Building a Company Website?

[FinnBrit]

Hei,

I'm thinking of starting my own company in Helsinki and I'll need a website. Does anyone know of a good company that good design the layout and host the thing? I'd obviously need all the usual things, such as the ability to update it and use of emails..

I found this one site: www.wa.fi (in Finnish only) that offers such a package for €450 start-up and then €16 per month but their example layouts are only OK. Are there any other similar companies out there?

Many thanks for any advice you can give!

[Pursuivant]

http://www.oxterweb.net local pub for local people, are you local?

[FinnBrit]

Hei,

Thanks for the reply. "Local pub for local people" - what do you mean?

I looked through the site and can't find any examples of their previous work. Do you work for the company? It would be great to see some of pages of their existing clients..

Cheers!

[ajdias]

I'm thinking of starting my own company in Helsinki and I'll need a website.

And even before starting you face one of the most important decisions for your company (internet wise): choosing the name of the company /website domain. Like It can be read around "domains are like women, the good ones are taken, unless you get one from a exotic land".
You guys know what I am talking about

[Pursuivant]

"Local pub for local people" - what do you mean?

we're in a league of gentlemen here

[ajdias]

Here's a few things to look for when starting a website:

• Domain name: if you haven't got one yet, choose carefully. It might be worth considering a domain name different from your business name. A good domain name should be easy to remember and, for most cases, include the main keyword for your activity. Avoid long domain names and those separated by hyphens (-).
  While good domains are no longer available internationally you can find many good .fi domains up for grabs.
  
  Templates: if you choose to change service providers will you be able to keep the template/design of your webpage?
  Some templates are proprietary, some are bought (make sure you get ownership status clear on this one) and some are free.
  While there are sometimes reasons to choose templates that lock you in, you should take that in consideration in the price and most important, be aware.
  
  Updates: who is going to update information (text, images, new pages) to your webpage and how easy that will be to do? A friend of mine tells me that everytime she wants to add an image to their website the provider charges them 50 eur*... Want to know how long that takes?
  
  (* not sure if I remember correctly. Could be 150, even though it sounds outrageous)
  
  Domain, account management : Even if you have no idea what to do with that information you should demand and have access to website's control panel, admin and email interface, domain management, ftp settings, etc.
  
  The reasoning is simple: if you know this you can, whenever you wish, move to another service provider, and do not need to rely on this provider for updates. That is likely to guarantee you a better service and at more reasonable prices.
  Is all too common that problems like these arise and clients are either stuck with a mediocre service or face the prospect of having their website offline/need to contact a lawyer.
  
  Websites requirements: need a bi/tri/multilingual website? Want a state of art design? E commerce? Specific forms? If you know your requirements and put them forward before you hire you're likely to get a better mileage.
  
  Usability and search engines: the web developer does not need to be a usability or search expert but you should expect him to build a website that does not hinder spider and user navigation, and can easily be edited for search engine optimization. I see websites been launched daily that shoot themselves in the foot when it comes to search engine/user friendliness.
  
  If the company provides seo services ask about it, having it done at later stage will cost you (current fees start at 600€ with local companies that specialize). If the provider answer is submission to "1000s of search engines" run away and don't look back

If I can think of something else I'll update this list. Feel free to add bellow if you feel I missed something important.

/antónio

[indiadecoded]

check out siliconhouse.net

[Cloudberry]

I looked at securing an .fi for my current domain name and there was so much paperwork that I decided to just get an .eu domain instead. I would still like to get an .fi - am I right that you have to actually register your business in Finland first?

[bonddk]

Hi,

I don't think that finnish domain authorities (FICORA i think) are ruling out the use of agents. So if you find a domain registrant with a finnish agent then they can registre it for you. You can read about it here unless it has grown old:

http://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/kaannokset ... 030228.pdf

Best regards,
Bonddk

[ajdias]

Any person domiciled in Finland can apply for a .fi.
See Ficora's domains website for the q&a:

Who can apply for a .fi domain name?

Private person

A domain name can be applied for a person of at least 15 years of age who has a Finnish Personal Identity Number and is domiciled in Finland.(...)

Company/community
(...)

Foreign associations and entrepreneurs may obtain a fi-domain name by registering a Finnish branch office in the trade register. A foreign trademark which is protected in Finland may also be protected in the Finnish domain name register by registering it in the name of a subsidiary or some other contracting party registered in Finland. Finnish trademark holders that are not entitled to a fi-domain name are comparable to foreign trade mark holders.

[Cloudberry]

Any person domiciled in Finland can apply for a .fi.
See Ficora's domains website for the q&a:

Who can apply for a .fi domain name?

Private person

A domain name can be applied for a person of at least 15 years of age who has a Finnish Personal Identity Number and is domiciled in Finland.(...)

Company/community
(...)

Foreign associations and entrepreneurs may obtain a fi-domain name by registering a Finnish branch office in the trade register. A foreign trademark which is protected in Finland may also be protected in the Finnish domain name register by registering it in the name of a subsidiary or some other contracting party registered in Finland. Finnish trademark holders that are not entitled to a fi-domain name are comparable to foreign trade mark holders.

Ahhhh... so a sole trader living in Finland can get an .fi pretty simply? It's only if you're foreign association or entrepreneur that you need to go through all the messy stuff? (I wouldn't be classified as an entrepreneur would I? I run a very low key, miniscule income online business)

[onkko]

Ahhhh... so a sole trader living in Finland can get an .fi pretty simply? It's only if you're foreign association or entrepreneur that you need to go through all the messy stuff? (I wouldn't be classified as an entrepreneur would I? I run a very low key, miniscule income online business)

Just order it, i could register onkko.fi if i would like. Just use some business and dont try that directly.

[T-K]

I could build you a site, you can see my main company domain here http://boring-group.com/ or this is a site for my sister company for this year artfair in Helsinki
http://boringfilms.com You can contact me through pm and we can discuss what you need etc. If its not too late.


Thanks

David

[luckykitty]

Like It can be read around "domains are like women, the good ones are taken, unless you get one from a exotic land".
You guys know what I am talking about

What? :S. That's so racist and sexist, I'm surprised noone picked up on that. Actually they just ignored you. I could make some kinda counterargument here but dating+relationships doesn't really fit the topic of building company websites , so i'll refrain.