When it comes to writing website copy, sometimes the components that seem the simplest can stump even the most seasoned writer.
If you're in the process of learning how to make a website, you've undoubtedly been hit with a roadblock or two. It's something about being faced with articulating the very nature of your brand or business - even though you know it better than anyone else, it's still difficult to share the perfect message with your potential customers.
I spoke to 12 experts about their best tips for writing an amazing About page or bio page. Let's hear what they have to say.
When it comes to website features, are a lot of opinions out there about what makes the best About page or bio page. Let's dig in.
The key to writing a compelling About Us page is asking yourself two questions. The first is: What does your audience need to know about you or your business to trust you? And the second is: Of all the things in the world, why did you choose to start your business? Bridge the two questions. Pepper in some humor, add a dash of intrigue, and boom, you've got the recipe for the perfect About page. You're selling something on every page of your website. On your About page, you've got to sell your story.
An About page is more than who you are as a company or a brand. It's a rare opportunity to push the narrative you want in the world. Instead of telling a visitor you're a webshop committed to excellence, talk about the attention to detail, the care, and the quality that goes into every project - but in a way that makes them the hero. In short, your About page is where you tell a story that's larger than you. If your about page is focused on what you care about, then you're doing it wrong. Reflect the values and aspirations of your target audience in your about page and it'll resonate.
Your About Us or bio page should be a summary of what your brand or business stands for. It should highlight the purpose of your business and how your products make your customer's life easier. You can also share your journey with your audience, telling about how you started your business and how it evolved over time. It can have a message from your founder and information about your team. You can also incorporate an explainer video or images to make it more interesting.
Keep it human and believable. Your audience are human beings and they want to hear from a human perspective. Use a simple storytelling tone to let your audience know about the history, geography, and science of your business. To gain the credibility and trust of your audience, highlight how you have learned your audience's problems and how conveniently your business can solve these problems. Briefly explain the motto of your business and essentially avoid using cliché words in your content. Your audience is smart, so never write anything that defies your capacity for knowledge.
When writing a memorable About Us page for your company, it's important to get to know your team. The best way I have found for doing this is with a 30-minute semi-structured interview. If you have a large employee workforce and can't individually interview each team member, share your company's voice. Give the people what they came to this page for: Who You Are, What Your Mission Is, How You Do It, and Why You're Different. Be a storyteller, stay true to your branding, and most of all, splash in a bit of personality. One way we show our potential customers that we're human and relatable is by sharing hobbies and fun facts no one knows about us.
Believe it or not, the number one most visited page other than a website's homepage is the About page. This page needs to explain who is behind the company and voice the brand's value and values. The more human the copy, the better. Tell the company story (why the company was founded, who founded it, etc.) and have space for the team. This can link from the main about page or be a separate team page. Show who is behind the company, faces, short but powerful bios, the story behind the business and please include key people on the team. I have seen company morale go up when employees have a place on the website. They feel included and valued.
Our website does not house an "about us" or "bio page" at all. We do offer two tabs: a team page highlighting our roles and individual expertise, and a page we title "Frances + Roy." This page tells the story of our business name and a small bit of insight into our brand identity. We receive many comments on the uniqueness of our "about us" page and people seem to be drawn in by the story behind our business name and logo design.
Try crafting the about us page in the form of a compelling story that starts with an emotional or surprising first sentence, goes through a low point, and ends with a compelling success story that accurately describes you. When you get the hang of crafting an engaging story that describes your company and hooks the reader, that is when you'll gain true fans and people who genuinely follow you.
The "About Us" can be one of the most difficult pieces of branded content to write. People clicking your company's "About Us" want to know who you are, what you do, and—most importantly—what you're all about. In creating the "About Us," I always start with an unambiguous statement of what the company actually does. From there, I try to succinctly explain the soul of the company: why we do what we do? What do we believe in? People are eager to learn the values of your company just as much as the nuts and bolts of your business.
At Rebrandly, we've done our best to communicate our brand personality and company culture through our 'about' page. We start by stating our key brand values and then we go on to showcase our customers, our staff, key stats and our company culture. We let our personality shine through by including team photos, using the occasional emoji and changing up the layout.
A bio shouldn't be a boring description of your brand, it should highlight all the best bits of your business and let people glimpse what it is you're all about.
My top tip for coming up with compelling and unique bio page copy is jotting down brief answers to these questions: What do you do? Why do you do it? Who are you? These questions will help you originate the core message for an About Us page that readers can easily read and understand. Once answered, consider how you can structure this information on your page and what additional details about your business would be of interest to readers. For example, you can add your BBB or Google Rating, what customers are saying, or photos of your team in action.
Although a concise and engaging description of your company is an important part of telling your story, you shouldn't overlook the opportunity to personalize each employee description with a GIF.
Too much text will only serve to demand more time and effort from the reader, so a great way to give an insight into each person at the company is to ask them to choose their own GIF, which is then displayed when the cursor hovers over their picture.