First impressions matter when you visit an Architecture/Engineering/Construction company’s website. After landing on the home page, visitors often click the About section to learn more about the company’s identity, mission, and values.
What will visitors find when visiting this section of your A/E/C firm’s website? Are you using the About section to build credibility and connect with the reader? Or are you just stating facts?
Above all, visitors want to know if you can help them solve their problems and earn their trust. Recruits seek information to help them decide if they would fit in with your company, and other stakeholders want to know if you’ll be a good partner.
According to 2024 research by Beaton Research + Consulting, trust is a key element of a successful partnership with an A/E/C firm. When clients trust a firm, Beaton reports, they are:
- Almost certain to consider using the firm again in the future
- Two and a half times as likely to use that firm the most
- More than twice as likely to be prepared to pay higher fees to use the same firm
A/E/C prospects and clients typically want to work for firms they know, like, and trust. Your website’s About section is a prime opportunity to begin building that trust.
Strengthening Connections Through Your About Section
If you want visitors to spend more time at your site, consider including personal stories and compelling videos. The About section can bridge the gap between your firm’s technical qualifications and emotional connections that help build trust
To make the most of this essential page, try these steps:
- Review this website page for relevancy and accuracy
- Explore About sections from similar firms for inspiration
- Update details about services, personnel, or recent achievements
- Personalize the messaging to reflect your company’s culture
- Add a video to enhance your message and showcase your team or clients
Personal Stories Engage Readers
When A/E/C prospects explore industry firms, they’re not just evaluating technical capabilities—they’re looking for differentiators that signal your firm’s ability to solve their problems and deliver successful projects.
What’s your differentiator? How does it resonate with stakeholders?
For example, my About section highlights my experience providing corporate communications for the A/E/C industry and co-owning three weekly newspapers. These experiences give me unique insights into crafting compelling narratives for my clients.
Your firm’s About section can do the same by emphasizing your strengths and differentiators. Adding a human touch—whether through personal anecdotes, team highlights, or values-driven messaging—can forge deeper connections with visitors.
Connect Through Videos
Stories provide the narrative foundation for your company’s About section, but videos can take that connection to the next level by bringing your firm’s personality to life. Together, these elements encourage visitors to spend more time on your site.
Faith Dey, owner of Live Well Video, Madison, Wisconsin, recommends using video to connect more with your audience. “If they see your face and hear your voice, they can get an impression of your personality,” she says. “They get a sense of who you are before they’ve met you in person.”
Videos can help announce significant milestones or changes. For example, Dey created videos for an engineering company celebrating its 30th anniversary. One video featured the existing CEO who was “ready to pass the baton to new leadership.”
Once you have a video, you can repurpose it in various ways, including on a company website, LinkedIn company page, and for recruiting.
For example, Woolpert, an architecture, engineering, geospatial (AEG), and strategic consulting firm, uses a video to showcase its vision: “We seek to move the world forward through forward thinking.”
Depending on the complexity of a company’s video, it could be developed in-house, or professional assistance may be required.
Dey suggests that a company’s video for its About section could focus on three areas:
- Origin story
- Mission
- Values
These themes allow leaders to share their passion and connect authentically with stakeholders.
Depending on your resources, your team might produce these videos in-house, or you could enlist professional help for a polished product. Longer videos can live on your website, while shorter 30-second snippets can be shared on LinkedIn or social media to draw viewers back to your site.
“Every company should have some sort of video strategy to stay top of mind and build trust,” Dey says.
Maximize Your Website’s About Section
Now that it’s 2025, it’s a great time to review your About section. Revisit your information: Can you add new insights, project stories, or client quotes?
When you meet a prospect or recruit, you want to connect with them on a personal level before discussing details. The same goes for your company’s About section. How is your firm different, and why should someone care?
Schedule some time to update your About section or create a new one if needed. You may discover that your firm’s priorities have changed, or you can repurpose testimonials or stories to enhance your brand.
Consider adding a video to reveal your firm’s mission and differentiators. Depending on your budget, turn to professionals or train in-house talent to produce engaging short videos that showcase your story.
Fresh content and videos help visitors understand your firm’s values, expertise, and what sets you apart. Use this opportunity to make your message personal and impactful.
Want to Know More?
Your About section is more than just another web page … it’s a trust-building tool that can set your firm apart. Use this popular website area to help strengthen connections with your stakeholders.
If you’d like to explore how storytelling and case studies can build relationships with your stakeholders, reach out or share your challenges in the comments. Contact me at blaizecommunications@gmail.com or visit blaizecommunications.com.
Have you updated your website’s About section recently? Let me know what’s working for you—or how I can help take it to the next level.