Which of the following are steps for building a portal?

Building a portal in Appian involves a structured approach to create a user-friendly interface and integrate various functionalities. The first crucial step in this process is to build interfaces and other supporting objects. This step includes developing the necessary user interfaces that will be part of the portal experience, such as forms, reports, and dashboards. These interfaces communicate with underlying data structures and are essential for presenting information effectively to end-users.

Creating interfaces and supporting objects lays the groundwork for a cohesive and efficient portal, ensuring that all necessary components are available before moving on to configuration or publication. Once the interfaces are ready, the next steps can follow smoothly, including creating and configuring the portal object itself, which entails organizing and structuring the portal layout and functionalities effectively.

Connecting to an external database, while important in certain scenarios, is not a foundational step specifically tied to the initial phases of building a portal. Instead, it typically involves data integration and management that may come after the initial portal structure has been established. Similarly, publishing the portal is a final step that follows the creation and configuration stages.

Thus, building interfaces and supporting objects is indeed the critical first step for building a portal, making it the correct answer to the question.