Introduction
Most trade business owners think the homepage is the page that wins them work. It is not. Once a homeowner has decided you might be the right fit, they almost always click one specific page next.
The About page.
It is the page where they decide whether to trust you. And on most trade websites, it is the weakest, most forgettable page on the site.
A strong About page is one of the cheapest, fastest wins in marketing. Here is how to fix yours.
Why the About Page Matters More Than You Think
When someone is choosing a tradesperson, they are picking a person to let into their home. Price matters. Quality matters. But trust matters most.
The About page is where they look for clues. Are these the kind of people I want in my house? Will they turn up? Will they tidy up? Will they speak to my partner the same way they speak to me?
If your About page reads like it was written by a robot in 2009, every one of those questions stays unanswered. The visitor closes the tab and rings someone else.
The Three Things Every Trade About Page Should Do
Forget what other websites are doing. A great About page does three things, in this order:
- Show the human behind the business, your face, your name, your story
- Explain why people trust you, your experience, your standards, your guarantees
- Tell them what to do next, a clear next step
Get those three right and you are most of the way there.
Mistake One: Starting With “Founded in 2009…”
This is the most common opening line on trade About pages. It is also the worst.
Nobody cares when you were founded. They care what you can do for them.
A much stronger opener is something that speaks directly to the person reading. Something like:
“If you are looking for a roofer in Bristol who turns up when they say they will, charges what they quote, and leaves your driveway as clean as they found it, you are in the right place.”
That sentence does more in 30 words than three paragraphs of company history.
Mistake Two: No Faces
A trade business is a people business. Yet half of trade About pages do not include a single photo of the people doing the work.
Your About page should have:
- A clear photo of you, the owner
- Photos of your team if you have one
- A photo of you on a job, in your kit, looking like a real person
- Optional but powerful: a short clip of you saying hello
Stock photos do the opposite. A man in a suit holding a clipboard does not look like a roofer. It looks like a website made by someone who has never met a roofer.
Real photos build trust faster than any words can.
Mistake Three: Hiding the Story
Every trade business has a story. You learnt your trade somewhere. You started out doing something. You decided to go on your own for a reason.
That story is interesting. It also helps the customer feel like they know you before they have even rung you.
You do not need to write a novel. Three or four short paragraphs covering the following will do it:
- How you got into the trade
- What you stand for now
- Why you do things the way you do
- What kind of jobs you love most
Customers do not want to be sold to. They want to feel like they have already met you.
Mistake Four: No Proof
By this point in the page, the visitor likes you. They feel they could trust you. But they still want a little reassurance.
This is where you bring in proof:
- A short testimonial or two
- Logos of trade bodies you belong to (Gas Safe, NICEIC, FENSA, TrustMark, and so on)
- A line about your insurance
- A handful of recent job photos
- A mention of how many years or how many jobs you have under your belt
Keep it light. You are not writing a CV. You are giving them three or four reasons to feel safe picking you.
Mistake Five: No Clear Next Step
A surprising number of About pages just end. The visitor reads it, nods, and then has nowhere obvious to go.
Always finish with a clear next step. For most trade businesses, that means:
- A button to your contact form
- Your phone number, big and clickable
- An invitation in plain English
Something like:
“If that sounds like the kind of company you want for your next job, get in touch. Either give us a ring on [number] or fill in the short form below and we will be back to you the same day.”
Simple. Clear. No mystery about what to do next.
A Simple Structure That Always Works
If you do nothing else, copy this structure:
- A direct opening line that speaks to the reader, not about you
- A photo of you on the job
- Your story in three or four short paragraphs
- What you stand for, three or four things that matter to you on every job
- The proof, testimonials, accreditations, photos
- The next step, phone number and a clear call to action
That is it. You can write a page like this in an afternoon.
The Bigger Picture
The About page is the one page on your website that does not need a marketing genius to write. It just needs you. Your voice. Your face. Your standards.
When a visitor reads it and thinks “yeah, these are my kind of people”, the job is half won.
If your current About page makes you cringe a bit when you read it, that is a good sign. It means it is time to rewrite it.
Related Reading
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I include on my trade business About page?
Three things, in order. First, a direct opening line that speaks to your customer rather than about you. Second, a real photo of you on the job and a short three-paragraph story covering how you got into the trade and what you stand for. Third, your proof: a couple of testimonials, your accreditations (Gas Safe, NICEIC, FENSA, TrustMark), and a clear next step with your phone number.
How long should my About page be?
Long enough to build trust, short enough to read in two minutes. Most trade About pages that convert well sit between 300 and 500 words. Anything longer and the visitor scrolls past. Anything shorter and they do not feel they have learned enough about you to pick up the phone.
Should I use ‘I’ or ‘we’ on my About page?
Use whichever is honest. If you are a one-person operation, ‘I’ sounds more genuine than the false ‘we’ that some sole traders use to seem bigger. If you have a team, ‘we’ is right. Customers can spot the difference and inflated language is one of the fastest ways to lose trust on a small trade business website.
What photos should I put on my About page?
Real photos of real people. A clear shot of you on a job, a team photo if you have one, and one or two photos of your work in progress. Skip the stock photos. A man in a suit holding a clipboard does not look like a roofer. Photos taken on a phone of you actually working will outperform any staged shot.
Want a Pair of Fresh Eyes on Your Website?
A free Marketing Flight Check from Brightr is a full audit of how your trade business looks and performs online. We will tell you exactly which pages are working, which are letting you down, and what to prioritise.