Even if your business doesn’t conduct transactions online, potential and existing customers still expect to see a virtual presence. If they don’t, you might lose the opportunity to increase your customer base, create a positive brand, and promote your business.

WordPress is a powerful tool that can help businesses of all sizes improve their online presence. It’s easy to use and offers many customization options. But because establishing an online presence takes time, you need someone who can manage your WordPress site as you run your business — this is where a WordPress virtual assistant comes into the picture.

What is a WordPress VA?

A WordPress virtual assistant is a professional who provides assistance with various WordPress-related tasks. They can help businesses with anything: from designing a WordPress site and creating content to social media marketing and audience engagement. 

Because WordPress virtual assistants have the skills and experience in using WordPress, they can also troubleshoot issues and recommend changes to improve the user experience or the existing web design. For instance, they can design effective call-to-action or CTA buttons to move more customers faster through the sales funnel or add contact forms to gather information from prospects. 

WordPress virtual assistants can take on a full-time role or work hourly or per project. In short, their work schedule depends on your business needs.

What Does a WordPress Virtual Assistant do?

WordPress is user-friendly, but using it to create or improve your business’s online presence still requires work. In fact, when using WordPress for the first time, you need to choose your theme, add posts and pages, and install plugins — the list goes on. 

Fortunately, a WordPress virtual assistant can complete all of these tasks (and more) on your behalf. Hiring one is cost-effective as you can delegate the following tasks to them:

Content Creation

It’s not enough that your website only looks good; it should also offer high-quality, engaging content for your target audience. Content is essential for customer retention and branding. 

A WordPress virtual assistant can transform your website from just being an online listing for your contact information and company profile into an engaging hub for your audience. They can create and publish different types of content, such as blog posts, client interviews, infographics, videos, and more.

Integration of Third-Party Apps and APIs

The process of integrating apps and APIs into WordPress is time-consuming, especially if you’re not skilled with the platform’s basic features. But you don’t have to take on this task alone — a WordPress virtual assistant can help.

Experienced WordPress virtual assistants can easily integrate apps like Google Analytics and Salesforce into your WordPress site. This enables your site to collect, store, and analyze data in an easier, more seamless manner. 

A WordPress virtual assistant can also integrate different social media accounts into your WordPress site, so users can share your content after a few clicks. Adding social media icons to your WordPress also encourages users to follow your business page on different platforms.

Optimize Site for Search Engines

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is the practice of improving a website’s ranking on search engines. The higher your site ranks in the Search Engine Results Pages or SERPs, the more traffic your website gets.

Instead of exerting time and effort to learn SEO from scratch, let a WordPress virtual assistant take care of the task for you. They can help with various SEO-related tasks, like conducting keyword research, building backlinks, and optimizing web content.

Technical Support

Not all entrepreneurs have a technical background in website building and management. Sure, they might understand browser capabilities, SSL certifications, page redirects, and hosting, but they don’t usually have the necessary skills and tools to complete these tasks by themselves. 

Providing technical support is part of a WordPress virtual assistant’s job description. When you hire one, you’ll have someone experienced and equipped to find broken links, troubleshoot issues before customers notice them, and take care of other site maintenance requirements. 

A WordPress virtual assistant can also set up analytics on your website, so you can track the number of your site visitors, the average time they spend on the site, and the activities they usually do while on the website.

Website Design 

Research from the Journal of Behaviour and Information Technology shows that users take only 50 milliseconds or 0.05 seconds to form an opinion about a website. This means that they judge a website almost entirely on design and layout. 

To keep users engaged and make a positive impression online, let a WordPress virtual assistant design your website. They can design each page of your site to ensure that it meets the objectives of your business and the expectations of your prospects and existing customers. 

Additionally, they’ll ensure the website design fits your brand image. They’ll use and adjust different design elements to achieve that goal, namely themes, the main menu or navigation bar, layouts, color palettes, and more.

Website Management 

Managing a website takes a lot of time — a resource that you can use for other core tasks or for creating profit-generating projects. But thanks to a WordPress virtual assistant, you can have an up-to-date site without spending too much time. 

A WordPress virtual assistant can support you by taking time-consuming tasks off of your hands, like website management. As a result, your site will be free from errors (401, 403, and 404 warnings and other errors), free from broken imagery, and will have a better SEO ranking.

5 Skills to Look for in a WordPress VA

Now that you know how a WordPress virtual assistant can help entrepreneurs, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and start looking for one. Hiring a virtual assistant might seem daunting, but when you have a list of skills to look for, you can easily narrow down your options.

WordPress Development

Having experience in WordPress development is one of the most basic and important skills to look for in a WordPress virtual assistant. They should have a deep understanding of how WordPress works and how to use all of its features. This way, your business can make the most out of WordPress and quickly troubleshoot issues once any come up.

Basic Photo Editing Skills

While some clients don’t strictly require a WordPress virtual assistant with basic photo editing skills, you should. A virtual assistant with this skill will save you time and effort when you build a website. Plus, it’ll minimize cost in the long run as you don’t have to hire someone else if you have issues or corrections with the graphics on your site.

Communication Skills

Since most virtual assistants work remotely, it’s crucial to choose someone who has excellent communication skills. You want someone who can understand your instructions and objectives even when you give them through online calls, chats, or emails. They should also be comfortable in relaying their ideas and recommendations on the tasks given to them. 

It’s also important to choose a WordPress virtual assistant who has access to your preferred communication channel. For example, if you use emails to communicate daily, the VA should have access to the internet, regularly checks their email, and is comfortable in communicating by exchanging emails.

Content Writing and Management

Don’t have the time to write blogs from scratch? Don’t worry — some WordPress virtual assistants are also great writers who can craft high-quality blogs for your site. They should know what goes into the content creation process: from creating relatable and catchy titles to using the CTA at the end of the blog.

Besides writing content, look for a WordPress virtual assistant who can take care of other content management tasks, such as scheduling posts, making a content calendar, and managing comments. A WordPress virtual assistant with a background in content management will free up your time and ensure that your site is regularly updated with high-quality content.

Search Engine Optimization

As mentioned, it’s important for your website to rank high in the SERPs as it impacts your reach and branding. With this in mind, make sure that your next WordPress virtual assistant has knowledge and experience in SEO. They should know the best on- and off-page SEO practices to use so your site stays visible online.

Work with a WordPress Virtual Assistant ASAP

Hiring a WordPress virtual assistant can provide numerous benefits to entrepreneurs. They can handle various tasks, including content creation, web design, web management, and more. 

By outsourcing these tasks to a WordPress virtual assistant, you can free up your time to focus more on other aspects of the business. Hiring a virtual assistant also guarantees cost savings as you’ll only pay for the services you need when you need them. 

Overall, hiring a WordPress virtual assistant is a smart investment that improves your online presence and helps your business stay competitive in today’s digital landscape.