When creating a website, there isn’t just one correct way to make a great website. Different ideas work for different purposes, and there’s always room for a little bit of tweaking and tinkering with the content and the formatting of the website. However, if you compare most websites today, you’ll notice that they have a significant number of things in common. For starters, they will all have some kind of navigation, to let the visitors easily go from one page to another and find everything they need to know. There will also be some kind of contact page if a visitor wants to get in touch with the company or the individual behind the website.

A lot (if not most) websites will also feature a page called “About us”. As its name implies, this page tells the visitor what exactly the website offers and who the people behind it are. It gives the visitor a chance to better get to know the website and its purpose. Again, there isn’t just one correct way to make a great “About Us” page, but there are some guidelines and recommendations that can help you with this part of your website.

The Very Beginning

Well, this is a no-brainer. You have to start from somewhere, so the most logical place to focus on first when making the “About Us” page is the very beginning. How are you going to start this section? Perhaps you were thinking about something like “It all began in the year…” or “Our company is…”, but the truth is, that will probably sound boring to your visitors. And you don’t want them to leave the website and go to your competitors! That’s why you need to write something more exciting, something more memorable, and something that will really capture their attention.

For example, you can start the “About Us” page with a question, to immediately make the visitors think, and get them engaged in the content. If your website is not too formal, you can even start with a joke, or a funny anecdote related (or not related) to your business. And if you’re feeling particularly creative, you can write something provocative and shock the visitors. Of course, in a very careful and playful way.

Where to Put It?

Even before starting to make the “About Us” section, you might want to consider just where you’re going to put it. After all, a great page won’t be of much use if the visitors can’t find it, or forget that it exists at all while browsing your website. That’s why you need to put it in some prominent place – such as the home page. This seems like a pretty obvious answer, and it definitely makes the most sense. In this way, it’s in the most noticeable place, but what happens when a visitor clicks on some other page, and they forget about the “About Us”? Well, you can remind them, by using a sticky header. The important information will always be available to the visitors, and they can click on it no matter which specific page they’re on at that moment.

Think about the Mission Statement

In addition to telling your visitors who you are, you need to tell them what your mission statement is. A mission statement is a short statement of an organization’s purpose, and what it basically contains is the information about the product or service that’s being offered, as well as information about customers and the market the organization operates in. This may include some additional things, such as the philosophy, the values, as well as the future of the company.

Don’t worry if this sounds a bit complicated or intimidating because it doesn’t need to be. And don’t worry too much about using elegant language and complicated phrases, because you don’t want to confuse your visitors with needlessly complex words which don’t really tell much in the end. Less is more, and keep that in mind. Just ask yourself: Why do my customers need my product or service? How will it benefit them? And what’s the motivation behind all this?

Less is More

Keep it simple – this advice isn’t good just for the mission statement, but rather the entire “About Us” page. Your goal is to create content that’s easy to read and entertaining. And you won’t achieve that with one huge block of text written in overly complicated sentences. So, what options do you have?

When creating a website, there isn’t just one correct way to make a great website.

•    Don’t be afraid of different formatting. Use lists, bullet points, whatever different style you might think of. Nobody likes to read long blocks of text, as it will most likely make your visitors want to leave your website. Keep them interested in what you have to say and be creative.
•    Get to the point. You should explain who you are and what it is that you’re offering. Additional information is fine, but your visitors shouldn’t forget why they’re reading the “About Us” page in the first place.
•    Include contact information. This one may seem superfluous, as you most likely already have a page with this information, but it’s good to remind people of how they can get in touch with you.
•    Links to your other content. This will make the page more interesting and more interactive.

What Kind of Content?

When thinking about what to put in the “About Us” page, the first thing you’re going to think is certainly text. As we mentioned, you have the catchy intro, the mission statement, the contact information, and those are all, of course, going to be in text form. But just one type of content is not very interesting – if you just have text on the page, it doesn’t seem very inviting. Especially if you have a long, overly detailed text, the visitors might get bored very quickly. That’s why you need to expand your options, and try to lure potential clients with rich media content.

What does rich media content actually mean? Well, it means using different kinds of media content in one place. For example, In addition to the necessary text, you can put video, or links to videos that might be useful and/or interesting to your site’s visitors. Of course, pictures are great, as well. And to spice it all up, why not put some infographic that showcases your business and its potential. If you don’t know how to make one, there are some helpful (and free!) online infographic makers that you can use.

Keep It Professional – but Not Too Much Professional

You want to come across as a serious person whose product or service is just what the world needs. Great! However, you don’t have to be rigid in your communication with your website’s visitors. In fact, if you just stick to talking about business, it may even alienate the visitors and make them not want to visit your website ever again. And you sure don’t want that! So why not include something a little bit personal about yourself? For example, you can include links to your profiles on social media networks – not necessarily your own personal profile, but rather profiles created specifically for your business.

Adding a bit of something personal about yourself is a great way to “humanize” yourself and your business, and not be just same faceless entity. You can even put pictures of your employees and introduce the team to your website’s visitors. Or you can put just some of them if you want to present the core part of your company.


About Us – and Them, Too

Remember, you’re talking to an audience, and that means the “About Us” page is not supposed to be a monologue, but rather a dialogue. Sure, you want to talk about yourself, your company and how your product or service is the best there is. And that’s understandable. But don’t forget about your potential clients and their needs. When talking about your company, make sure to pay attention to several aspects:

1.    Talk about how you’re going to solve their problems.
2.    Explain to your potential clients why choosing your product or service is better for them.
3.    List the benefits they get by choosing your company.
4.    Make them feel welcome, and thank them for visiting your page (just as a nice, polite gesture).

These are just some of the tips you can keep in mind while thinking of the content for the “About Us” page, but the most important thing is to not forget about your potential clients and their needs.

Quotes & References

You talking about yourself is nice, but why not let somebody else do it for you? You could include information that’s backed by experts in the field, so it doesn’t look like you’ve thrown a bunch of words on the page without any true meaning. This will ensure that your potential clients feel confident in your business, and they will probably be more likely to choose you for their professional needs.

Another helpful thing that you could put on the “About Us” page are quotes. You can use the experience of your former clients (of course, if they were satisfied with you) and ask them for an opinion, which you can then later present in the form of a quote. In this way, the visitors will see that you’ve proven yourself by having successful business interactions, and it will definitely shed a positive light on you and your company.


Call to Action Buttons

A really nice way to make the visitors interact with your website, Call to Action buttons can also be placed on the “About Us” page. In fact, it’s recommended that you do so. Because, once the visitors have read the fantastic page that you prepared for them, you have to make sure that they do something, like contact you. For example, you can offer them an option to subscribe to your website’s newsletter.

But even more, direct approach would be for you to suggest that they contact you, or even buy the product or service that you’re offering. Don’t be too aggressive in this approach, and be careful about the language that you’re using. Another option is to ask them for an opinion, or just general feedback aimed towards improving the overall user experience, which they will certainly appreciate.

It’s not easy to write a good “About Us” page, but on the other hand, it should not be a frustrating task. Just keep it as simple and short as possible, while maintaining rich content. Make sure to cover all the relevant information that your potential clients might be interested in. Engage them in a dialogue, and make them think. In this way, your business is bound to succeed, and the benefits of a good “About Us” page will quickly show themselves.