The website about page is the second most visited page on most business websites — second only to the homepage. It is where visitors who are already interested go to verify their interest: to confirm that the people behind the business are real, qualified, and trustworthy before making contact. In the US, UK, Canada, and Australia, a well-written, well-designed about page consistently converts curiosity into enquiry. A poorly written one confirms nothing and sends visitors to a competitor whose about page told a more compelling story.
This guide covers what an effective about page must include, how to structure it for conversion, and the design principles that make the difference.
What Is the Real Job of a Website About Page?
The conventional understanding of an about page is that it tells the company's story. The commercial reality is different: the about page answers one question that every interested visitor is asking — "Can I trust these people with my problem?"
Trust, in this context, has two components:
- Competence trust: Are they qualified and experienced enough to solve my problem?
- Character trust: Are they the kind of people I want to work with?
An about page that only addresses competence (credentials, years in business, awards) and ignores character (why you do this, how you work with clients, what you genuinely care about) produces a list of qualifications without a person behind them. An about page that is all personality with no credentials leaves visitors uncertain about capability. Both components are required.
What Should an About Page Include?
1. The founding story (or practitioner story)
Why does this business exist? Not the corporate "founded in 2012 to provide excellent service" version — the genuine version. What problem did you observe that needed solving? What unsatisfied need did you see? What drew you to this work?
The founding story creates the emotional connection that distinguishes a company from a commodity. For solo practitioners or small agencies, the founder's personal journey is the founding story.
2. The mission or belief statement
What do you fundamentally believe about the work you do? A brand design studio might articulate: "We believe every professional services firm deserves a visual identity as strong as the expertise behind it." An accounting firm: "We believe accounting should make business owners feel in control, not confused."
This is different from a mission statement. It is a belief — the conviction that drives the work — and it creates recognition in the clients who share it.
3. Team profiles
For any business with more than one person: individual profiles for the team members clients will actually work with. Photo (professional, approachable), name, title, and a brief description that includes relevant credentials and something genuinely personal. "Sarah is a Chartered Financial Planner and a terrible gardener" is more memorable and trust-building than a bullet list of qualifications.
4. Credentials and credentials context
Professional qualifications, relevant awards, years of experience, notable clients (where permitted). But framed in terms of client relevance, not self-promotion: "25 years advising manufacturing businesses on pensions" is more persuasive than "25 years of experience."
5. Social proof
2–3 client testimonials specifically selected for the about page — focused on the experience of working with you, not just the output. See social proof brand strategy for which testimonial formats work best on different page types.
6. CTA
An about page that ends without a CTA leaves a motivated visitor without direction. "Ready to work together? Book a discovery call" — simple and appropriate.
What Are the Most Common About Page Mistakes?
Mistake 1: The corporate about page for a small business. "XYZ Consulting was founded in 2015 with a commitment to delivering excellent results for our clients." This sentence could appear on 50,000 company websites and says nothing specific. Personal language, specific choices, and genuine character are what convert.
Mistake 2: No photos. An about page with no photos of the people behind the business is an about page that fails its primary job. Photos establish that real people exist behind the business — and for service businesses where clients work directly with the team, photos are the first step in building the personal trust that drives conversion.
Mistake 3: The credential avalanche. Ten paragraphs of awards, certifications, and speaking engagements before any statement of what you do for clients. Lead with value and story; follow with credentials.
Mistake 4: No CTA. About pages that end without directing the interested visitor to a next step leave the most motivated segment of visitors — those who have scrolled the entire about page — without a clear action.
Mistake 5: Stock photos of "team" members. Using stock photographs of professional-looking people rather than real team photos is immediately identifiable and actively damages the trust an about page is designed to build.
How Long Should an About Page Be?
An about page for a professional services business, consultant, or agency should be 400–700 words — enough to tell the story, establish credentials, introduce the team, and include 2–3 testimonials. It should not be a full company history or a comprehensive list of every project ever completed.
For solo practitioners and freelancers: 300–500 words. The personal narrative is shorter because the story and the person are the same.
For large organisations (50+ people): the about page should focus on the company's founding story, mission, and leadership team — not a directory of all employees.
What Design Standards Apply to About Pages?
Photography is the dominant element. An about page with excellent team photos and mediocre copy converts better than the reverse. Invest in professional team photography.
One-column layout. About pages perform best in a single, readable column with generous whitespace. Sidebars, dense grids, and cluttered layouts reduce the personal, human quality the page is trying to create.
Team grid. Individual team profiles presented as a clean grid — photo, name, title, 1–2 lines — with links to expanded individual bios where relevant.
Brand alignment. The about page should use the same visual language as the rest of the site. Inconsistency between the about page's design and the homepage signals a fragmented brand. See web design brand consistency for the full consistency framework.
See website homepage design guide for how the homepage and about page work together in the visitor journey.
Your About Page Should Build Trust and Convert Curious Visitors
We design professional business websites with about pages that tell compelling stories and convert the right visitors into enquiries — for businesses in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.
A high-converting about page includes: a founding or practitioner story that explains why the business exists (not just when it was founded), a belief or mission statement, professional team photos with names and brief personal-professional bios, credentials framed in terms of client relevance, 2–3 client testimonials focused on the experience of working with the team, and a CTA directing the visitor to the next step. Photos of real people are the single most important element — no photos means no personal trust.
For most professional services businesses and agencies: 400–700 words. For solo practitioners: 300–500 words. For large organisations: 500–800 words focusing on the founding story, mission, and leadership team. The about page should be long enough to establish trust and tell a genuine story — no longer. Visitors who reach an about page are already interested; the goal is to confirm their interest and direct them to contact, not to tell the complete company history.
Yes. An about page that ends without a CTA leaves the most motivated segment of visitors — those who have read the entire page — without a clear next step. A simple, contextually appropriate CTA ('Ready to work together? Book a discovery call') at the bottom of the about page consistently converts visitors who have been sufficiently trust-built by the page content. The about page CTA should be softer than the homepage CTA — these visitors are interested but still evaluating, not yet decided.
Significantly. Research consistently shows that about pages with professional team photos convert at higher rates than those without — because photos establish that real, credible people are behind the business, which is the primary function of an about page. For professional services, consulting, coaching, and healthcare websites, where clients are choosing people as much as services, professional team photography is the highest-ROI investment on the about page.
Yes — 2–3 testimonials specifically selected for the about page are effective, provided they are focused on the experience of working with the team rather than just the output. 'Working with the team was the most organised project I've been involved in — they anticipated every question before I asked it' is more powerful on an about page than 'They delivered a great logo.' The about page is a trust-building page, and testimonials about character and working style reinforce the personal credibility the page is trying to establish.