Creating a website is easy in todays template driven world. The fact is that, all a user really has to do is add the applicable words to the website template of their choice and put it online. Then there are the custom jobs that you run into during your internet surfing. You know the ones great graphics, and awesome multimedia presentations. Even these have the exact same need for text adaptation to accomplish the desired goal.
Pay attention, while, templates can perfect a websites arrangement and graphics, the fact is that text is what makes the sell, causes the desire to register, makes the point, is searched for by web surfers, allows your website to be found by search engines, and retains the visitors attention once they arrive.
So, it would make perfect sense that every effort would be employed to perfect the text of ones website as well as the graphical layout. Despite all of the other features that technology has afforded users online, try to imagine what the internet would be without text. It would basically be useless as text is truly the work-horse bearing the lions share of communications online.
At the risk of being redundant, when your website is visited by web surfers, 80% of what keeps them there are the words they encounter, it tells them what your site is about and what you want them to know. Sure, there are exceptions to this rule, like video sites and photo sites but those make up such a small portion of the available online content. Text is king. Text errors need to be treated like villains that come to steal your money. They should be hunted down and eliminated.
When I say that textual errors should be eliminated, some would conclude that the only problem that I am referring to is misspelled words, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Lack of clarity through poor grammar, poor punctuation, broken links, and various typographical errors can steal more than just your visitors respect and trust for you. It can steal many of your sells.
Imagine, if you will, the last time that you were doing your job and someone approached you and asked something that you knew must be part of your responsibility, but you could not determine what they needed because their communication skills were not up to par. In that scenario, you must have patience and listen to figure it out because it is your job and your paycheck on the line. That is frustrating.
Listen very carefully. Web surfers have no such obligation to figure it out. In fact, if you are trying to sell your product to them, you are essentially saying, hey, I am going to frustrate the heck out of you, and I want you to pay for it. This is not a good marketing move.
You see, when a website is riddled with these seemingly subtle errors, many website visitors instantly and subconsciously turn into a faultfinder. They notice everything that is wrong with the website and some leave immediately. While others will stay long enough to decipher what you intended to say, they will then leave to make a purchase with someone else that they deem to be professional.
A website alone doesnt sell products. A websites clarity about the great item for sale sells products. Clarity, Clarity, Clarity.
Since the introduction of the template website era, websites are going live faster and faster. This quick turn around often exacerbates the lack of clarity problem as website owners dont use the necessary time to test their textual content for clarity and flow prior to the site being introduced to the public.
Combine this with the fact that most websites belong to individuals with limited funds, and you run into a dilemma. Most of the money they have will need to go into marketing efforts for the website. So, pay someone to proof read and correct the content of your website.