A Web portal, also known as a gateway, presents itself as a starting point for Internet users when they first connect to the Web. Portals have evolved from simple search engines to sites offerings a wide range of services. The leading portals in terms of traffic include America Online's AOL.com, Yahoo!, and Microsoft Network (MSN).
All of the leading portals offer an integrated package of services that includes a search engine, news, chat, e-mail, calendars, personalization, content, music downloads, video streaming, and electronic commerce. These services are designed to give portals "stickiness," which means that users will stay there longer and keep coming back to the site. Where portals once acted as a gateway to the larger interconnected world of the Internet, portals are more interested in having users stay within their sites as much as possible. Their strategy is to be a destination, not just a starting point.
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