How to Write a Bio for Your Website

Raise your hand if you’ve ever said this:

“Writing copy for my website would be so much easier if I didn’t have to write about myself.”

I hear this ALL the time from my website design clients.

You’re not alone. Many creatives find it easier to talk about their clients than their own work. Sometimes we can be too close to our own work to know how to effectively communicate how much value we bring to our ideal clients.

This is especially true when you try to write a bio.

Your bio can be used in a few different ways. It is often found on your About page, but it can be repurposed for social media platforms, your blog, other pages on your website, and more.

Having a bio that explains who you are, what you do, and who you help is essential to your growth as an online business owner.

If you are struggling with how to write a bio for your website, I’ll show you every element you need to make it pop on your About page and give you a few real-life examples to kickstart your brainstorming process.

Writing a website bio can be easier than you think if you follow along these tips.

6 things to consider when you write a bio for your website

Before I cut you loose to write your own bio, it’s important to know which elements need to go into your bio. Otherwise, you run the risk of creating a bio that doesn’t tell your audience what they want to know, or tells them way too much.

So where do you start?

This is what I recommend doing.

Determine your voice

One of the first questions to ask yourself is if it makes sense for your bio to be written in first person or third person. What I mean by this is determining if you want your bio to read from the point-of-view of an “I” or “she/he.”

A first-person voice would say “I want to help clients achieve their dreams,” whereas third-person says “She wants to help clients achieve their dreams.”

You might want to write in first person if you are building a personal brand or want to come across as more friendly and approachable. This is a great fit for creatives who are solopreneurs or the main face of their brand.

Writing in third person means taking the perspective of an outsider. It reads like someone is talking about you rather than having you talk about yourself. It can appear more academic and professional, which may be a fit if your audience is attracted to a formal style of writing.

Once you’ve made this decision, you’ll want to think about if an “I” or “we” voice feels like the best fit. You could use “we” if you want your brand to appear larger or to come across as a unified team. There’s no right or wrong way to do this!

Not sure which one is the right fit for you?

To make your decision easier, here’s is an example written in the three styles I reviewed above:

• First Person (“I” Voice): Hi, my name is Sarah Blodgett, and I’m passionate about helping clients turn their dream vision into a fully functional and beautiful Showit website.
• Third Person (“She/He” Voice): Sarah Blodgett is a Showit website designer who is passionate about helping clients turn their big vision into a reality.
• “We” Voice: At Digital Grace Design, we are a Showit website design studio who helps clients turn their dreams into websites that turn passive visitors into passionate clients.

Choose a title and determine who you want to serve

One of the first things someone will see in your professional bio is your title. This can be anything that describes what you do and what you help clients with. 

Try to keep this title simple so it’s easy to understand. You might be tempted to use a title like “chief wordsmith” or “brand magician” for a fun flair, but it’s better to be clear than clever with your title. In this example, using “editor-in-chief” or “brand designer” would be ideal. 

After you have a title picked out, you’ll want to determine who your ideal audience is. It’s so much easier to write your bio when you know who you want to serve. Then, you can pair your ideal audience with your title to explain exactly what you do.

Here are a few examples to help you brainstorm:

• Event planner for destination weddings in Italy
• Hand-drawn illustrator for SaaS companies
• Avante garde makeup artist for fashion brands
• Showit website designer for wedding pros and creatives (that’s me!)

Highlight your accomplishments

No matter where you are in your career, you have accomplishments to highlight in your bio.

Whether it’s a certain amount of years you’ve been in business, notable clients you’ve been able to work with, or how many clients you’ve partnered with, you can include this information in your website bio.

If you don’t have the numbers yet, don’t worry. You can still add things you’ve accomplished that you are proud of. This could look like a specific project that generated great results or a specific business goal you achieved.

Have you won an award that will wow your audience? This is the perfect detail to add to your bio. You don’t need it to be in the first sentence, but find a way to work it into your bio. 

For example, when I won the 2019 Showit Designer of the Year award, I knew I wanted to include it in my bio but I didn’t want to begin with it. That way, it felt like a natural progression to my story as a website designer rather than coming off as potentially “braggy.”  You can do the same with your award.

When possible, try to mention accomplishments that are relevant to your field. It’s really cool if you were named Best Smile or Most Likely to Succeed in high school, but ask yourself how this information is useful to your audience. Awards are best when they are specialized to your industry and what you do for a living.

Don’t forget your core values

Remember when I mentioned how important it is to mention who you like to work with? In order to make a better connection with them, you’ll want to use the last part of your bio to explain your core values. This can also include your beliefs as a business owner.

Consider your core values to be the guiding principles of your business, the qualities and attributes anchoring the work you do every day.

Let’s say, for example, your core values are service, vision, and excellence. With these in mind, you could create a sentence that speaks to the core values you and your audience share within your bio.

Here’s a few samples on how to do this for different industries:

• For a wedding florist who values excellence: “Our minimal yet stunning designs are handcrafted with care using the highest quality florals in our local market.”
• For a yoga instructor who values service: “Our yoga studio caters to growing families, providing daycare for young children while parents refocus on themselves with mindful meditation and yoga practices.”
• For an interior designer who values vision: “My design philosophy starts with enhancing the features already found in your home, helping us uncover its story as we create a vision of our own.”

There are many ways you can work your core values into your bio, so get creative with this part. Just make sure the “why” behind your work is just as apparent as the “what” and “how.”

Give an inside look into who you are outside of work

Everything up to this point has been focused on your professional background, so now it’s time to infuse more of your personality into your bio. This is the perfect opportunity for you to share what you like to do for fun.

This can either look like a:

• List of your favorite things (like this example from my client Cari Long Photography)
• Timeline (like this example from my client Glossible)
• Fun quiz (like this example from Jenna Kutcher)
• List of fun facts (like this example from Vero Amore Weddings)

You can get creative with this section!

Include any other necessary details

Since your bio’s main goal is to tell your audience a little bit more about you and your brand, you’ll be able to tell if it needs any more information. 

This framework gives you a great start, but feel free to include any additional facts and stories that will make it stand out. Have fun with it!

4 website bios I love from DGD clients

Okay, now that you have everything you need to start writing your own website bio, I wanted to show you a few examples from my clients at Digital Grace Design.

Of course, you aren’t meant to copy what they have here word-for-word but rather take inspiration from the examples that inspire you most. I’ll share what I specifically like about each one so you know why I thought it was worth it to share them.

Let’s dig in!

What I love about Cari Long Photography’s bio:

• Strong point-of-view: I like how Cari doesn’t shy away from sharing how long she has been a photographer and documenter of important memories as it shows her ideal clients how much experience she has.
• Importance of her craft: After reading Cari’s bio, it’s clear how much she values her own photographs as they hang on walls and are tucked away into scrapbooks, which shows how significant photography is to her and her ideal clients.
• Timeline: This bio shows how Cari has valued photography from high school to college to being a mom, so she knows how to capture life’s milestones for other clients.

From Cari Long Photography’s About page

 

What I love about Providence Vineyard’s bio:

• Differentiator: Their bio explains what makes their venue space different from other venues in the area, talking about how they provide the luxuries of the city in a more relaxing setting.
• Core values: Their bio is written with the “we” voice because they are family-owned and thus, it is run by a team of family members who care about their clients’ weddings because they see them as family gatherings.
• Belief statements: In addition to their core values, the team at Providence Vineyard also ends their bio with a strong belief statement: “We believe in building relationships with our clients, and our integrity and steadfast dedication is at the core of who we are.”

From Providence Vineyard’s About page

 

What I love about Refine’s bio:

• Personal story: Even though Refine was passed down to Amber from its original founder, Amber relates her story to other wedding planners who are just like her in this bio. This sentence says it all: “I believe in Refine because I’m the product of Refine.”
• Specific transformations: Amber from Refine doesn’t shy away from stating the specifics in her bio, like how she went from drowning with 30 weddings a year to tripling her prices so she could take on only 6 weddings each year.
• Results: I like how Amber refocused on the results other wedding planners are able to get after investing in the Refine platform beyond her own personal experiences.

From Refine’s About page

 

What I love about Corry Frazier Photography’s bio:

• Thought-provoking question: Instead of jumping right into her bio, Corry starts with a self-reflective question that speaks to her audience’s main pain point (not knowing where they belong) and giving them an opportunity to take action (creating the feeling of belonging for themselves and others) in her title.
• Welcoming brand voice: As someone reads through Corry’s bio, they will either be immediately attracted to her fun and friendly voice or look elsewhere. This is a good thing!
• Relatable background: While not everyone who comes to Corry’s website will know what it’s like to be a military spouse, she relates her experience to others who may have experienced other hardships in their career through no fault of their own. This is a great way for Corry to connect with them on a deeper level.
  

From Corry Frazier Photography’s About page

 

Now you are ready to write your website bio!

Here are a few more helpful resources you might want to read before you launch your website:

• 5 Essential Things You Need on Your ABOUT Page
• 6 Essential Things You Need on Your SERVICES Page
• 5 Essential Things You Need on Your HOME Page
• 6 Website Mistakes You Could be Making