What is Power Pages?

In our new blog series, we cover all the components of Power Apps one by one. In the final blog of this series, we take a closer look at Power Pages. Discover what Power Pages is, what you can achieve with it and how it works together with other components of the Power Platform.

What is a Microsoft Power Pages site?

Microsoft Power Pages is the newest addition to the Power Platform, formerly known as Power Apps Portals. Since its relaunch, it has been a standalone component of the Power Platform. It focuses specifically on building external websites for customers, partners and other external users. All data is stored in Dataverse tables. For example, the details of registered users are stored in the Contact table and company details are stored in the Account table.

Microsoft Power Pages offers various components that can easily be added to extend the functionality of the website. Some important controls are:

• Text box: For adding textual information, such as instructions or descriptions.
• Forms: For entering and editing Dataverse data via forms, for example for registrations or customer details.
• Lists: An overview of data, such as customer lists or requests, that can be filtered and customized.
• Media: For inserting images, videos or other media files to make the site visually appealing.
• Card Gallery: A visual display of items in the form of Cards, suitable for showcasing products or services.
• Power BI: For showing interactive dashboards and reports within the website, so that users have direct access to data insights.
• IFrame: Lets you embed external content or other websites within the Power Pages site for additional information or integrations.

With these controls, Power Pages sites can be set up to be user-friendly and visually appealing, tailored to the specific needs of their users.

What can you do with a Power Pages site?

With Power Pages, you can digitalize complex processes and make them accessible through a secure, user-friendly website. Where Canvas Apps offer flexibility in app design and Model-Driven Apps focus on internal data management, Power Pages is aimed at making this data and functionality accessible externally. This allows organizations not only to automate processes, but also to make them easily accessible to customers, partners or other external users. To illustrate this further, I have listed a few Power Pages use cases:

• Volunteer portal: A non-profit organization can use Power Pages to manage and promote volunteer projects, where volunteers can easily log in to view detailed information about projects, requirements and schedules. They can easily sign up, share their availability and communicate directly with project coordinators. The platform offers automation such as confirmation emails and reminders, while volunteers can track their progress and share successes. Through Power Pages, organizations can issue personalized certificates and efficiently manage and analyze volunteer data through integration with Microsoft Dataverse.
• Partner portal: A partner portal built with Power Pages gives an organization’s partners easy access to important documents, project statuses and collaboration tools. By keeping these documents in one central location, customers and partners can quickly find information such as contracts, reports and project updates. The portal not only makes it easier to access important documents, but also provides a secure, modern space for collaboration.
• Customer service portal: Companies can use a Power Pages site to give customers access to self-service options. Think of submitting support tickets, tracking the status of requests and viewing other pages such as frequently asked questions (FAQ). Support tickets are entered by customers in one central place and arrive at customer service in one central place. In addition, customers can find answers to their questions without having to submit a ticket.

Role within Power Apps/Power Platform

Power Pages sites offer a great solution for creating external web portals aimed at customers, partners or suppliers. Power Pages sites offer built-in support for security and permissions, making it easy to manage access based on roles. In addition, all data is stored securely in Dataverse tables. Finally, it is also possible to create Progressive Web Apps.

Use the Power Platform admin center to see how secure the websites in your tenant are.

Unlike Canvas Apps, which focus on specific tasks, and Model-Driven Apps, which support complex business processes, Power Pages focuses on creating interactive sites for external users. They are scalable and flexible, so they grow along with the needs of the organization and the site.

How do Power Pages sites work together with the Power Platform?

Power Pages works seamlessly with the other components of the Microsoft Power Platform. By integrating these components, powerful and valuable solutions can be built. Below are some examples of how Power Pages works together with other Power Platform components:

• Dataverse: Power Pages uses Dataverse for data storage. All data collected through a Power Pages site is stored securely in Dataverse tables. This data can easily be managed and shared with other Power Platform solutions.
• Power Automate: With Power Automate, processes within a Power Pages site can be automated. Think of automatically sending emails, approving requests or starting automated flows as soon as users submit data through the site.
• Power Apps: Both Canvas Apps and Model-Driven Apps can work together with Power Pages. Canvas Apps can be displayed directly in Power Pages sites. This way, external users can use interactive forms or specific functions, such as placing orders or entering data.
• Model-Driven Apps share the same Dataverse data source as Power Pages. This means that complex business processes managed internally through Model-Driven Apps can easily be made accessible externally through a Power Pages site.
• Power BI: Power BI reports and dashboards can be integrated directly into Power Pages. This makes it possible to present real-time insights and analyses to external users, so they always have access to up-to-date data.
• 
  Makers can create and modify Dataverse tables directly in the design studio via the Data workspace.

Limitations of Power Pages

Although Power Pages offers many possibilities, there are some limitations. The design options are limited if you do not have much knowledge of HTML, CSS or JavaScript. Complex functionality requires development experience with tools such as Visual Studio Code. Integrations outside the Power Platform require additional API configuration. In addition, the licensing model can be costly, especially with many external users or large volumes of data.