Picture a visitor arriving on a small business's About page. They're not in a hurry, and they're not looking for a company timeline. They have one quiet question: Is this the right person for me?
Instead, they find three paragraphs about the year the business was founded, the premises it moved to, and a mission statement that could belong to anyone. The answer they came for never shows up, so they click away without telling you why.
This guide walks through what to include, what to leave out, opening paragraphs you can copy, and how to draft the whole page with Claude or ChatGPT.
Start with the question your visitor is really asking
People click through to an About page because they're deciding whether to trust you with their time, their money, or their dog. Most pages answer a different question, about when the company started and how it grew.
Think of the page as the visitor's decision, told through you. It isn't a biography.
What to include: five things every About page needs
With that question in mind, here is the checklist. Tick these off and you've got an About page that does its job.
- Who you are
- What you do and where
- How you work
- Photos of real people and places
- A clear next step
What you do and where. Say it in one plain sentence. Name the service and the area, or say you work remotely. Copy this and swap in your details: "I'm a dog groomer serving Leeds and the surrounding villages, working from my home studio." Or: "I design websites for small businesses, working remotely with clients across the UK."
How you work. Give visitors two or three short steps so they know what happens after they get in touch. A groomer might say: you message me, we book a first visit so your dog can sniff around, then we settle on a routine. A photographer might offer a pre-shoot chat. A baker might note that orders close Wednesday night for weekend collection. Clear steps remove the fear of the unknown.
Photos of real people and places. Use your own face, your workspace, your shopfront or van. A real photo beats stock because visitors can tell the difference, and a stranger's smile does nothing to build trust. You don't need a studio. Shoot in daylight near a window, hold your phone at eye level, and capture three things: you at work, your tools or products up close, and the place customers will find you.
A clear next step. End with one button or sentence, such as "Book a first session" or "See this week's menu." Then repeat it lower down the page, so nobody has to scroll back up to act.
What to leave out, even if you are proud of it
Knowing what belongs on the page is only half the job, because the harder skill is cutting what doesn't. Your visitor has one question: can this person help me? Anything that gets in the way of the answer has to go, even the bits you love.
- The year-by-year history. Nobody needs every year in order. Pick the one moment that explains why you're good at this.
- Every qualification you've ever earned. Keep the two that matter to a customer.
- Vague claims. "Passionate about quality" says nothing. Describe what you actually do differently.
- Jargon only you use. If your regulars wouldn't say it out loud, don't print it.
Prices need care. If yours rarely change, keep them. If they shift, link to the page that holds them, so your About page doesn't quietly go out of date. A light example, like a £45 full groom, can work as a sense of scale, as long as you mean it.
Cut anything you can't back with a real detail. And don't promise results. "Calmer dogs" is a hope, while "we take it slowly with nervous ones" is something you do.
Here's a quick test. If a line would read the same on a competitor's page, replace it with something only you could say.
One last check. Rules differ from country to country, so look up the current requirements before you make claims about qualifications, insurance or food information.
Opening paragraphs you can copy and adapt
Once you know what to keep and what to cut, the opening paragraph is where it all comes together. Every strong one runs on the same simple pattern. Say who you help, what you do, and where you do it. Then add one human detail that makes you sound like a person. Three or four sentences. That's it.
Here are three you can borrow.
Photographer
I'm a portrait and family photographer working in the parks and coastal paths around Brighton. My sessions are relaxed, unhurried and never stiff. Before we pick up a camera, we'll have a proper chat over a coffee or a phone call, so by the time we start shooting you're not thinking about the lens at all. Have a look at my recent sessions, then get in touch to talk through yours.
It works because it names a real place, promises a feeling and ends on a clear next step.
Dog groomer
I run a small home-based grooming service for dogs in and around Leeds. Every appointment is one dog at a time, handled calmly and without rushing. If your dog is nervous, we'll meet at their pace. Sometimes that means a few sniffs and a biscuit before the first brush. Send me a message with a few details about your dog and we'll find a time.
It works because the nervous-dog line answers the worry owners rarely say out loud, and the close tells them exactly what to do.
Bakery
We bake bread and cakes every morning in our little kitchen on Mill Lane, for neighbours who'd rather eat something made today. You can order ahead or pop in and collect. Our flour comes from a mill in the next county. Browse this week's menu and reserve your loaf before it sells out.
It works because it's specific about timing and place, and it ends with a reason to act now. (Only mention where your ingredients come from if it's true. Customers can tell.)
Don't copy these word for word. Swap in your own town, your own habits, your own odd little detail. If you're drafting with Claude or ChatGPT, feed it those real details and ask it to keep the same shape.
Drafting it with Claude or ChatGPT without losing your voice
If you'd rather not start from a blank page, an assistant can do the heavy lifting, as long as you supply the substance. Start with raw material, not a request. Before you ask Claude or ChatGPT for anything, type three or four plain sentences. How did you start? What does a typical customer ask you? What would you never do? That last one matters most. "I'd never rush a nervous dog" tells the assistant more about you than any tone label will.
Then paste in a request like this one:
Write a first-person About page for my dog grooming business in a friendly, calm tone. Use only the details I give you. Keep it short, end with an invitation to book.
Swap in your own business and you're set. And ask for two versions. They'll differ enough that you can borrow the best lines from each.
Now read the result aloud. Slowly. Anything you wouldn't say to a customer's face gets cut, even if it sounds polished. Polished isn't the goal. Sounding like you is.
Next, check every fact yourself. Locations, years in business, prices, credentials. Assistants fill gaps with confident guesses, and a wrong "since 2012" is easy to miss.
If you already ask your assistant to update your site, you can also tell it, in plain words, to add the finished text to the page.
A quick checklist before you publish
With a draft in hand, whether you wrote it yourself or shaped it with an assistant, run one last pass before it goes live:
- It opens with what the visitor needs.
- It names you and where you work.
- It explains how you do the job.
- Every photo is real.
- There's one clear next step.
- Nothing is out of date.
Then read it on your phone and tap the button. Does it work? Good.
And make it a habit to revisit the page whenever something about the business changes, like new prices, new hours, or a new service.
Your first two sentences
You don't need a perfect draft, or even a good afternoon. Open a blank page right now and write just the first two sentences, using the opening pattern that fits your kind of business. Say who you help and where, then add one small, true detail about yourself.
Once those two lines exist, the rest is easier than it looks. Build outwards a sentence at a time, then use the checklist above to finish. Your visitor is already on their way, quietly asking their question, and you're about to answer it.