Hi VAF Team!

I want to preface this post/question with the following note...I'm not fishing for compliments on my website--I'm asking for good constructive criticism/advice here...

Before launching my site, I took the time to view many VA websites and really loved a lot of what I was seeing. Some of you have all the bells and whistles, icons everywhere, blog pages, favorite links, client log in pages, instant chat features, etc.

Well, at first, I thought this: Some of the websites I've visited are just TOO busy and some are just plain jane, so to speak. So, I keep going back the drawing board and I'm simply torn with what to do. Do I add all the bells and whistles? Does it matter? Do prospective clients go to a website and decide that because you don't have all the bells and whistles you couldn't possibly offer anything valuable to them? Do you find that clients really focus on the content rather than the style/visual of your website?

So, with that, I've decided to revise my home page. This weekend, I'm going to make it visually more friendly to come to the home page and have bigger blocks of text, edit and remove some verbiage (too much text) and put in a graphic or two...basically revamp the whole thing. Friends who've critiqued it said I have too much text to read and I would lose someone on the first visit. Would I?

So, bottom line...What's too much? What's not enough? What have you learned? Am I headed in the right direction? By the way, no, I have not landed my first client yet, but then, I need to market myself and am still waiting for my biz cards and brochures...

Thanks for reading/responding. Any and all comments/suggestions are welcome!

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Kathya Kalinine
http://www.emeraldvirtual.com

I hear ya, Kathya! With my current VA site I looked at what I offer for services to kind of guide me. I do accounting/bookkeeping, which is a somewhat "straight-laced" profession, but also web design. So I tried to go with visual impact, but present the text in an informative manner - with my own personality thrown in, of course. If it was only an accounting/bookkeeping site, I would have gone a different direction design-wise and not added so much of my "personality" to it.

Hope that made sense and helped a wee bit!

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Jules, SunRise Virtual Solutions - WordPress Customization & XHTML/CSS Web Sites

Thanks, Jules! I agree with you. I like your site. Again, your home page is engaging and inviting and encourages me to read more. Mine, however, leaves much to be desired. I have a plan in mind so I'm going to change the page completely.

Thanks for your feedback. Much appreciated!

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Kathya Kalinine
http://www.emeraldvirtual.com

Things to think about! I am still without a website. I have someone working on a logo and once I have that I will turn it over to the person that will be doing my web page. I know what you mean about a lot of words though, I am trying to be careful to mix content with visuals. Right now I am just playing with things in Powerpoint. That's kind of cool though because when I am finished not only do I have some things to hand over that will go on the website, I also will have a presentation that I can email. And actually already have emailed!

Kathy

That's a great idea, Kathy! I never thought about doing that. Good for you! When your site is up, let us know--I'd love to see it! Good luck!

Originally Posted by catfive

Right now I am just playing with things in Powerpoint. That's kind of cool though because when I am finished not only do I have some things to hand over that will go on the website, I also will have a presentation that I can email. And actually already have emailed! Kathy

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Kathya Kalinine
http://www.emeraldvirtual.com

Kathya - It's not at all easy to refine your copy, especially on your home page. Here's the main thing to remember: your first time visitors (other than those who know you) will only scan it. They will not read. Take a minute to fully grasp the difference. If you need to capture first time visitors (at least some of them), you'll need to do so in something like 7 seconds.

This is an extraordinarily difficult challenge, but I think that's actually what's required. You have to have text in order for people to know what you're offering, but the more you can give them that information in pictures or other interactive objects, the better.

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Mary H. Ruth/Virtual Writing & Communications
http://www.writingVA.com