3 Things Your About Page Needs
Other than your Home page, your About page is the most important page on your website. According to a 2015 study*, visitors tend to visit the About page first, just after they peruse your Home page. So how can you take advantage of this important real estate? By speaking to the visitor. Here are 3 things your About page needs to hold their attention:
A benefits-focused introduction
Once a visitor knows what your business or organization does, they want to know who is running it. Whether you’re a nonprofit with a staff of 40 or a solo entrepreneur running a consulting business, people will want to know if they connect with you and if they can trust you.
How do you do that? By following the golden rule of the About page:
Your About page is NOT about you. It’s about your visitor.
This flies in the face of the traditional, old-school About page, which pretty much mimicked a bio in a program for a keynote speech. You know: Our executive director is so-and-so and she earned these degrees and received these awards. She grew up in this city and now lives in that city. She has three dogs.
We’ve all read (and written) these. And they have their place. No shade to keynote speech bios. When you need to communicate your credibility and experience, it’s a great way to get people that information. It’s not even terrible to have bios like these on your About page.
You just shouldn’t lead with a fact-filled bio.
You should lead with a benefits-focused introduction.
The introduction on your About page should go into more depth than your Home page, as far as the problems you solve as a business or organization. It should include language that acknowledges the persistent problem or deep aspirations of your potential customer or donor.
What’s the difference, then, between the Home page and the About page intro, you ask? The About page introduction goes into more detail.
In it, you can talk about why you care about your visitor’s problems or hopes, what led your group to form, what changes you’ve seen as a result of your work, and why that keeps you coming back. You can allude to or briefly describe the philosophy behind your work and use elements of story to keep them reading.
The point of the About page introduction is to introduce yourself in a way that makes a brief, compelling case for your cause, service, or product.
It’s an opportunity to draw people into your orbit through language that resonates with people whose values are already aligned with yours.
Bios with a point—and some personality
The bios on your About page should introduce readers to each person on your team in a way that’s personable and professional. Remember that the point of a bio, at least in this context, is not to prove that a team member is qualified. The point is to connect with the reader.
Does that mean you should ignore experience, education, training, and awards? No. Those things are really important. Just don’t lead with them.
Each bio should start out with the person’s connection to the work. What do they do in their role with the company or organization? Why did they pursue this work? What do they look forward to most every day? This part should combine the benefits of the work this person is doing with their unique personality, so the reader feels like they know them a little better after reading it.
You can throw in a bit of personal information if you like, such as hobbies and favorite movies, if it’s on-brand. (Bonus if those hobbies intersect with the work you do.) End with credibility facts, such as the person’s degrees, recognition, and relevant roles in the community. This follows most readers’ natural inclination to seek out connection and trust first and verify experience later.
A clear call-to-action button
As engaging as your About page may be, if there’s nowhere for your visitor to go, it won’t have much impact. That’s why you need a clear call-to-action (CTA) button—or more—on the page.
As you’re thinking through the flow of your website, decide where you want people to go from your About page.
If you’re an independent entrepreneur, it may make sense for them to check out your product packages or go to your store to see your products. In that case, Create a SEE MY PACKAGES or SHOP button.
If you’re a nonprofit with a number of programs, you may want a visitor to direct themselves to the one that fits for them. In that case, create a CHECK OUT OUR PROGRAMS or LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT WE DO button.
Bonus About page elements!
A good website is a collaborative project that involves the client (you) and a team of creatives (maybe also you!). Whether you’re hiring it out or DIYing your site, make sure that you pay attention to the whole package: words, images, and design.
Good headshots
On your About page, this means you need great headshots. Don’t put a lot of work into your copy and then embed a not-great photo next to it. Practically guarantees that no one will read it.
Use a professional photographer. I can’t emphasize what a difference this makes for your entire website.
If that’s simply not in your budget, take headshots yourself—and take them seriously. Plan a day when you’ll be taking them, let your team know, and ask people to wear something they feel good wearing. Using a phone camera in portrait mode, have one employee take photos in some nice light outdoors. This will get you through until you can save up for a session with a local photographer.
Testimonials
This isn’t a must-have, but a nice testimonial or two about your work and how it helped can make an About page shine. If it’s in a nice font and used as a spacer between sections, even better!
Looking to brush up the copy on your website? See my post, 5 Ways to Optimize Your Web Copy.
