The About Us page, the Company History page, the Who We Are page – your business’s bio can go by many names.
But in all my years offering website writing services, it is consistently the most misunderstood page among businesses.
I’ve audited hundreds of websites over the years, and the About page is almost always where the copy falls apart. Either it’s a dry corporate biography that reads like a LinkedIn summary, or it’s so vague and generic that you finish reading it and still have no idea what the business actually does or who’s behind it.
Here’s what most people get wrong when they think about how to write a good About Us page for a website: they think the page is about them. It’s not.
Or at least, it shouldn’t be. The best About pages are about the reader; specifically, about why the reader should care about this particular business, what working with them would feel like, and whether this is the right fit. The company’s story is just the vehicle for communicating all of that.
After I rewrite my clients’ About pages, the transformation is always striking. The previous version was usually just a list of credentials and a brief company history. The version after I’ve worked a little website writing magic tells a story, creates a feeling, and ends with the reader thinking “yes, this is who I want to work with!”
If that sounds like a page you’re wanting to write, then let me break down how you, or your website writing service, should approach writing an About Us page for a business.
Start With What Your Reader Needs to Know
Before you write a single word of About page copy, you need to be clear on what your reader is actually looking for when they land on this page. They’re not there to read your biography. They’re there to answer a specific question: can I trust this person or business to help me?
That means your About page needs to do a few things very clearly. It needs to establish credibility and communicate personality. Don’t just list credentials. Your copy needs to show evidence that you understand the problem your client is trying to solve.
People hire people they like and trust. A page that sounds like it was written by a committee doesn’t build that connection. Vague, unspecific claims like “we’re passionate about helping businesses grow” tell the reader nothing useful or unique.
Stanford University’s Web Credibility Project, which studied over 4,500 people, found that one of the most important factors in building online trust is showing that “ honest and trustworthy people stand behind your site.” This includes employee bios that reveal something personal or a company history that doesn’t obfuscate. An About page that hides behind corporate language fails this test entirely.
The most effective About pages start by acknowledging the reader’s situation before talking about the business at all. Something like: “If you’ve landed here, you’re probably trying to figure out whether we’re the right fit for your project.” That kind of opening immediately signals that this page is written for the reader, not just to tout the business’s story.
Tell a Story, Not a Timeline
One of the most common mistakes in writing an About Us page is structuring it as a dry, chronological history of the business. “We were founded in 2015. In 2017, we expanded our team. In 2020, we launched our new service.”
This format is boring. It doesn’t build trust. It doesn’t tell the reader anything about why they should care about your business.
A story is different from a timeline. A story has a problem, a turning point, and a resolution. It has a reason why: why this business exists, why this person does this work, why they care about getting it right.
Answering that “why” is what creates connection.
When I’m working on about page copy for a client, I ask them to tell me the moment they knew this was the right path for them. Not the founding date or when their office opened.
The moment. The specific conversation, the client result, and the realisation that changed how they thought about their work. That story, told honestly and specifically, is worth ten paragraphs and ten years of company history.
How to Write a Good About Us Page: The Structure That Works
There’s no single right structure for an About page, but there are elements that tend to work well together. If you’re struggling with how to write a good About Us page, begin with this structure.
I usually recommend starting with a headline that speaks directly to the reader’s goal or situation. Instead of “About Us,” try something that signals what the page is going to do for them. You can review your site’s SEO content strategy; there are probably some keywords that could work as your title on this page.
The opening paragraph should establish the problem or context that makes this business relevant. Then the story section can introduce the founder or team in a way that builds credibility through specificity: real experiences, real results, real turning points.
After that, a brief explanation of how you work or what makes your approach different gives the reader practical information to evaluate. Finally, the page should end with a clear CTA that makes it easy for a ready reader to take action.
This structure keeps the reader moving through the page because each section answers the next question they’re likely to have, and turns your company bio into a conversion tool.
Writing an About Us page for your website is not about cramming in every credential or achievement. Only give the reader exactly what they need to feel confident, in the order they need it.
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The Tone That Builds Trust
About page copy should sound like a person, but too often they read like a press release. This is one of the places where the tone of voice strategy for a brand matters most, because readers are specifically on this page to get a sense of who they’d be working with. If the copy sounds corporate and impersonal, that’s the impression they’ll take away.
I always tell clients: write the way you talk in a first meeting with a potential client. Not casual to the point of being unprofessional, but warm, direct, and specific.
Use “I” if you’re a solo operator. Use “we” if you have a team, but make sure real people are visible on the page with names, faces, and specific roles. Anonymous “we” copy is one of the fastest ways to make a reader feel like they’re dealing with a faceless entity rather than a real business.
The goal of About page copy is to make your perfect customer feel like they’ve found their perfect business. That means the copy won’t resonate with everyone, and that’s fine. An About page that tries to appeal to everyone ends up connecting with no one.
Your About Page Is a Sales Tool, So Treat It Like One
The businesses that get the most out of their About page are the ones that treat it as seriously as their service pages. It’s often the page that tips a potential client from “maybe” to “yes” because it’s where they decide whether they trust you enough to reach out.
If your About page is currently a placeholder or a corporate biography that you wrote in a hurry when you launched the site, it’s worth revisiting. The copy you put on that page could be doing work for you every day, but right now, it’s probably not.
Want help learning how to write a good About Us page that actually converts browsers into enquiries? Empowered English would love to work on it with you. Book some time with us so we can transform your technically fine page into one that genuinely sells.
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Our team of expert writers is poised pen-ready for your brief. Book a free call and let’s have a chat about how we can get that project off the ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
A strong About page should include a reader-focused opening that establishes relevance, a brand story that explains why the business exists and what makes it different, specific evidence of credibility (real results, real experiences – not just credentials), a sense of the personality or culture of the business, and a clear call to action. The exact structure depends on the business, but all of these elements contribute to building trust.
There’s no fixed rule, but most effective About pages are between 300 and 700 words. Long enough to tell a real story and build genuine connection, short enough to hold attention. The key is that every sentence should earn its place. If it doesn’t tell the reader something useful or build trust in some way, it probably doesn’t need to be there.
For most small businesses and solo operators, first-person (I, me, we) is more effective because it feels more personal and direct. The third-person (they, he/she/it) can work for larger organisations or in contexts where a more formal tone is appropriate, but it often creates distance between the reader and the business. If you’re the face of your brand, write as yourself.
Your About page should be reviewed at least once a year, and updated whenever there’s a significant change to your business: a new service, a new team member, a shift in your positioning or target audience. Outdated About pages can undermine trust (and SEO goals) if they reference information that is no longer accurate.
The most common reasons an About page doesn’t convert are that it’s too focused on the business rather than the reader, it’s too vague to build genuine trust, the tone is too corporate or impersonal, or there’s no clear call to action at the end. A copy audit can usually identify the specific issue quickly, and the fix is often simpler than people expect.
