Community vs client portal
Community is for readers on your public site; the client portal is for private delivery. Separate Sign in paths, separate sessions—joining Community does not open portal access.
Capability overview
Community and the client portal both use Sign in on your brand—and they are easy to confuse. Use Community when people should take part on your public site. Use the client portal when you are delivering private work.
| Community member | Client portal client | |
|---|---|---|
| Job | Like posts, comment, return with the same name on your public site | Open galleries, downloads, courses, and releases you deliver |
| Where | Your public website | Client portal (Education / Portal Manager) |
| How they get in | Email code on your site (Join / Sign in) | Invite or purchase → code at /verify |
| You manage it from | Settings → Blog Post (Community) and live site Sign in | Portal Manager, products, invitations |
Community overview: Community overview. Portal overview: Client delivery overview.
Member is not client
A member signed in to participate on your public site. A client received access you granted to private delivery.
Someone can be both in real life (a buyer who also comments on your blog). ArtInStack still keeps two Sign in paths. Community Sign in does not open portal galleries. A portal invite does not make someone a Community member.
What Sign in should open
| Destination | For visitors who want to |
|---|---|
| Community | Like and comment as a member on your public site |
| Client portal | Open delivered work, courses, downloads, proofing |
When both are available, the header can offer a choice; the footer can show both links. Each path has its own email code.
What does not connect automatically
- Community email and portal email stay separate accounts
- Signing out of Community does not sign out of the portal (and the reverse)
- Joining Community does not grant portal access (and the reverse)
- Community Sign in is not a staff / dashboard login
Staff work stays under Team and collaboration.
Pick the right tool
| Situation | Use |
|---|---|
| Readers discussing a post; accurate likes | Community |
| Delivering finals, courses, or licensed downloads | Client portal |
| Quick finals link without a login | Project share link (/p/…)—Team / Projects docs—not Community |
| Teammates in the dashboard | Access / Teams—not Community |