Portals are passageways that shuttle a person instantly or near instantly from one location to another. Fictional portals may be magical in nature, may exist due to natural phenomenon, or may be based on some alternate or future technology such as teleportation gates. They may connect distant locations, different dimensions, different worlds, or different time periods. They may have been created intentionally or accidentally.

Portals are a common element in worldbuilding and exist across most types of worlds and genres because they help solve the distance problem.

Worldbuilders placing portals into their worlds should consider the following:

• Who built the portal?
• What powers it?
• Can anyone use it?
• Is there a key?
• Does it lead to multiple places or just a single one?
• How is it opened?
• How is it closed?
• How is is used for warfare? Infrastructure? Architecture? Entertainment?