Renewing Teknologiateollisuus.fi and industry association websites
The Technology Industries of Finland is an advocacy organization focused on economic and labor market policies. The organization encompasses several industry associations across various technology and industrial sectors, whose members include numerous companies. Technology Industries of Finland Employers negotiates national collective agreements for the technology industry.
During the spring and fall of 2024, we renewed the Technology Industries of Finland website and the websites of most of its industry associations.
The online services of Technology Industries of Finland
The renewal of the online service ecosystem for the Technology Industries of Finland began in early 2023 with a member service defined by North Patrol, launched at the beginning of 2024. In the spring, we started redesigning the main website of the Technology Industries of Finland, which was also based on North Patrol’s specifications. The goal was to replace the old site with a visually modern solution that would serve the organization beyond a one-time project. In addition to the main website, the industry associations also needed new websites, whose design would be cost-efficiently inherited from teknologiateollisuus.fi.
The member service operated independently for about six months before the launch of the main website, which was integrated into the same multisite ecosystem. At the time of writing, the online service ecosystem of the Technology Industries of Finland comprises 14 websites.
"Collaboration with Evermade was smooth and efficient. They understood our needs and created a modern, user-friendly online service that supports the diverse operations of the Technology Industries of Finland. The end result met the detailed specifications and aligned perfectly with our requirements."
Taru Jussila
Director, communications and member Services, Technology Industries of Finland
Design
The goal of the redesign was to create a clear and cohesive platform where users could easily find the information they seek and navigate seamlessly between related content. Special attention was given to the flexibility and modularity of presentation styles to ensure that content remains easily readable and visually consistent across the site. The main website incorporates content blocks and interface elements originally designed for the member service, ensuring a unified and coherent user experience across these two distinct platforms.
On the new website, content creation and management have been streamlined through the use of standardized content types and metadata. This enables content highlights that can be updated dynamically across multiple locations using filters. Shared content ensures that the same information can appear wherever needed without duplication, resulting in always up-to-date and relevant content.
The redesign also included a modernization of the visual identity of the Technology Industries of Finland. Instead of large color blocks and a varied color palette, brand colors are now applied subtly. Content is rhythmically structured using diverse layouts, and space is utilized more effectively. Typography was also refreshed, introducing a new, clean visual hierarchy through various font weights and letter spacing, complementing the minimalist aesthetic of the updated design.
Technical Implementation
Search functionality
A key aspect of the website is guiding users to the right content, but given the extensive amount of information, good navigation alone is not enough. The site utilizes Algolia as its search engine, significantly enhancing the search functionality. The search is so fast and predictive that its performance was artificially limited to balance the user experience. The Algolia search on the main site also retrieves results from the member site, and vice versa.
Graphs and statistics
As an advocacy organization, the Technology Industries of Finland heavily analyzes statistical data on economic trends. Some of this data is imported as table-based datasets, while other data updates dynamically from the Macrobond system. Graphs were implemented as a distinct content type on the site, allowing them to have dedicated pages and be seamlessly linked across the site via custom blocks and diverse feeds.
The graphs were created using the Chart.js library, supporting various chart types. Users can browse a library of charts by topic and download data in CSV format for their use.
The chart library’s list view features up-to-date images of the charts, which are generated and automatically updated using the Quickchart.io API.
Special features of the member site
The technical implementation of the member site included several integrations, with member login functionalities being the most significant. These enable both a paywall functionality for the member service and user-specific content targeting.
Login was implemented using an Azure AD integration, allowing members to log in with their credentials. However, Azure AD was not extended to WordPress management. During login, user data is retrieved from Microsoft Dynamics through another integration. Dynamics provides essential user information, including personal and role details, ensuring content is tailored to each user.
Industry associations
The associations under the Technology Industries of Finland needed a reliable and functional platform for their visibility. Primarily, the requirement was to create individual websites for their respective domains with minimal modifications, ensuring they were easy for administrators to update.
Apart from the graphs, the functions of these sites are identical to those of the main site. Once the blocks for the main site were completed, we created a template site within the multisite structure. This template could easily be trimmed and tailored by the Technology Industries of Finland project team through the editor. Using a plugin, this template could be copied with just a few clicks, enabling the creation of separate sites for different associations to populate their content seamlessly.
Future development
Our collaboration with the Technology Industries of Finland continues, focusing on the development of member sites and the integration of various digital service channels. In the future, we will also build an e-commerce platform as part of this ecosystem.
