What is Microsoft Power Pages? A Complete Guide.

Microsoft Power Pages is a newly released Power Platform technology that Microsoft has yet to launch fully, and we are excited to introduce it. Microsoft Power Portal will now be Microsoft Power Pages, keeping the features you like and improving the elements that need improving.

This article will answer the questions:

 

What is Microsoft Power Pages?

Microsoft Power Pages allows you to create and design a business website using templates quickly without a professional developer.

The page workspace makes creating, designing and arranging webpages easy while applying styles, themes, and tables used in data-driven web applications. The results are professional and secure websites ready when you need them.

Once your professional and secure website is published, you’ll find that you don’t need to change anything for the website to work across all web browsers and mobile devices.

 

How Microsoft Power Pages Replaces Microsoft Power Portal in Convenience and Ease

Microsoft Power Pages is built on the foundation of Power Portal. Still, the inconveniences that Power Portal contained have been made more convenient with the introduction of Microsoft Power Pages. Take a look at some of the not-so-desirable features of Microsoft Power Portal and learn how Microsoft Power Pages have eliminated them.

 

Microsoft Power Portal Features That Needed Improving

This package allowed businesses to build websites that anybody with internet access could reach but with a portal to which internal organization personnel could log in. The first problem needing improving was customizing websites and building better interfaces that enhance user experiences. For this, Microsoft Power Apps Portal required basic knowledge of HTML, JavaScript, CSS, or Liquid.

Another feature that needed improvement was the accessibility of creating portals. The portal creation option had to be enabled to develop a portal for a group of users. In addition, there had to be a specific role assigned, such as Global administrator, Microsoft Dynamics 365 administrator, or Microsoft Power Platform administrator, to create a portal website. If you were not assigned to one of these roles, it would not let you sign in to create a website and would issue a permission error.

The third improvement needed was a matter of convenience in how you can preview your website on a mobile device. With Microsoft Power Portal, you had to retype the link to preview the site, which required accurate typing and a little time. Let’s look at how s Microsoft Power Page transforms these inconveniences into ease of use and accessibility.

 

How Microsoft Power Pages Enhances Your Website Building Experience

With Microsoft Power Pages, a business can build an external-facing website using very little or no code. You don’t need the knowledge of HTML, JavaScript, CSS, or Liquid to build great websites with Microsoft Power Pages. The option to use these programming languages to create more complex websites is available by using the code editor and adding code components to the websites.

Building a website with Microsoft Power Pages, there are no options to disable or enable. There are no roles to be assigned. To start building a website, all you need is an additional license or sign up for a 30-day trial to experience the ease with which you can create your website.

Remember how you had the retype the link to preview your website on a mobile device using the Power Portal? With Microsoft Power Pages, you scan a QR code with your device to send an email with a preview link so you can open the link using your mobile device.

 

How Do Microsoft Power Pages Fit into the Power Platform?

Building your website is just the tip of the iceberg. You can integrate your professional business website, created from Power Pages, with other Microsoft Power Platform elements that make business operations more efficient and secure.

Microsoft Dataverse

Website builders usually use a database to store business information records when creating websites. Dataverse, formerly Common Data Service, is a cloud-based data service that stores information like a database. Still, security features, analytics, and automation are also available. So when you build Power Page sites, they can be connected to the Dataverse.

 

Microsoft Power Virtual Agents

When you build your Power Pages, you may also want to create a bot that will engage with customers or employees on the website. The bot can be available to answer common questions or have a complex conversation to help resolve issues. However, Microsoft recommends that the bots not be used for medical diagnosis and advice or emergencies.

However, Power Virtual Agents can help in a variety of other ways, including:

  • Employee questions about benefits
  • Customer service support issues
  • Hours of operation
  • Store information
  • Sales help
  • FAQs

As easy as it is to build Power Pages, it’s just as easy to create a Microsoft Power Virtual Agent bots without the help of developers or data scientists.

 

Microsoft Power BI

This Power Platform component is about sharing pertinent business information with those who need to know. Create a report, a dashboard, or an Excel spreadsheet and then make it available for those with access to monitor that information as it is updated. Different elements make up Power BI:

  • Power BI service
  • Power BI Desktop
  • Power BI mobile apps
  • Power BI APIs
  • Power BI report builder
  • Power BI report server
  • Power BI publish

Personnel can create reports using the Power BI desktop.

In contrast, those with access to the reports can monitor them using mobile apps. Elements and data sources from which the creations are derived connect through the Power BI service. And you can easily embed Power BI content that encourages user participation into your Power Pages by using Power BI Publish.

 

Microsoft Power Automate

Once you build your Power Pages website, you can automate features of the website that make your tasks or processes tedious and time-consuming by manual execution. You can automate login procedures and navigation processes of the website. Power Automate also can fill in web forms automatically by connecting to a data source and automating data entry tasks.

Here are some examples of what kinds of website actions you can automate:

  • Navigating a website to download files, upload files, and extract or enter data
  • Page load monitoring
  • The opening and closing of a new tab or browser window
  • Filling in web forms
  • Notifying through email that someone uploaded a file
  • Sending automatic reminders for tasks that are past due

Power Automate is another component of the Power Platform that you can install on your Power Pages website. Again, it requires little or no coding because there is a large variety of templates to select from, depending on your needs.

 

Microsoft PowerApps

With a Power App, you can start building your canvas apps on your Power Page from scratch. You can build apps from scratch by using a blank canvas and dragging and dropping components in whatever order you choose to form user interfaces, such as:

  • Checkboxes
  • Dropdown lists
  • Text fields
  • Date fields
  • Sliders
  • Search fields
  • Icons

You can build Canvas apps to help employees focus on one task and do it efficiently. You need little to no coding experience to make these apps using Power Apps. Any user interfaces built will work on any device, whether you’re using a desktop, phone, or tablet.

Luckily, It is possible to build model-driven apps as well. Model-driven apps are best when you need customized apps specific to your business needs. These apps focus mainly on entire workflows or processes, not just one task.

You build Model-driven apps by connecting to data sources and using the data. The user interface elements are prefabricated and predetermined by the data you select.

However, you can still edit them if needed. Yes, this way of building apps is more complex than canvas apps. Still, it is more useful in complex business processes than canvas apps.

 

How Can Microsoft Power Pages Help Your Business

Power Pages capabilities make your website building process easier and more efficient than with Microsoft Power Portal, with little or no coding required. However, coding options are available if you need more complexity when building your website.

And because Power Page is part of the Power Platform family, you can build a website that integrates all the features you need.

At the same time, external users can interact with data and information on the website securely. Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI incorporated into your Power Pages website can increase business operation efficiency and user interaction ease.

In addition, with Power Virtual Agent, you can create bots on your Power Pages website, which opens the lines of communication between your business and customers or employees. And remember Dataverse, which can tie all of these Power Platform components together and get your business running like a well-oiled Microsoft cloud machine.

For more information about Power Pages or any other Power Platform components, contact us to set up a call to talk with an expert.

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