Shift4Shop eCommerce Blog

How to Write a Great About Us Page

Written by Jimmy Rodriguez | Oct 19, 2018 3:00:00 PM

Humans are naturally inclined to do business with other humans, not companies. Online businesses needed a way to connect with their customers and build relationships. Thankfully, there’s a valuable resource already at their fingertips: the About Us page. Unfortunately, in the online world, the About Us page is generally treated as little more as an afterthought. Sometimes, that’s ok. At other times it can leave potential customers confused and scrambling for more information.

Your About Us page serves a valuable purpose, it gives your business a face, a name, and an explanation. (Let’s be frank, Bulldog Skincare has an amazing About Us page… but without it you wouldn’t know if their skincare was for men or dogs.) Here’s what it boils down to, your About Us page is important, it’s necessary, and more importantly: it’s valuable. Your About Us page deserves as much love and attention as you put into the other areas of your site and should be treated as an asset.

What is a website's About Page?

It’s the page on your site that tells your potential customer who you are, what you do, and why you do it. It’s a goal-oriented destination, to inform your potential customer on your biggest selling points. This page is where you reveal your brand identity. A boring, blank page with your company contact information isn’t going to help your customer fall in love with your company, and it does not sell them on why they should do business with you.

You need a well written About Us page to give your customer three important pieces of information:

  • Contact info. Your customer will need to be able to contact your business. Give them a variety of ways to do so. Including a phone number for customer support, as well as a physical mailing address, will give them confidence in pursuing an online transaction with you. Linking to different social media outlets will provide your customer with a way to follow up and stay connected with your business.

  • Who you are. People want to do business with people, not a computer. Let your target customer base know you. Clarify who you are by sharing a bit of your back story. This may include a company history, citing significant dates of importance, or it may be background to the inspiration behind your company. Until they know you, your company is just another one of a million other websites. Tell them what makes you unique.

  • What you do. What need does your business fill? Tell your customers who you serve. Explain how you make your products. Tell potential clients what your mission is. For example, if you go to a website that sells beads, and they don’t have an About Us page, it’s just a bead website. Once they add an About Us page you realize that they create jobs in third world countries by using local craftsmen that hand paint the designs on each one. So, when you do business with them, not only are you getting an astounding product, each purchase does a little bit to change the world. Doesn’t that set this hypothetical business apart?

If you are still aren’t sure why you need an About Us page, allow us to make that a little clearer. In sales, of any sort, you are never selling a product, you are building a relationship. Creating an About Us page gives your potential customer/client/business partner the opportunity to get to know you, before they get to know you. It tells them about your history, ethics, mission, and purpose. The About Us page is more than just some background knowledge about your company, it’s the first opportunity that you have to tell your site visitor why they should do business with you. In short, this is where you close the sale.

 

Building an About Us Page

If we had to create a formula to create the perfect, customizable About Us page, it might look a little like the one below.

Style + Content + Elements = About Us

Style is the design of your page, your color scheme, media, and design choices. Content is the words you say on the page. Elements are different features that you can tie in to make it your own.

Style

  • What you say isn’t nearly as important as how you say it. Use a conversational tone in your writing. It will help you reach your target customer and build their trust. They will relate to your brand better, and won’t get bored!
  • Keep it simple and forgo using technical Jargon. You want your visitors to find you accessible and friendly.
  • What does your website look like? You want your About Us page to blend in with the rest of your site. If you have a modern monochromatic website, you don’t want to splash colors and florals all over your About Us page.
  • Don’t force it all on one page. Some of the best About Us pages redirect customers to other pages, each featuring a different topic. (i.e. Our Story, Our Values, Our Future).

Content

  • Hook your customers with a powerful tag line, a header that reveals in clear terms what you add to the world. Be wary of coming off too pushy, otherwise you may alienate your potential customers.
  • Keep the most important information above the fold. Nielsen Norman Group’s research shows that your users will spend 80% of their time above the fold, so keep your main points where you can be sure they will see them. (Specifically – what do you do).
  • Show your customer you understand their needs by identifying what those needs are. Then explain how you serve those needs.
  • Consider sharing your company history, or your origin story. Do this by sharing where you started, what prompted you to build the business, and obstacles you overcame along the way. Share how your business is realizing your vision, and what your goals are for the future.  
  • Sharing your mission statement will show your customers what your company values are.
  • Introduce key company players. Share their experiences. This gives a face to your company. More importantly, it shows that you care about the people that work for you.

Elements

  • Talking about your own accomplishments can make you sound like you are bragging. Other people talking about your accomplishments make you look good. Include first person reviews from your website, or use widgets that pull reviews from different social media accounts.
  • Whether you’ve received peer, industry, or community awards, highlight that on your site. Reviews, awards, and accomplishments work to provide your company with legitimacy.
  • Email Sign up. Include a place for them to sign up for your emails on your About Us page. This is where you are selling them on doing business with you. Once they are sold they are more likely to want to connect and stay informed on what you are doing.
  • Social Media Links. You’ve done the hard part, you got the potential customer to your page. Now you need to make sure they can reconnect with you. Email is only one way to do that. Be sure that your About Us page links back to your other social media pages so your potential clients can easily reconnect.
  • Make use of multimedia. Different people respond to different types of media. Use photos, video, as well as written content to capture their attention.

  

Inspiring Examples of About Us Pages

While we can all talk until we are blue in the face about different features that will make your page stand out, sharing some of the best about us pages is a much better option.  When you include photos, multimedia, and custom content you create a page that will speak to your potential customer. Below you’ll see 5 of our favorite About Us pages, and what exactly makes them stand out.

1. Grovemade


Grovemade
is the answer to what we didn’t know we were missing. They hook you with a simple phrase “Find What Matters.” It automatically intrigues the reader, and makes them want to know what matters that they haven’t found. They share their history, their growth, and their accomplishments. They do so in a way that makes you want to be a part of their journey. Their design is simple, but their photography emotes joy. It makes the reader feel like by purchasing their product, they could bring a little of that joy and purpose into their home. They offer a peek into daily operations, and individual biographies of everyone that works there.  Who doesn’t want to do business with a company that cares as much about its employees as it does the quality of the product they are putting out?

2. Yellow Leaf Hammocks

It’s hard not to love this page. Yellow Leaf Hammocks' About Us page blends in seamlessly with the rest of the site. They capture the attention of the reader by starting with their motto. “Do Good. Relax.” Who doesn’t want to do good and relax? They are automatically speaking to the desires of their target customer base. From there they go on to explain how their company is changing the world through sustainable job creation. This helps their customers feel good about their purchase. There are other links on their About Us page that go into more detail: about the women they create jobs for, the hammocks themselves, and their back story. To top it off, they have beautiful photographs that unveil their journey, and capture the reader's imagination. Their About Us page is powerful enough to stand alone, so much so that the potential customer feels inspired to share not just their product, but their mission.

3. Bulldog Skincare


Bulldog Skincare is another you just can’t help but love. From the moment you land on their about us page, you know exactly what they are: a skin care company for men. You are also treated to the squishy face of Man’s Best Friend. The face of their company, their Bulldog, is featured right there at the top. If nothing else gets you excited about their brand or product, he will. The rest of the page offers other brand related images that tie in with their site, but also briefly discusses why they created their brand, who they serve, and why we should shop with them. The text is conversational, and kept brief. It’s just enough to leave their customers wanting more.

4. Moz

Moz is a company that you want to work for, at least after reading their About Us page! Though their company is built on SEO, their page makes their business approachable for anyone, even those who have no idea what SEO is. They are living the American Dream, and that’s revealed through their timeline back story. By leaving out corporate jargon, they include everyone in their vision. Their story is mostly narrative, with a few pictures, and a monochromatic background to leave the focus where it belongs.

5. Whoa Nelly Catering

Whoa Nelly Catering is a unique website that stands on its own. Literally. This catering company’s entire site is located on one page, but everything they do, they do well. Their text is simple, highlighted only by the font and the negative space surrounding it. The imagery that surrounds it simultaneously serves as a stunning backdrop, and a focal centerpiece. Try not to drool while perusing their page. Most importantly, after their sample menus, their photo gallery, and their press accolades, they also feature the most important element of all, personal reviews from their clients.

 

Finding an About Us Page Template

If reviewing these outstanding About Us pages hasn’t provide a spark of inspiration, and our formula hasn’t solved the problem, you can always use one an online template to get you started.  Once you start, inspiration is sure to hit. OS-Templates offers 20 different templates that you can use to get started. From there you’ll be able to tweak your page and make it your own.

Your business is unlike any other business out there, and your journey is what makes you unique.  Sales is all about the relationship you build with other people, and whether you are selling a product, a service, an idea, or a lifestyle, that relationship is going to determine your success.  An effective About Us page is going to communicate your value, without being overly “salesy” or pushy. Whether you are starting a new business, or are already established, your page is going to put a face on your company, it’s going to define your brand, and attract potential customers. Don’t let your About Us page become an afterthought, when used properly it can redefine your business.