A captive portal can be a valuable tool in securing your guest wireless network. Acting as a gateway for access, it allows for the stipulation of conditions or terms, which when agreed upon (or in the case of a login and password, once entered), will grant the guest user access to the network.
Captive portals are essentially web pages that the user attempting to access the guest wireless network will be forcibly redirected to when they attempt usage.
Captive portals can exist in two forms, namely a splash page, or a walled garden. A splash page is a one-page captive portal, while a walled garden consists of a selection of allowed pages, which users can access before attempting to login or have their credentials authenticated to allow full wireless network access.
Here Are a Few Tips for Utilising Captive Portals to Your Guest Network’s Best Advantage
Keep your international reach in mind
If your company hosts international users, or you expect to have consultants or contractors from foreign countries, it’s a good idea to offer a captive portal in more than one language. This includes presenting your user policy to your guest users in their own language so that they are fully aware of it and able to comprehend its requirements. By doing so, ease of access is provided for your foreign users, and a favourable impression created for your business.
Seize the opportunity to brand
A splash page offers an excellent opportunity to display your company’s branding to your guest wireless network users. This could take the form of a login page with your corporate logo in its design. Alternatively, a walled garden offers the opportunity to allow guest users access to your corporate website’s pages, so that they can explore your company’s background before attempting to log in.
Make your user policy known
Your user policy is important, as it lays the ground rules for usage on your network and acts as a legal safety net should a user commit an illegal activity on your guest wireless network. However, for it to be fully functional in this capacity means your users need to see it and agree to its terms. A captive portal offers a good opportunity to present your user policy to your potential guest users, especially if you include agreement to the policy as a prerequisite to gaining access to the network.
Make login details time-specific
Not all guest users on your guest wireless network will need access indefinitely. Stipulating a time frame during which your users credentials or access is valid will help keep your network secure, and it’s through a captive portal that this access can either be granted or denied.
Take the opportunity to learn more about your users
Deciding how you would like to implement a captive portal, and how stringent you wish your authentication to be will help you decide whether or not your network interests are best served by a captive portal that requires a user click-through, or sign in using login details. Depending on your decision, you may choose to ask users to fill in a form before gaining network access, which allows you to learn more about the nature of your guest user.
Make an excellent first impression
Your captive portal or splash page acts as a first port of call for many guests connecting to your guest network. Offer one that looks well-designed and professional, and your users will be impressed. Offer one that's flaky and not user-friendly, and your users will be left wondering whether or not your business is one to be taken seriously. Let your captive portal speak volumes about your company.
