---
sourceDocument: Zurich ServiceNow AI Platform user interface
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/zurich/platform-user-interface

 Release :

    - zurich

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Zurich ServiceNow AI Platform user interface

ft:clusterId :

    - platux

bundleId :

    - platux

workflow :

    - Platform


---

# Service Portal core concepts

# Service Portal core concepts {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Zurich
* 
* Updated July 31, 2025
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 1 minute to read

Service Portal contains two parts:
a framework and a portal. The framework is composed of a set of APIs, Angular services,
directives, and tools that help to build portals. The portal is a group of pages linked by page
IDs.  
Figure 1. Service Portal overview diagram

After
you enter a URL, the framework uses the suffix and picks the appropriate
portal to determine the theme and configurations. Then it loads the configured default portal
homepage unless the URL has a specified ID.

Each widget added to a page becomes its own instance. A widget instance is basically the
application of a widget in a page. Because widgets are reusable and can appear on different pages
to do different things, the manifestation of a widget on a page is referred to as a Widget
Instance. The page loads with content represented by widgets.

Widget instances get their logic from the base widget template, client scripts, server scripts,
and depending on the widget, CSS.