“What should I put on my About page?” Start with what the homeowner has been told to check. The FTC’s consumer advice on avoiding home improvement scams says to “consider only contractors who are licensed and insured,” to confirm the license with the state or county, and to ask for proof of insurance. It also suggests searching the company’s name with words like “scam,” “review” or “complaint.” Connecticut’s consumer protection department goes further: “Ask for a current copy of the contractor’s worker’s compensation and liability insurance policies and verify that they are active.”
An About page that answers those checks before she asks does two jobs. It saves her a phone call, and it tells her you expect to be checked. Google looks at the same page from its side: one of the questions in its guide to helpful content is whether a site gives “background about the author or the site that publishes it, such as through links to an author page or a site’s About page.” Here is what goes on it, and the claims to be careful with.
The license: number, name and what it covers
Put every license or registration you hold on the page as the agency issued it: the number, the classification and the exact business name on the license. Then tell her how to check it, with the name of the state’s lookup page. A number she can look up herself is worth more than a paragraph about quality.
In some states this is not optional. California’s Business and Professions Code §7030.5 requires the license number in “all forms of advertising,” and the Contractors State License Board’s advertising guide counts “any website or post that solicits business on the Internet” as advertising. Your License Number in Ads covers the penalties, the other states with the same kind of rule, and two more California rules that shape this page: advertise only within the classifications you hold, so the services you list must match the license, and never advertise that you are bonded. Wherever you are, use the word the agency uses: if your state registers home improvement contractors rather than licensing them, say registered.
Insurance: say what you carry, not “fully insured”
“Licensed and insured” is a phrase anyone can type, so on its own it tells her little. Name the coverage instead: general liability, workers’ compensation if you have employees, commercial auto for the trucks. Then add one line: “Ask us for a current certificate of insurance and we will send one.” That line answers the Connecticut checklist before she reads it, and sending the certificate fast is its own proof. Contractor Insurance explains what each policy covers.
Be careful with “fully insured.” The FTC looks at an ad “from the point of view of the ‘reasonable consumer,’” including what it implies, and “fully” can be read as coverage for whatever goes wrong, when a policy covers only what it lists, up to its limits. Say what you have.
Every claim on the page needs proof on file
The FTC’s small-business guide sums up the rules in three parts: advertising “must be truthful and non-deceptive,” advertisers “must have evidence to back up their claims,” and ads “cannot be unfair.” The timing matters: “The law requires that advertisers have proof before the ad runs.” The FTC also says it reads the whole ad, “words, phrases, and pictures,” for what it claims outright and what it implies.
For a contractor’s About page, that turns into a short test for each line:
Reviews and testimonials have their own federal rules. If you quote customers on the page, read Testimonials on Your Website first.
Real faces, and who actually shows up
A homeowner letting a stranger into her house wants to know which stranger. The most useful thing on the page is the person she will meet: the owner’s name and photo, and the people who will be on her job. Google asks site owners the same question about any page: “Is it self-evident to your visitors who authored your content?”
Google also draws a hard line on faking it. Its guide says “fabricating creator profiles (such as by using AI-generated headshots, made-up names, or false credentials to make content appear as if it was written by human experts) is a form of deception,” and that “any form of deception makes a page untrustworthy to both users and our automated quality systems.” A stock photo of a smiling crew in matching shirts makes a similar promise. Since the FTC reads pictures as part of the claim, a picture that says “this is our team” should be your team.
Real photos do not need a photographer. A phone, daylight and five minutes at the shop will do:
Update the crew photo when the crew changes. A page that shows people who left last year has the same problem as a stock photo.
How you work and where
Google’s guide frames trust around who made something, how and why. For a contractor, the how is a few plain lines about the way a job goes: how the estimate works, whether the price is in writing before work starts, who she talks to during the job, and what your workmanship warranty covers. The why is one or two sentences of your story, if it is true and short. Add the towns or counties you serve. Leave out the mission statement; The Website Pages a Contractor Needs covers what the rest of the site should carry.
A page outline you can fill in tonight
- Who we are: the owner’s name and photo, one line of history you can prove.
- License: every number, classification and the name as licensed, with where to check it.
- Insurance: each coverage by name, and the offer of a current certificate.
- Who shows up: the crew by name and role, real photos.
- How a job works: estimate, written price, contact during the job, warranty.
- Where we work: towns or counties in one sentence.
Then read every sentence on it once and ask: could I show the proof today? If not, change the sentence.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and vary by state; check with the agency named above or a professional for your situation.