> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.laneapp.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Customer Portal

> Give your customers a branded portal to submit requests and track their progress.

The customer portal is **a customer-facing site where your users can submit feature requests and follow their progress** - without needing access to your Lane workspace. Every request submitted through the portal becomes a feedback in Lane, so your team manages everything from a single place.

Portals are hosted at `portal.laneapp.co/{your-workspace-slug}` and are completely separate from the main Lane app. Customers authenticate with a passwordless magic link — no passwords, no accounts to manage.

## How it works

1. You enable the portal and share the link with your customers.
2. Customers sign in with their email via a magic link.
3. They submit requests and track the status of each one.
4. Requests appear as insights in Lane with `source: Portal`.
5. As your team updates insight statuses in Lane, the portal reflects the changes automatically through status mapping.

## Enable the portal

1. Click your workspace name in the top-left corner.
2. Go to **Settings → Portal**.
3. Toggle the portal **on**.
4. Copy the portal URL and share it with your customers.

<Note>
  When the portal is disabled, the portal URL returns a 404 page.
</Note>

## Configure the portal

All portal settings are in **Settings → Portal** and save automatically when changed.

### Design

* **Portal name** — the heading displayed at the top of the portal. Defaults to "Requests".
* **Subtext** — a short description shown below the portal name.
* **Primary colour** — the accent colour used for buttons and highlights across the portal.
* **Lane branding** — toggle whether a "Powered by Lane" footer link appears.

### Visibility

Controls what signed-in customers can see:

* **Personal** (default) — customers only see requests they submitted.
* **Company** — customers see all portal requests associated with their company.

### Status mapping

The portal uses four fixed status labels that your customers see — **Open**, **Planned**, **In Progress**, and **Done**. Each portal status maps to one or more of your internal Lane insight statuses:

* **Open** — automatically maps to the triage status. This cannot be changed.
* **Planned**, **In Progress**, **Done** — you choose which internal statuses map to each one.

Each portal status has a configurable colour. When your team moves an insight to a new status in Lane, the portal status updates automatically based on these mappings.

***

## Customer experience

### Signing in

Customers visit your portal URL and enter their email address. They receive a magic link email that's valid for one hour. Clicking the link signs them in for 30 days — no password needed.

### Submitting requests

After signing in, customers click **+ New request** in the top bar to submit a request with a title and description. They receive a confirmation email after submitting.

On the Lane side, this creates a feedback with `source: Portal` and `status: Triage` . Lane also automatically resolves or creates a company and user record for the customer.

### Tracking requests

The portal groups requests by status in the following order: In Progress, Planned, Open, Done. Customers can click any request to view its details or delete their own submissions.

The sidebar shows an activity timeline of status changes and a completion counter.

### Profile

Customers can update their display name from the top-bar profile dropdown. Name changes are reflected on the associated Lane contact record.

***

## Best practices

* **Set clear portal status mappings** before sharing the link. Customers see these labels, so make sure they reflect your actual workflow.
* **Use company visibility** if you want customers at the same organization to see each other's requests and avoid duplicates.
* **Customize the design** to match your brand — updating the portal name, subtext, and primary colour makes the experience feel native.
* **Review portal submissions regularly.** Since requests arrive as insights with `source: Portal`, you can filter your insights list to surface them quickly.

***

## FAQs

**Q: Where do portal requests appear in Lane?**\
A: They appear under insights with `source: Portal`. You can filter your insights list by source to find them.

**Q: Can customers see internal discussions or notes?**\
A: No. The portal only shows the request title, description, submission date, and mapped portal status. Internal Lane data is not exposed.

**Q: What happens when I change an feedback's status in Lane?**\
A: The portal status updates automatically based on your status mapping in **Settings → Portal** and the customer who submitted the request is informed via email.

**Q: Can I disable the portal without losing data?**\
A: Yes. Toggling the portal off makes the URL inaccessible, but all existing requests and data remain in Lane as feedback.

**Q: Do customers need a Lane account?**\
A: No. Portal users authenticate with a magic link tied to their email. They don't need a Lane workspace account.