Frank Schulte-Ladbeck

An effective About page can be the first step in building trust.

Iam one of those people who goes to the About page of a website when I found the site compelling. I want to discover more about the author. I frequently take this action before I subscribe to the feed or load it into My Morning Coffee app. It is a trust building measure. I think that this tendency may be more common than website owners imagine.

One of the problems with the internet is the question of identity; the other is the question of privacy. Having a website today is the first step in establishing your online identity, and it is rapidly taking the place of the phone book when trying to find a person or business. Identity is problematic on the web. I know one person who has connected with me using different names to represent his different projects. Has he kept the line from these various personas from blurring? No, you can easily discover that it is the same person when checking him out, but he is not trying to hide that fact. However, in each case, he establishes a profile which mirrors a part of his character to gain his audience’s trust. On the other hand, we have privacy. Considering how quickly we could find information that we supply being mis-used, I am not encouraged to be overly sharing; however, if I do not open up, I loose the trust that I am building.

The balance between trust and privacy comes into greater play with a small business. A large or mid-sized company has many methods to create that trust. Since many small firms have one or two figureheads, those people become the focus of the website’s users attention. They have to be introduced to the public. For the public to trust them, they need to feel that they know them, hence the About page.

How should an About page be constructed? My preference has been to tell a story which will appeal to my audience. Audience is the main factor. If I am creating a profile for a social networking site, like ActiveRain, I know that the primary audience will be the other users on that service. My story is meant for other professionals who I will be making connections with, so I allow for a lighter tone. On my home inspection site, I tell the story of how I came to that profession and the creation of that site. On this site, I chose to create a resume style profile. This is a change of pace for me, but this can be effective way to demonstrate your skills to potential clients. This resume style About page provides the reader a good overview f he is looking to you as a consultant, since they obtain an overview of your abilities.

When telling the story for your About page, find the balance between what brought you to this business and why your business may be the best choice for the potential client. Too often I see small businesses use their About page as a bully pulpit to criticize other firms or for the owner to discuss a passion he has for hobby, which has nothing to do with the business. Write down on a sheet of paper five reasons why you came to start this business. That list will be the basis for the background story for your page. Now, write down the steps a client takes when using your service. For my home inspection business, I would start with the stage when the consumer would begin to plan buying a home. I take that through all of the people who they meet before getting to me. I also include what happens after they use my service. For each step, write how your service is involved in that step, or how does you business add value to the consumer at that stage. Maybe you add nothing at all at each step, but this list becomes the basis for the remainder of your story- why should someone come back to your site or use your service.

Add a photograph. Maybe it is your photo, or it could be of your business location. Photos add a personal touch, but they help establish identity. There is a visual aspect to the web where even a cartoon like gravatar helps connect an image to complete the picture in your user’s mind.

I think that the story version of the About page is best for a small business. I may not know Coca-Cola’s full story, but they are well known, so I do not need to know that they have a passion for their product. I would want to know who is running the firm, where the firm is located, and what their goals may be. The resume idea is one which I have to work on more. Your actual resume would have too much information, and traditional resumes do not work well for a general audience. Editing will be needed. The worst mistake you could make is leaving the example About page up. Who is going to trust a website where the owner cannot take the time to flesh out the site.

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