A team section on your homepage: yes or no?

Key takeaways

A team section on a homepage is worth including when buyers deal directly with your people, such as in clinics, trades, law and accountancy. Show the few people a customer will meet, with real photos and one line on each. Where the people are not part of the decision, a link to your about page is enough.

• Include it when buyers will deal with these people.
• Show two to four people, not the whole staff.
• Use real photos and useful one-line bios.
• Get staff consent, and plan for leavers.

Should a homepage show the team?

Show the team when the people are part of what is being bought. A patient choosing a dentist or a homeowner letting someone in cares who will arrive. For a product business, a team section adds little. Ask whether a buyer would feel more certain having seen these faces.

• How to create a high-converting homepage for an SME
• Team photos on your website: what works and what does not
• A short about section for your homepage

How many people should appear?

Show two to four people on the homepage, usually the leaders or the people customers meet first. A full staff grid belongs on a team page. A small, clear selection is easier to take in, and it avoids the page looking out of date each time someone leaves.

• Which homepage sections can you leave out?

What should each person's line say?

Give the person's name, role and one fact that matters to a buyer, such as a qualification or years of relevant experience. 'Sarah, lead engineer, 14 years in commercial refrigeration' does more than a list of hobbies. A touch of personality is fine, if the useful fact comes first.

• Author bios on a business blog: show who wrote it

What should you do about photos?

Use real, recent photos taken in the same style, so that the group looks like one team. They do not need to be studio portraits; photos taken at work often feel more honest. Stock images of 'the team' are worse than none, because buyers will notice when they meet someone else.

• A homepage photo shot list for a half-day shoot
• Stock photos on a business website: when they hurt

What about privacy and staff turnover?

Get staff agreement before publishing a name and photo, and explain how they can ask for removal. A photograph of an identifiable person is personal data under UK GDPR. Plan for leavers too: agree who removes the profile promptly, because a former employee's face on your site looks careless.

• Is your website putting off job candidates?

When should you leave it out?

Leave it out if your staff change often, if you sell products rather than people, or if individuals have safety concerns about being named. It also adds little in a large firm, where buyers will not meet the people shown. A line on your experience, linked to the about page, does the job.

• About page for a small business: build trust fast

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see at small firms: a team grid that still features two people who left over a year ago, spotted first by a customer asking for them. Showing fewer people, and making one person responsible for changes, keeps this section credible with far less effort.

• See client work
• Website Design & Development for UK businesses

Homepage team section checklist

• Check that buyers will meet these people.
• Limit the homepage to two to four.
• Use a matching photo style.
• Write one useful fact per person.
• Get each person's agreement.
• Name who updates it when staff leave.

• A portfolio section that shows your best work
• A comparison section: you vs the alternatives

Next step

Ask a recent customer whether knowing the team influenced their choice. If they say yes, put those faces on your homepage. If not, a line and a link will do.