about pages people read: customer-first, proof-backed

web · 2026-10-13 · 6 min

about pages get read because visitors use them to answer: what is this, who is behind it, can I trust them (NN/g, 70+ users, 165 sites). most answer instead: our journey, our passion, our synergy — autobiography where credibility was needed. flip it: customer-first, proof-backed, skimmable.

the structure that works

summary first (who you help + how, two sentences — NN/g: key info on top, details below; visitors leave in 10-20 seconds, so value goes early). why you exist (the problem you saw, plainly — origin stories work when they're specific). the humans (faces, names, credentials — real organization behind the site). proof (reviews, numbers, clients, years — claims need evidence). next step (services, work, contact — about pages that end nowhere convert nowhere). length: summary + depth for the interested; no universal word count exists.

customer, not memoir

me-test every paragraph: does this tell the visitor what's in it for them? we are passionate about excellence → we fix boilers same-day in parma (14 years, 2,000+ homes). founded in 2009 → fixing heating since 2009, so winter never surprises you. the business is the subject; the customer is the beneficiary — write the second, mention the first. jargon and superlatives signal nothing; specifics signal everything.

the trust details

real photos (team, premises, process — stock people on about pages are self-parody). names and roles (anonymous we trusts nobody). credentials that matter (licenses, certifications, associations — not adjectives). contact path (about → contact is the highest-intent journey; pave it). freshness (team changes, milestones, dates current — stale about pages rot loudest). trust inventory: what makes people trust a website.

FAQ

we or I (solo business)?

I, honestly — fake plurals collapse at first contact and solo is a selling point (you get ME). teams: we with named faces. honesty scales; pretense doesn't.

video on about pages?

short, captioned, optional-play: sixty seconds of the human beats six paragraphs. autoplay with sound is how trust goes to die.