Writing about your own business can feel awkward. You may have plenty to say, yet struggle to choose what matters to a stranger deciding whether to call. Start with their questions, then use your story to answer them.
An About page does not need a grand mission statement or a long company history. It needs useful, accurate details. These seven questions give you a practical outline, whether you work alone or run a small team.
What job should your About page do?
Your About page should help a visitor understand the business behind the offer. A service page explains what they can buy; the About page explains who will provide it and why their experience is relevant.
Stanford University's web credibility guidelines, published in 2002, recommend identifying the organisation and people behind a site, showing expertise and making contact easy. That research offers a useful starting point, not a prediction of how many enquiries your page will generate.
1. Who are you, and what does your business do?
Open with your business name and a plain description of your work. Someone arriving directly on the About page should understand it without first reading your homepage.
For example, a furniture restorer could say they repair wooden chairs, tables and cabinets for local households. That is more informative than “we bring passion and excellence to everything we do”.
Use the name customers know from your quotes and emails. If a trading name differs from the name used on invoices, explain the relationship where useful. Keep the opening focused on the work you currently offer.
2. Who do you help, and where do you work?
Describe the customers you serve and the area or delivery method your service covers. This helps a visitor work out whether your business fits their situation.
A tutor might work online with adult learners. A gardener might maintain small residential gardens in named suburbs. A repair business might accept workshop visits by appointment rather than offer a walk-in shop.
Be precise without listing every possible customer. If you work from home, describe your service area and contact arrangements without presenting your home as a public shop. Keep these details consistent with your service and contact pages.
3. Who will the customer actually deal with?
Introduce the person or people responsible for the work. Give their names, roles and a short explanation of what customers can expect from them.
A sole trader can write “I answer your enquiry and carry out the work”, if that is accurate. A small team can explain who prepares quotes, who handles appointments and who delivers the service. Clear roles are more useful than impressive titles.
Use a current photograph of your actual team or workspace if you have one. Get permission from anyone pictured. Do not present stock models or generated portraits as your staff. You can introduce people honestly in text while arranging suitable photographs.
4. Why did you start this business?
Share a short origin story when it explains a choice customers will notice today. Keep the connection between your experience and the service clear.
Perhaps repairing your own furniture led you to focus on restoring pieces people already own. Perhaps years of working shifts shaped the appointment hours you now offer. Use the reason that is true for you.
Two or three sentences may be enough. You do not need to describe every career move or personal event. If you have no dramatic founding story, explain what you enjoy doing well and how that affects your customers' experience.
5. What relevant experience can you show?
Support your description with evidence someone can understand or check. Choose experience relevant to the work you want customers to book.
That might be a current qualification, a clearly described project or photographs of completed work. Explain unfamiliar credentials in plain English. If a registration can be checked in an official public register, link to the relevant entry.
Separate the age of the business from the owner's earlier experience. A new business should not imply it has traded for ten years because its founder previously worked elsewhere. Likewise, label practice projects honestly and obtain permission before identifying customers.
If you are just starting, show your relevant background, working process and genuine examples. Avoid unsupported claims such as “the most trusted”. Specific facts give the reader something to assess.
6. How do you work with customers?
Describe two or three working habits that affect the customer's experience. Turn broad values into actions someone could recognise during a job.
Instead of saying you value communication, explain when you confirm the scope or discuss changes. Instead of promising personal service, explain whether customers deal with the same person from enquiry to completion.
Only promise habits you can maintain. Keep detailed packages and charges on the relevant service page, with a link from your About page when useful. Our guide to showing prices on your website explains how to provide that guidance clearly.
7. What should a visitor do next?
End with one useful next step, such as viewing the relevant service or sending an enquiry. Make the wording fit what the customer is ready to do.
A furniture restorer could invite people to send a photograph and describe the repair. A tutor could link to lesson options. Explain what information helps you respond, and what will happen after someone contacts you.
Make the About page easy to reach through your navigation or footer too. For the wider page plan, see our small-business website checklist. Green Kauri's website service can help you bring these essential pages together when building a new site.
What could a short About page opening look like?
A useful opening connects the person, service, location and approach in a few sentences. Here is a fictional example to show the structure. Replace every detail with facts about your own business.
I am Rowan, a furniture restorer working with households in Hamilton. I repair wooden chairs, tables and cabinets from my workshop by appointment. My focus is helping people keep furniture they already enjoy using.
You deal directly with me, from the first photographs to collection. Before work starts, we agree on the repair and finish. Send a few photos and tell me what needs attention, and I will explain whether I can help.
A finished page would add genuine background, relevant work examples and a contact link. This fictional opening demonstrates structure; it is not a real business profile or customer testimonial.
Can an About page help with search and AI visibility?
It can provide useful background about your business, but it does not guarantee rankings or inclusion in AI answers. Treat it as a factual reference page, rather than a place to repeat search terms.
Google's helpful-content guidance specifically mentions background about an author or publishing site, including links to an About page, when discussing trust. It also warns against fabricated author identities and false credentials.
Our practical recommendation is to keep your name, people, services and location consistent across the site. Green Kauri's xEO optimisation service reviews how an existing website presents its information for search engines and AI tools. An accurate About page is one part of that work.
How can you check the page before publishing?
Ask someone unfamiliar with the business to read it and explain who you are, what you do and how to contact you. Missing or confused answers show where the page needs more work.
- Check names, roles, service areas and qualifications against current facts.
- Remove claims you cannot support and details that do not help a customer decide.
- Check photo permissions, captions and links to work examples.
- Read the page on a phone and test its contact or service link.
Review it again when people, services or working arrangements change. Keeping the page accurate is more useful than adding a paragraph simply to make it look recently updated.
What else should you know about About pages?
These answers cover common choices about page length, structure, experience and photographs.
How long should a small-business About page be?
As a starting suggestion, aim for roughly 300 to 600 words if that covers the people, experience, service area and next step. This is an editorial guide, not a search requirement. Use fewer words for a simple business and more only when the extra detail helps customers decide.
Does a one-page website need a separate About page?
Not always. A clearly labelled About section can introduce a sole trader or a simple business on a one-page website. Use a separate page when team profiles, relevant experience or the company story need more space. In either case, make the information easy to find from the main navigation.
What should you write if your business is new?
Explain who you are, what work you offer and which relevant experience you bring. Separate previous employment from the history of the new business. Show genuine examples or clearly labelled practice work, describe your process and make contact easy. You do not need invented reviews or a long company history.
Do you need a professional team photograph?
No. A clear, current photograph of the actual person or team can be useful without being a studio portrait. Ask permission before publishing it and describe who appears. If suitable photographs are unavailable, begin with accurate written introductions. Avoid using stock or generated people as if they were your employees.