Taylor Stitch: “About Us” Evaluation by Corporate History.net

Taylor Stitch, a San Francisco-based company founded in 2008 by Michael Maher, Barrett Purdum, and Mike Armenta, originally produced custom shirts to modernized designs. Two years later, with hundreds of measurements on file, they began selling ready-made shirts that are updated versions of classics such as button-downs. Taylor Stitch operates a shop in the Mission District, a website, and pop-up stores. The company was written up in Entrepreneur magazine (December 2012) as “Tailor-made Transactions.” Its About Us page is here.

OVERALL GRADE: B

Products/Services: B

Under the heading “Our Story” on the About Us page, we learn why the founders started the company, how they arranged reliable manufacturing, and how they refined the styles and sizes available. Bravo: this is precisely the sort of factual corporate storytelling that might persuade us to buy a bespoke shirt from them. To intrigue us further, we’d love to see diagrams or photos that contrast the details of a shirt from Taylor Stitch with the same item in a mass-produced brand.

The company cashes in on its growing reputation with a Press page of links to media coverage. We recommend adding the title and date of the article below the name of each publication, so that if a link is broken, we can still search the article. If we’re interested enough to get to this page and click on a link, the revamping of someone else’s site shouldn’t be allowed to thwart our curiosity. Remember our Commandment #7 of About Us Pages: Keep Navigation Easy.

Accessibility: B

If your business offers custom rather than mass-produced goods, it’s especially important to give contact information frequently. Taylor Stitch includes their phone and email at the end of the “Our Story” section on the About Us page.

Personality: C

One odd omission: the About Us page speaks in first person plural, but never mentions the names of the founders of the company. Is that them in the photo? Why not add a corporate storytelling caption that gives names and explains what’s up with the bicycle and bearskin? We do like the subtle reinforcement of the company’s tagline: Handmade in America.

TAKEAWAY

Taylor Stitch’s About Us page focuses not on the company history, but on the ideas that inspired the company and continue to drive it. Actually, that is corporate history. This is a good choice for a 5-year-old company: well done.

Does your Web site’s “About Us” section accurately convey your organization’s history and capabilities? Every two weeks we evaluate one example, grading it in three areas that are key to potential customers: Personality (Who are you?), Products/Services (What can you do for us?), and Accessibility (How can we reach you?). Today’s example was chosen at random; CorporateHistory.net has no ties to this company. To talk about your About Us page, contact us!