A good About page is not really about you. It is about showing a cautious customer that you are real, capable, and safe to hire. The best ones do that quickly: who you are, what you do and where, why you can be trusted, and a clear way to get in touch. Skip the life story and the corporate waffle. Lead with what reassures the person deciding whether to call.
The rest of the site can list services. This page, or this section, is where they check there is a human behind the invoice.
Why does the About page get so many visits?
It is where a hesitant customer goes after they like the look of the work. Someone found you, and now they want to know: are these people real, and are they any good? A vague or empty About page loses them at exactly the wrong moment.
On a one-page site the About is a section, not a separate URL. That is fine. The job is the same. Give it a heading people can jump to, and do not hide it under a slogan.
It works alongside the rest of the writing. If you want the wider view on sentences that win calls, read website copy that gets calls. If you want the order of the whole page, read website content that converts. This post stays on the About.
How do I lead with the customer, not the company history?
The classic mistake is opening with “Founded in 2015, we are passionate about quality and customer service.” It says nothing and reads like every other site.
Instead, open with what you do and who for, then show why that matters to them. Compare:
- Weak: “We are a family-run business passionate about excellence.”
- Strong: “We are a family electrical firm in Hassocks. For fifteen years we have done the everyday jobs, the fuse box that keeps tripping, the extension that needs rewiring, for people across Mid Sussex, and we turn up when we say we will.”
The second tells a real story and reassures at the same time. Only use the year count if it is true. A shorter, honest version is better than a padded one.
I write About sections this way from Hassocks. Web design here for a local firm should sound like the person who answers the phone, not like a brochure printed in 2012.
What should an About page include?
A strong About usually covers, in plain order:
- Who you are. Real names and, ideally, a real photo. People trust faces.
- What you do and where. Your services and your area, stated clearly, even if the homepage already said it.
- Why you can be trusted. How long you have done it, relevant accreditations (NICEIC, Gas Safe, OFTEC and the like), and genuine reviews.
- How you work. What it is like to deal with you: honest timescales, no jargon, no hard sell, you tidy up.
- A clear next step. A phone number or a button. Do not build trust and then leave them nowhere to go.
You do not need your school, your first van, or a timeline. A customer does not need your full history. They need enough to hire you.
Specifics are what make it believable. A real town, a real number of years, a real scheme, a genuine review with a first name. Generic claims wash over people. Concrete ones stick.
Write like a person. Read it aloud. If it sounds like a brochure, rewrite it in the words you would use explaining the business to a neighbour. A bit dry and honest beats polished and hollow.
What does a good About look like for different kinds of firm?
A tradesperson About is short and practical. BW Electrical in Hassocks needs the name, NICEIC, the towns, and a face if they are happy to show one. Oilfire in Uckfield needs Steve, OFTEC, the dual ticket, and the Weald patch. Sindall in Haywards Heath can say family firm, 2008, the Checkatrade record, and who you will speak to on a building job. Phoenix Piling needs the methods and the fact you deal with the team directly, not a call centre.
A shopfront About is different. Ruby’s Bakery in Burgess Hill is about the family, the product, and the shop, not a tap-to-call emergency. The Vests, a Hassocks covers band, need who plays and what a booking is like, not Gas Safe. C4C Group is a quoted multi-page consultancy site. The About there is about the work, not a van. I also run C4C. That is a fact, not a testimonial.
Do not copy a trade About onto a bakery or a band. The questions the reader has are different. The method is the same: who, what, where, proof, next step.
What mistakes should I avoid?
- The life story. Enough to trust you, not a memoir.
- Marketing filler. “Passionate about excellence” and its cousins say nothing. Cut them.
- No proof. Claims with nothing behind them do not persuade. Add reviews, photos, accreditations you hold.
- Stock photos of strangers. A fake team undoes the trust you are trying to build. Use real photos or none.
- No call to action. Do not warm them up and then leave the reader with nowhere to click.
- A different name or number from the homepage and the Google profile. That looks like two businesses.
Keep it as long as it needs to be. For most small businesses a few tight paragraphs do the job. Padding weakens it. If you run a one-page site, the About is simply a clear section of that page. That is often plenty.
A standard Page Forge site is £99 to set up and £29 a month, or £299 a year, and the About copy is part of the write-up. SEO and GEO from £99 one-off. Multi-page About and team pages are quoted. If you want the page written to win trust, get in touch.
Frequently asked questions
What should a small business About page include?
Who you are (with real names and a photo), what you do and where, why you can be trusted (experience, accreditations, genuine reviews), a sense of what dealing with you is like, and a clear way to get in touch. Keep it concrete and human.
How long should an About page be?
Long enough to build trust and no longer, usually a few short paragraphs. Say who you are, prove you are good, and point the reader to the next step. Extra childhood detail does not help.
Should I put a photo of myself on the About page?
Yes, if you are comfortable. People trust faces, and a real photo of you or your team does more for trust than any amount of polished text. A genuine photo beats a stock image of strangers every time.
Do I need a separate About page, or is a section enough?
A section on a one-pager is enough for most local firms. A separate page helps when you have a multi-page site and people expect the usual menu. Do not build a second URL just to look bigger.
Can I mention reviews and accreditations on the About page as well as the homepage?
Yes. Repeat the ones that matter. The About reader may have skipped the homepage proof. Do not dump every badge you have ever collected. Name the schemes a customer would check.
Will Page Forge write the About page for me?
Yes, as part of the site. You answer a few questions. We turn that into a short, plain About that sounds like you. See pricing for the one-pager figure, or ask if you need a longer multi-page write-up.