What Your About Page Should Say (And Skip)

An About page is where visitors decide whether to trust you. They want to know who you are, how long you’ve been doing this, and whether you’re real. Skip the flowery mission statements and corporate speak. Tell them the truth in plain words, show a real photo, and help them decide you’re the right choice for what they need.

What Trust Actually Needs

Your name and face matter. A real photo of you (not a stock image, not a cartoon) tells people you’re a real person running a real business. Your background tells them why they should listen—how long you’ve worked in this field, what you learned, what you’re good at. Visitors are making a judgment about you personally, not just your company.

Mention how long you’ve been in business. “Since 2018” or “15 years in this industry” tells people you’ve seen changes and weathered problems. A license or certification shows you’re qualified. Keep credentials brief—list what’s relevant to what you do, not every course you’ve ever taken. A dental license matters for a dentist. A certification in social media marketing matters for a social media consultant. Your high school diploma doesn’t matter for anything.

Credentials are trust signals, but only if they’re relevant. A visitor doesn’t need to know about every workshop or online course. One or two key credentials build credibility. Three pages of credentials feel like you’re hiding something or trying too hard.

The Backstory That Works

Many business owners worry their story isn’t interesting enough. It doesn’t have to be. A story about why you started—you loved fixing things, you needed flexible hours, you saw a gap in the market—is far more credible than a perfect narrative. People trust real reasons over polished myths. They trust someone who says “I started this because I got tired of working for someone else” more than someone who says “I had a vision to transform the industry.”

Keep your About page between 150 and 400 words. You’re introducing yourself, not writing your memoir. Answer these questions in your own voice: Who are you? How long have you done this? What’s one true reason you started? What do people usually thank you for? Then stop. Don’t add a mission statement or a vision for the future. Those pages have their place, but the About page is about you.

Example: From Blank to Believable

Example Hair Salon’s About page was one paragraph: “We provide the finest hair care in town.” No owner name. No photo. No information about training or experience. The page could have described any salon anywhere.

After the rewrite: “I’m Sarah Chen. I’ve been a hair stylist for 12 years, trained at the Academy of Beauty in 2012, and I specialize in color correction and natural texture work. I opened this salon in 2019 because I wanted to build a place where stylists share skills and customers feel heard, not rushed. Come see us—I’m here Tuesday through Saturday.” Plus one clear photo of Sarah smiling.

That’s a person. People trust people. A customer reading that knows who they’re calling. They know Sarah’s background. They know the salon opened in 2019, so it’s not brand new. They know Sarah cares about the customer experience, not just speed. That’s so much better than “finest hair care.”

Common Mistakes

Avoiding your own name is a red flag. If you’re hiding who you are, visitors assume something’s wrong. Writing in third person (“The owner believes in quality”) creates distance and looks formal or even impersonal. Visitors want to know who they’re dealing with.

Generic statements like “We’re passionate about delivering excellence” tell people nothing. Anyone can say that. What does excellence look like at your business? Credentials listed without context confuse visitors who don’t know what a credential means. Worst of all: About pages that read like marketing copy, with words like “innovative” or “best-in-class” or “leading.” Visitors can smell the spin, and spin makes them skeptical.

Some businesses list only the company, never the people. If it’s a team, name them. If it’s just you, say so. “I’m a one-person shop” is honest and builds trust. “Our expert team” when it’s just you is a lie that erodes trust.

Try This Today

Write your About page from scratch without looking at your current version. Answer: your name, what you do, how long you’ve done it, and why you started. Aim for 150 words, no more. Use your own voice, like you’re explaining to a friend.
Find a clear photo of yourself (phone camera, good light, you smiling or looking natural is fine) and prepare it to add to the page. If it’s a team, get photos of the key people. Not a logo. Not an image of your storefront. A photo of the human.
Read your draft out loud. If you hear words like “passion,” “excellence,” or “committed,” replace them with something specific and true. What do you actually do? What are you known for by people who know you well? Write that down.

Field Notes

Your name and face are the two most important trust signals on your About page.
Skip the mission statement. People want to know about you personally, not your vision for the future.
How long you’ve been doing this matters more than how many awards you’ve won.
Keep it between 150 and 400 words. An About page is a conversation starter, not a biography.
Update it once a year or when something important changes: a new credential, a new hire, a new business milestone.

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