Displaying personal photos: good or bad?

[wyspa03]

Do pages like “meet our team”, “about us” and similar help? I’ve come across some research saying that by displaying photos of site owners/project managers and etc. you significantly boost customer trust and reassurance, which leads to increasing sales. Is there a perfect example of such a page? I’ve recently struggled with the whole concept and finally come up with this:www.signature-gems.com/about.html (http://www.signature-gems.com/about.html) What’re your thoughts on this matter?

[ReviewGolf.com]

I think it greatly depends on the type of business. If you hire a handyman who will be working in your house, I guess it's not a bad idea to check the guy out. On the other hand I could not care less to see Best Buy sales team photo, for example.

[bathgems]

I always put my picture on my sites. I hate the idea of buying something from an anonymous website. Show me a picture and it increases my trust immediately. Not total trust though, just a boost.

Steve

[Frocked]

I agree, it all depends on what your Site is for. I have recently been advised to put my image onto our online boutique but had aways steered away from this, ...but am now looking into it.
Looking at Signature-Gems, the pic & accompanying text do portray a real image of the company, & a reassurance of what they are/stand for.
www.frocked.co.uk

[wyspa03]

Yeah.. at the end of the day it should not hurt but it gives a personal touch, a better shopping experience..

[ootilia]

Just my 0.02$...

... while I believe posting small pictures in a page like "about us" or "meet the team" is beneficial and gives a human face to a business, I think one must also think of the possibly negative impact.

It all goes down to the type of business and website we're talking about, however I can't help but cringe when I think of all home-business (mostly affiliate) websites with large pictures of the site owner spotting a toothpaste-commercial kind of smile.

My personal choice would be to use discretion, and certainly not display these pictures on the homepage.

[khurramali]

I put the people right on front on the home page, who are behind the website.

check out www.adoptiondoctors.com and www.rbkpeds.com

I put the emphasis on people who provide the services.

[Frocked]

As ootilia states - discretion & placement matter, & also suitability for what your Site is for. That face in the image represents your company, so needs to be attractive to your specific type of customers - we are all different & maybe some may not be put off with a toothpaste grin! A large self-promoting image may suit one company where that person is the company, but prove to have a totally negative impact if the company is selling multi-products/brands.