Of all the pages in your website, your About Page serves as your ID, so to speak. It is, after all the page where you are supposed to summarise your business’ history, values, capabilities and its personality.
While the About page may not be as content-rich as the other pages of your website, it has to be every bit as good as any of its other pages.
So how do you create a great About page for your website? Here are a few tips.
Acknowledge that the About page could get a bit contradictory
We have always emphasized how important it is to make the content of your website of value to your readers, not make it all about you, or your company, or your products and services. But the About page is supposed to be, well, about you and your business, right? That is where things could get a bit contradictory.
To continue working along the lines of the principle mentioned above when writing your About page, you can, for starters, avoid labelling the page as “About Us” or “About Me”. While it’s all right to sprinkle a bit of background information on the page, don’t make the content of your About page resemble something like a resume or a historical article. If you’re going to use bits and pieces of background info, make sure you present them in the context of how you can serve your readers.
Which brings us to the content that you should put in an About page: If anything, the content of your website should be all for the benefit of your customers, and the About page is no exception. Instead of rattling off facts and figures about the company when writing your About page, talk about why they should check out your website. If your site can help solve certain problems or situations, don’t be too shy to talk about what you can do. Most importantly, talk about what interests them when writing your About page. Remember, your readers only care about themselves, which is why they’re there in the first place.
Chuck the needless details when writing your About page
Endless details are boring. Instead of writing your About page by mentioning stiff facts and figures too few readers actually care about, tell your readers what they can get if they explore your site further. That is value-added content for your readers, and if you’re writing your About page in a conversational tone, you will sound even more interesting even as you tell them about your business.
Credentials and accolades are welcome in your About page
If you have special qualifications or if your company has received several accolades from various organisations or the community in general, don’t be too shy about letting your readers know about them. Just don’t overdo it; you wouldn’t want to come across as some sort of an egomaniac. Just pick a few ones you hold in the highest regard. Also, testimonials will be great.
Don’t get too creative when writing your About page
By too creative when writing your About page, we mean don’t write fiction. You are basically lying to your customers if you talk about accomplishments that never really happened. Also, you should lose the hyperbole and superlatives when talking about yourself or your business. Only your ego is served by such BS.
Take risks with your About page
Take a look at many websites and you’ll see a significant percentage of them reciting nothing but company mantra in their About page. As much as possible, you should take risks to be quite distinct from those sites. Instead of corporate BS, tell them that your company is made up of people who can actually make a difference in their lives. That should make them at least entertain the idea of doing business with you.
Make your bios sound fun
If you have to put up bios in the About page, the worst thing you could do is make them sound professional and academic. Educational and professional qualifications, after all, are boring. Why not make it a bit more fun and interesting, like saying you loved Breaking Bad or you enjoy jogging with your Golden retrievers on the beach?
Take advantage of social media
Publishing links to social media profiles on your About page only makes sense, as it will make building relationships with customers even easier. If you can, feature links to profiles of directors, staff, or anyone who represents the company on social networks.
Make necessary updates
The information you posted a year ago may no longer be up to date. People get hired, fired or simply leave. Locations, services and products change. Significant changes could be happening to your company. That is why you should always update your About page when needed so you can avoid giving your audience outdated information.
Go easy on the video
It’s great if you want to speak directly to your readers by posting a video on your About page, but don’t depend on it to give them all they need to know. Also, keep in mind that readers are annoyed by videos that automatically play when the page is loaded, so don’t do that.
Focus on the “why”
While it’s alright to answer the W’s, the most important W to tackle is “Why”. The other Ws just give you the opportunity to talk about yourself. The “whys”, on the other hand, help communicate to customers what they really are interested in knowing, and in effect, show them that you put them first.
The About page of many websites may be a common exit page for visitors, but we’re hoping the tips above can help you create a great About page for your website and avoid suffering the same fate.