Discuss: Your About Page Is a Robot
by Erin Kissane
- Editorial Comments
2 Zombie Copy
Sounds like the about bots could do with reading your Zombie Copy article, Erin. It all boils down to one thing: people visit a website to try and get the information they want, ideally in Plain English (or language of their choice). If you try instead to tell them what you want them to know, they’ll look elsewhere. The internet is not a medium particularly suited for puff-pieces: certainly if I feel I’m reading promotional literature I’ll stop and look elsewhere for the facts. It’s just a shame more people don’t listen to you…
posted at 07:45 am on August 22, 2006 by Jack Pickard
3 Untitled
I really appreciate your aticles.
You shouldn’t be neglecting your website.
posted at 11:56 am on August 22, 2006 by Nikolay Spassov
4 About page or Home page
If all this is not obvious just by looking at your front page, you are missing the point of doing a Web site.
Yes, the home page should clearly identify key areas of the website – but the about page needs to be much more detailed. Compare Dell’s home page and their about page . The home page provides gateways to the main areas of the site that visitors are likely to want. The about page gives more detailed background information behind the company – contact details, company history, office locations, etc.
The home page enables people to buy the services or products of your company – the about page might give them a reason to, eg because you are well-established, local, sponsor their local team, etc.
posted at 12:40 pm on August 22, 2006 by Stephen Down
5 Got me thinking
Very interesting article, Erin. It really gets you thinking more about the content itself and the different types of delivery to take when writing. I’ve always found the About pages the hardest to write effectively, especially when your unfamiliar with your target audience.
posted at 12:50 pm on August 22, 2006 by Andy Crathorne
6 Good article
My two biggest pet peeves when visiting a web site are an about page that gives me nothing, and contact info that is either useless or buried so far into the site by the time I find it I forgot why I was looking for it (of course the cynical side of me things that is by design).
I must say I’m a little disappointed with ALA though, this comment page shows up with validation warnings via Tidy. It’s the first time I’ve seen anything bug the happy little green check mark from this site. Maybe I don’t visit the comments enough. The problem seems to be the use of a number as the first character in the name attribute of the a tags. ‘name’ is depreciated and should be replaced with ‘id’. The first character to an ‘id’ attribute must be [a-zA-Z].
The comment preview thing is really cool though. I’ve never seen that before.
Keep up the good work.
posted at 05:19 pm on August 22, 2006 by Steven Bell
7 Untitled Comment
Very interesting. I like how this ties in with “Zombie Copy” and the grand senselessness that permeates the Web. On that note, I searched (googled) the Web for “Editorial Strategist” (ALAs description of your job) and this is from the very first link (it’s a job posting):
[quote] Editorial Strategist
Mission The position of Editorial Strategist will span across marketing, business, and creative platforms. The Strategist will be responsible for original content and interacting with various teams to develop, schedule, and produce projects through completion. This person will set a high-level editorial vision, working with multiple internal stakeholders to create content that maps to their strategic objectives and tactical goals. In addition, the Editorial Strategist will define an appropriate editorial voice to communicate optimally with key product user groups.
[end quote]
Is that really what you do?
Thanks for another interesting read. Matt
posted at 06:09 pm on August 22, 2006 by Matt Fitzgerald
8 Comment roundup
Would it make sense to require potential customers passing by on the street to go inside, all the way in the back, up to the manager’s office before knowing what your business is all about, why you are unique and why they should do business with you? Of course, not.
As you say, of course not, which is why I didn’t suggest that this information be expressed only on the About page. Every page of your website should provide reasons for your visitors to take the action you want them to take. And as Stephen’s already noted, most organizations need to express more information about themselves than can fit on a home page: bios, photos, information for journalists, financial information, etc.
It all boils down to one thing: people visit a website to try and get the information they want, ideally in Plain English (or language of their choice).
Yup, that’s the core of all of it. It’s funny how tricky it can be to consistently put into practice—especially when you’re working with the kind of content people tend to take for granted (About pages, interface guide text, etc.). I do see a lot of improvement, though, when I look around at big organizational sites. Even though the principles of good writing are ancient, web writing is still a new discipline—and I think more marketing departments are beginning to catch on.
You shouldn’t be neglecting your website.
I’m a terrible example! I’m nearly done with a book, and once it’s finished, I promise to be more responsible. :)
I’ve always found the About pages the hardest to write effectively
I agree. Particularly for large organizations, the About page is one of the most complicated intersections between internal needs (tons of boring financial and legal data to publish, for example) and user needs.
posted at 07:12 pm on August 22, 2006 by Erin Kissane
9 Remembers me
Your article remembers me, that I have something to do. Especially for smaller business you can convice and interest visitors for your products with personality. The visitor of websites from larger companies is not intersted in personality. Those visitors wants to see facts.
posted at 01:06 am on August 23, 2006 by Thorsten Schiemann
10 finally, its there!
nice article erin! Have been looking for nice About Us page guidelines. and finally, its here. on beloved ALA! great.
posted at 06:48 am on August 23, 2006 by R Bhavesh
Discussion Closed
New comments are not being accepted, but you are welcome to explore what people said before we closed the door.
1 Untitled
Good article.
Althought, in my humble opinion, the about page should not exists in first place. Instead, you should provide – right away, on the front page -
If all this is not obvious just by looking at your front page, you are missing the point of doing a Web site.
For a moment, imagine your Web site to be a real brick-and-mortar store. Would it make sense to require potential customers passing by on the street to go inside, all the way in the back, up to the manager’s office before knowing what your business is all about, why you are unique and why they should do business with you? Of course, not.
posted at 06:52 am on August 22, 2006 by Walter Wlodarski