Definition of a vertical portal

Source: SearchCIO

On the Web, a vertical portal (sometimes called a vortal) is a Web site that provides a gateway or portal to information related to a particular industry such as health care, insurance, automobiles, or food manufacturing. (A vertical industry is one that is focused on a relatively narrow range of goods and services, whereas a horizontal industry is one that aims to produce a wide range of goods and services. Because most industry tends to specialize, most industry tends to be vertical.) A term that might also be used is interest community Web site since any vertical industry brings together people sharing an interest in buying, selling, or exchanging information about that particular industry. Vertical portals are also seen as likely business-to-business communities - for example, small business people with home offices might be attracted to a comprehensive vertical portal that provided ideas and product information related to setting up and maintaining the home office.

See: Vertical Market