Plan your Power Pages project

Plan Your Power Pages Project

This article provides guidance for enterprise teams managing larger projects, though the principles also apply to makers building a site for a specific business need. Establishing a clear plan with defined outcomes and expectations is beneficial for projects of any size.

Note:
Power Pages is built on the foundation of Power Apps portals, and many of its configuration tools and methods rely on that underlying functionality.

Audience

The default template includes basic, unsecured web pages with sample text and images to help you begin building your site. As you create your own content and data-driven experiences, you may choose to require user authentication for specific pages. Tailor your Power Pages site to align with your organization’s unique requirements.

User Types

Anonymous users — Can access public pages without signing in.
Authenticated users — Must sign in and can be granted controlled data access.

Authenticated Users

Authenticated pages allow you to control exactly what data a user can view or update. To make your entire site accessible only to authenticated users, configure page permissions on the home page properties.

Every authenticated user on your site is linked to a contact record in Dataverse. Authentication verifies identity — authorization determines what actions are allowed.

Access and Identity Providers

Modern websites often include sign-in or registration experiences using Identity Providers (IdPs). Power Pages supports multiple industry-standard identity providers.

Internal Users

Should authenticate using Microsoft Entra ID
Provides seamless SSO experience
Access automatically revoked when Entra account is disabled

External Users

Use an external identity provider
Single IdP simplifies onboarding
Supports multiple provider options

Note:
It’s recommended to disable local sign-in providers for better security and centralized identity management.

Security

Power Pages provides strong security controls for both pages and data.

Protect individual pages with page permissions
Use web roles to group user access
Apply table permissions for Dataverse data control
Evaluate scope before using global table permissions

Important:
Avoid assigning global table permissions unless absolutely necessary — use least-privilege access whenever possible.

Data Modeling

Use the data workspace to create tables, views, and forms that power data-driven pages. These enable lists and forms connected directly to Microsoft Dataverse.

Setup Steps

Create Dataverse tables
Configure views and forms
Add lists/forms to pages
Assign correct table permissions

Anonymous Users Data Design

No special schema required for read-only scenarios
Grant global read permission to Anonymous web role if needed
Lists and forms will display automatically when permitted