Of all the pages on a site, the About Page is often invested in the least. For many it’s an afterthought, just one of those mandatory things.
However, for many websites, it is actually the second most visited page, behind the homepage. It is where people go to understand who they are working with before making a final decision. That makes it very important to get right.
Follow these important tips to make sure your About Page is as impactful and effective as the rest of your site.
1. Make your “About Us” about them
What’s the real purpose of an “About” page? Some might say it’s the place where you share more about your business and its founders. That’s true… but really, your About Page is just another opportunity to connect with your audience.So even though you’re talking about yourself, make your About Page about them. Focus on communicating how you and your business can bring value to them. Highlight how your team are experts at addressing their unique pain points.
2. Have a strong opening statement
Your About Page is an opportunity to captivate your audience, so don’t waste it with a bland chronology of events and company makeup. Start out with something punchy and intriguing to convince visitors they should read more.This can be a carefully worded mission statement, a question, or a quote, for example. Get creative and write something that will leave readers wanting to know more.Here’s a great example of this from Jam3:
3. Tell a story
Your About Page should explain what kind of business you are today, but also the journey you took to reach this point. Do a good job of telling a story, and you’ll be able to capture attention and instill more confidence in your audience.The story you tell doesn’t necessarily have to be about your business’ birth and growth. It could also be a story that expresses why what you do is important, or the impact your business has on the world. A good story helps readers forget they’re reading an About Page at all.
4. Keep it focused
If users visit your About Page and the first thing they see are giant paragraphs of text, many of them will simply navigate away. Most people aren’t interested in an ultra-detailed description of your business history. They want a quick overview of who you are, what you’re about, and what your team is like.Band’s “About” page has less than 100 words of text on it, yet it communicates everything visitors need to know:
Create a list of the main points you want to communicate on your About Page then write your copy. Cut out any unnecessary information that goes beyond this key list. Communicate your main mission statement, then focus on the core details that matter most.
5. Make it personal
Your About Page is your opportunity to put a face to your business. Even if you don’t use a conversation tone on other parts of your site, it’s okay to do so here. Make every effort to humanize your business by making it personal.Pictures of your team and/or leadership will go a long way in this respect. Skip the professional mug shots if you can. Instead include images of your team in action, working together in a collaborative business environment.
6. Include social proof
People want to know how others feel about your business, not just hear your own biased opinion. You should cater to this need by including some social proof on your About Page.Social proof can be testimonials, social sharing statistics, or even some raw data about how many people use your product/services.Tumblr does a nice job of including social proof on their About Page:
Social proof helps validate your business beyond what you have to say about it.
7. Offer a next step
Don’t let your About Page be a dead end road. Visitors navigated there for a reason, so you should make every effort to help them continue on their journey to learn more about you and potentially become a customer.Include a call-to-action that will help you stay in touch to nurture the relationship, such as signing up for your company newsletter. You may even want to prompt visitors to contact you for a quote if they’re ready to convert into customers.
Wrapping up
Your About Page is the one place on your site where it’s okay to talk all about yourself. Since you can create a whole new message here, it’s a great opportunity to connect with your audience in a way your other site pages can’t.
So put some extra care and effort into developing your About Page, and remember to operationalize these 7 tips to make it even better.
