How to write an About page for a contracting business

What the page is really for

Someone hiring a contractor is letting strangers onto their property and handing over a good amount of money. The About page is where they check who you are. They don't need your life story. They want to know who runs the company, who will show up, and whether you sound like people they can deal with.

A simple outline

1. Who you are, in two sentences. Your name, your trade, where you work. For example: "I'm Sam. I run a four-person concrete crew serving the north side of town."
2. How you got here. A short paragraph on how you learned the trade and when you started the business. Only true dates and numbers.
3. Who shows up. Do you do the work yourself, run crews, or use subcontractors? Who is the customer's contact during the job? Say it straight, so there are no surprises.
4. How you work. Three or four specifics, not slogans.
5. Where you work. Your service area in a line, with a link to the full list.
6. Credentials you can back up. License or registration, insurance, manufacturer certifications, exactly as issued.
7. A next step. Your phone number and a link to request a quote.

Specifics beat slogans

"Quality work and great customer service" could be on any contractor's site, so it tells the reader nothing about yours. Replace it with things a customer could check:

• "The person who gives you the estimate is on site during the job."
• "We send a text the day before we arrive."
• "We run a magnet over the yard for nails before we leave."
• "You get a written scope of work before we start."

Only write what you really do every time. A promise on the About page that the crew doesn't keep is worse than no promise.

Photos

Use a real photo of you, your crew or your truck. It doesn't need to be professional: clean shirt, daylight, a job site or the shop behind you. A stock photo of smiling models in hard hats works against you when different people arrive at the door. Ask crew members before putting their faces or names on the site.

What to leave out

• "Best", "#1" or "top-rated" claims you can't prove
• Rounded-up years in business or job counts
• "Family owned" if it isn't
• "Licensed, bonded and insured" unless all three are true and current
• Awards, memberships or badges you don't hold right now
• Your home address, or family details you wouldn't tell a stranger
• A mission statement nobody at the company would say out loud

For how to present credentials, see showing licenses and insurance honestly.

If you're new

Don't hide it. Say how long you've worked in the trade and when you started the company, in a line like "I framed houses for other companies for years before starting my own crew last spring." A plain, true story is easier to trust than a vague one. Add job photos as you finish work; our guide to photographing your work helps there.

Write it like you talk

Use "I" or "we" and short sentences. Read it out loud. If you wouldn't say a line to a customer standing in their driveway, cut it. Aim for a page someone can read in about a minute, and check it once a year, since crews, areas and services change.