Why you NEED an ‘About’ page

The first page I look for on most companies’ websites is their ‘About’ page. It’s also the first page I look for on any individual’s website. Why? The reasons are the same: I want to find out who’s behind the website, get to know them and feel like we’ve met.

It’s where I expect to read a bit about their background, their personality (or culture) and even see some photos of the person or team. I’m probably planning to use or recommend their services and this helps me to feel reassured that there are ‘real’, credible people on hand.

‘About’ pages seem to be commonplace on UK websites at least, but they’re noticeable by their absence on lots of websites here in Spain. And this absence makes me question whether I can really trust this unknown face behind the website.

Why does the ‘About’ page exist?

This excerpt is from an article on A List Apart by content guru Erin Kissane. It’s a few years old, but the key points still stand.

The ‘About’ page exists to:

  • provide visitors with essential facts they need to interact with your company
  • give visitors context for the information they find elsewhere on the site
  • differentiate your organisation from others like it
  • give visitors a reason (several reasons, ideally) for doing whatever it is you want them to do.

More reasons why your ‘About’ page is crucial

Trust and credibility are major issues on the web. Explaining who you are and where you come from does matter, as do simple things like providing management biographies and photos (www.useit.com).

The ‘About me’ page is one of the highest ranked pages on many websites. In a world that’s becoming increasingly connected through the web, it’s important that you engage your audience in a personal and friendly way, otherwise you risk just being another faceless [company] among a sea of websites (www.smashingmagazine.com).

‘About’ pages are vital to your business. In fact, it’s usually the first place people look before they start to take you seriously. Get it wrong and you could be turning people off without even knowing it (www.blogtyrant.com).

Visitors to your website are also interested in reading more about who you are. For most people who interact with your website, this may be the opportunity to really humanise your company (www.readwriteweb.com).

Is the ‘About’ page the first page you go to too? How do you feel about websites that don’t have one?

One thought on “Why you NEED an ‘About’ page

  1. Couldn’t agree more that the ‘about’ page needs to be prominently positioned but also well-written and concise. It’s so important for establishing authenticity and credibility – and for forming the first impressions of a company (which often last).

    There are lots of options for going into more detail using subpages – history of the organisation, staff profiles etc.

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