I’m sure most of us know someone in L.A. who is facing the wildfire tragedy in real time. If that’s you, I hope you, your loved ones, and your creatures are safe. My heart is with you. If there’s anything I can do to support you, please let me know.
Tucked between well-loved books on the shelf next to my drawing table is my Aunt Marlene’s yellowing Antoinette Pope School Cookbook from the 1950’s.
The first 50+ pages of the tome are devoted to complex appetizers that the diligent 1950’s hostess could make for her cocktail parties.
There are blintzes, cream cheese puffs, deviled eggs, and pickle dolls (small figurines somehow assembled from toothpicks, gherkins, stuffed olives, pimentos, and a small onion).
There are 40 different fillings that you can dye with food coloring and pipe into flower shapes on cookie-cut bread for open-faced sandwiches.
There’s even a centerpiece molded from two pounds of liver sausage that’s coated with butter and covered with sliced stuffed olives to resemble a pineapple:
Reader, this book is from another time.
And this is a very nostalgic and roundabout way for me to talk about your About page.
I’m a fan of the simple and understated About page (case in point: my very own About page). Give me the quiet basics—a photo and a well-written bio—and I can usually get a sense of your vibe.
I also know how tricky just putting together these two simple things can be—especially if you’d rather eat two pounds of liver sausage coated in butter and olives than write about yourself, or heaven forbid get a photoshoot.
So, let’s consider the photo and bio to be the cheese and crackers of your About page appetizer tray. I like cheese and crackers. In my mind, if you give me cheese and crackers (and a cocktail), we’re having a cocktail party. And I’m happy!
But we live in an era of deepfakes, scams, and AI content, not to mention busy marketplaces and a ton of internet noise. And now with Meta saying it will end fact checking, these days, I’m finding that websites, and About pages in particular, have more work to do.
If I’m considering doing business with someone, especially a small business or an individual, I want to make sure they are legit, human, trustworthy, genuine, capable, likable, and that our values align. I also want to learn about their story and get a vibe for their personality. Whew! I’m asking a lot of an About page.
And I’m not alone. Studies show that over half of people say that they want to look at the About page first when they land on a website. Nearly a third say About pages are the most important part of websites! [1]
So if you want more than humble cheese and crackers on your About page, it’s time to assemble a tasty and attractive array. After all, don’t we want the people coming to our parties to have more options available to them? And, most importantly, don’t we want our guests to have a lot more fun along the way?
A few hosting essentials before arranging your trays:
- Stay focused on your audience and talk with them about what you can offer.
- Show your genuine emotion behind your business—tell what you’re passionate about and why.
- Tell your story authentically and be real.
- Keep the page easily digestible with short blocks of text, clear headlines, bullets, and an ample use of imagery.
- Simpler is better, so don’t try to do it all.
- Have fun putting this together. Play and allow your humor and personality to shine. The act of creating your About page should help clarify and inspire YOU.
- Don’t get stuck seeking perfection—like everything about your website, you can test and refine this over time.
And now onto the About page appetizer options. By selecting just a few of these, you can enhance your About page so that it better conveys who you are and how you can help. (No liver sausage needed.)
- Mission: What’s your business’ purpose as it relates to who you serve? Who’s your target audience and how do you help them? This can be big and bold (both the statement and the design!).
- Story: Every business has a story to tell. Tell your origin story and the journey of how you grew your business with text and visuals.
- Vision: What’s the future of your business? Where are you headed? What inspires you to move forward?
- Values: What are the core values of what you do and how you do it?
- Personal: Sharing a few notes about your hobbies, family life, and/or favorite things can help people relate to you personally.
- Proof: Testimonials, press coverage (for you and/or your clients), and logos of brands you’ve worked with can help demonstrate your successes. Logos of awards, certifications, and affiliations can help demonstrate your expertise.
- Team & Culture: Share who works with you behind the scenes and offer a glimpse at their personalities.
- Photos: A gallery of photos (including casual and action shots) can help humanize your company and show the passion behind what you do.
- Video: A brief, authentic video with a clear message about how you help your audience will show that your business is made up of living, breathing, caring humans.
- Philanthropy: Does your business donate, volunteer, or otherwise give back?
- Contact: Include where you’re located and how to reach you. Statistics show that nearly half of visitors will leave a website if there’s no contact information. [1]
- Call to Action: Include a clear way for visitors to take a next desired step, whether it’s to sign up for your newsletter, browse services or products, or book a call.
Maybe you’d like to try adding one or two of these to your About page? Let me know if you want help here.
[1] Source: KoMarketing