As most people are aware, the Internet is home to websites with eye-catching animation, vivid colours, interactive features and intelligent ecommerce systems. The ability and usefulness of the Internet is well documented and has become a familiar and firmly-established technology to the majority of the world's population.

The Internet also contains a phenomenal amount of written information on every subject imaginable; some of it accurate; some of it not so accurate, and some of it just downright untrue. All this data is supplied by companies, individuals and organisations that for one reason or another have information they want to share with others.

However, apart from the issue of accuracy, another major problem with a huge amount of online copy is the lack of care and attention paid to the quality of the writing, with particular regard to spelling, grammar and punctuation. There are numerous websites that look and perform brilliantly but are let down by errors in their copy; errors that could easily have been rectified long before the site went live had a little extra effort been made. Luckily though, websites are totally versatile when it comes to changing graphics or copy, and both can be changed or altered within minutes enabling mistakes to be rectified quickly.

It's a luxury not shared by publishers of hard copy items such as books and magazines. The book publishing process has a proofreading stage designed to eliminate errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation. On top of that there is an editor who goes even further, sometimes to the point of rewriting blocks of text to ensure that the copy flows a bit better and is easier to read and understand. In other words, there is a great deal of care taken before a book is published because once it's been printed it's too late to make changes to the copy; consequently, any errors not spotted during the proofreading stage appear and remain in the finished book for all to see.

So, why don't some website owners take a similar amount of care over the quality of their web copy? Do they think the graphics alone are enough to entice a visitor to buy their products or services? Is it deemed acceptable that because Internet publishing can be done by just about anyone, normal writing disciplines don't apply? Unfortunately, in many cases, the answer to both of these questions is yes.

The only thing that can tell a visitor what they want to know is well-written, informative copy. Obviously no-one is perfect or infallible (proofreaders included), and errors will appear now and again; it's not a crime and most visitors to a site will overlook the odd spelling mistake or misuse of a word but won't hang around for long if there are too many. To them, illegible copy conveys an I-don't-care attitude, so if the website owner can't be bothered then why should they?

Not all websites have to be graphically amazing. Understated can be just as effective as in-your-face visuals, but one thing they all have in common is that they all contain a textual content, and the only way that words are truly effective is if they are written so readers can understand what they are trying to say. A large number of website owners write their own copy and some of them do quite a good job, and there are others that don?t. The basic rule of thumb for any copy that is going to be viewed by others who in turn could become future customers, is to have it proofread before it goes live. Remember, it's the copy that will ultimately be responsible for generating enquiries from interested parties; it's up to each individual to make sure it says the right thing about their business.

This article is the property of the author and may only be reproduced in its original form.

John Sheridan is a professional proofreader of hard copy items and website copy. He also writes web copy and occasionally accepts small copy-editing assignments. He can be contacted via: http://www.textcorrect.co.uk Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Sheridan

 

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