Nobody reads your About page

Why most company websites lose the reader by the second paragraph, and how to fix yours.

Web copyKrishna24 October 20262 min readComments

Your About page probably starts like this: "Founded in 2015, we are a passionate team of innovators dedicated to delivering excellence."

Nobody has ever finished reading that sentence and thought, "These are my people."

01Why people leave by the second paragraph

Visitors don't read web pages. They scan, looking for one thing: is this for me? Most company copy answers a different question: who are we? The reader didn't ask that, so they leave.

Three habits make it worse:

  1. Starting with history. The year you were founded matters to you. To a visitor, it's a speed bump before the point.
  2. Words that could be anyone's. "Passionate", "innovative", "solutions", "excellence", "customer-centric". Your competitors use the same ones. If a word fits every company, it describes none.
  3. No proof. Claims without evidence read like ads, and readers skip ads.
If a word fits every company, it describes none.

02What an About page is actually for

People who click "About" have a specific worry. They're checking whether they can trust you. Answer that worry, in this order:

  1. Who you help, and with what. One sentence. "We write web copy and emails for B2B software companies."
  2. Why you. What do you do that others don't? Be concrete: a method, a specialism, a promise you keep.
  3. Proof. Real clients, real work, real people. Names, links and faces, as long as you have permission to use them.
  4. The humans. Who will they actually work with? A photo and two honest lines each beat a page of values.
  5. What to do next. One clear next step.
The consumer isn't a moron; she is your wife.
— David Ogilvy, Confessions of an Advertising Man (1963)

03Before and after

BEFOREFounded in 2015, Acme Digital is a passionate team of innovators dedicated to delivering world-class digital solutions that empower businesses to thrive.
AFTERWe build online stores for small fashion brands in India. Most of our clients come to us after a launch that didn't sell. We fix the pages people leave from.

The second version tells you who they're for, what they fix, and why you'd call them. It took fewer words, too.

04A test for every sentence

Read each sentence and ask: would my competitor's About page say the same thing? If yes, rewrite it until only you could say it. If you can't, cut it.

"Founded in 2015" is a speed bump wearing a blazer.

05The short version

  • Visitors scan your About page to decide whether to trust you.
  • Cut history openers and words every company uses.
  • Lead with who you help, why you, proof and the real people. Then one next step.
KrishnaKrishna has worked with US customers since 2001, starting in tech support. In 2005 he co-founded Commercial Street Corp, a tele-sales and appointment-setting company, and headed its international operations. He has run Your Copy Sucks since 2013.

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