People go to the About page when they are close to deciding. They have seen what you do and they now want to know who they would be dealing with. It is a page for readers who want to understand the people behind the service.
The standard version, and why it fails
Founded in 2009, we are a dynamic practice committed to excellence and delivering solutions tailored to our clients' needs, with a passion for service and integrity.
Those phrases could describe many competitors. It is not wrong, it is empty, and a reader learns nothing they can use to choose you.
Write for the decision being made
The reader is asking: can these people handle my situation, and will I get on with them? Everything on the page should answer one of those.
Be specific about what you do most
Not full service. What actually fills your diary. A firm that says most of our work is residential transfer and estate administration in the northern suburbs tells the reader more in one sentence than three paragraphs of values.
Name real people and make them human
Individual photographs, not a stock boardroom. Real names, real qualifications, and one specific detail that makes someone a person: where they studied, what they mostly handle, that they are a keen trail runner. Bilingual practices should say which languages each person speaks, which is a genuine deciding factor in the Cape.
Use numbers you can stand behind
Seventeen years, four attorneys, around 300 transfers a year. Concrete and verifiable. Avoid anything you cannot evidence, and note that medical practitioners have professional rules restricting claims of this kind.
Say who you are not for
The most persuasive line on many About pages. We do not do litigation. We work with practices under ten people. Being clear about your limits makes everything else you say more believable.
Structure that works
One sentence on what you do and who for. A short history with a real reason the practice exists. The people, individually. What it is actually like to work with you, including how you communicate and how quickly you respond. Then how to start.
Things to cut
Passionate. Dynamic. Synergy. Solutions-driven. Cutting-edge. Stock photographs of handshakes. A mission statement nobody in the practice can recite. The word bespoke unless something genuinely is.
Read it aloud. If it sounds like something you would never say to a client sitting across from you, rewrite it as the thing you would actually say.
Next step: request a free Website Check, or see Baken’s website scope and pricing.