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11.5. The Primary Portal as a Secondary Portal

Updated: 2 Oct 2026, 08:55 AM EDT

By default, the primary portal shows all public categories, custom fields, and knowledge books. If you use secondary portals for different customers or websites, you may want to keep some of that content off the primary portal. For example, a knowledge book intended for one secondary portal should not also appear on your main support site.

To control what appears on the primary portal, create a secondary portal and select Use as Primary Portal. Customers continue to use your existing primary portal URL, but the portal uses the content selections and settings from this secondary portal.

Before you begin

• Sign in to the HelpSpot staff interface as an administrator.
• Have your existing primary portal homepage URL and its server directory path available. The directory path is a filesystem location, not a web address. For HelpSpot Cloud, the directory path is /var/www/helpspot/public. For a self-hosted installation, ask your server administrator if you are unsure of the path.
• Only one secondary portal can be used as the primary portal. If you already have one configured, edit that portal instead of creating another.

1. Open Secondary Portals

1. Click Admin in the top navigation.
2. In the left sidebar, click Customize to expand it.
3. Click Secondary Portals.
4. Find the Add a Secondary Portal form below the list of existing portals. If no portals exist yet, the list displays No Records Found.

Admin → Customize → Secondary Portals. Screenshots use a demo installation and example values. Click an image to enlarge it.

2. Enter the primary portal details

• Portal Name: Enter the name customers should see in the portal banner, such as Customer Support.
• Portal URL: Enter your existing primary portal homepage URL, such as https://support.example.com. Include any subdirectory that is part of that URL. Do not use the staff /admin address or add a new secondary-portal subdirectory.
• File Directory Path: For HelpSpot Cloud, enter /var/www/helpspot/public. For a self-hosted installation, enter the server directory that serves your existing primary portal; ask your server administrator if you are unsure.

Entering the portal name may automatically suggest a URL and directory for a new secondary portal. Replace those suggestions with the existing primary portal's values.

3. Enable Use as Primary Portal

Scroll down in the same form and check Use as Primary Portal. This is the option that makes the new configuration replace the primary portal rather than create a separate customer-facing portal.

Check Use as Primary Portal before saving.

Note: Current HelpSpot versions set the saved URL and directory to the installation's primary portal values when this option is enabled. Still complete both required fields before submitting the form.

4. Choose what customers can see

Continue down the form and select the content you want to make available on the primary portal:

• Categories: Select the public categories customers should be able to use.
• Custom Fields: Select the public custom fields that should appear on this portal.
• Knowledge Books: Select the public knowledge books that should be available here. Leave books intended only for other secondary portals unchecked.

Only public items appear in these lists. If a list says there are no public items, check the visibility settings of the categories, custom fields, or knowledge books you want to include.

Review the remaining settings, such as Require Portal Authentication, Send Emails From, Customer Log-in View, and Portal Homepage Message, so they match how you want the primary portal to work.

5. Save and check the public portal

1. Scroll to the bottom and click Add Portal. If you are editing an existing portal, click Save Portal instead.
2. Resolve any validation errors before continuing. If HelpSpot reports that another secondary portal is already used as primary, return to the portal list and edit that existing configuration.
3. Open your usual primary portal homepage URL in a new tab. Use a private/incognito window to check what a customer sees.
4. Check the knowledge books and the request-submission form. Confirm that the selected books, categories, and custom fields are available and that content intended only for other portals is absent. If you enabled portal authentication, sign in as a test customer to check those pages.

You do not need a new public URL or a separate secondary-portal directory for this override. The existing primary portal now uses the settings you selected.

Change the settings later

Return to Admin → Customize → Secondary Portals, click the portal's name in the list, make your changes, and click Save Portal.

Knowledge Tags

Secondary Portals  /