokeurl

  Hi, guys. How to set in parameter "connection" a variable, instead of a string. connectionLinkName = manager.get('connectionLinkName').toString(); response = invokeurl [ url :"https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/freeBusy" type :POST parameters:requestParams.toString()

• Possible to connect Zoho CRM's Sandbox with Zoho Creator's Sandbox?

  We are making some big changes on our CRM so we are testing it out in CRM's Sandbox. We also have a Zoho Creator app that we need to test. Is it possible to connect Zoho CRM's Sandbox to Zoho Creator's Sandbox so that I can perform those tests?

• I Need Help Verifying Ownership of My Zoho Help Desk on Google Search Console

  I added my Zoho desk portal to Google Search Console, but since i do not have access to the html code of my theme, i could not verify ownership of my portal on Google search console. I want you to help me place the html code given to me from Google search

• Timeline Tracker

  Hi Team, I am currently using Zoho Creator – Blueprint Workflows, and I would like to know if there is a way to track a timeline of the approval process within a Blueprint. Specifically, I am looking for details such as: Who submitted the record Who clicked

• Critical Issue: Tickets Opened for Zoho Support via the Zoho Help Portal Were Not Processed

  Hi everyone, We want to bring to your attention a serious issue we’ve experienced with the Zoho support Help Portal. For more than a week, tickets submitted directly via the Help Portal were not being handled at all. At the same time no alert was posted

• Primary / Other Billing Contacts

  If you add an additional contact to a Zoho Billing Customer record, and then mark this new contact as the primary contact, will both the new primary and old primary still receive notifications? Can you stop notifications from going to the additional contacts

• Missing Import Options

  Hello, do I miss something or is there no space import option inside of this application? In ClickUp, you can import from every common application. We don't want to go through every page and export them one by one. That wastes time. We want to centralize

• CRM x WorkDrive: File storage for new CRM signups is now powered by WorkDrive

  Availability Editions: All DCs: All Release plan: Released for new signups in all DCs. It will be enabled for existing users in a phased manner in the upcoming months. Help documentation: Documents in Zoho CRM Manage folders in Documents tab Manage files

• Is it possible to enforce a single default task for all users in a Zoho Projects ?

  In Zoho Projects, the Tasks module provides multiple views, including List, Gantt, and Kanban. Additionally, users can create and switch to their own custom views. During project review meetings, this flexibility creates confusion because different users

• [Free Webinar] Zoho Creator webinars - Learning Table and Creator Tech Connect Series in 2026

  Hello everyone, Wishing you all a wonderful new year! May 2026 and the years ahead bring more opportunities, growth, and learning your way 🙂 We’re excited to kick off the 2026 edition of the Learning Table Series and Creator Tech Connect Series ! Learning

• Reply and react to comments

  Hi everyone! We're excited to bring to you a couple of new features that'll make your sprint process simpler. A cloud application brings with it an array of social media features that can be efficiently used in your organizational setup. As an agile scrum

• Restrict Users access to login into CRM?

  I’m wanting my employees to be able to utilize the Zoho CRM Lookup field within Zoho Forms. For them to use lookup field in Zoho Forms it is my understanding that they need to be licensed for Forms and the CRM. However, I don’t want them to be able to

• How to set page defaults in zoho writer?

  hi, everytime i open the zoho writer i have to change the default page settings to - A4 from letter, margins to narrow and header and footer to 0. I cannot set this as default as that option is grayed out! so I am unable to click it. I saved the document

• Where is the settings option in zoho writer?

  hi, my zoho writer on windows has menu fonts too large. where do i find the settings to change this option? my screen resolution is correct and other apps/softwares in windows have no issues. regards

• Module Customisation - Lookup function not available

  Good evening, Within my business, I can have multiple customers, who have multiple mobile assets. When I set these assets up, I enter information such as vehicle registration, Vehicle identification number (VIN), Unit number, YOM, in addition to others.

• zoho click, and nord VPN

  Unfortunately, we've been having problems with Zoho Click, where essentially the line cuts off after about a minute's worth of conversation every time we are on VPN. Is there a way we can change this within the settings so it does not cut the line off

• Zoho Calender

  a) does the clanender in zoho project allow you to see the name of the event in the celnder view, it currently says either "Task (1) or "Milestoen (1)" b) Alternatively does the calender in Zoho project integrate with zoho calender?

• Matching ZOHO Payments in Banking

  Our company has recently integrated ZOHO Payments into our system. This seemed really convenient at first because our customers could pay their account balance by clicking on a link imbedded in the emailed invoice. Unfortunately, we can't figure out how

• Team Gamification

  Would love to motivate, engage and encourage our team with our social media posts. Would like to include Gamification features of Social Media in Zoho Social or Marketing Automation. And also bring in Social Advocacy tools/tracking/management to these,

• Power up your Kiosk Studio with Real-Time Data Capture, Client Scripts & More!

  Hello Everyone, We’re thrilled to announce a powerful set of enhancements to Kiosk Studio in Zoho CRM. These new updates give you more flexibility, faster record handling, and real-time data capture, making your Kiosk flows smarter and more efficient

• New Enhancements to Zoho CRM and Zoho Creator Integration

  Hello Everyone, We’ve rolled out enhancements to the Zoho Creator and Zoho CRM integration to align with recent updates made to the Zoho Creator platform. With enhancements to both the UI and functionality, This update also tightens access control by

• Work Type - Limitation

  Hello, I'm setting up work types and have noticed, a limitation on the parts area to 10 lines. Can this be increased to 20 or greater? In addition to this, when I attempt to add the work type to a work order, the correct labour hours doesn't flow through.

• Emails sent through Bigin are not posting in IMAP Sent folder

  I have set up my email to work from within Bigin using IMAP.  I am using IMAP so I can sync my email across multiple devices - phone / laptop / desktop / iPad / etc.  I want all my emails to populate my email client (outlook & iphone email) whether or

• Adding Default Module Image into mail merge field

  As with most people finding their way to these forums i have a specific requirement that doesn't seem to be supported by Zoho I have created 2 custom modules to suit my purpose 1 is an inventory type module that lists aluminium extrusions, and all relevant

• Turning the page for Zoho SalesIQ: 2025 to 2026

  As we wrap up 2025, we would like to take a moment to reflect on what we set out to achieve this year, what we’ve delivered, and where we’re headed next. What we focused on in 2025 This year was all about strengthening the core of engagement and AI, making

• Stage-probability mapping feature in custom module

  Hi, I'm building a custom module for manage projects. I would like to implement the stage-probability feature that Potentials has. Is this possible?

• Temporary Outage in Zoho Cliq Affecting US Users – July 23, 2025

  We experienced a service disruption in Zoho Cliq that impacted core functionality for users in the US region. The issue occurred between Jul 23, 2025, 06:54:00 PM IST and 07:13:13 PM IST, lasting approximately 19 minutes. To restore service stability,

• Why Sharing Rules do Not support relative date comparison???

  I am creating a Sharing Rule and simply want to share where "Last Day of Coverage" (Date field) is Greater than TODAY (Starting Tomorrow). However, sharing rules don't have the option to compare a date field to a relative date (like today), only to Static

• Zoho Cliq not working on airplanes

  Hi, My team and I have been having this constant issue of cliq not working when connected to an airplane's wifi. Is there a reason for this? We have tried on different Airlines and it doesn't work on any of them. We need assistance here since we are constantly

• Problem with Workdrive folders

  I'm having a problem a problem accessing files in a Zoho work drive folder when using the Zoho writer app. The problem folder appears grayed out in the Zoho work drive window in both the online and writer application. However I can open the folder in

• Send Supervisor Rule Emails Within Ticket Context in Zoho Desk

  Dear Zoho Desk Team, I hope this message finds you well. Currently, emails sent via Supervisor Rules in Zoho Desk are sent outside of the ticket context. As a result, if a client replies to such emails, their response creates a new ticket instead of appending

• Multi-currency and Products

  One of the main reasons I have gone down the Zoho route is because I need multi-currency support.  However, I find that products can only be priced in the home currency, We sell to the US and UK.  However, we maintain different price lists for each. 

• Create an Eye-Catching Announcement Widget for Your Help Center

  Hello Everyone! In this week’s edition, let’s explore how to keep your customers updated with exciting news in the Help Center. See how ZylkerMobile wowed their customers by bringing updates right to their portal. ZylkerMobile, the renowned brand for

• Next Page