Image Credit: Pexels
A team page is vital regardless of the type of website you run — research has shown that once on a homepage, 52% of visitors will want to see an ‘about us’ or team page.
A great team page can add a huge amount of brand value if done well, but all too often they can be so dull and uninformative that people don’t bother to stop and read them AT ALL.
Here are five team page design tips that will wow your visitors.
Don’t think your team page design is less important
When creating a website, adding a team page can feel like an afterthought: something that will be done at the end when the rest of the site is finished.
However, team page web design should be given as much weight as every other facet of creating a great website.
Thinking beyond the usual formula of just including images of your staff, with some brief information about their job role, will help create a team page that people will actually enjoy reading.
The design of the page should be consistent with the look and feel of the rest of your website, repeating similar aesthetic patterns and conventions. For example, if you have used bold colors on the rest of your site, carry that through to your team page design.
Clever team page design can also be used to showcase the culture and ethos of a company. You might want to include things like video and quirky animation to help bring your company page alive.
At the same time, video and animation are not the only ways to create a good-looking team page. Clarity is super important — something that the guys at Slow Food Usa knew all too well.
Their about us page has a clean and easy-to-read design that’s accessible and leverages the power of white space:
Good user experience and accessibility sometimes come down to doing the basic things well. Here, the use of headings and bullet points makes for an enjoyable read that’s easy to digest and effectively communicates the company mission.
Make your team page appropriate to your company
Your team page is part of the story you tell your customers about your brand — so the design inspiration must come from your brand values.
For example, visitors to a creative agency will be happy to find a fun and creative team page, whereas people looking for the faces behind a charity will expect a more sober and professional approach.
Take the examples below. The United Sports USA team page has a friendly and direct tone, likely to appeal to students:
It also has a slider of team members below, keeping students informed of who they are likely to be dealing with. All team members are presented with some background information on their sporting careers to help reassure students.
The team page for Doctors Without Borders is all about showcasing credentials. Small photos state the staff member’s job title, and on clicking through, the visitor finds a lot of information about their background and qualifications:
Credit: Doctors Without Borders
Credit: Doctors Without Borders
It’s a much more formal setup, but one that correlates with the organization’s mission.
Providing team pages that are congruent with your company’s values is an important design consideration.
Showcase genuine personality
If you step beyond the usual headshots, there is a lot of fun to be had when building team pages. Your team page design inspiration must come directly from the people who will be featured in it, and, where appropriate, should showcase who they are beyond their professional achievements.
Whilst in many cases the simplest way to do this is through using photos, there are more creative ways to do it.
Team page web design that looks beyond someone’s face is a new and exciting design trend.
This cute team page from Cherokee Animal Hospital has all team members posing with their fave pets and patients:
It’s a unique and totally appropriate way of introducing the caring Cherokee team.
For a non-profit like Plan USA, it makes more sense to put their mission at the forefront of their team page:
Plan USA want people to remember what keeps their team so passionate about their jobs. It’s all about the people they support.
Rushed off your feet? Stock photos can sometimes be a necessary evil of web design, but if you have to reach for stock visuals — at least some get some cool free pictures — and why not add your own twist to them with an overlay or other cool editing? It’s 100% possible to make stock imagery look bespoke — if you make a bit of an effort with your curation and editing.
Use language that engages and entertains your reader
If you want people to stop and read your team page, you have to make sure that the words on the page are interesting, informative, and entertaining. Keeping to a witty and upbeat tone will keep your readers engaged.
Creating a personable feel will generate goodwill for your team members and make your business seem personable and approachable. Even if your business is one that is traditionally seen to be boring or ‘serious’, injecting a little personality into the language of your team page helps foster relationships with site visitors.
Randstad USA’s page is direct and cuts through the corporate noise with its “hi” opener:
Sometimes it’s better to use direct and simple language, rather than reach for corporate jargon. Even in a B2B context, too much jargon will put people off.
Golfbreaks.com has a very text-heavy team page with plenty of interesting information about how different team members pass their time, and what they love about golf.
It’s a great way to reassure people who are passionate about golfing that their trip is in expert hands. Sometimes, lengthy team descriptions are an important way to build trust.
Include social media handles and other links
Go one step better by including social media handles and links to blogs, research and, other publications on your team page. Make it the center of your brand community — you already know that social sharing functions are essential to a great website.
Turning your pages into a treasure trove of interesting information will encourage people to hang around and explore them. Of course, you should check first what sort of content or opinions staff members are sharing before linking to them, as these could equally have a negative effect on your brand!
SEO experts Moz have made a real feature of including social media handles and other links on their team pages.
Below is the personal page of team member Abe, which includes more formal methods of engaging with him, such as a link to his portfolio and Twitter feed, alongside a link to some fun videos of him playing pop punk covers on the ukulele!
Credit: Moz
Not being open and transparent about who your company is can put visitors off — so make sure your team page is both informative and engaging.
Letting people know who is behind your brand will help give it personality and foster a feeling of trust.
Following the above tips will help you build a team page that will engage visitors and help convert them into customers — and eventually, brand advocates.
