Create an Awesome About Page to Set Your Website Apart

In 1993, at the very dawn of the World Wide Web, Peter Steiner, an illustrator at The New Yorker, created an iconic cartoon. It featured two dogs in front of a computer. One of them said to the other, “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.” It was an instant smash, pinned on office walls all over the world. It referenced the anonymity of the internet in a very amusing way.

But those were simple days when the internet was mostly just newsgroups and email. Today, anonymity can be a big problem – especially for businesses and others who want to instill trust and credibility in their readers. How do customers know they can trust a particular online business? How do readers know they can trust a writer’s opinions on subjects ranging from politics to religion to Lady Gaga’s newest outfit? Put simply: how can people know that your website isn’t run by a couple of dogs?

We’ve discussed this issue before, 7 Reasons People Don’t Trust Your Website. But the number one most important thing that you can do to create credibility is to have an About page. And the number two most important thing is to have that page be informative and interesting. The last thing you want is for people to think, “This website looks interesting, but I have no idea if I should trust it.”

What’s more, Google really wants you to have an About page. And with Google using more and more human judgement to rate websites, it’s important that your About page be good.

In the following infographic, we provide an easy to follow guide that will take you from having no About page to having one that you can be proud of – one that will instill confidence in your visitors. Get started now!

Create an Awesome About Page to Set Your Website Apart

About pages are often one of the most visited pages on a website. Site users visit them to get an idea of how trustworthy a site is. So these pages offer a great opportunity to connect with visitors and sell them on your site and its offerings.

Have an About page

• About pages
  • Clarify who you are and what you do
  • Increase reader trust
  • Help build your brand
• Not having an About page is a mistake
  • Sometimes website owners think:
    • They aren’t necessary
    • They are old-fashioned
• Make it obvious
  • Provide one more more click links to it on every page
  • Name it clearly
    • Bad names
      • Exploration
      • The Inner Circle
      • Control Center
    • Good names
      • Our Story
      • Who We Are
      • About Us

Important Elements of About Pages

• Who you are
  • Visitors mistrust websites that aren’t clear about who runs them
    • In fact, addressing this issue is the primary reason for having an About page
• Contact information
  • Even websites with separate Contact pages should provide easy access to this information on the About page
• Lead generation form
  • Visiting an About page shows visitor interest
  • Provide one or more forms for visitors to sign up for updates
• Greatest hits or Introductory article lists
  • Provide links to your most important and popular content
  • Don’t let your About page be a dead end for visitors

Begin With a Bang

• Remember people are impatient
  • Don’t start at the beginning
    • “Our company started in 2009…”
    • “From my earliest days, I was fascinated by…”
  • Grab the reader’s attention
    • “The way to improve your life…”
    • “My passion is…”
    • The most important issue facing the world…”
• Once you have the reader’s attention
  • Expand on your statement
  • Explain what it all has to do with you
  • Integrate the reader into the story

Tell People Who You Are

• The About page should be somewhat personal
  • You don’t need to talk about childhood traumas
  • But humanize yourself or your institution
    • Include your name(s)
      • Photographs make you more real
      • Videos can be a great extra
        • But don’t depend upon people watching them
    • Tell your story in a positive way
      • But be brief
  • Provide links to social media

Tell People What You Can Do For Them

• Usually, readers know what your website is about before coming to your About page
  • They usually turn to the About page to find out how credible you are
  • They may have gotten the wrong impression of your website from a single page
• Use your About page to provide an overview of why people use your site
  • What its focus is
    • Tech
    • Finance
    • Games
      • Whatever…
  • How it approaches its subject
    • Serious and authoritative
    • Friendly and helpful
    • Jocular and sarcastic
      • Whatever your style is
  • When it is updated
    • Regularly scheduled
    • Randomly
      • Frequently
      • Now and then
• Let the reader know why they should spend time on your website rather than one of the billions of other options

End With a Strong Closer

• Your About page should end back where it started
  • But with a difference
• Your reader needs something to do with all that your website offers
  • Sign up for information
    • Content and product updates
    • Newsletter
    • RSS feed
  • Contact you
  • Read some of your articles
    • “Greatest hits” list
    • Introductory articles
  • Publicize your website on social media
  • Buy your products

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Going on and on (and on…)
  • Storytelling can be an effective device to draw in readers and connect with them
  • Dozens and dozens of paragraphs of information, however, will:
    • Lose the reader’s attention
    • Dilute the helpful information on the page
• Being boring
  • Write in an engaging style
    • Use audience-appropriate humor if you are capable of it
    • Be more personal than elsewhere on your site
• Formatting badly
  • A wall of text is intimidating
  • Break up the page
    • Use headers
    • Include images and other design elements
• Lacking social proof
  • Post proof that people use and trust your website
    • Case studies
    • Reviews
    • Testimonials
  • An experiment carried out by Figleaves.com showed that the conversion rate of products that had reviews was 12.5% higher than those that didn’t

When someone is thinking about buying a book, one of the first things they do is read the “About the Author” section. The About page serves the same purpose for your website. It tells the reader if you are worth their time. So it is one of the most important parts of your website, and deserves your attention.

Sources: diythemes.com, copyblogger.com, inspacesbetween.com, confluentforms.com, blog.crazyegg.com, searchenginejournal.com,

Sources

• How to Create An Amazing Blog About Page
• Are You Making These 7 Mistakes with Your About Page?
• How to Write Your About Me Page
• Above the Fold and Below the Fold, Usability Insights in Web Design
• 6 Ways Social Proof Can Increase Conversions on Your Site/
• 25 Creative and Engaging About Us Pages