How to Customize the BoldDesk Customer Portal
The BoldDesk Customer Portal provides a self-service experience that enables customers to access support resources, submit tickets, track requests, and manage their accounts. By customizing the portal, you can align it with your brand identity, improve usability, and control how customers interact with your support team.
This guide explains the available Customer Portal settings and how they can be configured.
Prerequisites
Permission Required
To access Customer Portal settings, your role must have the Manage Settings permission enabled.
Path: Admin → Roles and Permissions
For more instructions on Role and permissions, learn more on Managing Roles and Permissions in BoldDesk.
Accessing Customer Portal Settings
To access Customer Portal settings:
Admin Module → Customer Portal
Some Customer Portal settings are configured per brand, while others apply to the entire BoldDesk account. Sections such as General, Ticket, Attachments, Knowledge Base, and Customization are brand-specific. Settings related to Security are configured globally and do not require brand selection.
Customer Portal Customization Areas
The following sections provide an overview of what can be customized.
| Area | What You Can Customize |
|---|---|
| General | Branding, portal URL, logo, footer links, announcements, live chat, analytics |
| Login | Form login, social login, OAuth, OpenID Connect, JWT SSO |
| Security | Sign-up permissions, 2FA, password policies |
| Tickets | Auto-suggest articles, anonymous ticket creation, editing restrictions, ticket closure |
| Attachments | File downloads, inline images, attachment delivery |
| Knowledge Base | Self-service portal settings |
| Customization | Theme colors, login page design, custom CSS, custom JavaScript |
General
The General section allows you to configure your portal branding, URLs, announcements, integrations, and customer-facing elements.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Brand | Select the brand whose customer portal you want to customize. |
| Portal Name | Sets the customer portal title and optionally displays it in the navigation bar. |
| Portal URL | Change your BoldDesk subdomain or map a custom domain. Learn more: How to Map a Custom Domain to Your BoldDesk Help Center and How to Change or Rename BoldDesk Subdomain. |
| Logo & Favicon | Upload your brand assets. Supported formats: JPG, JPEG, PNG, SVG, GIF, and ICO. Maximum size: Logo – 2 MB, Favicon – 64 KB. |
| Logo Linkback URL | Specifies the URL users are redirected to when they click the portal logo. |
| Footer Links | Add links for Copyright, Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy. |
| Announcement Banner | Display announcements using plain text or rich text formatting with colors, links, highlighting, and font styling. |
| Live Chat Widget | Enable or disable live chat, choose the widget to display, and configure automatic user authentication. |
| Google Tag Manager ID | Adds your GTM tracking container to all customer portal pages. |
Footer Links
The footer link supports URLs such as copyright, terms of use, privacy policy, cookie policy and contact us. Many different footer links are available to display in the footer section of the customer portal. The footer links have the following options;
| Setting | Definition |
|---|---|
| Copyright URL | The link that points to your organization’s copyright or legal notice page. |
| Terms of Use URL | Web address that points to your organization’s Terms of Service or Terms of Use page. |
| Privacy Policy URL | The link to your organization’s Privacy Policy page, which explains how you handle user data and comply with privacy regulations. |
| Cookie Policy URL | The link to your organization’s Cookie Policy page, which explains how cookies are used on your site or portal. |
| Contact Us | The phone number that users can use to reach your organization for support, inquiries, or assistance. |
Announcement Banner Message
This message is used for any new announcements for the customers and users. The announcement can be sent in two different ways, namely:
- Plain text: Contains only raw characters (letters, numbers, symbols).
- Rich text: Supports text styling and formatting features.
In the Rich Text, you can change the font size, font color, and highlight it. It also enables you to set links in the announcement banner.
After updating the announcement banner, it appears in the customer portal as shown in the screenshot below.
Live Chat Widget Settings
The Live Chat Widget Settings in BoldDesk control how the live chat feature appears and behaves in your customer portal.
Purpose:
-
To enable or disable the live chat widget for customers.
-
To configure which chat widget is displayed and whether it auto-authenticates logged-in users.
You can use this feature to automatically embed live chat in the customer portal. Explore how to Automatically Embed Chat Widget.
Login
The Login settings determine how customers authenticate to access the portal.
| Setting | Purpose |
|---|---|
| BoldDesk Form Login | Allows users to sign in using a username and password. |
| Google reCAPTCHA | Protects login forms from automated access and bot activity. |
| Social Login | Allows customers to sign in using Google, Microsoft, or Facebook accounts. |
| OAuth 2.0 | Enables secure delegated authentication through an external identity provider. |
| OpenID Connect | Provides identity-based authentication using a centralized identity provider. |
| JWT SSO | Authenticates users through secure JWT tokens. |
Single Sign-on
Configure your single sign-on (SSO) method using information from your identity provider. Single sign-on is a secure authenticating method. If your company already has a single sign-on, it can be configured here. There are three different methods available in BoldDesk:
- OAuth 2.0
- OpenID Connect
- JWT
Additional resources:
Learn more about How to Set Up BoldDesk with Azure AD Single Sign-On.
Explore How to Configure JWT Base Single Sign-On (SSO) in BoldDesk.
Security
The Security section helps you control account registration, authentication, and password requirements.
General Settings
From the general settings, you can customize the following;
| Setting | Definition |
|---|---|
| Allow users to sign up from customer portal | Enabling this option will allow an end-user to register an account and submit a ticket. |
| Restrict sign-up via social and custom SSO on customer portal | When enabled, users cannot create new accounts or submit tickets using social media or custom SSO logins. Only users with existing accounts can log in via SSO. |
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
If you enforce/enable 2FA authentication, all users will be required to set up two-factor authentication (2FA) for their BoldDesk accounts. Please note that these settings only apply to BoldDesk form logins, not to custom SSO or social logins. Explore Enabling Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for Agents in BoldDesk.
Password Policy
The password policy is only applicable if you have allowed BoldDesk (Form Login). Two options are available in the password policy: Default and Custom. The default policies are predefined, while custom policies can be altered.
The custom policies have rules that can be selected or unselected depending on your needs. These rules include a maximum number of password characters or password expiry.
Ticket
The Tickets tab allows administrators to control how customers create, update, and close tickets in the Customer Portal.
| Setting Category | Setting | Description | Screenshot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Brand | Select the brand for which the ticket settings will be applied. Ticket settings are configured separately for each brand. | |
| Auto Suggest Articles | Allow article suggestions during ticket creation | Automatically displays up to 5 relevant knowledge base articles when a user enters a ticket subject. This helps customers find answers before submitting a ticket and can reduce ticket volume. Explore Managing Auto Suggestions for Articles in Customer Portal. | |
| Ticket Update Settings | Restrict ticket editing in the customer portal | Prevents customers from editing ticket titles, deleting replies, or removing attachments after a ticket has been created. | |
| Ticket Update Settings | Restrict CC users from updating tickets via the customer portal | Prevents CC recipients from adding replies to tickets through the Customer Portal. Only the primary requester can update the ticket. | |
| Ticket Creation Settings | Allow unauthenticated users to create tickets | Allows users to submit tickets without signing in to the Customer Portal. Anonymous users must provide basic contact information when creating a ticket. | |
| Ticket Closure Settings | Allow end-users to close tickets through customer portal | Allows customers to close their own tickets from the Customer Portal. If disabled, tickets can only be closed by agents or automations. |
Attachments
This setting helps you configure attachment settings in the customer portal as discussed below.
Brand
All the general settings listed below are brand-specific. Choose the corresponding brand and apply the settings.
File Download Settings
You can set the permission to download files based on your requirements in the file download settings.
You can enable end users to download attachments without requiring them to log in. Learn more about How to allow an end user to download an attachment without having to login.
Inline Image Settings
Refers to the configuration that controls whether images inserted in ticket descriptions, replies, or knowledge base articles are displayed inline (embedded within the text) or as attachments.
File Attachment Settings (Email)
If you prefer to send file attachments directly in emails rather than as links, you can customize this by enabling the settings. Please note that this setting is specific to each brand.
Knowledge Base
To configure the settings of the customer portal’s knowledge base section, learn more about How to Configure the Knowledge Base Self-Service Portal.
Customization
All the general settings listed below are brand-specific. Choose the corresponding brand and apply the settings. You can customize your customer portal appearance from this page and add CSS and JS to enhance your customer portal experience.
Login Page
Here you can customize the background image for your customer portal.
Theme Customization
The theme color improves various style factors in your customer portal, including the hyperlink color, button color, app backdrop, and animated colors.
To customize the theme color:
-
Go to the Customization tab
-
Select an existing color or type the hex code to match your brand
Avoid transparent colors while configuring a custom theme color. The theme color will only be considered for the light theme. A specific theme color will be used to improve visibility in the dark theme.
Learn more about How to Apply Dark Mode theme in the Customer Portal.
Advanced Customization
Under advanced customization, users can configure brand-specific custom JavaScript and CSS to personalize their customer app.
Please watch this video tutorial for further information.
To include custom JavaScript and CSS, select Add Custom CSS and Add Custom JS as appropriate, enter the customization codes, and click Add.
To update or delete the existing custom JavaScript and CSS, select Edit or Delete.
Accessing Customer Portal Settings
You should enable the ‘Manage settings’ permission in the roles and permissions section to access the customer portal settings.
- If one brand’s Customer Portal appears zoomed, enlarged, reduced, or scaled differently compared with another brand, BoldDesk does not provide a separate portal zoom setting for each brand. First, check the browser zoom level, device display scaling, and browser accessibility settings.
- If the issue occurs only for one brand, review that brand’s Customer Portal customization settings, especially custom CSS, logo sizing, banner settings, and layout-related styling. Brand-specific CSS or oversized visual elements can make one portal appear scaled differently from another.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
What is the logo linkback URL?
It’s the URL your logo redirects to when clicked. You can set it to your company’s homepage or any relevant page. -
Can anonymous users create tickets?
Yes, anonymous users are permitted to create tickets in BoldDesk.To achieve this as an administrator, you can activate this feature by:
Navigating to Admin > Customer Portal > General Tab.Enabling the option ‘Allow unauthenticated users to create tickets.’
Once this setting is activated, users who aren’t logged in can access the ticket creation form to submit their queries. Please note: Anonymous users won’t be able to view or track the tickets they’ve created unless they log into the portal, but they can track the process through their email.
-
How do I restrict CC users from replying to tickets in BoldDesk?
Go to Admin → General Settings → CC Field Settings and disable the “Enable CC Fields” option. When this is turned off:- CC recipients will no longer receive email notifications for ticket updates.
- If they try to reply via email, their message will be marked as suspicious and will not be added as a valid ticket response.
-
What happens when I disable CC fields?
- CC users will stop receiving notifications for both existing and new tickets.
- They cannot interact with tickets via email or the customer portal.
- Any replies from CC users will be ignored or flagged as suspicious.
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Is it possible to create a second customer portal tailored specifically for one customer?
The customer portal in BoldDesk is designed to be brand-specific rather than customer-specific. Each brand has its own unique portal URL, and any contact with access to that URL can interact with the portal.
Currently, BoldDesk does not support linking specific contacts to individual brands. Contacts are managed at the organization level and are shared across all brands.
If you need a portal experience for a particular customer, you can create a separate brand dedicated to that customer and share the portal URL exclusively with them. However, this approach does not provide guaranteed exclusivity, as anyone with the URL could potentially access the portal.
