How to Write an About Us Page That Actually Wins Customers

Published May 2025 • DBell Creations • Web Design • Copywriting

Your About page is probably the second or third most visited page on your website — right behind your homepage. It's the page where a potential customer decides whether to trust you enough to reach out. And yet, for most small businesses, it's a wall of text about awards, founding dates, and mission statements that nobody asked for. This guide will show you exactly what to fix, what to add, and how to turn your About page into one of the most effective conversion tools on your site.

Why Most About Us Pages Fail

The fundamental problem with nearly every bad About page comes down to one thing: it's written for the business, not the customer. The business owner sits down to write it and naturally tells their own story — when the company was founded, what certifications they hold, how passionate they are about quality. All of that might be true and worth saying, but it's framed entirely from the inside looking out.

Meanwhile, the person reading that page has one burning question: "Can this company solve my problem?" They are not on your About page to read a corporate history. They are there to find reasons to trust you — reasons that are specific, credible, and relevant to what they need. When a page doesn't answer that question quickly, visitors leave. And they leave without contacting you.

The other common failure mode is vagueness. Phrases like "we are committed to excellence," "we put customers first," and "quality is our top priority" appear on virtually every business website in the country. They mean nothing because they cost nothing to say. Any competitor can claim the exact same thing. These filler statements take up space that could be used for specifics that actually differentiate you.

The Mindset Shift: Your About Page Is About the Customer

Here is the counter-intuitive truth about writing a great About page: the page that is ostensibly "about you" needs to be primarily about your customer's problem and how you solve it better than anyone else. Your origin story, your team, your values — all of it should be filtered through the lens of "why does this matter to the person reading this right now?"

Think about it from the visitor's perspective. They found your business through a search, a referral, or a social post. They are evaluating you. They are asking questions like: Do these people understand my situation? Have they worked with businesses like mine? Why should I trust them over the three other companies I'm also looking at right now? Your About page needs to answer those questions clearly and quickly.

This doesn't mean your story doesn't matter — it absolutely does. An authentic origin story creates human connection and trust. But the story needs to be told in a way that connects your "why" to the customer's benefit. Why you started the company matters because it explains why you care about doing the work well for people like them. The frame is always: here is why I exist, and here is why that is good news for you.

The 7 Elements Every Strong About Page Needs

Not all About pages need to be long. But they all need to cover these seven components — some briefly, some in more depth depending on your business and audience.

1. Hook / Problem Statement

Open with something that immediately signals to the right customer that they are in the right place. This could be a statement of the problem you solve, a bold claim about your approach, or a direct address to your ideal customer. The goal is to stop the skimmer in their tracks within the first two sentences.

2. Origin Story (Brief)

Three to five sentences that explain why you started — not a full biography, but enough to show there's a real person behind the business and a real reason they do this work. Focus on the why, not the resume.

3. Mission / Why It Matters to Customers

A one or two sentence statement of what you do and why it matters — specifically framed around the outcome for the customer, not the internal aspiration of the company. "We help Alabama small businesses get found online and grow without wasting money on marketing that doesn't work" beats "Our mission is to deliver exceptional digital solutions."

4. Team / Faces

Real photos of real people with brief, human bios. Not job titles and corporate speak — a sentence or two that communicates personality, expertise, and perhaps a personal detail that makes the person memorable. People hire people, not companies. Let them see who they are actually working with.

5. Social Proof (Clients, Years, Stats)

Credibility signals that are specific and verifiable. Years in business, number of clients served, notable companies or industries worked with, project counts, results achieved. Specific numbers always outperform general claims. "Over 120 websites built for Alabama businesses since 2018" is more persuasive than "years of experience helping local businesses."

6. Values That Signal Trustworthiness

Two or three core values that are demonstrated rather than declared. Instead of listing "integrity" as a value, explain what that looks like in practice — "We give you a straight answer even when it's not what you want to hear, because we'd rather lose a sale than set you up to fail." That kind of specificity is credible. A bullet list of nouns is not.

7. Call to Action

End the page with a clear next step. By the time someone has read your full About page, they have invested attention and are in a high-trust, high-intent mindset. Give them somewhere to go. A CTA like "Ready to work together? Let's talk" followed by a button to your contact page converts a warm reader into a lead.

The Opening Formula: "We Help [Who] Do [What] So They Can [Outcome]"

One of the most effective ways to open an About page is with a single sentence that immediately clarifies who you serve, what you do for them, and what the result is. This structure — "We help [who] do [what] so they can [outcome]" — forces you to be specific about all three things at once, and it positions your business in the customer's frame from the very first sentence.

For example: "We help Alabama service businesses get a professional website and consistent local search rankings so they can stop losing customers to competitors who just look more established online." That sentence does real work. It names the customer (Alabama service businesses), the problem (losing customers to more visible competitors), and the outcome (a website and rankings that fix that). A reader who fits that description immediately feels seen.

Compare that to: "DBell Creations is a full-service digital agency committed to helping businesses grow." That sentence could describe 50,000 companies. It says nothing that would make any particular customer feel like this company is talking specifically to them. The formula forces specificity, and specificity is what converts.

What to Include in Your Origin Story

Your origin story does not need to be long. Three to five sentences is the right length for most About pages. Longer and it starts to feel self-indulgent; shorter and it misses the emotional connection opportunity. The key is to focus almost entirely on the why — not the timeline.

What makes an origin story work:

• A specific problem you observed or experienced — not a vague dissatisfaction, but a concrete moment or pattern that drove you to act
• Why that problem mattered to you personally — the human motivation, not the business case
• What you decided to do differently — this is where your approach or philosophy comes in, framed as the answer to that specific problem
• Who you built this for — name your customer and make them feel that the whole thing was built with them in mind

What to leave out: your full resume, a chronological company history, every service you've ever offered, and anything that reads like it was written for a business plan rather than a human being.

Example: "I started DBell Creations after watching too many good Alabama small businesses get left behind online — not because their work wasn't excellent, but because no one had ever helped them build a digital presence that reflected it. I knew web design and local search, and I saw a gap between what national agencies charged and what local businesses actually needed. So I built something different: a digital agency that works like a local partner, not a vendor." That's five sentences. It has a problem, a motivation, a decision, and a clear statement of who it's for.

Photos: Why Real Beats Stock Every Time

If there is one visual decision that separates high-converting About pages from low-converting ones, it is using real photos of real people instead of stock images. Research on landing page conversion consistently shows that authentic photos of actual team members outperform stock photography — often by significant margins. The reason is simple: people are wired to detect authenticity, and stock photos feel hollow. Visitors know those aren't really you.

What shots to get for your About page:

• A natural team photo — not a posed, stiff lineup, but something that shows your team's personality. On-site, in your workspace, doing actual work if possible.
• Individual headshots with personality — a genuine expression beats a corporate smile. Outdoor settings, natural light, and a relaxed pose communicate approachability.
• In-action shots — photos of your team doing the actual work: meeting with a client, working on a project, at a job site. These prove competence in a way that a headshot alone cannot.
• Local context — for Alabama businesses especially, a photo that visibly places you in the community — a recognizable local landmark in the background, a photo from a community event — signals that you are genuinely local.

You do not need a professional photographer for every shot, though a half-day investment with a local photographer will pay dividends for years. A modern smartphone in good natural light produces photos that are more than adequate for a business website — as long as the people in them are real.

Generic vs. Customer-Focused Copy: Real Examples

Nothing illustrates the difference between a weak About page and a strong one as clearly as a side-by-side comparison. Here is the same basic content written two different ways.

The second version is longer, but every sentence earns its place. It names a specific problem, a specific customer, a specific geography, a specific outcome, and a specific number. It demonstrates values through behavior rather than claiming them. And it ends with a CTA. The first version could describe almost any web company on the internet.

Alabama-Specific Notes: Local Trust Signals That Actually Work

For businesses serving Alabama markets — whether you're in Fairhope, Daphne, Mobile, Huntsville, or anywhere in between — your About page is a powerful opportunity to build local trust in ways that a generic national-style page simply cannot. Local searchers are looking for someone who understands their market, their community, and their customers. Signals that you are genuinely local matter enormously.

Practical ways to build local trust on your About page:

• Name your city and region explicitly — not just "we serve Alabama businesses" but "we're based in Fairhope, Alabama, and work primarily across Baldwin County, Mobile County, and the Gulf Coast." Specificity is credibility.
• Reference local landmarks or areas — a passing mention of working with businesses "along the Causeway," "in downtown Daphne," or "across the Eastern Shore" tells local readers you know the terrain and tells Google you are geographically relevant. Both matter.
• Mention local clients or industries — if you can name recognizable local businesses you've worked with (with permission), do it. If not, name industries that are prominent in your area: coastal tourism businesses, Baldwin County contractors, Gulf Shores short-term rental operators.
• Community involvement — if you sponsor local events, participate in the Fairhope Arts & Crafts Festival, or support local nonprofits, mention it briefly. These details tell a human story and signal genuine community roots.

These local trust signals are also quietly valuable for local SEO. When your About page includes specific geographic references — city names, neighborhood names, regional landmarks — it reinforces to Google's algorithm that your business is genuinely relevant for local searches in those areas. It's not the primary purpose of writing this way, but it's a meaningful secondary benefit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should my About page have a CTA?

Absolutely. Your About page is one of the highest-intent pages on your site — people reading it are actively evaluating whether to trust you and hire you. A clear call to action placed at the end of the page captures that intent before it fades. Businesses that include a CTA on their About page consistently see more contact form submissions than those that let visitors navigate away without direction.

How long should an About page be?

Long enough to cover all seven key elements — hook, origin story, mission, team, social proof, values, and CTA — but short enough to stay engaging. For most small businesses, that means roughly 300–600 words of copy plus photos. Resist the urge to pad it. Every sentence should either build trust or move the visitor toward contacting you. If a sentence does neither, cut it.

Do I need professional photos for my About page?

You don't need a professional photoshoot, but you do need real photos of real people. A good smartphone photo of your team in a natural work setting almost always outperforms a stock photo of generic businesspeople. Authenticity matters more than polish. If budget allows, a half-day with a local photographer will pay for itself many times over — but a genuine candid beats a stiff stock image every time.

Should I write my About page in first person or third person?

First person ("We built this company because...") almost always reads more authentically than third person ("DBell Creations was founded to..."). Third person can feel like a press release — distant and corporate. First person feels like a conversation. For small and mid-size businesses, especially local Alabama businesses where personal relationships drive referrals and repeat business, first person builds faster rapport and makes your page far more human.