Setting Up Your Virtual Assistance Website...

When building your website there are many options to consider. It generally boils down to (a) your budget and (b) your experience level. If your experience with websites or blogs is high, you can probably get away with doing it yourself. Otherwise, you may need the help of someone else to get your website up and running.

Let’s look at the various ways you can setup your website and the pros and cons to each.

#1 – The Standard HTML-based Site

This website is your ordinary website. It’s coded with HTML, which is hyper text markup language, and generally requires the skills of a website designer and coder. Most people have this type of website designed by a website designer or create their own using a combination of PhotoShop and Dreamweaver.

The pros to this site are that you have ultimate control over the design. The cons to this site is that you need to have experience to get yourself started. You also need to know about FTP clients and/or HTML in order to make updates.

#2 – Template Based Site

Two examples of template based hosting sites are Yahoo or GoDaddy. Both have built-in site builders and when you purchase hosting there, you can setup template-based websites. Most of them look very professional and they are really easy to update. You don’t need to have a working knowledge of HTML to use these.

The pros to this site is that you can get in there and do most of the work yourself thus saving yourself money. The cons is that you are limited to the template and certain things you may want to do down the road may not be available.

#3 – The Blog Site

This is the type of website I use for my website at www.bsetc.ca. It is powered by a blogging platform called WordPress.  The benefits of a WordPress based website vastly outweigh the benefits of an HTML site or a template-based site.  With WordPress you will receive instant search engine optimization, ease of use and a more interactive platform on which to interact with your community.

So, once you’ve chosen your website type, it’s just a matter of starting to put the pieces together!

The first step is to outline your plan.  There are many, many things that can go onto a website and it’s a really good idea to outline what you want on yours before you even begin the design process. This way, you can be sure to only have the data on your site that you want and you have a clear picture of your website outcome before you begin.

A lot of people don’t start out with a plan and then they get confused by their own website. A great book that I highly recommend is Steve Krug’s “Don’t Make Me Think.” It will teach you a lot about what people do when they come to websites and how best to optimize your website for the best possible results.

There are certain things that you must include on your website. This list is specific to our industry but some of these items should be present on any website. These include:

• Home page – This will give your website visitors a starting point.
• About page – It’s important to let your website visitors know a bit more about you. This will help build trust and credibility.
• Services page – Let your potential clients know what it is you do.
• Rates page – This is optional but by posting your rates, you can be sure to only receive serious inquiries.
• Resources or Links page – This page will help you do two things. (1) Create outgoing links from your website which help with page rank and (2) You can embed affiliate codes into the links to help create passive income.
• Contact Us page – this is vitally important. Make sure to also post your e-mail address and telephone number. Again, this helps build credibility and trust.
• Articles You’ve Written – if you wish, have an articles page. This will give your website visitors a chance to see your knowledge in action.
• Lastly, decide whether or not you’re going to build an e-mail list. The reason that people do this is so they have a great list to market their products and services to. On my website, I give out 30 days of delegation where I teach people over the course of 30 days how they can delegate and what they can delegate to me as their VA.

The next thing to think about and write out in a plan format is your general design. What do you want the website to look like? Describe your colors, layout, etc. This will also help ensure that you are on the right path when you start working with your web designer.

Did you find the information in this post helpful? If so, check out our Build Your Virtual Assistance Business course! The course contains information like this to help you build, grow and manage your virtual assistance business.

How to Choose a Hosting Account...

Your hosting account is where you will upload files so that your website can take shape and be visible to the outside world. It is also where you can track statistics, install applications, setup e-mail addresses and setup FTP accounts.

For those who do have an existing hosting account, take note of the features I will recommend you have with your hosting account. See how it compares to what you currently have. For those who do not have a hosting account, please take note of the things that I recommend your web hosting company have.

#1 – Good Technical Support – The best support is probably the most important aspect of your website hosting company. If you think about it, that company will be responsible for making sure your website is online and that your e-mail is working so you want to make sure that they are responsive when you need them.

#2 – Disk Space – It’s important to see how much disk space they offer because you don’t want to run out. If your website is going to contain a lot of images and add-ons, you may want to consider a website with more disk space. Otherwise, a simple website with not many images doesn’t take up much space.

#3 – Bandwidth – Bandwidth is the amount of data that is being transferred from your website to the people viewing your website. If your website has a lot of photos or downloads, it will eat up bandwidth. So, check to see how much they allot to each site.

#4 – Uptime – Make sure that the website guarantees a certain percentage of uptime. This is how often your website will be shown online. You will always, no matter what, experience some downtime but it should be less than 1-3% of the time. Uptime of 97-99% is good.

#5 – MySQL – This application allows you to run scripts on your website. Some programs that you may want to install down the road, WordPress, Moodle, etc., do require MySQL.

#6 – FTP Access - Unlimited and unrestricted FTP access to your site is mandatory. You will need an FTP program to transfer files.

#7 – Control Panel – Check to see if they offer a control panel. The easiest one to use out there is Cpanel. It offers a GUI (graphic user interface) and is very easy to understand.

It’s important to review the things you need right from the beginning because it can be a hassle to move your website at a later date. Make sure to check and see if your website company can accommodate your needs and then you will feel more confident with moving forward with your website.

Also, as I mentioned, if you plan on creating a blog site, you will need to check to see if they have WordPress as an available installation. Most times, it’s bundled with something called Fantastico but the easiest way to find out is to give the company a call.

When you are ready, setup your website hosting and be sure to record all of the information in a safe place.

Did you find the information in this post helpful? If so, check out our Build Your Virtual Assistance Business course! The course contains information like this to help you build, grow and manage your virtual assistance business.

Choosing a Domain Name for Your Virtual Assistance...

When you are first setting up a website, the first place you’ll start is with your domain name. A domain name is the website address people will type into their browsers to bring up your website. On a more technological level, it is also the name to which your website files attach themselves to.

Whether you are using a blog site or a standard website, you’ll want to purchase a domain name. When purchasing a domain name, you will also want to ensure you purchase it at the location where you’ll do the hosting. The hosting company I highly recommend and use frequently is Bluehost.com. They provide hosting services at $6.95 per month.

Have you thought about what you might want to choose as your domain name?  When you are choosing a domain name, it’s important to remember some key things about domains. Let’s go over some very important do’s and don’t as it relates to purchasing and choosing domain names.

Do come up with a domain name that is fairly short.

No one wants to type in www.aliceandmaryswonderfulvirtualassistancecompany.com. That’s just crazy talk! Instead, choose something that is short like www.aliceandmaryva.com or www.aandmva.com. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s concise and short.

If you have a super long domain name and tack on the beginning part of an e-mail address, the info before the @ sign, just imagine how much typing people will need to do to contact you.

Do purchase variations of your business name.

What I mean by this is you should choose multiple domain names when purchasing the website address of your choice. You’ll always choose a main one but it’s important to also grab up the others so you own them and someone can not have a website address that is close to yours.

As an example, if I were purchasing my domain names, I would choose www.bsetc.ca and www.bsetc.com and www.businessservicesetc.com. You can purchase a wide range and then simply point the additional domains to point to your website. That way, if someone types in something without knowing or searching, they will still find you.

Do check to see if the letters run together in a profane way.

I have seen this happen! Check to be sure that when your letters for your domain name are placed side by side on a line that there are no hidden words. I’ve actually seen one company, Speed of Art, choose the domain name of www.speedofart.com but when you actually spell that out, it also says ‘Speedo Fart’… Not necessarily the most professional is it?

Don’t make it hard to remember.

Instead, make it memorable. People want things that are easy to rhyme off and easy to remember. With the thousands and thousands of messages we receive every single day, we need to have short, concise domain names that allow people to remember us.

Did you find the information in this post helpful? If so, check out our Build Your Virtual Assistance Business course! The course contains information like this to help you build, grow and manage your virtual assistance business.