Ok....I'm nervous! But it's time to get those much needed reviews on my website. Please keep in mind that I'm new and this is my first ever website creation.

www.virtualprovisions.com

I still have some tweaking to do and I'm in the very beginning stages of launching my new business.

Thanks for any advise you have to give.

Shellye

Hi Shellye

First, Congrats on taking your business to the next level. I wish you much success!

I took a quick glance and just a suggestion...if you have any social networks that you are on, such as Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter, you can add those links onto your website to bring more traffic and attention to those outlets.

When you set up your newsletter or blog, make sure there is an RSS Feed link included so that folks can subscribe to your updates, announcements, etc. They will not always come back to read off your website, but will keep up through your RSS Feeds.

I want to also just say that I have a website as well, but I am in the process of switching over to an all in one format, using my blog as the main source to gain more attention and traffic to my VA business.

I'm watching certain trends and people are moving more away from the static website platforms, because they are not as interactive as a blog or some other social platforms used to interact with current and potential clients.

I just wanted to share that because I do not want you to get discouraged when you launch your site and you are not getting the traffic that you are expecting. But if you include the links to your blog or other social networks you are on...you can still engaged your audience-even if they only come to your website once or twice.

I hope that helps.

Tasha

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Natasha
"Gifted...To Take You Global"

Hi Shellye,

I love your color scheme! I didn't look at content except services, so this is a review of the coding behind the scenes, images, and services.

I think you used XSitePro to build your site. JMO only - this is fine for a beginning, but I would suggest further down the road to have your site built with valid X/HTML and CSS, or WordPress, and not a site builder. Almost every site builder out there uses tables for presentation (layout), which is a deprecated use of tables (heck, even I used tables "back in the day" ). More on tables vs CSS and SEO here.

One thing I noticed is your image that has "With VP..." on it. To me it looks "pixalated." What this means is that the edges are ragged, not smooth, so it doesn't look as professional as it could. Some tweaking with Photoshop would fix this in a jiffy.

I see that you offer website design. IMHO this should not be offered as a service unless you are well-versed in what all goes into creating a website - W3C valid, standards compliant coding behind the scenes, professional looking image creation, etc. There is a LOT more that goes into creating a website than using a site builder. Maybe you are going to have someone that does this for a living do this for you behind the scenes and that is why you are offering it... This is only my opinion, so please don't be offended.

Well, hopefully you take this as constructive and know that I really like your design, but just a few suggestions tossed in for you to contemplate.

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

Shellye,

Congratulations on getting your site up and running. Here are my comments:

I do not like the header, to me it is heavy and white box with tagline looks out of place. I also agree with Jules that the VP looks off.

On the home page I would remove "What is a Virtual Assistant". You are loosing valuable above the fold space and if someone is at your site chances are they know what we are and want to know what benefit you can provide them.

While I did not extensively review your content I did notice that you fonts are different on each page. Pick one or two and stick with them across the board.

I would remove the publications area until you actually have something there. I am not a fan of blank pages or coming soon. JMHO and 2 cents.

Client account area - I think you are on the right track here but would you not be better off with some type of project management app instead of just an email for clients to submit work?

Like Jules, I am not a fan of site builders. You can use Wordpress to build a great interactive site if you do not know HTML.

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Lee Drozak
My Office Assistant

Thank you so much for the honest reviews. I will take all the suggestions I can get and I believe you are all right in your assessments. This was my first experience and although family and friends like the site, they are not professionals like you ladies and when it comes right down to it that is who I need to hear from here.

I am not officially launching until April 1st. My plan is to have a professional logo created and to also use ClientSpot as a client management program. I just have not set all that up yet. So I think I am heading in the right direction

I am learning so much here and cannot imagine what it would be like to try to start this business without this forum.

Shellye

I've implemented some of the suggestions above and would like to hear more. I will, however, be working on building my site with wordpress here in the near future. But for now, this is what I have to work with.

Any more suggestions out there?

Thanks,
Shellye

I love the color scheme and the ease of navigation. It is a great start.

Okay...the switch over to wordpress has been completed. Woo hoo. I have a new post asking for reviews on the new site I'm so excited and proud of myself...

Thanks.....Shellye