Customer Support Platform Portals (List + How to Make One)

Customer support platforms have become essential for businesses aiming to offer seamless service experiences. From managing customer inquiries to providing resources, support portals empower companies to handle customer needs efficiently and effectively. Let’s explore the top 10 customer support platform portals on the market and how you can create your own with Knack’s no-code platform.

Key Takeaways

• A customer support platform portal is an online hub that centralizes resources, tools, and communication channels, enabling customers to access self-service options and connect with support teams.
• A customer support platform portal provides customers with quick, convenient access to help and resources, enhancing their experience and satisfaction. It also streamlines support operations by reducing repetitive inquiries and enabling teams to focus on complex cases.
• With no-code platforms like Knack, anyone can build fully functional, tailored, and branded customer portals without any coding.

What is a Customer Support Platform Portal?

Customer support platform portals are self-service hubs where customers can submit support tickets, access a knowledge base, check the status of their queries, and find solutions to common issues without needing direct interaction with support agents. They typically have features like ticketing systems, FAQs, and live chat. Their goal is to enhance the customer experience while reducing support team workloads. 

Why is a Customer Support Platform Portal Important?

Customer support portals enhance the overall customer experience by making help accessible, efficient, and user-friendly. With a dedicated portal, customers can find answers to common questions, troubleshoot issues, and reach out for assistance in one convenient location, minimizing wait times and frustration. For businesses, these portals streamline support operations by reducing repetitive inquiries and allowing support teams to focus on more complex or unique cases. This approach reduces operational costs without sacrificing quality customer service.

What Should a Great Customer Support Portal Include?

Customer support portal features will vary depending on your exact business needs. However, all effective portals include features that streamline operations like:

• Help Desk: This simplifies handling customer inquiries and ensures issues are logged, tracked, and resolved efficiently.
• Ticketing System: This feature organizes issues by priority, tracks progress, and ensures no request goes unresolved, making it easier for support teams to deliver timely and effective assistance.
• Customer Portal: The customer portal serves as a one-stop-shop for customers to engage with a company’s resources, including accessing product information and FAQs and contacting support.
• Multilingual Support: Offering support in multiple languages ensures customers feel understood and supported, no matter their language.
• Single Sign-On (SSO): This allows users to access the portal with a single set of credentials, enhancing both security and convenience by reducing login-related barriers.
• Encryption: This protects sensitive customer data within the portal.
• Knowledge Base: A well-organized knowledge base provides customers with quick, self-service access to answers and tutorials, empowering them to resolve common issues independently.
• Scalability Features: These features enable the portal to adapt as the business grows, ensuring it can handle higher volumes of requests and new features as demand increases.
• Customization Features: Customization options, like personalized ticket forms and domain mapping, help businesses brand their portal, creating a cohesive and professional customer experience.

Top 10  Customer Support Platform Portal Solutions

Simply implementing any customer support platform isn’t enough—you have to choose a solution that fits your needs. To help guide your decision, we’ve outlined the top 10 solutions available and their best uses.

1. Knack

Knack is a powerful no-code platform that makes it easy for businesses to build custom customer support portals tailored to their unique needs. With Knack, companies can create intuitive portals that support help desk functions, organize customer inquiries, and allow secure access to knowledge bases and resources, all from a single user-friendly interface. Ideal for businesses of all sizes looking for flexibility, Knack is an excellent choice for teams wanting a solution that grows with their support needs and reflects their brand identity.

Key Features:

• Customizable ticketing system
• Third-party integration options with pre-built connectors
• Customer management tools
• Real-time reporting and analytics
• Self-service capabilities
• Scaleable pricing

2. Zendesk

Zendesk is a well-established customer service platform known for managing multi-channel customer interactions with ease. It provides businesses with the tools to engage customers across email, chat, social media, and phone. It has features like integrated ticketing, live chat, a robust knowledge base, and AI-powered automation tools that streamline support processes. Zendesk is best for retail and e-commerce companies but can be customized to meet enterprise needs.

3. Freshdesk

Freshdesk is a comprehensive helpdesk solution that simplifies customer service management by providing an intuitive and accessible interface. It offers multi-channel ticketing, automation capabilities, self-service options, and integrations with CRMs like Knack for a seamless customer experience. Freshdesk is best for small to medium-sized enterprises that promote team collaboration. It is particularly useful for industries like sales and IT.

4. HubSpot Service Hub

HubSpot Service Hub is part of the HubSpot ecosystem, allowing businesses to manage their customer support alongside sales and marketing, all from one platform. It has features like ticketing, live chat, email support, customer feedback tools, and a knowledge base. It can be used in any industry by businesses of all sizes that prioritize personalized customer interactions and a 360-degree view of their service operations.

5. Zoho Desk

Zoho Desk is a multi-channel helpdesk software designed to manage customer service operations. It offers a range of automation tools and AI-based insights for streamlined customer support. It has an intelligent ticketing system, omnichannel support, workflow automation, and integration with other Zoho tools for a complete business solution. Zoho Desk can be customized to fit any size business in most industries and is ideal for businesses seeking a versatile, cost-effective customer support platform that can scale across departments.

6. Salesforce Service Cloud

Salesforce Service Cloud is part of the larger Salesforce ecosystem, offering customer support solutions with a deep focus on AI and automation for customer service. It offers built-in ticketing, AI-driven automation, live chat, a knowledge base, and reporting tools and integrates seamlessly with other Salesforce products for complete customer management. Salesforce Service Cloud is best for larger businesses with complex customer service needs, large support teams, and a focus on data-driven personalization and automation.

7. Help Scout

Help Scout is a simple, user-friendly helpdesk software designed to enhance customer support with a focus on personal communication and minimal friction. It has a ticketing system, shared inbox, live chat, and reporting features. Help Scout also integrates with CRMs and other tools to ensure customer information is easily accessible. It’s best for smaller teams that prioritize personalized customer support with a friendly, human touch. Help Scout can be used in any industry, but it’s best suited for retail, SaaS, nonprofits, education, and media businesses.

8. Jira Service Management

Jira Service Management is an IT service desk platform that was initially focused on IT but is now offering broader service desk capabilities for customer support. It offers a powerful ticketing system, automation, workflows, and integration with other Jira tools for technical teams managing customer issues. Jira Service Management is best for medium- to enterprise-level technology businesses, but it can be adapted to industries like sales, e-commerce, and marketing.

9. Kayako

Kayako is a customer service platform that delivers personalized support across multiple channels, including email, social media, and live chat. It features a unified inbox, real-time collaboration tools, automation capabilities, and custom reporting. Kayako is easy to integrate with existing systems, making it ideal for businesses that don’t want to overhaul their entire infrastructure. It works well for retail, SaaS, telecommunications, and hospitality businesses.

10. LiveAgent

LiveAgent is a customer service platform offering multi-channel support, including live chat, email, and phone, all in one place. It features real-time chat support, ticket management, and robust call center integration. With its ability to handle large inquiry volumes, it’s great for larger businesses with fast-paced environments. LiveAgent is a versatile platform, but it’s best for e-commerce and retail, technology, telecommunications, hospitality, finance, and insurance businesses.

How to Build Your Customer Support Platform Portal With  Knack (No-Code)

If you want a fully customized customer support platform portal, build one with Knack! It may sound complicated, but our visual interface, drag-and-drop functionality, and pre-built components enable anyone to develop tailored, functional solutions. 

This tutorial will guide you through three ways you can build a customer support portal with Knack. If you need extra guidance, visit our Learning Center and Developer Documentation. Before diving in, sign up for a 14-day free trial of Knack so you can follow along.

Option 1: Start with AI

Knack offers a free AI app builder that simplifies customer support portal development. Here’s how to use it:

1. In the top right corner of the app builder, click “Create New App” and then “Start with AI.”

2. In the pop-up, describe the solution you’re making. For example: “A secure customer support platform with a help desk, ticketing system, customer portal, and knowledge base.” The AI will suggest an initial structure.

3. Explore the suggested structure and edit it to fit your needs. You can add, adjust, or remove tables, fields, connections, pages, and views using the menu to the left. Make sure you have a table for customer data (name, contact information, support ticket status, etc.) and one for support ticket data (issue, status, priority level, submission date, and customer). Create a connection between the two tables so they can interact. 

4. If it does not exist in the AI structure, we recommend adding a form view so customers can submit tickets, a ticket status page so they can track progress, and a knowledge base page.

5. Customize the user roles and permissions for each page by clicking the dropdown arrow and selecting “Require Login.” This allows you to choose who can access what information and functionalities.

6. Add any necessary integrations using the “API & Code” option in the “Settings” menu. For more guidance, read this Introduction to the API article.

7. In the menu on the left side of the builder, click “Settings” and then “Live App Design” to customize the user interface. You can add your company logo, change fonts, select colors, and more to make the portal fit your brand.

8. Import any existing customer, ticket, and knowledge base data.

Option 2: Choose an App Template

Knack also offers a library of free template apps from which to choose. These templates are customizable and great starting points. For this project, we recommend the Customer Portal Template.

1. In the top right corner of the app builder, click “Create New App” and then “Start from template app.”

2. Browse the template library to find one that best suits your needs, and click “Create App.”

3. Explore the template components and edit them to meet your requirements. You can add, adjust, or remove tables, fields, connections, pages, and views using the menu to the left. Make sure you have a table for customer data (name, contact information, support ticket status, etc.) and one for support ticket data (issue, status, priority level, submission date, and customer). Create a connection between the two tables so they can interact. 

4. Make sure there is a form view so customers can submit tickets, a ticket status page so they can track progress, and a knowledge base page.
5. Customize the user roles and permissions for each page by clicking the dropdown arrow and selecting “Require Login.” This allows you to choose who can access what information and functionalities.
6. Add any necessary integrations using the “API & Code” option in the “Settings” menu. For more guidance, read this Introduction to the API article.
7. In the menu on the left side of the builder, click “Settings” and then “Live App Design” to customize the user interface. You can add your company logo, change fonts, select colors, and more to make the portal fit your brand.
8. Import any existing customer, support ticket, and knowledge base data.

Build from Scratch

If you want more development control from the beginning, you can build your customer support platform portal from scratch. Don’t worry—it’s not as difficult as it sounds and still doesn’t require any coding! Follow these steps:

1. In the top right corner of the app builder, click “Create New App” and then “Start from scratch.”
2. Using the menu on the left, build tables, add fields, create connections, add pages, and choose views. These will store and display all content and data for users, so be sure to name everything clearly. Make sure you have a table for customer data (name, contact information, support ticket status), one for support ticket data (issue, status, priority level, submission date, customer), and one for knowledge base data (article, topic, publication date). Create a connection between the customer and support ticket tables so they can interact. 
3. Make sure there is a form view so customers can submit tickets, a ticket status page so they can track progress, and a knowledge base page.
4. Customize the user roles and permissions for each page by clicking the dropdown arrow and selecting “Require Login.” This allows you to choose who can access what information and functionalities.
5. Add any necessary integrations using the “API & Code” option in the “Settings” menu. For more guidance, read this Introduction to the API article.
6. In the menu on the left side of the builder, click “Settings” and then “Live App Design” to customize the user interface. You can add your company logo, change fonts, select colors, and more to make the portal fit your brand.
7. Import any existing customer, support ticket, and knowledge base data.

Future Improvements for Your Customer Support Portal

As customer expectations evolve, customer support platforms must adapt to stay ahead. Here are some future improvements to consider that could elevate the customer support portal experience:

• AI-Driven Personalization: AI can be used to give tailored recommendations and resources based on customer behavior and past interactions for faster, more relevant support.
• Chatbots: Chatbots with contextual understanding can handle routine customer inquiries in a natural, human-like manner and escalate bigger issues to support staff.
• Predictive Customer Insights: Add predictive analytics to identify issues before they arise. This allows for proactive support.
• Expanded Self-Service Options: Offer more intuitive self-service features, like interactive tutorials, advanced chatbot support, and enhanced search powered by natural language processing.

Build Your Customer Support Platform Portal Today

Ready to revolutionize how your business handles customer support with a custom portal? Sign up with Knack and start building for free today!