What makes a great About page?

20th June 2017

One of the key parts of a website is the About page but they’re also one of the hardest pages to get right in terms of tone and content. Your About page should get people interested in your business, tell a story and explain why you’re qualified to help them.

So what makes a great About page?

The photo

Some people cringe at the thought of having a photo of themselves on their website but a photo will help to personalise the page and go a long way to making a connection with your audience.

The style of photo you use will differ depending on the kind of business you own. If you’re a consultant working with big corporate clients it’s probably worth getting a professional headshot done. If you’re an artist or craftsperson a more casual, natural snapshot might be better. When it comes to the shot remember to smile and face the camera so you’re making good eye contact.

You’ll also need to consider the surroundings of the photo. You may want to have it taken in a work environment like a home office or a workshop, or in a more natural setting like your garden or in the countryside.

Tell a story

People love stories so if you can tell them how you came to be in business and why you love what you do it will help to keep their interest. Keep your story short and concise and try to make it as interesting as possible. Now is the time to talk about how much experience you’ve got and why you love doing what you do.

Don’t make it all about yourself

This might sound like odd advice considering you’re creating an About page but it always makes sense to turn the focus around to what you can do for your customer. A quick way to change the focus in your writing is to make sure there are more instances of you and yours than I, me and we. By addressing your customer directly you’ll come across as being more interested in their needs than showcasing your own qualities.

It doesn’t have to be all about work

Adding some personal details to your About page helps to make that connection and can help you to find some common ground with your audience. Write a short paragraph that tells people what you like to do on your days off and what makes you tick outside of working hours.

Testimonials

If you’re using testimonials or reviews on other parts of your website it makes sense to use them on your About page too. Text testimonials are great but if your budget and resources can run to it consider creating one or two video testimonials particularly if you have one or two really high profile customers you can focus on. You can then promote these videos through YouTube and other forms of social media.

When it comes to testimonials try to avoid using ones that just read “Frank was a pleasure to work with and very professional”.

Try and persuade your customer to write more about the problem you helped them to solve and the end result, this will have far more impact.

If you’ve got a Google My Business page try and get your customers to review your business through that as it will help to improve your local search rankings. You can then use a snippet of those reviews on your website.

Finishing with a call to action

Make sure you end your About page by adding a call to action. Maybe the next step you want someone to take is to get in touch with you through your contact page. The more effort you put into your About page the more chance there is of you making a connection and making that happen!