Which formalities and uses do corporate websites have nowadays?

The widespread use of the Internet has not only come to the daily life of people and is the same for the business world, where it has been necessary to incorporate corporate websites as one of the main pillars of the relationship between the company and their partners and third parties.

In first place, the Law 34/2002, of July, 11^th on Information Society Services and Electronic Commerce, in its article 9 provides the obligation to notify to the Commercial Register, within one month the domain name or Internet address to be used. However, this Law was considerably amended with the adoption of the Law 56/2007, of December 28^th, on Measures to Promote the Information Society. This Law removed the referred obligation for mercantile companies (because of its limited usefulness), excepting the listed companies.

This evolutionary line of legislation regarding corporate web pages, shows the desire to encourage the technological development and the digital economy in the world of commercial companies and thus, leaving paper publications behind. However, we must take into account that there are several obstacles at the time of its creation.

The Law on Capital Companies – hereinafter, LSC – lays down specific requirements whose fulfillment is compulsory. The most notable is the need of approval by shareholders at the general meeting. 

It also requires a full compliance with the Law on Data Protection in order to achieve the balance between the protection of the confidentiality of the publications in the corporate website and the agility and comfort of this type of communication.

Main advantages of corporate websites:	Possible disadvantages of corporate websites:
Savings in costs and time. Simple publications and less procedures.	Rigorousness and data protection
Greater visibility both nationally and internationally.	High costs to its creation and maintenance for PYMES.
To ease communications between internal and external agents of the company.	Public access. The need to set private access to specific information.
24 hours access	Safety management security for the website
Transparency

Why do we need a corporate website?

With a well-established corporate website and a deep knowledge of the legal provisions which regulate it, commercial companies will have a wide range of tools to develop their activity, both external and internal. Below there is a list of the benefits:

Communications through corporate websites. What can we communicate to the partners through this way?

One of the corporate website major advantages is the possibility of communication of wide information by electronic means.

Thus, communications through this way between the company, its shareholders and creditors facilitates the work of managers, simplifying the procedures in which is required a written and individually notification with acknowledgment of receipt.

The main communications that the company can undertake will be summarized in the following points:

• To call the General Meeting of Shareholders by an announcement published in the website, provided by the article 173 of the LSC.

• To send documents between the partners and the company (upon previous authorization), provided by the article 11 quáter of the LSC.

• To send and require information to call the general meeting, including full texts of amendments and reports of the same.

• Publications on structural changes, such as merger or restructuring processes.