How to Build a Clinical Trial Participant Portal 

Running a clinical trial involves an overwhelming amount of data, documentation, and communication. From onboarding participants and collecting consent forms to managing timelines and sending notifications—manual systems or scattered software solutions just don’t scale.

That’s where a clinical trial participant portal built on Knack’s no-code platform can make all the difference. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to build one in minutes—no developer or designer skills needed.

Why Use Knack to Build a Clinical Trial Portal?

Clinical trials demand secure, flexible tools that adapt to complex workflows. Traditional software either locks you into rigid templates or requires heavy customization by developers. Knack flips that model on its head:

• Build your own portal with zero code
  
• Scale with your trial phases, participants, and documents
  
• Customize roles, permissions, and interfaces to fit real-world use
  

Knack lets research teams stay in control of their tools without waiting for IT or burning budget on custom builds.

Step 1: Choose How to Build – AI, Template, or Import

Knack gives you three ways to kick off your portal build:

1. Generate with AI (Recommended)
   Describe your needs in natural language, and Knack’s AI will automatically create your portal with relevant tables, pages, and user roles. You’ll have a working system in minutes.
   
2. Start with a Template
   Search for a relevant template, such as “Clinical Trial Portal,” and customize from there. Templates come pre-built with structure and design best suited to specific industries.
   
3. Import Your Own Data
   If you’re migrating from another platform or spreadsheet system, you can import participant data, survey results, or study documents via CSV.
   

For this walkthrough, we’ll focus on the AI option. It’s the fastest way to generate a fully structured clinical trial portal—complete with sample data to visualize how it all works.

Step 2: Review and Customize the AI-Generated Portal

Once Knack AI builds your portal, it will include:

• Five data tables (e.g., participants, consent forms, surveys)
  
• Seven customizable pages
  
• Two user roles (typically participants and administrators)
  

Start by previewing the Live App to see what the portal looks like in action. You’ll see:

• A dashboard with charts and graphs (e.g., participant status, phase completion)
  
• Tabs for participants, consent forms, surveys, study phases, and more
  
• Pre-built sample data for testing layout and usability
  

Every section is fully editable. You can adjust charts, layouts, filters, and navigation—all with drag-and-drop simplicity.

Step 3: Secure the Portal with Role-Based Page Access

By default, all pages in a new Knack app are unlocked. To ensure that sensitive data stays protected:

1. Go to the page menu
   
2. Select Protect Page with Login
   
3. Choose whether access is open to all registered users or limited to specific roles (e.g., only admins can view consent form submissions)
   

You’ll see a lock icon appear next to any page with restricted access. To lock all pages at once, go to Settings > User Login and enable global protection.

This ensures participants only see what they’re meant to—and administrators can manage workflows without risk.

Step 4: Customize and Add User Roles

Knack AI usually creates two roles: Participants and Administrators. You can easily:

• Add new user roles (e.g., Researchers, Monitors, Trial Coordinators)
  
• Define specific data fields for each role (e.g., age, medical history, contact preferences)
  
• Modify existing fields, including type (text, number, email, etc.)
  
• Connect roles to datasets like surveys or timelines via relational fields
  

Advanced features like validation rules, conditional logic, and task automation are also available—enabling detailed control over how users interact with the portal.

Step 5: Structure and Manage Data Tables

The backbone of your portal is the data stored in Knack Tables. These include:

• Participants Table: Stores core participant information and study IDs
  
• Consent Forms: Tracks consent documentation per participant
  
• Surveys: Holds responses and links them to specific trial phases
  
• Study Phases: Documents progress and scheduling by cohort or individual
  
• Notifications: Manages automated updates for users
  

You can modify any table by:

• Adding/removing fields
  
• Changing data types (e.g., dropdown, date, file upload)
  
• Creating connections between tables (e.g., link a participant to a consent form)
  

This level of flexibility is critical in clinical trials, where every study may have unique data capture needs and compliance requirements.

Step 6: Apply a Custom Theme for a Professional Look

Once your data structure is solid, head to the Theme Settings panel to customize your portal’s appearance:

• Modify font sizes, colors, spacing, and layout
  
• Match branding with your organization’s logo and color palette
  
• Switch between light or dark modes
  
• Preview updates in real time across all pages
  

A consistent and professional UI builds trust with participants and keeps administrators focused on the work—not clunky software interfaces.

Step 7: Final Settings and Launch

Before going live, review your global app settings:

• Verify user login configurations
  
• Check data privacy rules
  
• Adjust email notifications and task automations
  
• Test portal access using sample accounts from each role
  

Once everything checks out, switch to Live App view and begin using your portal with real participant data.

Conclusion: A Smarter Way to Run Clinical Trials

With Knack, building a clinical trial participant portal doesn’t require developers, complicated integrations, or months of setup. In just a few minutes, you can create a secure, scalable, and fully tailored system that:

• Centralizes trial participant data
  
• Automates form collection and survey workflows
  
• Controls access by role and page
  
• Grows with your study’s evolving requirements
  

Whether you’re running a single-site trial or managing a large-scale, multi-phase research study—Knack gives you the tools to stay compliant, organized, and in control.

Ready to build your portal?

Start your free Knack trial and streamline your clinical trial operations without writing a single line of code.