Your About page should help someone understand why your business exists and who is behind it. You don’t need to start with your childhood, list everyone you know, or walk visitors through every job you’ve ever had.
My advice? Start with the birth of the business. Explain when you started, why you started, and what makes you the right person to do the work.
As AI becomes part of more everyday interactions, I believe showing the human behind a business matters more than ever. People still want to do business with other people. Your About page is a place to help them see who they’re trusting.
Understand Why Someone Visits Your About Page
When I think about someone clicking “About,” I picture a visitor who still has questions.
They may understand what you offer, but they aren’t fully comfortable with you yet. They want to know whether you’re a real business and whether you’ll have their best interests in mind.
That’s the job I want an About page to handle.
If someone arrives looking for reassurance and finds several paragraphs of self-congratulation, you’ve missed an opportunity. The same goes for a life story that takes five minutes to reach the part where the business opens.
Give visitors enough information to understand your purpose and judge whether you’re a good fit. They shouldn’t need a bookmark and a free weekend.
Start With Why You Opened the Business
The beginning of your business is usually the most useful starting point.
What made you decide to do this? What did you want to offer? Why did the work matter enough for you to build a business around it?
Maybe you enjoy the work. Maybe you saw an opportunity to provide better service. Maybe you wanted to offer something you couldn’t find elsewhere.
Literally say that.
Business owners sometimes think their reason is too ordinary to put on a website. I disagree. Enjoying your work is a perfectly good reason to build a business. Wanting to give customers a better experience is worth explaining.
Your “why” gives people something to connect with, even if it seems small to you. Write it in language you would actually use when talking to a customer.
Include Personal Details That Explain Your Purpose
I once read an About page that stayed with me because of the owner’s reason for starting the business.
The owner had started working to provide a better life for their child. That child passed away before reaching their fifth birthday, and the business’s purpose was tied to a promise the owner had made to them.
That was a powerful statement of purpose. It helped me understand why the work mattered so deeply to that person.
This is where a personal story belongs on an About page: when it helps explain the reason behind the business.
You don’t need an experience like that to have a meaningful story, and you shouldn’t feel pressured to share something private. The point is to explain your actual motivation honestly.
If your reason is simply that you love fixing things and wanted to make a living helping people, use it. There’s nothing inadequate about that.
Decide What Earns Its Place
When deciding whether to include a personal detail, I would ask:
- Does this explain why I started the business?
- Does it help a customer understand how I approach the work?
- Does it provide a relevant reason to trust me?
A detail that answers one of those questions may belong. If it doesn’t help visitors understand the business or the person doing the work, you can probably leave it out.
Support Your Story With Relevant Credentials
Purpose helps someone understand your motivation. Relevant credentials help them evaluate your ability to do the job.
Include qualifications, training, or experience that distinguish you in your field. Explain their relevance when it isn’t obvious.
Keep this focused. You don’t need to display every achievement you’ve collected. A customer should be able to understand why the information matters to the service they’re considering.
This can also be a good place for a couple of customer reviews. Once you’ve explained your purpose and qualifications, feedback from actual customers can support what you’ve said.
Just don’t overdo it. Your About page still needs room to introduce you.
Explain Your Why Before Asking for the Sale
One of the fastest ways to lose me on an About page is to ask for the sale before explaining why the business exists.
I clicked because I wanted to understand the business. Give me that opportunity before pushing me to buy.
The same principle applies to overselling yourself. Explain why you’re qualified and what matters to you, but keep the claims reasonable. There’s a point where confidence becomes uncomfortable self-promotion.
A simple invitation to contact you can fit naturally at the end. By then, visitors have had a chance to understand your purpose and decide whether they want a conversation.
Give Your About Page a Clear Finish
For the small-business websites I work on at K-Wired.com, I want the content to help visitors make a decision. An About page should do that through a clear introduction, relevant evidence, and an honest explanation of the business’s purpose.
I cover how that page fits alongside your services, contact information, and other essentials in What Should Be on My Business Website.
A useful order is:
- When the business started and why.
- Who is behind it.
- Relevant experience or credentials.
- A couple of reviews, if they support the story.
- A straightforward way to get in touch.
Once you’ve covered those points, give yourself permission to stop writing.
Your reason for starting doesn’t have to be extraordinary. It has to be yours. Tell people why you care about the work, give them a reason to trust your ability, and let them decide whether you’re the person they want to call.
