To write an about page that reads like a person, open with what you do and who you help in one plain sentence, then earn trust with one real story instead of a wall of adjectives, show a little personality in your own voice, and end with a single clear next step. Write it in the first person, cut every word a stranger could not verify, and make sure a reader knows exactly what to do when they finish. The most common mistakes are the stiff third person, a pile of self-praise no one can check, and a page that just stops with no call to action.
The problem
Why most about pages read like a LinkedIn summary
Open ten about pages and nine of them sound the same. "Sarah is a passionate, results-driven designer with a proven track record of delivering dynamic solutions across a range of verticals." It is grammatically fine and completely dead. Nobody talks like that, nobody remembers it, and worst of all, nobody believes it, because every adjective in that sentence is a claim the reader cannot check.
The about page is the one page where a visitor is actively trying to decide whether they like you. They already know roughly what you do; that is why they clicked. What they are really asking is a quieter question: is this a person I want to work with, hire, or trust with my project? A LinkedIn summary cannot answer that, because it was written to survive a recruiter's keyword filter, not to make a human feel something.
So the fix is not better adjectives. It is a different goal. Stop writing a resume in paragraph form and start writing the way you would actually introduce yourself to someone you respect: plainly, in the first person, with one story that proves you are the real thing. The rest of this guide is how to do exactly that.
The structure
The four moves of an about page that works
Almost every about page worth reading does these four things in this order. Write them top to bottom and the page assembles itself.
Open with what you do and who you help.
The first sentence should tell a stranger, in plain words, what you do and who it is for. "I help early-stage founders turn a rough idea into a product people pay for." No warm-up, no history, no "welcome to my page." If the reader learns only that one line, they should already know whether to keep going.
Earn trust with one real story.
Pick a single, specific moment that proves the pitch: a project you shipped, a problem you fixed, the reason you got into this work. One concrete story does more than a paragraph of self-description, because a story is something the reader can picture and a list of adjectives is not. Name the situation, what you did, and what changed.
Show a little personality.
This is the one page where your voice is allowed to show, so let it. A dry aside, an honest opinion, the thing you care about more than you probably should. Personality is not unprofessional; it is the difference between a page a reader forgets and a page that makes them think, "I like this person." People hire people.
End with one clear next step.
Never let the page just stop. Tell the reader exactly what to do next and give them only one obvious option: read the work, book a call, download the resume, send an email. A single clear next step converts; five competing links or a dead end at the bottom of the page does not.
The fixes
The three mistakes, and what to do instead
Nearly every weak about page fails in one of three predictable ways. Each one has a simple fix.
Voice
Drop the third person
Writing "Sarah is a designer who believes in..." on your own page reads like an obituary someone else wrote. Switch to "I." The first person is warmer, more honest, and it is how a real introduction actually sounds. You are the one talking; write like it.
Proof
Trade adjectives for specifics
Passionate, dynamic, results-driven, and detail-oriented are words anyone can type about anyone. They carry no information. Replace them with one thing you actually did and the reader can verify. A specific beats a superlative every single time.
Action
Add the call to action
A page that ends without a next step is a conversation that trails off. Decide what you want the reader to do and ask for it plainly. One button, one link, one line: "Want to work together? Here is how to reach me."
Length
Cut it in half
Most about pages are twice as long as they should be. The reader is skimming. Say the important thing first, keep the paragraphs short, and delete every sentence that is warming up rather than saying something.
Tone
Write it like you talk
Read the page out loud. If a sentence would make you cringe to say to a real person over coffee, rewrite it until it would not. The goal is not casual; the goal is human. Confident and plain beats formal and stiff.
Focus
Make it about the reader
An about page is nominally about you, but it works when it answers the reader's question: what can this person do for me? Frame your story around the value you create, not a chronological tour of everywhere you have worked.
The examples
Before and after: three rewrites
Here is the third-person, adjective-stuffed opener you see everywhere: "Sarah Chen is a passionate and results-driven product designer with a proven track record of delivering dynamic, user-centric solutions for a diverse portfolio of clients." Now the rewrite: "I am Sarah, a product designer. I help small teams turn a confusing product into one people can actually use, and I get a slightly unhealthy amount of joy from deleting features nobody needs." The second one is shorter, it is in the first person, and it has a specific, human opinion buried in it. You already like her more.
Take the trust problem next. The weak version: "Highly experienced professional with expertise across multiple industries and a commitment to excellence." That is four claims and zero evidence. The rewrite earns it with a story: "A few years ago a client came to me with a checkout flow that was quietly losing them a third of their sales. We stripped it from seven steps to three, and the drop-off problem went away. That is the kind of work I do: find the expensive thing hiding in plain sight, and fix it." One real story does what a stack of adjectives never could.
And the ending. Most about pages close with something like "Feel free to reach out!" floating at the bottom with no link. The fix is a single, concrete next step: "If you are wrestling with a product that feels harder to use than it should, I would love to take a look. Here is my email, and here is my resume." Same warmth, but now the reader knows exactly what to do, and there is only one thing to do. That is the whole difference between a page that reads like a person and one that reads like a LinkedIn summary.
At a glance
The LinkedIn summary versus the human about page
Same facts, two completely different pages. The right-hand column is the one that gets a reply.
| Capability | Folio | The LinkedIn-summary about page |
|---|---|---|
| Point of view | First person, in your own voice | Third person, like someone wrote it for you |
| Opening line | What you do and who you help, in plain words | A pile of adjectives before any real information |
| Proof | One specific story the reader can picture | "Results-driven, passionate, proven track record" |
| Personality | A real opinion or aside that shows a human | Sanded smooth until it could be anyone |
| Ending | One clear next step the reader can take | The page just stops, or "feel free to reach out" |
The facts on both pages are identical. Only the writing changed, and the writing is the entire point.
The finish
Give the page a home that matches the writing
A great about page still needs somewhere to live. If you paste this hard-won paragraph into a stiff template with a stock hero image and a contact form nobody fills in, the container fights the writing. The page should feel as personal as the words on it, which means a theme with room for your story, your work, and a single obvious next step, all published on a domain that is unmistakably yours.
This is where an all-in-one builder earns its keep. Folio gives you premium themes with an about section built for exactly this, plus the outcomes, experience, and testimonials that back up your story, and it publishes the whole thing on your own custom domain with the SEO handled for you. Its AI writing help drafts a first pass from your own profile using a leading AI model, so you get a starting point to sharpen rather than a blank page to dread, and you review and approve every word. You keep every word, and you can export it any time.
The method is simple enough to remember: open with what you do, prove it with one real story, let your personality show, and end with a clear next step. Write it the way you would actually introduce yourself, cut everything a stranger could not verify, and give it a home that matches. Do that and your about page stops reading like a resume in disguise and starts sounding like the person a reader actually wants to meet.
Frequently asked questions
How do I write an about page that sounds like a real person?
Write it in the first person, open with what you do and who you help in one plain sentence, and prove it with a single specific story instead of a list of adjectives. Read it out loud, and if a sentence would make you cringe to say to someone over coffee, rewrite it until it would not.
What should an about me page include?
A plain-language opener about what you do and who you help, one real story that earns the reader's trust, a bit of genuine personality in your own voice, and a single clear next step such as an email link, a call booking, or a downloadable resume. Keep it short and cut anything a stranger could not verify.
Should an about page be written in first or third person?
First person. On your own site, writing "Sarah is a designer who..." reads like an obituary someone else wrote about you. Switching to "I" is warmer, more honest, and matches how you would actually introduce yourself to a person you respect.
What are the most common about page mistakes?
The three big ones are writing in the stiff third person, filling the page with unverifiable adjectives like "passionate" and "results-driven" instead of specifics, and ending with no call to action. Fix them by switching to "I," trading adjectives for one real story, and closing with a single clear next step.
How long should an about page be?
Shorter than you think. Most about pages are twice as long as they need to be because they warm up for several sentences before saying anything. Lead with the important thing, keep paragraphs short, and delete every line that is throat-clearing rather than information.