Often one fundamental is rarely thought about when creating a new website. An effective website must be aimed at delivering something that the audience want that truly matters to them. The owner of the website is sometimes distracted by all the new must haves of website interaction and can miss the biggest trick of them all.

Has it got the newest video application? Where is the new ground breaking plug in? Most of which you completely ignore when you visit websites and rarely the reason you revisit. It's crucial to begin by clearly identifying your needs and the needs of the audience. These are the foundations for creating a website that achieves what it sets out to deliver. If the needs of the website are clear from the start of the process then achieving a website that your audience want is relatively simple.

Why is this important?

If people don't have the thing they are looking for in the first three seconds they will leave. It's as simple as that.

So how do I go about it? A website should exist to do something for you, but to achieve this you have to make it do something for the audience. Understanding what your audience really need is down to you but once you have it you can exploit it. The rationale for a website should never be "we need one" it should "what do our audience need?" Here are some things you may want from your site: Revenue. Time. Opportunities. Brand Awareness and reputation.

Your audience also has their own needs, which are usually more predictable and equally important: Information. Purchasing. Entertainment. You're an expert so give them information that really matters to them. Add-ons such as video, animation, Web 2.0, podcasts, blogs are useful to enhance the audience experience as long as they are designed to enhance their needs. It may turn out that the best way to create new sales leads for example is through professional animation on your key services because they best describe how it benefits them.

However, time and time again people start designing a website by saying, "we need Web 2.0" or "we need video". Designs are then created to meet your pre-conceived perception of a 'good website', instead of designing an optimal solution that delivers for your audience and what they want.

To conclude, for your website to achieve your goals it must add some sort of value to the audience visiting it. Find what your audience want from and deliver it through the most appropriate tool. If you fail to acknowledge what your audience want then your website may not have one.