Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation

Does it make you crazy when you visit websites that it seems nobody has proofread?!

Personally, nothing puts me off a website more than incorrect spelling, grammar and punctuation. The site can be graphically stunning and well-designed, but a couple of misplaced (or missing) apostrophes and a “your” when it should be “you’re” gets me shaking my head and browsing along to the next potential website.

This personal condition results from a grandmother who would gladly correct the grammar of anyone she came in contact with. Waitresses, store clerks, my parents – literally anyone – were embarrassingly and publicly corrected (shamed, actually) by my Gran. This trait lived on through my parents and, as these things do, I often have the strong urge to do likewise. Fortunately, however, I was able to stifle the need to publicly shame people for not speaking or writing the Queen’s English and I now do so only using my “inside voice.”

In my opinion, bad spelling and grammar demonstrate the writer’s attitude about her or his audience and, by extension, the product or service being provided. If one didn’t care enough to have someone else proofread and correct their website’s copy then certainly that lack of attention is related to the quality of whatever they’re selling.

Now, there are some exceptions and I’m not going to get into a fight with any of my clients about perfection. If you want to state that your vehicle repairs are “done right” or that “there’s many ways to make a cocktail” at your lounge, I’m not going to stop you!

So know that I will ensure that all of your website’s copy is spelled correctly and is grammatically and punctuationally (I just invented that word!) sound before the world gets to read it. I just can’t help it. My Gran’s relentless desire for literary perfection everywhere in the English-speaking world is your gain!