Writing Skills Can be Learnt
I've been with WA for two months now and I've tried to help out by reviewing as many sites as I can in the limited time I have available. Two full-time jobs and two kids don't leave much but we all have to do something to keep the wolf from the door, right?
One thing I've noticed time after time is that, despite some excellent ideas as far as niches go and some obviously very talented people in the website design arena, many of us are making some elementary gaffes when it comes to spelling, punctuation and grammar. I've said it before and I'll say it again, these errors absolutely scream 'amateur'!
To give an example, thankfully not from a WA site, I was browsing the web and saw one of the millions of 'work from home' opportunities. I thought I'd have a look out of curiosity and within the first line I was told how I could make a fortune running my own 'busniess'. I clicked off immediately, I didn't even bother reading further. If they can't spell that word, they certainly can't be trusted to know what they're talking about.
It's also true that many people with great business ideas aren't usually great writers and vice versa. Organising a clear, logical sequence of ideas and information is a skill but, like any other skill, it can be learnt.
There are plenty of sites, often free, which can help show you how to write more clearly yourself and there are also plenty of copy-writers and proof-readers who will clean up your prose if it's not your strong point. Some of them will, of course, expect payment but if you look for someone who's just starting out, they may offer to check your site for free in exchange for a testimonial for their portfolio.
All of us in WA are on a learning curve, myself included, so don't be discouraged if you find it difficult to express yourself well in writing. I have an English Language and Literature honours degree and have been teaching English writing skills for years but even I still make some real howlers!
One other thing I want to mention is media. Apparently, more people now use a smartphone for web-browsing than a computer. A friend of mine recently visited me and I asked her to check out my website ( www.startesolteaching.com ) which she did on her phone. It looks rather different on the smaller screen. Long paragraphs and big chunks of text don't seem to look as readable so it may be a good idea to check your site yourself on your own phone or, as I did, ask someone to do it for you and give you feedback.
Anyway, that's a long enough chunk of text from me, let me know what you think.
Recent Comments
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You bring up a very interesting point and this applies to us all.I normally read my text about five times and each time I find an error.
Thanks for sharing
I really like this post. For example I am someone who wants to train his writing skill and I think it's a great exercise writing posts for the own website (i always read some related posts on other sites before I start writing)
And about the mobile phone story... The same happened to me! A friend said to me that on the phone the site doesn't look so well... So for the beginning I found a good plugin named mobify that makes your wordpress blog mobile friendly.
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Amen! I thought I was the only one who was bothered by the spelling and grammar errors. Usually running spell-check will help with the spelling, but not syntax and grammar. The word can be correctly spelled and still be the wrong word! Thanks for sharing. Much success to you!