The about us page is the second-most visited page on most websites. It is also the one most owners spend the least time on. Visitors go there before they decide whether to trust who is behind the site, and an about page that wastes that moment on founding dates and mission statements loses them.
An about us page is the page on a website that explains who is behind the business, why it exists, and what makes it worth trusting. It is not a biography. It is a trust-building page positioned at a specific moment in the visitor's decision-making process, when they have seen what the business offers and are now deciding whether the people behind it are worth working with.
What does an about us page need to do?
Visitors arrive on an about page after they have already shown interest. They have read the homepage or a service page, they are not immediately leaving, and now they want to understand who they would be dealing with. The job of the about page is to answer that question in a way that moves them toward a decision rather than leaving them with more questions.
An about page that focuses entirely on the business, its history, and its credentials misses this. Visitors do not care about the business for its own sake. They care about whether the business understands their problem, has solved it before, and is made up of people they can trust to solve it again for them. The about page should be written with that frame in mind at every section. The article on what pages every website needs explains where the about page sits within the full set of pages a website requires. The article on what UX design is covers how each page in a site is designed around the specific moment in a visitor's decision-making process when they land on it.
What should an about us page include?
The origin or why
The strongest about pages open with the reason the business exists, not the year it was founded. Why did this person start this business? What problem were they trying to solve, or what gap did they see that nobody else was filling? A specific, honest answer to this question does more for trust than any list of credentials. A vague mission statement does the opposite.
Who is behind the business
People trust people more than they trust businesses. Naming the founder, the team, or the key people behind the work, with real photos rather than stock images, makes the business feel accessible rather than anonymous. For solo founders who do not want the page to read as self-promotional, the framing shift is to write about what you bring to the client rather than who you are as a person.
What the business has done
Specific evidence outperforms claims. A business that has helped a hundred clients move house, trained two hundred people in a skill, or built fifty websites for a specific industry type can say so directly. Numbers make the claim concrete. If client numbers are not available, specific types of clients served, industries worked in, or outcomes delivered serve the same purpose.
Social proof
A short testimonial from a client on the about page confirms from a third-party perspective what the business claims about itself. It does not need to be long. One or two specific, genuine sentences from a real client carry more weight than a full paragraph of self-description.
A clear next step
The about page should not be a dead end. Visitors who have read it and are satisfied should have an obvious path forward, whether that is viewing services, reading case studies, or getting in touch. The call to action does not need to be aggressive. It just needs to exist and be easy to find. The article on what a call to action is covers how to write CTA copy and where to place it so it is seen at the right moment.
What should an about us page avoid?
Founding dates and company history only matter if they are relevant to why the business is qualified. A business founded in 1985 signals experience if that context is explained. A founding date listed without context is filler.
Mission statements and values sections that use language like "committed to excellence" or "passionate about our clients" add nothing because every business says the same thing. If values are included, they need to be specific and explained in terms of what they mean in practice for the client.
A page written entirely in third person, as though someone else is describing the business, often feels impersonal and corporate. First person or second person tends to build more connection, particularly for small businesses where the founder is the business.
How does the about page differ for solo founders versus teams?
For a solo founder, the about page is largely about the person. The challenge is writing it in a way that feels confident rather than self-promotional. The shift is to write about what the founder brings to the client. Rather than describing yourself, describe what changes for your clients when they work with you. That framing keeps the focus on the visitor rather than the founder.
For a team, the page can introduce multiple people with brief individual descriptions. Keep these focused on what each person contributes to client work rather than listing qualifications and career history. A client reading the about page wants to understand the people they will interact with, not read a resume.
How does an about page help SEO?
The about page is one of the pages Google uses to evaluate the credibility and authoritativeness of a website. A page that names real people, describes specific expertise, and links to supporting evidence gives search engines the signals they use to assess whether a site is a trustworthy source. For businesses targeting local search, the about page is also a natural place to mention the location and the communities served, which reinforces geographic relevance.
Internal links from the about page to relevant service pages, case studies, or contact information also distribute link authority across the site. A well-structured about page that links to other key pages helps search engines understand the relationship between them. The article on what SEO is covers how trust and authority signals on individual pages feed into how the whole site performs in search.
How long should an about us page be?
Long enough to answer the visitor's questions, no longer. For a solo service provider, a focused about page of 250 to 400 words with one or two photos often performs better than a long biographical essay. For a team-based agency or a business with a complex origin story that is relevant to its positioning, 500 to 800 words is reasonable. The test is whether every sentence adds something a visitor would want to know before deciding to reach out. If a sentence does not pass that test, it should not be there.
How WEMASY handles the about page
WEMASY's website builder includes an about page template with a layout designed around the trust-building elements that matter most: a headline section, a team block with photo support, a values or story section, and a CTA block. Each section can be edited or removed depending on whether the business is a solo operation or a team. The page can be updated at any time from the editor without rebuilding the layout.
See what is included at the WEMASY website builder or review plans on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Should an about us page focus on the business or the customer?
Both, but in the right order. Start with the customer's context — the problem they have or the result they want — then explain how the business is positioned to deliver it. An about page that opens with the business's history and credentials before the customer's situation has been acknowledged tends to feel self-focused. Visitors connect faster when they see their own situation reflected first. With WEMASY's website builder, you can set this up directly on your website.
How often should an about page be updated?
Whenever the business changes in a way that visitors would care about. A new service offering, a significant growth in the team, a shift in the type of clients served, or a location change are all reasons to update. A page that still describes the business as it was three years ago and does not reflect how it has grown can undermine trust rather than build it. Reviewing the about page once a year as a minimum is good practice.
Does an about us page need a photo of the founder?
Not required, but it helps for service-based businesses where the relationship with the person matters. A genuine photo — not a stock image of an anonymous professional — makes the page feel more personal and the business more accountable. For product-based businesses or larger teams, a team photo or images of the workspace can serve the same purpose of showing real people rather than a faceless brand.
What call to action should go on an about page?
The CTA should point toward the next natural step for someone who has read the page and is ready to act. For a service business, that is usually a link to the contact page or a booking form. For a business with case studies or portfolio work, a link to those pages lets visitors see evidence before committing to contact. The about page CTA should be low friction — "see our work" or "get in touch" rather than a hard sell.
Is the about page indexed by search engines?
Yes. The about page is a standard indexed page and contributes to how search engines assess the credibility and authority of the site. Naming real people, describing specific expertise, and linking to supporting pages all send signals that help search engines evaluate the site's trustworthiness. An about page left as a generic placeholder or with thin content is a missed opportunity both for visitors and for search.