Short answer
Experience Cloud is Salesforce's product for building portals and websites that share Salesforce data with customers, partners and employees. Typical uses are client portals, partner portals, help centers and self-service sites where users log in and see their own records.
Experience Cloud explained
Formerly called Community Cloud, Experience Cloud lets you build branded sites with a drag-and-drop builder and Lightning components, then control exactly which Salesforce records each external user can see and edit. Clients can upload documents, track requests and update details; partners can register deals and share leads.
Because the portal reads and writes Salesforce data directly, there is no separate database to keep in sync, and the same security model governs both internal and external users.
How Vantage Point helps: we build client and partner portals on Experience Cloud, with the sharing model and licensing worked out before launch.
Frequently asked questions
Is Experience Cloud the same as Community Cloud?
Yes. Salesforce renamed Community Cloud to Experience Cloud in 2021.
Do portal users need Salesforce licenses?
They need Experience Cloud licenses, which are priced differently from internal user licenses and come in several types depending on what users need to access.