Our History

2001

After spending an entire day searching online for craftsmen in Åland — which proved more or less hopeless — the idea of an Åland Portal slowly began to take shape. A portal where all companies in Åland would be listed, making it easy to find both phone numbers and a short presentation, not only of tourism businesses, but also of small business owners and craftsmen.

This is also the year my wife and I met!

2002

Åland Online opens its doors on the Internet, on a small scale, after more than a year of preparation.

The idea is that the portal will be free of charge for participating companies. It will be financed through advertising revenue and our “Plus Packages.”

The image shows Åland Online’s first logo. Back then, resolution didn’t matter much.

2003

More and more companies are being added, and more and more visitors are finding us!
We are now also starting to receive tips from visitors about companies, and we are growing rapidly. The ads are beginning to deliver results, and we decide to market the portal more actively in Åland as well.

However, we have still not managed to sell a single one of our “Plus Packages.”

We also begin collecting images from all over Åland. This is something we have continued ever since. Over the years, our photo archive has grown to include thousands of images and video clips.

2004

On March 12–14, 2004, we attended our very first trade fair! Åland Chamber of Commerce’s “Köpmannamässan” felt like the natural choice.

Many business owners visited our simple booth, both skeptical and optimistic!
The most common questions were: “How much does it cost?” and “How can it be free?”

2005

More and more companies are being featured on Åland Online. During 2004–2005, we began a collaboration with Solbacka Smycken, Gunnel and Derrick Nilsson, which has continued over the years.

Gunnel has helped me with many questions, and together we have completed both fun and challenging projects.

The image is a screenshot from February 4, 2005.

2006

Åland’s Photographic Museum and its owner, Olle Strömberg, is also someone who has gone the extra mile. I especially remember one occasion when we photographed old cameras at Olle’s place for half the night! Among them was the Åland Police’s very first police camera…

The image is a screenshot from June 14, 2006. We have now updated the website to version 2.0, many early issues have been resolved, and we are starting to let companies log in and update their own information!

One of the biggest new features on Åland Online is that we now have a map on all company presentations.

2007

Times are changing, and we at Åland Online are doing our best to keep up.
We are now creating our first mobile app for Android! Here we showcase our participating companies with a short presentation text, as well as address, clickable phone number, and a map integrated with Google Maps — all to make it as easy as possible for the user…

In an attempt to reduce spam emails, we also tried hiding the @ symbol in all presentations, but it made little difference. Instead, new spam filters were implemented by Google and Microsoft.

2008

At the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008, we began a collaboration with the newspaper Nya Åland, which has since regularly provided us with news headlines!

A big thank you for the great cooperation!

2009

2009 was the year we began writing more and more content ourselves — preferably with small gems for both residents and tourists in Åland!

However, the first texts were about the major tourist attractions such as Pommern and Bomarsund.

2010

In 2010, the unthinkable happened…

During an upgrade of Åland Online, the entire portal crashed. It took months to restore everything, but in the end, all the data was saved!

It probably would have gone faster if we had been able to work on the portal full-time, but Åland Online is — and has always been — a full-time hobby. Both my wife and I have full-time jobs alongside it.

2011

After quite a bit of work, the new design is in place, and now the advertising revenue is actually covering the entire portal… sure, without any salary, but all operating costs are covered!

2015

Once again, we begin looking toward a new design. With all the different types of screens and resolutions, we need to upgrade to a more modern layout.
However, this work will take nearly two years! At the same time, we of course continue updating our portal several times a week, just as usual!

2017

Discover Åland’s Gems

That is the slogan of the new site. After thorough work, we have migrated all the data from the old portal to a new platform. Finally, we can continue working with new and modern tools! Wow!

In addition, we have made a decision that may seem strange — we have removed all advertisements. This is because we want to give our visitors a serious and solid impression. How we will finance the portal now… well, we don’t know!

2018

Discover Åland’s Gems

We continue to publish Åland’s gems, and during the year we also build our own event calendar… Free for Åland businesses and associations to promote their events!

2019

Our new idea for Ålandsbutiken has been growing for a couple of years. Our vision is to create an Åland shop featuring products and goods about and/or from Åland.
In connection with this, we also launch our new design:

“Åland Islands Collection”

We can now finally continue our enthusiastic work of promoting Åland’s history, culture, and island life!