New to this group

[Guest]

Hello, I'm Debra Nail of Deb's Office and I wanted to introduce myself to the group. I live in Arkansas with my wonderful husband of almost 14 years and my three kids. I am pretty excited about getting my first client and have been working every spare minute I can to get my website just the way I want it. I think that I have finally mastered it and would love some feedback. I am specializing in Desktop publishing, but will also perform other tasks as well. Right now, I will be available part-time due to the fact that I work part-time outside of the home. I am hopeful that as my business grows, I will be able to stay home full-time. I look forward to learning from all of the experienced VA's in the group and hope that one day I'll be able to pass on the knowledge I've learned to others joining the field.

 

Debra Nail

Deb's Office

http://www.debsoffice.bravehost.com

 

[ncunningham 0]

Hi Debra and welcome to VAN. You are just in time for the VAN team/group departing their offices to attend a large VA conference in Dallas, Texas this year. I expect it may be a little quiet here, but I hope not because some of us are here and working so we couldn't go.... .

 

There are tons of archives and other VA's like me going to be here wishing we were there in Dallas,

...

 

Anyway, about your website review, I think the moderators set up some kind of criteria and requirements for website review, you might want to look into that also while you are here with us and the others are away. If you meet the criteria you can fill out the form and submit it through website review topic.

 

Again welcome!

[Guest]

I am hopeful that as my business grows, I will be able to stay home full-time. I look forward to learning from all of the experienced VA's in the group and hope that one day I'll be able to pass on the knowledge I've learned to others joining the field.

 

Debra Nail

Deb's Office

http://www.debsoffice.bravehost.com

 

You will get to stay home fulltime Debra - positive thinking and all that! I'm a mother of 5 daughters (all grown now) and I've been home fulltime since 1994. I got to watch my girls grow through their teen years and was here for them when they really needed me - and there were times. I feel so blessed that I was allowed to be home for them during that time, and operate a fulltime business at the same time.

 

Welcome to the forum - not all of us are going to the conference (I'm in Australia) so there will be some of us around to chat still

[pmdost 19]

Hi Debra and Welcome to VAN!

 

If you go to this post: Website Review Format, you will see what the criteria is for critiques.

 

You've found a great forum full of information.

 

I look forward to getting to know you.

 

Patty

 

[brandy 0]

Hi Debra!

 

Welcome to VAN You'll find rather quickly that this site is not only a wealth of information, but great support as well. I too am sure you'll be able to stay home full time before you know it. I look forward to your contributions here and hope that this can be as fulfilling a career for you as it has proved to be for so many others.

 

All my best!

[ckpa 1]

[Guest]

Thanks so much for all the wonderful welcomes. I really feel good knowing that there are others out there that are there to support me and help me through. I hope that I can give the same to others.

 

Debra Nail

Virtual Assistant

http://www.debsoffice.bravehost.com

 

[The Last Muse 0]

Hi Debra,

 

Hope you enjoy your stay at VAN!

 

Thea

[accuassist 0]

Welcome Debra!

 

I'm one of the VAs who will be hanging out here instead of going to the conference in Dallas! Many VAN members are attending, but I think you'll still find yourself in good company while the conference is going on.

 

Where are you living in Arkansas? I went to college in Fayetteville for awhile. Go Razorbacks! (For those who keep up with my posts, you may have noticed that I have lived in a lot of different places: Missouri, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, North Carolina, and now Kentucky!)

 

Are you planning to transfer your website to your own domain soon, maybe www.debsoffice.com? You'll find that domain registration and hosting is quite inexpensive, and this will project a more professional image since you won't have ads on your website!

 

Best of luck in your new venture!

 

Angela

[Guest]

Hello, I'm Debra Nail of Deb's Office and I wanted to introduce myself to the group. I live in Arkansas with my wonderful husband of almost 14 years and my three kids. I am pretty excited about getting my first client and have been working every spare minute I can to get my website just the way I want it. I think that I have finally mastered it and would love some feedback. I am specializing in Desktop publishing, but will also perform other tasks as well. Right now, I will be available part-time due to the fact that I work part-time outside of the home. I am hopeful that as my business grows, I will be able to stay home full-time. I look forward to learning from all of the experienced VA's in the group and hope that one day I'll be able to pass on the knowledge I've learned to others joining the field.

 

Debra Nail

Deb's Office

http://www.debsoffice.bravehost.com

 

 

WELCOME Debra. This forum is full of excellent information and sources for you to explore.

 

Good luck,

 

Rose B.

[Guest]

Welcome Debra,

 

I have some feedback for your site and I hope it helps you. When you can, get paid hosting so you don't have to have banners or advertising as you have for the free hosting site, however, I like the look - not too complicated and easy to read.

 

Things you need to consider:

Remove the visitor numbering. This is ok for personal sites but not something that business sites need to do. Hopefully your hosting service provides you with stats so you can see for yourself how many visitors you're getting and which pages are being visited but personally I think the visitor count on websites doesn't help give it a professional look.

 

You've listed your rates but not indicated the currency. As you will be getting a global and not a national audience, it is really important that visitors understand what currency you mean.

 

Your main page could actually be split up into about 3 pages. Some people like scrolling down long webpages, and others don't. Personally I feel it's better to keep your entry (home) page to the size of a screen as much as possible and then encourage people to click on a menu link to find out further information. So you might want to put your services on another page, or perhaps the explanation of what a VA is - depending on what focus you want on the first page.

 

I couldn't see a contact page - how are people going to contact you? You need to have your postal address, phone number, fax if you have one as well as a form or email. Make it easy for people to contact you otherwise they'll move onto another site. I know you have your email on the front page but I couldn't see anything else. Having your postal address or even suburb is not a bad thing - some clients like to know they're getting someone who knows the local area.

 

Remember that the above are my own personal opinions and others might think differently. However, I hope these things help you.

 

Good luck!

 

[Gabby 0]

Hi Debra!

 

Welcome to the forums. I hope you'll be able to enjoy your stay here as much as we do (I for one am a newcomer also =). Hope to see more of you soon (online).

 

Gabs

[Brandi63 1]

Hi Debra