They usually have the standard search engine feature, but in many cases they offer other services such as e-mail, news, stock prices, information, and entertainment. Many portals are full of information and provide and diverse amount of services to their users.
Web portals are usually very extent and the amount of information carried is enormous. Portals provide a way for enterprises to provide a consistent look and feel with access control and procedures for multiple applications, which otherwise would have been different entities altogether.