Designing the electronic message and notification

The subject line of the message should describe the matter well, but should be short. More and more users of Suomi.fi Messages examine their messages on their mobile devices, which means that the need for a short subject line is even further emphasised. Even on large displays, the subject line of the message is wrapped at around the fortieth character in the Inbox folder of Suomi.fi Messages. On smaller displays and with enlarged text, the line is wrapped much earlier.

Please note that the name of your organisation and your service are also displayed in connection with the subject line of the message, so you do not need to include them in the subject line. As for planning the name for your service, you will find tips on the page Applying for an access licence.

A decision or other notice should primarily be sent to Suomi.fi Messages, where it is available to the end user and the text content of the message must indicate clearly what the message is about. This ensures that the end user receives the information as directly as possible without frustrating transitions between e-services or a need to look for the right place in your e-service.

At least the following information should be indicated in the message:

• what the message is about
• specifying information, for example, “the decision is positive” or “the complaint has been admitted to processing”.
• instructions for moving to more detailed information with a link.

This information must also be indicated when the whole content of the notice cannot be sent to Suomi.fi Messages in its entirety, for example, because the file is too large or because it is integrally linked to an action carried out in your service.

It is important to direct the end user to the right place as accurately as possible to carry out the further actions or to examine more specific information. If it is not possible to direct the end user directly to the right place in your service with a link, your organisation must in addition to the link also provide instructions for navigating to the right place in your service.

A link to the right place is also important when the actual notification or decision is sent to the user’s Suomi.fi Messages mailbox in its entirety, but the user is required to take action in your e-services. Examples of such cases include a request for an administrative review, cancelling a booked appointment, receiving a granted benefit or submitting additional information.

Please note that the user interfaces of Suomi.fi Messages create links for the end user to click only from links beginning with https://. All links that you send should have this format. It is likely that links beginning with http:// will be blocked from the dispatch interfaces of messages in the future and should therefore not be used.

The message content must also be formulated in a user-friendly way and be easy to understand. The action that the user is expected to take as a result of the messages must be indicated clearly in the body of the message. The possible message attachments should also be introduced in the body of the message.

Sometimes, you cannot or it is not advisable to include all of the information content in the message itself. For example, the original decision document or the instructions for requesting an administrative review should be sent as an attachment to the message. Any pictures related to the matter must also be always sent as attachments.

The attached files must be given a name that is as descriptive as possible so that the user will also be able to find them in the future, for example, among the files saved on their mobile device. It's a good idea to give attachments unique names, as downloading multiple files with the same name can cause issues on mobile devices.

When planning the attachments of a message, you should take into account what kind of attachment work best for the users. As Suomi.fi Messages is most commonly used on a mobile device, you should favour attachments that work well on mobile devices if possible. For example, it is significantly simpler to open a PDF file on a mobile device than a ZIP file.

Suomi.fi Messages sends an email notification to the end user when an electronic message sent by your organisation arrives in their electronic mailbox. If the end user is using the Suomi.fi mobile application, a push notification will also be sent to them to notify them of the new message.

If you wish, your organisation can modify the subject line and content of the email notification of a new message. If you do not want to modify the notification, the normal notification content of Suomi.fi Messages will be used.

The content of the push notifications sent to the end user cannot currently be modified. The name of your organisation and service and the subject line of the message will be displayed in push notifications.

In addition to the notification of a new message, a reminder is sent to the end user if the message has not been read within one week. It is not possible to modify the subject line or the content of the unread message notification, but when you send your message you can specify that no reminder will be sent if it has not been read.

Please note that if your organisation decides to define customised notification content for the message, do not include links or personal data. For example, the person who received the message must not be identified in the notification of the message.

Only good practices for customising notifications are discussed on this page. The possibilities to manage notifications and the technical utilisation of the functionalities are discussed on the page Notification management.

Notification heading

The default heading of the notification is “A new message in Suomi.fi Messages”. If you want to customise the heading, the heading of the notification must begin with “Suomi.fi Messages:” followed by the part determined by your organisation. Consider carefully whether your message needs a custom heading and what kind of customisation would provide added value to the end user.

The heading customised by you should be compact and the most important matter should be indicated at the very beginning of the heading, for example, “Invoice from the wellbeing services county”. In the email programs of mobile devices, only fewer than 40 characters form the notification heading are visible in the Inbox folder.

Please also note that the notifications related to the message will also be sent to the possible persons acting on behalf of the message recipient. If your organisation customises the heading, the notification will be sent with the same heading to both the recipient of the message and the persons acting on behalf of the recipient. You should therefore not refer to the recipient of the message in the customised section. For example, if the heading of the notification is “Suomi.fi Messages: You have received an invoice”, it will confuse the persons acting on behalf of the recipient.
In short, the practical tips for customising the heading are as follows:

• Keep the heading short.
• State the important matter first.
• Note that the notification will also be sent to the persons who act on behalf of the recipient.
• Do not repeat the words “Suomi.fi Messages”.

Content of the notification

The default content of the notifications of a new message that Suomi.fi Messages sends about a normal message is presented in Picture 1. Your organisation can add custom content of a maximum of 1,000 characters to the default notification template. The content is embedded in the notification below the sender information.

Picture: 1. Default email notification of a new message.

Show larger picture

The style of notifications sent to persons acting on behalf of another person is similar, but they indicate that a message has arrived to a company or to another person. Picture 2 presents an example of a notification of a new message concerning a normal message that has been sent to a person acting on behalf of the recipient.

If you customise the content of the notification, it will be the same in the notifications received by both the recipient of the message and the person acting on their behalf.

Picture: 2. Default email notification of a new message sent to a person acting on behalf of another person regarding a message that has arrived to the person on whose behalf they act.

Show larger picture

If you wish, you can also hide your organisation's name from email notifications. However, this is recommended only when there is a specific need for it, so that the end user will receive the information they need as easily as possible.

The authorities’ obligation to serve citizens in different languages applies to Suomi.fi Messages in the same way as to other methods of communication. It is therefore important that your organisation takes care of the creation, use and maintenance of the appropriate language versions.

Below, we have compiled example contents for different electronic messages. An example of how the notification of a new message can be customised has been added to each message.

Sending an invoice

Figures 3 and 4 contain example content for the notification and content of a message when the essential content of the message can be found only in Suomi.fi Messages. The example also describes good practices for sending invoices.

Picture: 3. An example of a customised email notification of a new message when the essential information of the message is located in Suomi.fi Messages.

Show larger picture

Picture: 4. An example of an electronic message sent to Suomi.fi Messages when the message contains the essential information.

Show larger picture

When sending invoices, you can also use a direct link to Suomi.fi Payments in your message if your organisation uses Suomi.fi Payments, or you can guide the users to activate an e-invoice.

Directing to your organisation’s e-service

Figures 5 and 6 contain example content for the notification and content of a message, which is used to direct the end user to the organisation's e-service.

Picture: 5. An example of a customised email notification of a new message concerning a message that requires activity in the organisation’s service.

Show larger picture

Picture: 6. An example of a message received in Suomi.fi Messages, in which the actual document can be found in the client organisation's service.

Show larger picture