Setting Up Your Virtual Assistance Website

Posted by Erin Blaskie in Bloggers, Erin Blaskie, Technology Tips, Websites on July 29, 2010 | View Comments

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.

About Erin:
Erin Blaskie has been in the virtual assistance industry for over 6 years. Having built her multiple six figure VA practice from the ground up, she offers her support and guidance to her fellow VAs in many areas. Find Erin on Twitter at @ErinBlaskie.

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