The Anatomy of the Perfect Ecommerce About Us Page
The About Us page is a pretty standard page for ecommerce stores, but how often do brands really take the time to make it an effective part of the customer journey? More often than not, this page is just a box to check off. Someone will write a brief explanation of why they’re in business or who their owner is and call it done. Don’t be one of those ecommerce stores!
There is actually a massive opportunity to make this page a helpful and effective part of the customer experience. In this post, we’ll outline the ideal structure for an About Us page that tells your story, builds trust, and creates brand fans.
What should be the goal of the About Us page?
We often talk about the importance of selling your brand, not just your product. You want to gain true, loyal customers, not just a one-time buyer. These days, when there are so many places to buy any given product, your brand is the one thing that sets you apart. You should take advantage of any area of your site that could help tell that story, including the About Us page.
With that in mind, the goal of the About Us page is to earn the customer’s trust by explaining your “why” and demonstrating your expertise. This helps establish an emotional connection with the customer, which makes them much more likely to purchase and become a fan.
Elements of the Perfect About Us Page
What elements should be included on the perfect About Us page? Let’s walk through them below.
Hello Bar, Site Header, and Navigation
These elements should be present on almost every page throughout the site. The hello bar reminds the customer of any promotions, discounts, or free shipping tiers. The navigation allows the customer to quickly get to other pages they’re interested in.
Your Brand’s Story
This is not just a random story and should be more in-depth than what year you started this company and where you’re located. The goal here is to show how and why you offer the products you do. In doing so, you should be demonstrating what makes you unique and why you are the best option out there.
Keep this content in line with your brand voice. That might mean taking on an inspirational tone, being funny, getting deep, or something else entirely. No one knows you and your brand as well as you do— make sure this content reflects that!
Use Media
Enrich the experience by adding a video that tells your story or gives a message from the founder. Include photos of your team or lifestyle images of your products. Adding this type of media breaks up the content, but more importantly, helps the customers connect on an emotional level.
Sell Products Throughout
You can “sell” products throughout the content by linking to products wherever they are mentioned. This is a subtle but effective way to give customers direction on where to go next.
Sell Content Throughout
If your ecommerce store has a blog (which it should!), use the content on the “about us” page to link to relevant posts or areas where you elaborate more on certain subjects.
CTA and/or Product Grid
Include a CTA button to direct customers back to the purchase experience. This could link to a Shop All page, Best Sellers, or other collection. You could also include a product grid, which usually involves designing clickable square images pointing back to a few top products or collections.
How do you measure the performance of the About Us page?
There are a few ways to creatively track how the About Us page contributes to the customer journey and the conversions on your store. One is to watch the click-through rate to products, either from hyperlinks in the content or from the product grid. Another is to look at the conversion rate for your store when the About Us page is included in the customer path vs. not. Ideally, the About Us page would be helping the conversion rate. It’s also smart to be aware of the time spent on the page.
Ready to tell your story and build fans?
Now that you’re armed with the elements needed for a perfect About Us page, it’s time to take your store’s About Us page from generic to fan-worthy. It’s not about writing a novel (although being heartfelt on this page is encouraged). The idea is to strategically use your unique story to build an emotional connection with the customer and move them to action.
