Hi Pam

Firstly, I think you've made a great start on your site; you cover all the main points well.

However, I think I'd advise against putting religous quotes on your site. It's just not professional. Like political views, religious views are personal opinions and may make people uncomfortable...just a thought.

Also, whilst your links down the sidebar are for a good cause, at first glance they look like commercial affiliate links and give the home page a rather commercial feel.

Wishing you every success in your business!

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"Instead of looking for things that have gone wrong and trying to fix them...Look for things that went right and try to build on them" Tom Peters

Originally Posted by MoragB

I think I'd advise against putting religous quotes on your site. It's just not professional. Like political views, religious views are personal opinions and may make people uncomfortable...just a thought.

I agree. Politics and religion are bad topics on social occasions, a first date or at work and I'd now add, business websites. On a personal website or blog, maybe, but not on a business website.

Quote:

That's what makes having your own business great! We end up working with people we really want to partner with, vs. working for or with people we had no choice in.

I agree that this flexibilty is one of the reasons we started our businesses, however if you start excluding or alienating potential clients, you are only hurting yourself. If a client treats me with respect and their work is something I can do and it is legal, I see no reason to exclude them based on their religious or political views.

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Julia

I am building my website now and am using Homestead. Did you use a template or did you build from scratch? And I was looking for a picture of a nice table or desk with a computer on it. Is that from Homestead's stock photos?

I don't have a problem with the verses and picture of the bible on your website. That is a big part of who you are. But I think they get lost among all the other pictures. Maybe scale down the amount of pictures on each page. I like things very simple, so that may just be my taste, but I think people will be able to read your website better if there were fewer pictures.

PamH - I did use a template from Homestead, but I think I modified it some. And I am sorry but I can't recall where I got the picture of my office from, but I absolutely loved that photo and just had to have it, although i need to soften it some.

I'll keep in mind what you say about the other pictures. This will be a work in progress, especially the photos. I was just given Adobe Creative Suite2 today, just to play with, so hopefully that will help me spruce up a little.

Pam

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Pam Blackman - The Process Coach
Get more done in less time by streamlining!

There are many sites that you can obtain stock photography. Some are paid and some are free

Stock Photography:
www.sxc.hu
www.stockvault.net
www.freephotosbank.com
www.freerangestock.com
www.istockphoto.com/index.php
www.istockphoto.com
www.fotolia.com
www.stockvectors.com

In regards to you Christian faith you are your own boss and can make any decision you want however finding clients will not be as easy and when you do your online marketing you need to be selective on where you market yourself. You don't want to have negative people harassing you. I am catholic and am not as religious as I would like to be and I wouldn't care if I had to use a VA if they are religious or not but there are some crazy people out there that are picky and get bothered very quickly. Just remember that it will be harder to market your business but stand by your beliefs if you feel it is something you have to do or want to do.

I find the bible quote discussion to be rather interesting here. My opinion is that religious, political and personal views should be kept separate from business. For as much as the quotes give a good indication of your Christian principles, it can be a problem for clients who also believe that business and personal should be kept separate. I'm not sure it is worth the risk to lose a client. I think the Christian principles can be shown in other ways such as through good work ethic and honesty.

On the other hand, this might also be a niche as there are of course clients who are Christians and prefer to only work with Christians. This might be a clientele that you could market specifically. The Christian community is enormous in this country. Just a thought.

As for the site, I did think the font was small. The 'click here for mission statement', I didn't think needed to be so far up to the top of the page in a link. Typically, the mission statement is a separate section on its own, written out, in a box lower on the page or in the About Us area. I think that 'click here' space is very valuable visually as most people will look at a site quickly and make a determination in milliseconds. I don't think they'll take the time to click on the mission link so I'd use that area for something really catchy.

I really like the photo at top right in a fish-eye lens frame. Very nice selection.

You've done a really good job. I'd say you are off to a tremendous start. Websites will often go through changes as time goes on.

Not sure if I was helpful.

Jan

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When I checked the other pages would work. I'm not sure if its me? All I could see is the home page. While I agree that the religious reference may turn some people off I have to say Aare those the people you want to work with? I am very religious and think there are plenty of people who are. I disagree with trying to push your particualar brand of religion on someone (which you are not trying to do). But I dont' see anything wrong with giving your site a little personal touch.