as the yum creative director its playtime for me, so I love to get out and talk about what yum does and I had the opportunity to do so recently at a Design Victoria and Commerce Ballarat Event. The topic was how can you take control of the valuable investment you make in your website. My major point was think about your online profile as a range of tools you can use, one being your website. With Web2 now we have the opportunity to develop communication not only information online.

1. Visitors want information first, but even more than that they are demanding that people are present – a brochure website can’t do that.

2. A website is not only a part of your marketing collateral, its an extension of or another location of your business, therefore it must be populated, accessible, have free stuff, be fresh and new each time people visit.

3. Imagine you want a service, you don’t want to commit too early, you want to check it out, maybe talk to someone who has had the service, get an idea of prices, processes or people. At a website you should be able to lurk or visit the lounge to talk. Provide lurking room or activities either on your site or others connected to your site.

4. People are doing more living and working online allowing us the freedom of really living in real life, your business needs to exist there, even if you are mostly a face to face business. You need to be where your clients want you to be.

5. Anyone who doesn’t have an average business, and I don’t know any that are, cannot buy a one size fits all site, it must be unique, part of your businesses business and put in the hands of many not few – make it live. Putting all in the hands on your IT or marketing person won’t help, it has to be ‘owned’ by all your team

6. It doesn’t have to be expensive e.g. Pinau (band) site where it just a game to play like pong with links to YouTube for video, Fickr for pics, FaceBook for info. People use the web for more than just surfing, they live there, so you have to be in more than one place to accommodate them.

7. We are moving into the age of information – if you do nothing else convert or document your work, your business, your story, your people digitally. Your website is your chance to communicate, make sure you have the elements you need.

8. Work closely with your online consultant, be prepared to do some work and you’ll get great results.