This post was originally published in September 2015 and updated in January 2019.
Good website design can be powerful. A small startup with a well-designed website can look just as professional as many larger companies who have been around for years. However, many large companies (such as Apple, ASOS, Elders, Flight Centre) have an additional advantage in that we already know and trust their brand. As potential customers, we are often very wary of purchasing through a business, unless we feel confident that they are trustworthy. So how do you convince a potential customer or client to buy from you, especially when they haven't heard of you before?
Your ‘About Us’ page is there to answer the question "who are the people behind this website and can I trust them"? Your challenge is to convince your potential customers that you are an ethical, reliable and trustworthy company. When used effectively, your ‘About Us’ page can be used to connect with your potential customers, to instil confidence and to start building a relationship.
So how do we do this?
1. Provide your full contact details including your postal address. This rule is not as hard and fast as it used to be (website visitors are becoming more comfortable to buy from stores that are online only), however it does provide an added sense of legitimacy. If you do not have a physical location, consider adding a post office address or the similar as another way of contacting you.
2. Use the page to allow customers to see the human side of your company. After all, providing a really personal service is the main advantage that you have over the large companies. Use the page to talk about yourself and your passion for your business and your customers.
3. Include photos of yourself and your team. Include profiles of your team members. Give your customers a chance to get a real feel for the people behind your website.
4. Highlight your experience. Tell your company’s story. If you have been around for a long time, make sure you emphasize your stability. This will go a long way to building trust. If you are a new company, highlight any past experience that you have had which relates to your current business.
5. Describe how you are different from your competitors and the benefits that you offer to customers. Share your company philosophy.
6. Make sure you include any awards or other recognition that you have received. Highlight any affiliations that you have with trade or professional associations, which relate to your business and will help to establish credibility and trust.
7. Use testimonials from happy customers. These will carry more weight than any good things that you can say about yourself. Make sure you get permission from your customer first. Where possible include some sort of contact information for the person who provided the testimonial to show that they are real testimonials (eg. a link to their website… which in turn may benefit that customer by helping people to find their website).
8. If you intend to collect any sort of personal details from your visitors you need to have a privacy policy clearly displayed… and then stick fiercely to that policy!
Take some time to review your 'About Us' page.