How to write an About page that sells without bragging

Most About pages read like a résumé: qualifications, a list of clients, a paragraph that starts with "I" and never really stops. Visitors don't come to your About page to learn your life story. They come to answer one question: can I trust this person with my problem? Nielsen Norman Group's research into About pages, built on testing across dozens of users and over 100 sites, puts it plainly: people expect this content to be clear, authentic and transparent, and most businesses miss the chance to actually connect with the visitor while they're there. This guide walks through a structure that answers the trust question first, tells your story second, and asks for the reader's attention.

What you'll have at the end

A complete About page draft built around the reader's problem rather than your CV: an opening line that names who you help, a short honest story about why you do this work, one clear statement of how you're different, real proof spread through the page instead of clumped in one block, and a specific next step at the end. You'll also have a quick self-check for how many times you say "you" versus "I".

Before you start

• A one-sentence description of who you help and with what (the same line you'd use in a warm introduction).
• One real story: how you started doing this work, or the specific moment you decided to. Not the polished founder-myth version, the honest one.
• A shortlist of your actual proof: testimonials, numbers you can stand behind, work you're proud of, places you've been mentioned. You don't need much, but it needs to be real.
• A recent, unposed photo of yourself, or a plan to get one this week.
• Fifteen minutes with your current About page (if you have one) open in another tab, so you can see what to cut.

Step 1: Open with the reader's problem, not your job title

Donald Miller's StoryBrand framework, now well established across marketing and copywriting practice, makes one point that changes how most About pages should open: the customer is the hero of the story, and the business is the guide, not the other way round. Applied to an About page, that means your first sentence should name the reader's situation, not your own credentials. Instead of "I'm a freelance graphic designer with eight years of experience," try "You've got a business that looks better in person than it does online." The second version tells the reader you understand their problem before you've said a word about yourself. Save the job title for the second sentence.