Google Client Portal: How to Build a Google Workspace Client Portal With Gmail, Drive, and Sites
If your team already lives inside Google Workspace, the idea is tempting:
“Can we build a Google client portal with the tools available from Google Workspace?”
You can stitch together something that works for a while with shared folders, email threads, and a few links. But the moment you’re handling more than a handful of clients, the cracks show up fast: clients lose the link, permissions get messy, documents arrive in ten different places, and nobody can tell what’s missing without digging through email.
This guide walks through what a “Google client portal” usually means, how far you can realistically get with Google tools alone, and how to turn Google Workspace into a true portal experience with client portal software like Foyer.
Quick links (best next reads)
- Definition: What is a Client Portal?
- Comparison: Best Client Portal Software
- Product: Client Portal Features
- Google related:
What is a Google client portal?
When people say “Google client portal,” they usually mean one of these setups:
- Google Sites is the portal (a simple “extranet” page that links to resources)
- Gmail is the portal (requests and updates live in threads)
- Google Drive is the portal (a shared folder per client)
Each can work, especially early on, but none of them are designed to be a full portal on their own. A real portal gives clients a single place to return to for files, requests, messages, and status without having to search their inbox or find last month’s Drive link.
If you want the full definition (and what a portal should include), start here with our blog on What is a Client Portal?
Google Workspace client portal options
Here’s a simple way to think about Google-based portals—and the pages you can use as deeper guides:
Using Gmail as a “client portal” (why it breaks first)
Gmail often becomes the default client portal without anyone choosing it.
A typical workflow looks like this:
You email a client to request documents they reply with attachments or links someone on your team forwards the thread the client replies to the wrong person the “final” document ends up in a different email chain and a week later you’re searching your inbox for “the one with the signed PDF.”
Gmail is excellent for communication. It’s not built for:
- Tracking which client uploads are complete vs missing
- Keeping files organized per client or per project
- Giving a team shared visibility into client progress
- Creating a clear “home base” clients can always find
Using Google Drive as a client portal (better than email, still messy at scale)
Next, most teams try a Google Drive client portal:
- One folder per client
- Subfolders by project or year
- A link emailed from Gmail
This is a step up from attachments because files aren’t trapped in email. But Drive folders still create friction:
Clients lose the folder link and request it again. Someone shares the folder link with the wrong teammate. You spend time cleaning up permissions. And when you need specific files (like “2024 W-2” or “signed contract”), it’s hard to make the request structured enough that clients can’t miss it.
If you’re exploring this setup in depth, here’s the dedicated guide: Google Drive Client Portal
Using Google Sites as a DIY portal (great front door, weak “portal”)
Google Sites is often used as a “portal landing page”, a simple site where clients can:
- Click a shared Drive link
- Find instructions and resources
- Submit a Google Form
- Access a few embedded documents
As a lightweight “front door,” Sites can be useful. But it’s not designed to be a client-by-client portal at scale. It’s difficult to templatize, permissions can get complicated, and it doesn’t replace the workflows you need for uploads, forms, approvals, and secure sharing.
If you’re building on Sites, these may help:
What a real client portal does that Google tools don’t do alone
If you’re managing clients professionally, especially with recurring work, your “portal” needs to do more than share links. At minimum, you need:
- A single login experience clients can remember
- A clear home base per client (or per project)
- Secure uploads and downloads
- Structured requests (so clients know exactly what to send)
- A way to keep the team aligned without forwarding threads
That’s what Foyer's client portal features are built for.
The best approach: use Google Workspace with a dedicated client portal
Here’s the simplest strategy that works long-term:
- Keep using Gmail for day-to-day communication
- Keep using Google Drive for storage and collaboration
- Keep using Google Sites (optional) for public resources
- Use client portal software to unify everything into a secure, branded portal experience
Instead of asking clients to hunt for links across email, Drive, and Sites, you give them one place to log in and one place to upload or find what they need.
If your biggest pain today is collecting documents from clients, these are the most relevant supporting guides:
How a Google client portal works in practice (three common setups)
1) Gmail + Foyer (cleaner communication without messy threads)
You keep Gmail, but instead of sending sensitive attachments back and forth, you send clients to their portal. They log in, see requests, upload documents, and everything stays organized under their account—not scattered across 10 email chains.
If you want the Gmail-specific walkthrough: Gmail Client Portal
2) Google Drive + Foyer (organized storage without link chaos)
You keep your Drive structure internally, but clients access files through a portal layer that’s easier to navigate and easier to permission. You can request specific uploads and track what’s outstanding without digging through folders.
More detail here: Google Drive Client Portal
3) Google Sites + Foyer (Sites as the front door, portal behind login)
You keep a Google Site for public content or resources, then add a “Client Login” button that takes clients into the secure side of your service. Sites stays simple; the portal handles secure sharing, uploads, and workflows.
More here: Google Sites Client Portal
When you should stop trying to “DIY” a Google client portal
A DIY portal is usually fine when you:
- Have a small number of clients
- Don’t deal with sensitive documents
- Don’t need structured document collection
A dedicated portal becomes worth it when you:
- Manage dozens of clients (or more)
- Spend time chasing documents every week
- Need consistent permissions and a clear client experience
- Want a branded, professional workflow instead of “Google link sharing”
If you’re comparing tools, start with: Top 10 Best Client Portal Software [Ranked]
Next steps
If you’re trying to build a Google client portal, the goal isn’t to replace Google Workspace—it’s to stop forcing it to act like a portal.
You can keep the tools your team already uses, and add a dedicated layer that gives clients one clear place to log in, upload, and find everything:
- Explore Foyer's Client Portal features
- Or compare options in our roundup of the best client portals
When you’re ready, you can set up a secure, branded client portal software experience that works with Gmail, Drive, and Sites—without custom development.
