If earlier the Internet portals could be counted on fingers, then now they meet almost in each sphere. From the normal websites they are distinguished by a number of signs which though officially are not recognized, but after all find application in web space.
One of the most important differences of the portal from the normal website is broader subject. Create a big resource on a narrow subject simply unprofitably as expenses can not pay off. Portals do only when it is necessary to mention several directions at once. For example, it is possible to make the website about recipes of porridges, and it is possible - the portal in which I will ways of cooking of all possible dishes are collected.
Content
From the first point the second follows – content volume. In the normal websites, as a rule, not so there are a lot of articles. In portals the number of pages can be calculated by several thousand. And, the subject is wider and more difficult, the more content can be received as a result. For example, resources in which councils for women are brought together can release several years on several articles in day and all the same will not capture all possible questions.
Also in portals, unlike the normal websites, content is various. For example, video, infographics, records of users, etc. there can be used. The normal websites, as a rule, publish only articles as in other materials just there is no need.
In addition, portals differ in a large number of authors. Quite often some section on the portal is assigned to each of them. As a resource large, it needs continuous update. One person can hardly cope with such amount of works (unlike the same normal website).
Additional modules, attendance
In portals it is quite often possible to meet additional modules: forums, photo galleries, blogs, responses, etc. At the normal websites most often there are only couple from them (or is absent in general). It is caused by the fact that for the portal it is very important to have steady community, and for this purpose it is necessary to activate audience.
Portals move ahead easier (especially if all pages are interconnected). On the leading positions on popular requests there will be most often this type the Internet of resources. For example, "Wikipedia" occupies just huge layer of the first places in search delivery only thanks to volumes.
Attendance – one more indicator which distinguishes portals. The normal website of adjacent subject can seldom compete by this criterion. The same reasons – content volumes. Because it is more articles on the portal, users find the website in search engines more often.
Though, all these indicators are conditional. There is no clear split between portals and the normal websites. On extremely measure, at present.