Microsoft Updates Office 365 Web Portal

If you are using Office 365 for business, you can now configure the web portal—which is basically the default user experience you get when you sign into the site—with an attractive new start page that provides quick access to the service's web apps. The new design is in some ways similar to what consumers access at Office.com.

You can access this new start page by clicking the Office 365 logo in the current web portal. Or, you can configure this—and several other options—as your default Office 365 home page. To do so, navigate to Settings (gear icon), Office 365 Settings, Start page and then choose from the drop-down list.

As you can see, you might also choose Outlook or some other Office 365 web app you use regularly. (Be sure to check out the recently-added themes while you're in there, too.)

Microsoft also provides download links for Office 2013 from the new start page and links for accessing Office on mobile devices such as iPad, iPhone, Windows Phone and Android handsets. As with the previous install page, you're prompted to download the correct Office for you OS (Windows, Mac).

Looking ahead, it's a good idea to select this new start screen as your Office 365 home page because Microsoft says it will promote new Office 365 services there when they're available on your account. So this will be the quickest way to find out when Delve, Yammer, or future new features become available.