Microsoft Power Pages is here!

It’s official: as of October 12, 2022, the Microsoft Power Portal is now Microsoft Power Pages.  Pages has been in preview since at least May 2022, but it was expected to replace Portal at some point in late 2022.  Now that Pages has been released and is officially replacing Portal, Microsoft is working hard to update their documentation around this incredible Power Platform component.

What is Microsoft Power Pages?

According to Sangya Singh at Microsoft, “Power Pages empowers you to build low-code, scalable, and secure business-centric websites. With pre-built templates and tools to govern and administer your live sites, this comprehensive website building and hosting platform is truly a one-stop shop.”

What are the differences between Power Pages and Power Portal?

User Interface

Perhaps the most noticeable visual change with the rollout of Pages is the introduction of the Design Studio.  The Design Studio is a centralized location for developers and customizers to view their Pages settings information as well as edit and preview their Pages.  This is a departure from the Power Portal Studio, which was layered within the Power Apps component of the Power Platform.  On top of this, the Power Portal Studio provided a limited ability to more fully customize a Portal, whereas the Design Studio allows for deeper configuration of site styling, identity provider configuration, and view management.

Provisioning Time

Previously, provisioning a new Portal could take up to an hour or more, depending on several factors in your environment.  With Pages, provisioning usually takes about 15 minutes or less, which is incredibly beneficial for those who are eager to jump in and start creating a Power Page.

Power Pages Design Studio URL

As of this writing, the URL to access the Design Studio is make.powerpages.microsoft.com.  You can also access Pages from the list of apps within your Power Apps environment (assuming you have a Page already provisioned).

What are the similarities between Power Pages and Power Portal?

Portal Management Model-driven App

For now, the Portal Management model-driven app continues to be Power Pages’ back-end for configuration.  This app comes standard with every new Page that is provisioned and allows for fine-tune customizations to be performed on a myriad of Pages components, such as Lists, Web Files, Multistep Forms (formerly Advanced Forms), and much more.

Server-side Cache

There is still a 15-minute turnaround time for data transfers between the Dataverse and Pages, though data transfer between Pages and the Dataverse are instantaneous.  Customizers can still append the _services/about partial URL to the end of their Pages main URL to access cache-clearing tools.  You can read more about sever-side caching of Portals/Pages via Microsoft’s documentation on the topic here.

Dataverse

The Dataverse is still the underlying data structure that Pages is built on, just as it was for Portals.  Customizers will be able to access the Dataverse seamlessly from Pages, and vice versa, in much the same way they were with Portals.

Putting it all together

Microsoft Power Pages is the future.  With a more intuitive UI, updated provisioning time, and the introduction of the Design Center, Pages provides customizers with a streamlined approach to creating beautiful and elegant public-facing websites.  While Microsoft is still working to transition Portal documentation to Pages and integrate key components of the Portal Management model-driven app into the Design Center, Pages already stands out among the rest.

Contact Beringer Today!

We love to implement Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform functionality here at Beringer.  We’ve been working with Microsoft Dynamics since its inception, and we’re always finding innovative ways to implement the latest tools and help automate business processes.

Beringer Technology Group, a leading Microsoft Gold Certified Partner specializing in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and CRM for Distribution also provides expert Managed IT Services, Backup and Disaster Recovery, Cloud Based Computing, Email Security Implementation and Training, Unified Communication Solutions, and Cybersecurity Risk Assessment.