Your About Me Page Tells the World About Yourself
by Maeve
eBay Staff Member

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it." – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Have you ever noticed a little icon next to an eBay member's User ID? It links to that member's personal Web page on eBay. The About Me page lets each of our members create a free Web page that reflects their personality, showcases their collections, and gives trading partners a glimpse into what kind of person is at the other end of the transaction.

Savvy members use their About Me pages to share their expertise in all aspects of eBay with other people. Many include information and resources on their About Me pages that help other members find answers to frequently asked questions in areas like problem resolution, buying, shipping, payments, and more. A good About Me page not only informs the world about the kind of person you are, but also builds your credibility as an eBay member. Ultimately this can increase the marketability of your items, as well.

Building your own About Me page is easy! While creating an About Me page that is just right for you could take a little bit of time, in the long run it's worth the effort and care that you lavish on it. It's a window into your personality and experience on eBay. eBay member *zip likes to find interesting information about the buyer or seller on their About Me page. “Go ahead and let your hair down a bit on your About Me page. Show a little more personality, or tell me things about you or your business that aren't in the listings or available through the other links on the item page.”

It's equally important to know what information to leave out of your About Me page. For merrygocats, an inconsiderately designed and inordinately long page can leave a bad impression. “My list of things to exclude from an About Me Page includes long, never-ending paragraphs of text about yourself that nobody would dream of reading, lots of huge, hefty pictures that nobody would dream of waiting long enough to download, a preachy attitude, or a rant about a negative eBay experience.”

To help members share their thoughts, ideas, and best practices on About Me pages, we recently started an About Me Page discussion board. Here you can find expert members to answer just about any question you might have on About Me pages. Visit the board regularly to get the flow of ideas on your About Me page going. You'll find members sharing a myriad of ideas on page design, backgrounds, placing photos, even tips on using HTML. Armed with this information, you can start your own little project to create an About Me page that is uniquely yours.

In addition to the discussion board, another useful resource you may want to consider is eBay Groups. The About Me Page Group was started with the idea that anyone with a minimal amount of help can create an eye-catching About Me page. This Group has members who are experts in Web page design, as well as others who are just starting out. The idea is to help each other learn about, create, and share their About Me pages. And, of course, to have fun doing it.

Many of our members have created very useful tutorials to help others develop their own About Me Pages. Here is a basic set of "how to's" from shipscripts:

”Here is a basic set of 'how to's':

• How wide? People viewing your page may have a different screen resolution than you do, so what looks good on your screen may be too wide on their screen. About a third of viewers have screens that are set to 800 pixels wide, so it is a good idea to make sure that your photos and content are no wider than that, or they'll have to scroll sideways.
• Breaking up your Page – A page should not run on and on. It is easier to navigate if it is broken into groups of ideas, or sections with headings, making it easier for the viewer to skip around to the areas that most interest them.
• Photos – Photos are wonderful to have on an About Me page. eBay Picture Services won't host your About Me page photos, so you would need to put your photos online where they can be seen by others. Frequently your own Internet service provider offers free Web space along with your subscription. Alternatively, you can use eBay Photo Manager or an image host to store your online photos.
• Fonts and Lettering – A viewer can only see the font styles that are actually on their own machine, so it is fruitless to design a page using spiffy fonts that others can't see. eBay's page-designer provides the basic fonts that almost all viewers can see.
• Text Colors – When users first discover that they can add color to their text, the rainbow effect ensues. It's fun to play with and exciting to see mastery over the results. However, once the discovery phase has passed, there are a few tried-and-true guidelines. Color should be used to help the reader navigate or pass through a transition in content. Two or three font colors are the maximum one should use on a page - one color for titles, one for body text, and a third for highlights or a change in theme.
• Text Sizes – The size of your text is also important. Headings should be big enough, or in a different color, so that they stand out against the rest of the text. Just like having too many text colors, you can have too many sizes and too many font styles. Stick with just a few basics on your page. Change the size, color, or style only when it is important to emphasize or otherwise convey meaning.
• Paragraphs and White Space – In advertising, white space is king. There should be a margin of empty space all around your page and text. Writing in paragraphs, and leaving gaps between blocks of text, provides a resting point that allows the reader to absorb what has been written before continuing to the next idea.
• Page and Background Colors – This is where you can get the most impact for very little design effort, but it is important to understand how the eye reacts to colors. The easiest reading is dark text on a light background. There are certain color combinations that can not be used together because they cause eye-jitter. Also be aware that color-blind people may not be able to distinguish between colors of the same intensity (red and green being the most difficult combination).”

When you're ready to build your About Me Page, here's how you can find the link to get started:

1. Click on “Community” at the top of most eBay pages
2. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.
3. Click on the "Create an About Me Page" link in the "More Community Programs" box.

You can also start creating your About Me page by clicking here.

Please keep in mind that About Me pages are governed by the same policies that guide the rest of your interaction on eBay. Be sure to review the About Me page guidelines while creating your page.

We'd like to thank all our contributors and other eBay members for their generous contributions of time and expertise in helping others succeed on eBay.