Strictly Admin

[Ravenfire]

I'll be brave and do mine first!!

1. Name of Website and url - Strictly Admin - http://www.strictlyadmin.co.uk

2. Type of business, and how long have you been in business for - Virtual Assistant in business since beginning of 2006 (although I have been a secretary for much longer!)

3. What software do you use - Its all HTML

4. Did you create the site yourself or use a web designer - Alison of http://www.daffodil-design.com did it for me

General first impressions and feedback would be great **5**

[Tanya]

first impressions are that it is clean and fresh looking and looks professional

can't really see anything wrong with it

[Al1x]

Thats what i was going to say ... can't fault your site at all Toni .. it looks so professional :)

[knotjustjigs]

Clear, precise, no waffle, cuts straight to the point. Easy to navigate and very professional looking.
If i was looking for this type of service i would definately consider.

Toniann x

[Chell]

The only thing I can see is that there is a lot of space in the header. Would it be better to give a little clue as to what a customer could expect to pay? May be you are more affordable than a customer might think.

[BabyBanana]

I agree with Chell, there is quite a bit of space in the header.

Also when I clicked on prices I expected to see some iykwim! Maybe you could put the basics that prices start from £xxx amount and to contact for a quote.

Finally maybe some comments from Customers that you have done some work for already... I always like to read what other people have thought of a service (they're probably all made up!) but it helps! lol

[Ravenfire]

Its a bit difficult to quote prices as each job is so different, however, I am going to add a starting from price on there.

To be honest the space on the header is deliberate as there are two pictures showing and it was felt anything more would be overload.

Thanks for the comments

[willowcat]

I agree with the others .. I think your site does what it says on the tin and if I was looking for this it would defo make me consider you but again as the others I always think a stating price is a good addition.

Often when I am looking for things and I know my budget I often click off things that I think may be too expensive just because thre is no indication as to whether I would consider them.

Very, clear concise site, though!

Cheers,
Sharon

[whirl]

Hiya,

I just looked at this as a potential customer as it is something that if I needed more work doing this would be the route I would go down.

I like the site layout, Its clear no waffle.

I would like to see a phone number or at the least a direct email address, Im a bit funny about contact forms - I always think that I wont get a reply.

I think that your prices section may put me off, well It would make me want to call probably and find out more. If you are targeting small businesses they will probably want to have a rough idea of costs per service.

I think you may also benefit from a page that perhaps bulleted work that you do or have done in the past with examples of timescales, does that make sense? I dont think I have written it very well.

I would also need to know that I could be invoiced for the work.

hth, all in all great site.

[littlesheep]

I agree with them - it does what it says... some testimonials would be good... and more ideas on the £ / timescales you work to would be good

[TinkerTailor]

I agree with the others - easy to navigate and clear to see what you offer.

Must say I don't like only having a contact form either - especially for this type of service (as opposed to just buying goods) where potential customers may want to chat through things with you.

[smirnoff]

my 2p worth???

i like the site. I love the ease it is to navigate and find the information that i would want as a potential customer. (I imagine i would be very busy and not have time to trawl through pages)

I would also like to see a bit more info regarding your prices and a contact phone number or direct email addy...

Love it, love the look of it and the general feel - gives a very good first impression tbh and i would imagine your work to be clear, careful and well presented based on this...

[Bunny]

[QUOTE=tugglejazz;364727


I would like to see a phone number or at the least a direct email address, Im a bit funny about contact forms - I always think that I wont get a reply.

[/QUOTE]

was just thinking that, I often like to see where a website business is located, so some contact/locations details would be nice to see on a site

[sadierhianne]

Hmm i'd love someone to do all my admin - my other job is doing invoices, contracts and stuff, it drives me mad - wish i could afford you but dh seems to get me for free - i agree some sort of price and better contact details, other than that its crisp and clear.

[Ravenfire]

Thanks for the suggestions, have taken those on board and added on a starting from rate with a request to contact for a quote, have also added on a telephone contact number and details of invoicing.

[lajlaj]

Hi Toni

I don't know if you remember but I used to have a virtual assitance practice so I hope this info below is helpful to you from an insiders viewpoint??

I love the site it is nice and clear but it doesn't give me enough information on what you do. It would be good for your keyword rankings if nothing else if you have a page with the services you offer.

The "about us" page doesn't really tell me about you and your skills and so I don't know if you are capable or have the experience of doing what I want.

Your current about us page is more about the benefits of using a VA.

I hope this is helpful, please, please try to personalise it a bit more, if you are selling your own services then tell me how wonderful you are as well as how you can add value to my business. Let me know that you can do one off projects or work on a contract basis, be a bit more individual and personal and really sell your fabulous skills to me!

Nadine

[Millymoosmum]

I agree with the others - testimonials would be good and personalise the site a little more - It looks wonderfully professional but personally I want some added comfort - something that entices me to want to use your services.....personally I think that the colour is too cold - doesn't convey an 'inviting' feeling - this is completely my opinion though and no offence meant but I think I would be inclined to warm it up a bit - blue and white reminds me of hospitals!

I love the no waffle approach - it's great! I think it would definetely be a good idea to give some idea of prices.

Vicky xxx

[Ravenfire]

To be honest I think with the type of business I offer the site has to look professional more than personal hence the colours chosen. They were also chosen because in general they are the most enticing colours for a professional business - and thats not coming from me but statistics on the web.

I do agree that testimonials need to be added, however, at present its not something I can add as generally I have been working for one Client on a more or less full time basis with the odd other one here and there. I will definitely contact them to see if they will give me a testimonial though.

All comments taken on board thank you. :happy72:

[Chiggs]

rather boringly, I agree with everyone! The site is very easy to navigate, and looks fresh and efficient.

I was surprised by the 'about' page, as it didn't give any details about your experience and qualifications, which I was expecting, and I like to see something personal, even if just the area you live in, although I appreciate that corporate clients may not!

[Millymoosmum]

You are right - stats online do suggest that blue is a great colour for a business website - calming, clean and trustworthy!

I thought I'ed post a little bit about choosing colours for a website - I actually found this some time ago while surfing and copied it into word for my own reference - thought I'ed share it here!

..............................................

An important consideration in choosing the foundation color for your website is the emotional association it typically carries. While these associations can vary somewhat from culture to culture, they generally hold true for the majority of people. Here's a quick snapshot:

Red: Daring, persuasive. Also hard on the eyes. Red is especially effective in highlighting key text on black and white sites, and also works to liven up browns and tans.

Blue: Suggests quality, trustworthiness, success, seriousness, calmness. A common choice for sales pages. In "What is the color of your website?", Andrew Lapointe suggests highlighting phrases like "Our history" or "Our mission statement" in blue ((http://www.dotfactor.com/artman/publish/marketing_31.shtml). Lapointe also suggests avoiding purple, which connotes uncertainty and ambiguity, and only using yellow to highlight key words and phrases.

Pam Renovato, in "The Psychology of Color and Internet Marketing" (http://www.webmasterstop.com/articles/choose-website-colors.shtml), has some interesting comments on the use of grays and browns:

"They suggest weight, or something heavy. This would provide your visitors with a feeling of tableness and strength. Emotions like this will help your visitors to associate your site with solidity and confidence. Other colors such as burgundy, oyster, beige, blues will also provide a feeling of solidity."

Another important factor is the age of the target audience. Neutral tones work best with sites designed for an older audience, the target demographic for many business websites. You'll obviously also want to select shades appropriate to your business, if any - as Ralph Hilliard points out in "How to choose your web site colors" (http://www.prowebsitemanagement.com/articles/websitecolors.html), a web designer who creates a black and green website for the Red Cross will be out of business quickly. Hillard further stresses the importance of color selection in marketing:

"The BEST color for selling is the color that captures your primary audience emotionally, If my audience is new mothers and I'm selling baby clothes, I guarantee you I can sell more clothes with soft pinks, blues and purples than I could using bright reds, greens or black."

When it comes down to it, choosing a professional website color scheme is as simple as the common sense guideline provided at the 1stsitefree Design tutorial (http://www.1stsitefree.com/design_colors.htm): "Use colors that compliment your subject matter and are relatively pleasing to the eye." It seems, then, that classic, rich, conservative, "serious" colors like blues, browns, burgundies and grays are your best bets for business websites.

On a final note, however, there's always an exception that breaks all the rules; according to "Website Colors That Sell" at the BuildStar Business Builder's Network (http://www.ibuildstar.com/colors.htm), "one study showed that the color combination with the most powerful psychological effect was yellow title, white text, on a dark blue background."

I thought this was a really interesting article!!