Key to the About Page Mockup
1. A tag that immediately addresses the customer
Most of the About pages I’ve seen on local business websites simply have “About X brand” in their primary header tag, and while there’s no harm in that, it will be so much more welcoming if you begin by turning the language toward the customer and talking about what they’ll love, right off the bat. After all, that’s why they’ve landed on your About page: to see how they’ll like you.
I find a short listicle header works really well to begin an About page, as in “3 Things You’ll Love About X Brand”. It speaks of “you” instead of “us,” it signals a sense of excitement, it includes the word “About” so the visitor knows they’ve landed on the right page, and it includes the brand name.
If yours is a single-location business, put the city name in the tag
, too, but in this case, with a multi-location brand, we don’t want that there because it would be limiting.
2. A USP in your introductory text
This listicle hits the points our fictitious business knows its customers care about most: the largest local selection of organic native plants, on-site certified experts, and green thought leadership in the community. These factors are an expanded unique selling proposition (USP) for the brand based on their customer, keyword, and market research.
What are your top 3, top 5, or top 7 factors? Keep it short, with the goal of immediately connecting with the largest number of potential customers on the thing you’ve learned they want most.
Use this section to link out to key, relevant resources, as well. Our fictitious nursery is linking to its location landing pages, its consultation booking page, and its online store, all from within the listicle. Make the most of the space and of every word.
3. A strong, visual story
Whether you use an image slideshow or a video in this section, use the space to orient customers quickly to the look, feel, and story of your business. Showcase why your premises are worth a visit or how your skilled professionals will come to the customer for expert service.
Display your amenities, shelfies, views, equipment, common areas, parking, neighborhood, and staff. Whatever you know best represents your business to the public is what belongs this high up on the page. And don’t forget a video transcript for accessibility and SEO purposes
4. Contact information, even though this is your About page
Some visitors may wind up on this page trying to figure out how to contact you, so be sure to put that information upfront.
If you’re a single-location business, put your complete name, address, phone number, textline, email address, and hours of operation.
Suppose you’ve got multiple locations; link from here to their respective location landing pages. Our fictitious business has just three branches, so we can make a handsome visual presentation of them with links to their more detailed landing pages. If you’ve got dozens, hundreds, or thousands of pages, put your store locator widget here so customers can find the nearest branch.
5. Instill trust with a clear satisfaction guarantee
Let customers know what they can expect from your company and what you will do for them if anything doesn’t meet their expectations. If you have multiple policies (privacy, shipping, returns, etc.), link to the full versions of these from this section.
Do yourself the major favor of urging the customer to contact the business directly with their questions, concerns, and complaints. Our nursery has a direct line to the business owner, and this could save you a ton of negative reviews from customers who didn’t feel they’d be heard and helped in person.
Being approachable and responsive is the key to building an amazing reputation in your community. It’s also how you build the ‘T’ (trustworthiness) signal in Google’s E-E-A-T dynamic.
6. Display your credentials, associations, sponsorships, and awards
Speaking of local business E-E-A-T, develop your ‘E’ (expertise) by clearly displaying your credentials, license numbers, membership in industry associations, and community projects you host or sponsor. Show that you are genuinely involved in your industry and locale so that customers understand your organization is accredited and active.
And prove your “A” (authoritativeness) by showing any awards you’ve won from publications and associations. Link to your sources wherever possible to cement credibility.
7. Highlight your best reviews and ask for more
Show off some of the nicest words customers have written about your business, whether these stem from review platforms or some other form of testimonials you’ve gathered.
Remember that only 11% of consumers trust brand messaging over what customers say; let your customers tell your story. Other customers can relate to this easily. And don’t forget to ask existing customers to review your business by linking to several of your top review sources, like Google Business Profile, Facebook, and Nextdoor.
8. Create a multi-media menu
Whether your brand is making the most significant investment in a blog, podcast, social channels, newsletter, local radio show, regular local news column, or all of the above, put all of your multi-media publications in a simple grid so that customers can realize just how much you have to offer.
Even regular customers may have no idea you’ve got a monthly newsletter they can sign up for or that your owner has been appearing as a guest speaker on a local radio show for the past few months. Think of as many possible ways in which customers can connect with you and proudly link to them.
9. Explain your values
Your site may already have a company values page, and you can link to it from your About page, but even if not, make a statement you can stand behind and that you’ve learned is consistent with what your community wants.
Our fictitious nursery is cleverly letting customers explain what they value about the business via a series of video shorts that highlight things the business has worked hard to achieve, like sustainability, recognized expertise, and high DEI standards. Link to your blog posts, articles, or other content assets that vouch for these values.
10. Yes, you can have a timeline!
Often, this may be the only thing I find on the About pages of businesses large and small, and while they can’t stand on their own, they do have a place here.
Showcase key moments in your brand’s development that you think will resonate most with customers. Our sample nursery proves they’ve been family-owned for four generations and popular enough to expand over time.
What is the history of your business that will have the most meaning to your community? Need help creating a visually appealing timeline? Check out all the templates available in a program like Canva.
11. A mission statement that engages
Like the vision statement, you may already have a full page for your mission statement or plan to build one, and you should definitely link to it from this section. Just be wary of that in-house speak that sounds like an echo chamber.
Create a mission statement that invites involvement from the public on matters they care about. In our example, the mission statement closes with an invitation to customers to help the business fight climate change. How do you want customers to engage with your brand’s mission? How can you best invite them?
12. Show your real people
One of the best competitive advantages of local businesses is that they are staffed by people in the community whom customers get to interact with face-to-face.
Use images or videos to introduce the business owner and public-facing staff and, above all, to showcase expertise (remember that “E” in “E-E-A-T”). Your business depends on making the strong pitch that customers should shop locally with you, instead of virtually, because of the outstanding level of knowledge you have in your subject, whatever that subject is.
Use text or a video transcript to underscore the depth of your wisdom, the year of your training and experience, and the friendliness of your customer service.
13. Never end a page without a last CTA
By now, you’ve made your best-effort presentation to convince a visitor of your valuable offering.
Your last step is to close the page with the action you most hope your reader will take, whether that’s shopping online with you for curbside pickup or home delivery, coming to your location, calling you, booking an appointment, submitting a form, or something else. These are the last words your About page gets to have with the potential customer – make them count! And just like that, by incorporating some or all of these elements, you could have the best About page in each of the local markets you serve.
You might incorporate other features not included in our mockup, such as links to employment opportunities, local radio and TV spots, additional press coverage, extensive staff bios, major company news, B2B cross promotions, an events calendar, and so much more.
My mockup screenshot has limited space, but your About page can be as extensive as you want it to be, provided what you’re including is of interest to your audience. Just keep the principles in mind, and there’s no end to what you can do with this often-overlooked old standby of nearly all websites.
