My site has been up and running for about a month. I spent several hours designing it and finally said, "okay, just get it running."

What I need is the opinion of the overall design and the copy from fellow VAs.

I plan to add: News, Blog, RSS Feed, my twitter, etc. all those "things".

My real problem is getting potential clients to the site.

I am tough-skinned so please be honest with your thoughts/ideas.

Thanks so much!

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Trish Hallmark
www.thvaonline.com

Hi Trish,
First things first, congratulations on getting a website up, I really like the Patchwork logo block thing and it would be nice if you could incorporate it more within your site.

Something is not pulling it together, and I can't quite put my finger on it. You don't need a navigation menu across the top and down the side unless they are subsets of the other.

Of course you must show your personality on your site but too many bells and whistles distract and make it less professional. I think you have too many colors and too many boxes around your text. I am not a fan of the fade in and out either but that's just me. I can tell you right now that it is a GOOD thing that you are constantly changing your site and looking for ways to improve it all the time.

As far as getting potential clients to the site, I'll leave that to the SEO and marketing experts.

I liked the Bragging Rights, would you mind if I used this?
PS I have one junk drawer and so does my husband, that's where we toss each others things when they are not put away...

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Bernice
Energy Virtual Assistant

Hi Trish,

I really like your site - the colors and especially the patchwork idea. The only thing I didn't care for a bit is the scrolling header (it is distracting). If I scrolled down so it wasn't showing, it was better, although then there needed to be a header with your logo in it. I wonder if just a couple of those photos on the right and left (non-scrolling) in the header area with your name/logo in the middle maybe?

Like Bernice, I really liked your 'bragging rights' - neat idea!

I also liked the fade/change to the text in the colored areas on the left. I wonder if you could add little frames around the photos? Or maybe something as simple as a drop shadow?

This text on the homepage has a typo: revenue-buliding activities

Oh - on your blog page, it is showing that gobbledy-gook for apostrophes and quotes, which usually happens when a word processor like Word is used instead of Notepad or other text editor. Not sure if this is the case or not, but that is what I saw when I viewed that page.

All-in-all, great job!

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

Hi Trish,
I think this is a great start for your website. I agree that it only needs one navigation menu and I prefer the one at the top. My computer kept stopping and asking me if I want to run the java script for the fades that you have on the homepage. As a potential client, this might be a deterrent. My computer also stopped on the page with the audio and asked me about getting the latest version of Quicktime. As a potential client, I probably would not hang out very long on a site that kept stalling my computer.

I can tell you've put a lot of hard work into your site. I think it's needs a bit more of organization to really flow nicely. Fewer images would be better since really, clients want to know you and what you can do for them. I do think that there's a fair amount of your personality that shines through on the site so you've done a great job with that.

I also had the problem with the blog where there was extra characters in the wording. Also, I had trouble with scrolling down on the blog post. I'm not an expert, but with the way your blog is embedded in your website, I don't think you are really going to get the most benefits out of having a blog as you would if you have your blog as part of your domain/website. One of the biggest benefits to having a blog is the love you get from the search engines for having new, fresh content and your critical keywords. Also, as blogging is a part of social media, it would be best if people had a way to leave comments on your blog as well as trackbacks if they link back to a specific blog post. Thus creating the "social" part of the blog.

I would recommend moving the About Trish before Contact THVA on the menu bar as most people will probably want to read about you before they contact you. Also, you might considering adding a page about your rates/terms/policies...a basic page that covers how you work i.e. hourly or retainer and what some of your business policies are.

Websites are always an on-going process. Keep us posted on any changes you make and always feel free to ask for some feedback.

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Kimberly
Facebook Marketing Magic!

Trish,

Great start but it was way to busy for me and I often got lost in the bells in whistles. I actually had to relook for the "Bragging Rights". I like many others scan a page to see if it is something I want to take time to look at and I was distracted. I don't like the poll, you should use this space for something else.

Usually they say limit your colors but I think yours work for you. Like the patchwork idea. I think if you remove some of the clutter and the scrolling images your message will stand out much better.

Sorry to be so hard, let us know if you make any changes. Best of luck to you.

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Lee Drozak
My Office Assistant

I agree with everyone else. I liked the basic design and colors but there was just too much distraction and I had to, first, click on numerous boxes to accept the java and, then, wait for it to finish doing it's thing. I just think the "bells and whistles" bogged an otherwise nicely done site down too much. Also, there were some images that didn't download onto my computer (I just got those little red x's) and I don't remember ever seeing anything fade in or out. I just got the picture scrolls.

So, basically, I feel that if you cut out all the flash and bling, you'd have a very nicely done, professional site (after incorporating some of the blogs and content suggestions).

Great work, though! I haven't even attempted mine yet...lol

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Stephanie
New VA in the research phase :daisy:

To Everyone,
This type of feedback is exactly what I needed. Big cyber hugs to you all. Next step is to make a list of the suggested improvements and start working on them this evening. However, I did work on the "gob" in the blog right away. I fixed it and now know to edit from notebook rather than from Word.

It's funny, but some friends (not VAs) thought it looked bland, so I went in and added the poll, etc. to give it more "umph". So now in a quandry about how to approach those things, b/c I certainly don't want to distract my reader. Regardless your suggestions do tend to bear more weight

Thanks again for your speedy input. I'll let you know when it's ready for another review. Would anyone mind going back and completing the contact form? I need to ensure I am contacted when the form is submitted via the host site. Thanks.

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Trish Hallmark
www.thvaonline.com

Bernice,
Feel free to use the "bragging rights" chance are, I probably borrowed it from someone else subconsciously. My hubby is confident the whole house is his junk drawer. Alas, he's perfect in all other ways. Thanks again.

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Trish Hallmark
www.thvaonline.com

Originally Posted by THVA Trish

Thanks again for your speedy input. I'll let you know when it's ready for another review. Would anyone mind going back and completing the contact form? I need to ensure I am contacted when the form is submitted via the host site. Thanks.

Hi Trish,

I completed the contact form for you.

Your blog text looks much nicer now! No gobbledy-gook symbols in there. Yay!

Have fun designing...we'll be waiting for an update.

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

I agree with everyone else, great colors, too much other stuff. Even with my fast connection, it took awhile for everything to load, and on some pages they never did quite load.

I especially like your contact page; the ability for your potential client to give you a heads up about what kind of business they are in and what kinds of services they are looking for will be a big help in how you reply to them. Good idea!

It's clear you did a lot of work on it and you should be proud of it! Way to go!

Lisa

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Lisa