Content is Nothing Without Proper Grammar and Spelling - 8 Tips
I have not been a member for very long. However, I have been here long enough to review several member's websites. The most glaring mistakes I see members making are spelling and grammar errors.
I believe that in order to have a successful online business, it is imperative that your website looks professional. It must have content that attracts customers, but more importantly, the content needs to written using proper grammar and spelling.
Personally, if I go to a website and see blatant spelling and grammar errors, I instantly have trust issues. No offense, but my first thoughts are that the person is unprofessional and ignorant. It totally turns me off to purchasing any of their products.
By now you may be thinking "Who does she think she is?" or "What makes her qualified to speak on this subject?" The short answer to that is I majored in English in college. I have had several jobs in the past that required excellent written communication skills.
I could write a book on this subject, however, my purpose of this blog is to give you a few quick grammar and spelling tips. I do not want draw this out or make it more complicated. You do not have to be perfect. My desire is to help you make your site more professional so you will attract customers.
TIPS:
- When typing content, instead of using contractions such as "can't" or "won't" or don't", type out the words cannot, will not, does not. If you insist on using the word can't, make sure you put the apostrophe in the word.
- The common grammar mistakes I see are misuse of words or using words that do not exist. Examples: (1) "You have nothing to loose." It should be you have nothing to lose. You would use loose as in "I have loose clothing." (2) "I have learnt a lot." Learnt is not a word. It should be learned.
- Their, there, they're. This is a biggie! Their is possessive, meaning it owns something. Example: "Their website has great content" not "There website has great content." There refers to a place or an idea. Example: "Look over there!" not "Look over their." They're is a contraction for they are. Example: "They're going out to eat" not "There going out to eat."
- Your, You're. Another common mistake! Both use the same rules as their and they're. Example: "Your new baby is cute" not "You're new baby is cute."
- Its, It's. It's is a contraction for it is or it has. Example: "It's awesome that you are making money with your new website" not "Its awesome that you are making money with your new website." Its indicates possession. Example: "Its fur is soft" not "It's fur is soft." That would be like saying It is fur is soft. TIP: Whenever you have trouble with words that have contractions, spell out the contraction and see if it makes sense.
- Affect, Effect. Most of the time effect is a noun and affect is a verb. Example: "As a child, he was affected by his parents." If you are unsure, try substituting another verb and see if it works. "As a child, he was
affectedeaten by his parents." A verb works here, so you should use affected. - Shorten your sentences and avoid run on sentences. Content is so much easier to read when a person writes concise sentences. Look at the sentence you just wrote and break up the sentence into smaller sentences. Example: "I love dogs and want to share my knowledge of dogs with you and sell you products that are good for dogs so your dog will be healthy and happy and I hope you check out what I have to offer" should be changed to read: "I love dogs. I want to share my knowledge of dogs with you. I sell products that will make your dog happy and healthy. Please check out what I have to offer."
- Finally, before you publish any pages on your website, type your content into a Word program and then do a spelling and grammar check. The check will not catch everything, but it is a good start.
Recent Comments
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I agree with you that it is sometimes disturbing (or have I to write another word?) as there are many faults (or mistakes?) in the content. I agree with Michelle,that it is not the most important subject concerning the content of the site. For me -writing a kind of dutchenglish :)- your tips are very helpful.
You're right! Writing in a second language could be a challenge. But since people of different tongues from all over the world are reading what we write, I'm inclined to think, well, how can we enforce perfection. On the other hand, if you choose to communicate in a particular language, say English for example, you better have a good command, otherwise you may fail to covey your message effectively.
Hey there, thank you for the tips! I'll check out my posts and most likely they won't read that professional. I know you mean well and i appreciate your advice, incidentally i have just written a blog that advocates "write-as-you -speak" and i'd like to remind my readers to be careful and to check their grammar and spelling. http://getpaidonlinefree.com
I checked out your site and actually, it is quite professional. I am impressed! You are a very good writer and I can tell you are quite intelligent. The only recommendation I would make is to change the word thru to through. Other than that, I understand what you mean by write as you speak. A person can do that, but they should still check their spelling and grammar.
Actually, writing for the web is not like writing in school. Contractions are perfectly acceptable. We need to write for people as though talking to them.
Also, grammar and spelling aren't as important as we think. It's not what people come to the site for. Sure, it bugs the hell out of people who are into that, but it really doesn't matter that much at the end of the day.
I respectfully disagree. I do not expect perfection, but when the spelling and grammar are blatantly atrocious, it is a turn off and will affect sales. However, you are entitled to your opinion.
Perfect place for me to add one more. Realised is spelled realized. Thanks for writing this. Very helpful information.
~ Diane
In the UK 'realised' is the common spelling of this word. Either is correct.
No offence, but people need to understand that not everyone on the internet is from the US and that there are differences between English and American English.
This idea that 'Internet = America' is getting old and annoying.
There I said it. Make of it what you will.
Thanks Diane! We do spell a lot of words here using a Z instead of an S or an S instead of a C.
@stevejf: When in Rome, do as the Romans. Having said that, it is offense here in the US, not offence.
We're not in Rome or the US or Canada or the UK or any other country or city. We are on the internet.
Thanks for this blue jay, your post helped to explain some of the common area's that I have problems with. Thank you
I agree wholeheartedly with you on this. Another one that drives me mad is people saying 'alot' instead of 'a lot'. It's TWO words! I read a post on here talking about quality of content and the person used "alot". Once someone does that I usually stop reading.
However.
I'm from England where English comes from and we say 'learnt' or 'learned'. In the US it's 'learned'. Either of these is correct.
Using the word alot is a very common mistake and drives me nuts too. The audience I am primarily targeting is in the U.S. Therefore, I use the US grammar and spelling rules.
OK. If you had made it clear that you're target audience is in the US then I wouldn't have commented. Except to say that people still do need to be aware that what is incorrect in the US may not necessarily be incorrect elsewhere.
For e.g. I wouldn't correct someone for saying "offense" when in the UK it is spelt (yes, in the UK we say spelt) "offence".
It's a matter of context. Certain spellings may only be correct within a country and not elsewhere. Just be clear who you are talking to. Remember your site is going to be viewed (hopefully) by the world. A lot of people are going think you are spelling "learnt incorrectly as learned". They would be wrong too.
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This can be border line stuff based on one's opinion. However I do agree with you, from a professional stand point. Copy writing or proof reading is another skill that adds value to any website, and there are people making money from this skill as an occupation.
A Niche that springs to mind is ' grammar' and how to perfect it. Although I won't be entertaining the idea of promoting grammar as a niche, I will copy your notes and keep them as a reference check.
Thanks for your insight - Colin.