Virtual assistant website mistakes and how to fix them
- Eloïse Corke
- Feb 16
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 7
What I found when I reviewed a VA's website, and what it probably means for yours too
If you've built your own virtual assistant website, there's a decent chance your best stuff is buried somewhere nobody will ever find it.
I reviewed Harriet's site this week. She runs Kernow Projects, a virtual assistant and business strategy service based in Cornwall. She helps founders untangle their operations so they can stop firefighting and get back to the work they actually love. She's worked with Dell and Lenovo, she's part of the TEDxPorthtowan Women team, and she built her site herself.
When I had a look through it, the first thing I noticed was how much good stuff was already there. Strong messaging, real personality, services that made sense. But some of the best bits were hiding in all the wrong places, the design wasn't keeping up with the brand, and a few structural things were quietly costing her enquiries.
Here are the virtual assistant website mistakes I see frequently. And I reckon if you've built your own VA website, you'll recognise most of this.
The best messages were at the bottom
Harriet had a brilliant one-liner sitting in her about section. The kind of line that makes someone think yes, that's exactly what I need. It was halfway down the page. Most visitors won't get there.
Her benefits section was even further down:
"You finally get your time back."
"Your inbox stays under control."
Exactly what her audience needs to hear. Completely invisible to most of them.
This is the thing about building your own site. You know it so well that you forget nobody else does. People aren't reading every word in order. They're scanning, deciding in seconds whether it's worth their time, and leaving if nothing grabs them. Your homepage isn't a story with a payoff at the end. Put the good stuff first.
The fix: Read your homepage and ask: what's the first benefit a visitor sees? If you have to scroll to find it, move it up. Your most compelling line belongs at the top, not tucked away as a reward for the dedicated.
The brand personality was there. The design hadn't caught up.
Harriet told me her site felt flat. I knew exactly what she meant the moment I opened it.
The content had personality. The coastal theme was a great call. The colours were doing the right thing, showing she'd left corporate life behind and wasn't trying to be another beige-and-white service business. But visually, everything was the same size, same shape, same spacing. It read like a template rather than a brand.
Her package names are genuinely brilliant:
Bespoke Buoy
Sea My Socials
The Anchor
The Harbour
Creative, memorable, ownable. But they were sitting next to generic seaside stock photos that could've come from anyone. A nice wave photo doesn't tell someone what's included in a social media package. It just fills space.
The coastal theme is worth leaning into properly. Custom icons carry it in a way that's intentional rather than decorative. Add some colour-blocked sections, give the hero image some room to breathe, and create a bit more space between content areas. The difference between a site that looks designed and one that looks filled-in is usually just rhythm and intention.
The fix: Go through each service and ask: does the image or visual next to this actually help someone understand what they'd get? If not, it's not earning its place.
The colours were right. The contrast wasn't.
Why accessibility matters for your VA website
Harriet picked a bright, tropical palette because she'd left corporate life and wanted something that felt like her. Spot on. That's exactly the right reason to make that call.
But some of the body text didn't have enough contrast against the backgrounds. That makes it hard to read for:
Anyone with a visual impairment
People with dyslexia
Anyone on a phone in daylight, which is most people
Around 15% of people have some kind of accessibility need. That's not a niche consideration. That's a meaningful proportion of the people landing on your site, struggling to read it, and leaving.
The fix isn't to ditch the palette. It's to use it more cleverly.
The fix: Keep the colours for headers, backgrounds, and accents. Make body copy black. Then run every combination through colourcontrast app. It's free, it takes two minutes, and it'll tell you exactly what passes. No guessing.
Serious credibility, sitting in the wrong room
Dell. Lenovo. TEDxPorthtowan Women.
Those are not small names. For anyone looking to hire a VA who can handle bigger, more complex work, those names are the thing that tips them from interested to convinced. But Harriet had them mentioned once, in the about section, where only the most determined visitor would find them.
If you've worked with names worth dropping, your homepage is where they live. Not the about page. The homepage.
Here's what actually moves the needle on trust:
A "previously worked with" logo strip on the homepage
Testimonials on every key page, not just a dedicated wall of praise that nobody visits
A proper about page that tells the full story, with real context and personality
Case studies or project snapshots that show the work, not just describe it
Credibility doesn't work if it's hidden. It needs to be where people are already looking.
The quick wins that tie it all together
Beyond the bigger structural stuff, these are the smaller things that would make the whole site work harder:
A book-a-call prompt on every page so there's always an obvious next step, wherever someone lands
FAQs because they help visitors figure out if they're the right fit, and they're genuinely useful for SEO
Individual pages for each service because one big services page is harder to share, harder for Google to read, and harder for a client to send to someone else
A footer that actually does something with social links, contact details, and a call to action rather than just a copyright year floating at the bottom
Small things. Real difference.
How to review your own VA website
Not everyone has someone to take an outside look, so here's how to do a decent job of it yourself. The key is seeing it the way a stranger would, which is genuinely hard when you built the thing.
Open your homepage and set a five-second timer. When it goes off, answer these honestly:
Can you tell immediately what this person does?
Can you tell who they help?
Can you tell what to do next?
If any of those is a no, that's your starting point.
Then read the whole homepage out loud. Not in your head. Out loud. You'll hear exactly where it drags, where you've buried something good, and where you've written for yourself rather than your reader. It's uncomfortable in the best way.
After that, check these three things specifically:
Your headline. Is it about what your client gets, or is it about you? "I help overwhelmed founders get their time back" does more work than "Welcome" or your business name in big letters.
Your call to action. Does every page have one? Pick a page at random and ask: if this was the only page someone saw, would they know what to do next? If the answer's no, add a button.
Your social proof. Are testimonials and credibility markers visible without hunting for them? If someone landed on your services page cold, would they see a single reason to trust you before clicking away?
If you do all of this and feel a bit deflated about your site, that's completely normal. Most VA websites have more going for them than their owners realise. It usually needs a reorganise, not a full rebuild.
What it comes down to
Harriet didn't need a new website. She needed someone outside her business to see what she'd been too close to notice. The messaging was strong, the personality was there, the services made sense. It just needed rearranging, and the design needed to catch up with the brand.
That's what I see all the time with sites built by the person running the business. You're too deep in it to see what's getting in the way. An outside perspective catches it quickly. Usually in the first five minutes.
FAQ: The questions I get asked allll the time
How should a website be structured? Lead with what the client gets, not with who you are. Your homepage should answer three things immediately: what you do, who you help, and what to do next. Services, social proof, and a clear next step should all be visible without scrolling.
What makes a VA website stand out? Specificity and personality. Generic copy and stock photos make every website look the same. Your own voice, real results, and a visual identity that actually reflects your brand are what make someone pick you over the next person in the search results.
How do I improve my website? Start with the content order: move your strongest messages to the top. Check your contrast, make sure every page has a clear next step, and get your testimonials somewhere people will actually see them.
Do I need individual pages for each VA service? Yes, if you want Google to find them and clients to share them. A single catch-all services page is harder to rank, harder to link to, and harder for a potential client to send to someone else.
I do free website reviews on Instagram Stories. If you want one, DM your site link to @eloisecorkedesign.
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