"Side sound port, yes or no?" I think my answer is...maybe.
If you are playing for yourself I can see having a side sound port. But, a side sound port will affect forward projection, and usually not for the better. If you're playing for a recorder or live on stage that should be considered. I have no ukuleles with sound ports...and I've found that I have no trouble hearing them even when singing at the top of my voice. So...I think maybe the first thing is to make sure that you have a good ukulele with a strong "voice"...it seems like the side sound port is only essential if the projection is not that good?
I have played a couple of ukes with side sound ports that were really dismal - they were production ukes with a traditional front sound hole plus a large side sound hole in the upper
bass bout and they sounded terrible from above or in front. Honestly, I think they were probably dreadful to begin with and the gigantic hole in the bass bout made them worse.
I've played a couple of ukes with a small side port in the upper treble bout and they didn't sound too bad.
I guess it's like anything else...if the side sound port is well engineered it's probably not going to have too serious an impact on the "voice" of the ukulele...but for me if the ukulele has a pretty good voice to begin with I don't see that I need the side sound port.
As always, some folks like Fords and some like Chevys...and some prefer to walk...so take it all with a grain of salt. LOL
John