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What to Put on Your About Page So Strangers Trust You
A small business About page earns trust when it shows the real people who do the work, proves they are qualified, says plainly where and how you work and points to what other customers have said.
A strong About page for a small service business answers four questions a stranger has before booking: who will actually do the work, whether they are qualified, whether this is a real and established business nearby, and what other customers think. Put real photos of the people a customer will meet, a license or credential they can check, your address or service area and a link to your reviews on that page, and keep the company history to a few sentences.
The About page checklist
| Section | What to include | Example wording |
|---|---|---|
| One-line summary | What you do, for whom, where | "[business name] is a [type of business] serving [area] since [year]." |
| The people | Real photos and first names of the people customers will meet, with their role | "You'll be greeted by [name], who has run our front desk for [amount] years." |
| Qualifications | License type and number, certifications, insurance, with a link to the state look-up | "Licensed in [state], license [number]; verify it here." |
| A real place | Street address or service area, hours, a photo of the shop, van or treatment room | "We work out of [neighborhood] and serve [towns]." |
| How you work | Three or four sentences on what a first visit or job looks like | "Every job starts with a written estimate and ends with a walk-through." |
| What customers say | Two or three recent reviews with a link to the full set on Google or Yelp | "Read all [amount] reviews on Google." |
| Why you started | Two or three sentences of history, no more | "We opened after [amount] years at larger shops, because [reason]." |
| Next step | One clear way to book or ask a question | "Book a first visit" button or a contact form |
Five things to leave off: stock photos of people who don't work for you, a mission statement no customer would quote back, long paragraphs about awards nobody can check, outdated team members and any claim of being "the best" without a review or credential to support it.
Why it works
People look at the faces before they read the words, and they check claims against outside sources. In an eyetracking study of an About page, users spent 10% more time looking at staff portraits than reading the staff bios, even though the bios took up 316% more space on the page, and the same research found that people ignore generic stock photos. A later round of usability studies with more than 70 users across 165 websites found that skeptical visitors leave the About section to check review sites and compare a company's own testimonials with what third parties say.
The Stanford Web Credibility Project, drawing on studies with more than 4,500 people, reached similar guidance two decades ago: show that a real organization stands behind the site, most simply with a physical address; highlight expertise and credentials; show the honest, trustworthy people behind the business; make contact easy; and avoid errors, because typos and broken links cost more credibility than most owners imagine.
Sources
- Nielsen Norman Group. Photos as Web Content. 2010. Eyetracking research.
- Nielsen Norman Group. About Us Information on Websites. 2019. Usability studies with more than 70 users; 100 websites tested and 65 reviewed.
- Fogg, B. J. Stanford Guidelines for Web Credibility. Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab, 2002. Based on research with more than 4,500 people.
Related reading: What Customers Learn About Your Business Before They Ever Call · How Roofers and Remodelers Win on Trust Instead of Price · What Customers Check Before They Choose a Service Business, Step by Step
Work with osNOVA on an About page that earns trust
We help owner-run service businesses show strangers the people, credentials and proof that turn a first look into a first visit. Email hello@osnovaops.com about your business
Not ready to talk? osNOVA runs free live events for owners.