Belonging to a community has never been more important than it is now. As our lives get busier and busier, people are constantly looking for ways to feel connected within their community - and the perfect way to do this is through a website.

According to www.internetworldstats.com 75 per cent of Australians were online in 2008 and this figure continues to climb. People use the Internet to research products, services and information, shop, bank and much more. It makes sense to communicate online too.

At Big Click Studios we’ve been working on a host of web design projects for communities on the Central Coast, Sydney and Newcastle. One we are particularly pleased with is The Gosford Challenge website, a site devoted to building a link between Gosford Council, developers and the Central Coast community. Working on this project made us think about how communities can benefit from websites, so we came up with this list:

• Provides a central communication point for the community
• Information can be segmented to provide localised content, as well as general topics
• Well-designed and regularly updated sites can really boost the profile of a community or group, as well as build credibility and trust
• Keep in touch with existing contacts and meet new ones
• Allows visitors to find out what is happening in your community at a time that suits them because the Internet never sleeps
• Interactive sites invite – and thrive – on community participation through forums, polls, surveys, blogs, event calendars, directory listings and social media content
• Websites are a cost-effective and efficient way to market your community
• Sites can be as a voice for the community, rather than a collection of views from different people in different forums.

As web designers obviously we’re all for promoting a community online, but the points above show the value a website can bring.

Big Click Studios is also working on new sites for Central Coast Community Council (CCCC), Kids Day Out, Central Coast Kids and Mountain Connect - the Mangrove Mountain Community Group. All of them are interactive and encourage participation, the ideal building blocks for creating community.