Service Portal pages give you custom layouts for specific user workflows — dashboards, landing pages, or specialized forms that don't fit the standard catalog structure. This guide walks you through creating a new page and setting up its basic layout structure.
Why custom portal pages matter
Most Service Portal implementations start with the out-of-box catalog and knowledge pages, then hit limits when business units want custom dashboards or specialized workflows. Without custom pages, you're stuck trying to shoehorn everything into the catalog item framework or building awkward workarounds with catalog variables. The people who need these custom experiences — HR for onboarding dashboards, facilities for space requests, executives for approval summaries — end up with clunky interfaces that don't match their actual process flow.
How Service Portal pages work
A Service Portal page is a record that defines a URL endpoint and a layout structure. The page ID becomes part of the URL (/sp?id=your_page_id), and the layout is built using a hierarchy: containers hold rows, rows hold columns, columns hold widgets. You start with an empty page record, use Page Designer to drag in the structural elements (containers, rows, columns), then populate the columns with widgets that display data or capture input. Page Designer is WYSIWYG — what you build there is what users see.
From basic page to polished experience
Once your page displays properly, the improvements that matter are: adding CSS classes for consistent styling across your portal, setting up page-specific access controls if only certain groups should see it, and creating custom widgets for functionality that doesn't exist out-of-box. Well-designed portal pages also include proper meta tags for search engines, mobile-responsive layouts, and analytics tracking if you need usage data.
Before you start
- •sp_admin or admin role
- •Existing Service Portal instance to add the page to
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Step by step
Navigate to Service Portal configuration
Go to Service Portal > Service Portal Configuration. Select your target portal from the list — this determines which portal instance will host your new page. Don't create pages in the 'sp' portal if you have a custom portal; always use your organization's branded portal instance.
Access the Pages module
Click 'Pages' in the left navigation of the portal configuration screen. This opens the list of existing pages for this portal instance. You'll see all current pages with their IDs, titles, and roles — useful for checking that your new page ID won't conflict with existing ones.
Create the new page record
Click 'New' to create a page record. Set the ID field to your desired URL suffix — this becomes /sp?id=[your_id]. Use lowercase, no spaces, hyphens for readability. Fill in Title (what users see in browser tabs), and leave Public unchecked unless everyone should access this page. Set Roles if you need access restrictions. Click Submit.
Page IDs can't be changed after creation without breaking bookmarks, so choose carefully.
Open Page Designer
From your new page record, click 'Open in Designer' or use the 'Designer' related link. Page Designer loads in a new tab with your empty page. This is where you'll build the actual layout — the page record just defines metadata and permissions.
Add a container structure
Drag a 'Container' from the left panel onto your empty page. Containers provide the outer wrapper and responsive behavior. Most pages need only one container unless you're building complex multi-section layouts. The container will appear as a gray outline on your page.
Build rows and columns
Drag a 'Row' into your container, then drag column layouts into the row. Choose column widths based on your content needs — single column for forms, two-column for dashboard tiles, three-column for summary cards. Each column can later hold widgets, but you need this structural foundation first.
Save and test the page
Click 'Save' in Page Designer, then navigate to /sp?id=[your_page_id] to see the live page. You'll see the column structure with placeholder content. The page is now accessible to users with appropriate roles, ready for you to add widgets to the columns.
Best practices
Choose page IDs that match your URL structure and won't conflict with future pages — use prefixes like 'hr_onboarding' or 'facilities_requests'.
Never make pages Public unless they truly need anonymous access — it's easier to add roles later than to track down security issues.
Build mobile-first with single columns or narrow multi-column layouts — ServiceNow's responsive framework works better with simpler structures.
Save frequently in Page Designer — it doesn't auto-save and browser crashes lose all your layout work.
Test your page structure before adding widgets — structural changes are harder once you have populated columns.
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