The About page is the most visited page on most architecture practice websites after the homepage. It is also the most frequently written for the wrong audience. Most About pages are written to impress peers, lists of qualifications, founding dates, studio sizes and award credits. The people making commissioning decisions want something different.

What a practice director, developer or housing association reads on an About page is a set of signals: does this practice understand people like me? Do they have relevant experience? Would I trust them with a project? The copy, the photography and the structure all contribute to those answers, or fail to.

The most effective About pages for built environment practices share a clear structure. They open with a positioning statement that is specific rather than aspirational. They describe the kind of work the practice does best, the clients they serve, and the approach that makes them distinctive. They introduce the team with specificity, not just names and roles, but what each person brings. And they close with a reason to get in touch.