I reviewed a Virtual Assistants self-built site this week. Here's what I found

I reviewed a virtual assistant's self-built website and found strong messaging hiding in all the wrong places. Here's what I spotted and how to fix it.

Harriet 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. The messaging was warm, the personality came through, and the services were well thought out. But some of the strongest bits were hiding, the design wasn't quite matching the energy of the brand, and a few structural things were getting in the way.

Here's what I spotted. And if you've built your own site, I reckon you'll recognise some of this.

The best messages were at the bottom

Harriet had a brilliant one-liner sitting in her about section: 'I help solopreneurs and medium-sized businesses untangle messy operations and build systems that work.' That's the kind of line that makes someone go, yes, that's what I need. But it was halfway down the page where most people won't see it.

The benefits section was right at the bottom. 'You finally get your time back', 'your inbox stays under control.' Exactly what her audience wants to hear. They just couldn't find it.

This happens all the time. You know your site so well that you forget people are seeing it for the first time. The fix is simple: reorganise. Lead with what your visitor gets.

The brand personality was there. The design wasn't showing it.

Harriet told me her site felt flat, and I got what she meant. The content had personality, the coastal theme was a great call, and the fun colours showed she wasn't trying to be another grey corporate brand. But visually, everything was the same size, same shape, same spacing. It read like a template rather than a brand.

The coastal package names, Bespoke Buoy, Sea My Socials, The Anchor, The Harbour, were creative and memorable. But the seaside photos alongside them weren't helping visitors understand what they'd get. Swapping those for custom icons, an anchor, a buoy, waves, a harbour, carries the theme in a way that's intentional and useful. Add colour-blocked sections, bigger hero images, and some breathing room between content, and you've got a site that feels designed rather than filled in.

The colours were bang on. The contrast wasn't.

Harriet chose a bright, tropical palette because she'd left corporate life and wanted something that felt like her. That instinct was spot on.

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, dyslexia, or even a bit of screen glare. Around 15% of people have some kind of accessibility need, so this isn't a small thing.

The fix: keep the palette. Make body copy black. Use the colours for headers, accents, and backgrounds. Find a header font that brings personality so the colour isn't doing all the work. Run everything through WebAIM's Contrast Checker. Two minutes per combo.

Serious credibility, barely visible

Dell. Lenovo. TEDxPorthtowan Women. These are the kind of names that make a visitor trust you immediately, especially if bigger businesses are the goal. But they were mentioned once, buried in the about section.

A 'previously worked with' strip on the homepage, testimonials across key pages, and a dedicated about page with the full story all help build the kind of trust that turns a browser into a buyer.

The quick wins that tie it all together

Beyond the big structural stuff, there were a handful of smaller things that would make the whole site work harder: a book-a-call banner on every page so people always know the next step, FAQs for SEO and for helping visitors figure out if they're the right fit, individual pages for each package so they're easier to share and sell, and a footer that actually finishes the job with social links and a clear call to action.

None of these are big lifts. But together they turn a site that's doing OK into one that's actually converting.

What it comes down to

Harriet didn't need a new website. She needed someone outside her business to see what she'd been staring at for months. 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. You're too close to your own site to notice what's in the way. An outside perspective catches it in minutes.

I do free website reviews on my Instagram Stories. If you'd like one, DM me your site link @eloisecorkedesign. Or if you'd rather go through it one on one, you can book an Unstick Your Site call. A hundred quid, one hour, and you'll leave knowing exactly what to focus on. Link in bio.