Tags – Tips for Designing About Page
An “About Us” page is crucial for any website, as it gives your potential customers a better insight into who’s involved in your business and exactly what it does.
And the text used on these pages is a marketing tool, enticing customers with both the history and aspirations of the business as well as adding a human element.
In addition, About Us pages are entwined with SEO efforts as a way for customers to find your business through web searches.
Now, we’re not saying About Us pages are easy to write; sometimes you can be staring blankly at the screen for hours, trying to think about what you’re going to say and how you want to say it; finding the balance between giving too much or too little information can be a little tricky.
Generally though, you want to come across as both professional and charming, using the right tone and language for your target audience, and your product or service.
As your About Us page is built to establish an understanding and trusting relationship with your customers, there’s not an exact formula you can follow.
However, there are a few essential guidelines to consider as you go through the design process.
So whether you’re looking to rebrand, revamp your website or you’re building a new one, here are our top 7 tips for designing an “About Us” page.
1. Decide What to Include
Many believe that a complicated About Us page will result in a stronger relationship between your brand and your customers.
They assume that the longer their story, the more the customer will know about them – which kind of makes sense right?
Sure, it’s important to include enough valuable information, but remember, today’s customers are very limited on time.
In other words, they don’t want to spend minutes – yes minutes – scrolling through one part of a website. Rather, they want to access information quickly and conveniently.
So before you start designing, think about:
- How much text does the page need? How much space do you need for the copy? Can you spread the text out in a visually pleasing way?
- What else should the page include? I.e. Should there be a link to your contact us page?
- How will this page connect to the rest of the website? I.e. Can you link case studies to tie the website together?
2. Clearly Communicate Your Mission Statement
Emotions have an influence on buyer behaviour and customers want to buy from brands they truly believe in.
It’s no longer enough to just have a good product with a reasonable price tag as people want to feel a human connection with a company.
Sometimes, it’s difficult to pinpoint what the mission statement is; often you have to scroll through endless amounts of text and make your own assumptions about what the company cares about, whereas a well-designed About Us page will present this vital information front and centre.
Of course, About Us pages include way more than just a single sentence, but the important bits of information should stand out to draw extra attention to them – be it through a larger font or in a different colour.
On the other hand, if your company’s mission cannot be pinned down into a single message, you could create a separate segment devoted to this information.
3. Choose The Right Elements
With millions and billions of websites and businesses worldwide, people are naturally wary of which brands they can actually trust.
And because an About Us page is all about making a human connection, you need to try to build as much trust as possible.
Luckily, there are certain elements that can help to do this and make your page more reputable, such as including star ratings from Google, which shows your company is already impressing other customers.
Moreover, including quotes from customers or little snippets from case studies is another great way to demonstrate your authenticity.
Or, you could include logos of other businesses you’ve worked with and add badges from different regulators to add depth to your authority.
4. Showcase Your Brand’s Personality
A brand’s personality is often reflected through the tone of voice a company uses in its content.
In addition, you can also gauge a brand’s personality through the colours they use, the fonts, pictures and videos, and any other unique elements your business uses.
Yes, your brand’s personality needs to be apparent in everything your company does, but it’s extremely important on your About Us page, because often, this is where your customers will get to know you for the first time.
To put it differently, your customers should be able to immediately recognise what kind of brand they will be committing to, should they decide to do business with you.
As such, the content on the page should be friendly and useful, combined with using the right colours to reassure your customers that you are the right choice for them; show them exactly what they should expect before they interact with you.
5. Take Customers on a Journey
We’ve spoken about how and why your mission statement and demonstrating your values is necessary, but it’s equally as important to give people an insight as to where your brand has been – the journey your company has gone through.
Today, many customers do not feel comfortable doing business with a brand who have not had too much time in their respective industry.
Essentially, they want to see that the people they’ll give their money to have adequate experience, heritage and a wealth of background knowledge.
A good way to do this, is show a timeline of accomplishments that offers quick insights into what your business has done over the years.
Alternatively, you could have a few key statements, which then link out to a separate history page for those people who want to find out more.
6. Don’t be a Robot
As the old saying goes, people buy from people.
Like mentioned earlier, your About Us page is a chance to show your customers who you really are.
So this is your chance to give them an introduction into the people behind the brand, for example why not feature team members so people can see who’s working for them behind closed doors?
Clearly, if you have hundreds, if not thousands, of employees, you won’t be able to mention them all. But, the page should include some insights into the significant members of staff.
Here, you can include pictures of the team or design avatars that represent individual personalities.
7. Include Visuals
Visuals are a great way to convey your brand values and the core principles that guide everything your business does.
So rather than restricting yourself to just copy alone, introduce your customers to the things that matter to you most through pictures, graphics or illustrations.
Doing so, you can highlight the important aspects of your business and share valuable information without relying too much on lengthy pieces of text.
Furthermore, videos are another great option if you have a lot to say but not a lot of space to write it all down.
Basically, visual elements appeal to those visitors who want to learn about your brand but don’t want to read through a text-heavy page.
Rounding Up
An About Us page should not be taken lightly as it’s the most important way to showcase your unique personality and style.
Designed correctly, and you’ll be able to communicate all of the things your business stands for effectively, and more importantly, build trust with your potential customers.
The biggest thing to note though, is when customers visit this page, they’re looking for the heart of your business, so be honest and authentic, making it clear you have solutions to offer.
For more information, please get in touch today.
Check our Web Design services in the meantime.
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