The website is perhaps now the single most important weapon in the advertising and marketing communications armoury.

As computer ownership and access rises to over 70% in the UK, the website has become the major port of call to obtain information, the quick way to check out companies, products and shops, the easy way to purchase products and services and, importantly, the way that many people arrive at an opinion about a brand.

All other methods of advertising and marketing have their roles to play in the communication business, yet the website has become the safe way to investigate a product or business without having to confront someone face to face (i.e. in a shop or showroom) or spend unwanted time on the telephone to a salesperson.

You can wander onto a website, look around without being pestered, possibly ask questions (via email) and make your own mind up about a company or product - and even order goods online without any sales pressure. Easy.

However this does mean (and I may be leaving myself wide open to be shot at here!) that the website has to be very carefully considered, and it has to say everything you want it to say about the product, it has to be exactly how you want the product to be perceived, and it has to do this without you being there.

It must also be very carefully constructed, easy to navigate, aesthetically pleasing, uncomplicated and the copy content should be written in a language that the audience can understand (it isn't a "I know more big words and complicated phrases than you" competition).

Unfortunately, far too many websites fail dismally as not only do they miss some, or all, of the important factors mentioned above, but also the creators may not understand basic viewing behaviour.

The Americans tell us that the optimum 'interest' threshold on a web page is about 3 seconds (too slow or too complicated and we click off!) and they are probably right and I'm quite sure that to counter this problem a website should be relaxing, attractive, interesting and give the viewer a feelgood factor about the product and an eagerness to come back for more (now I know I'm asking to be shot at!).

One of the biggest problems with website creation is that it takes, in my opinion, 3 types of expertise to build a site; a marketing person, a creative person and a website engineer - and they sometimes dangerously overlap!

A person may have expertise in one, two or even all three of those disciplines, but that's rarely the case and a short study of a website can usually tell you everything about the nature of the person or persons concerned in its creation.

A website can have a massive impact on the image of your company or product so it's vital that you give it the respect and time it deserves.

And remember, there are now over a billion Internet users worldwide and they all have access to your website. Scary huh?