Proof It

I'll be the first to admit that my spelling and/or grammar is not 100% accurate 100% of the time, especially when typing in a hurry. However, when writing here, on Facebook or my website, I try my best to have neat and proper writing. The public is viewing - I want to give a good impression, not a bad one.

While I understand the difficulties of always appearing topnotch online as far as writing goes, I cannot express how disappointed I have been, over and over, when viewing websites, blogs and Facebook pages. Whether the pages are advertising a product, marketing an art, or showing off a great talent, no matter how intriguing the content, when I begin seeing the typos and misspellings, I'm immediately turned off. It's not that I'm unforgiving when it comes to making mistakes - I make them, too! But when an online page has the same kinds of mistakes over and over again, it becomes obvious to me that either the owner is uneducated (and therefore cannot be trusted with whatever they're marketing), or they don't care enough to correct mistakes or have someone proof their work - which leads me to believe that they don't care enough about their product/hobby/whatever to at least present it neatly. 

I know that sloppy writing and chatspeak are becoming more and more common online, but that's a poor excuse to fall into that same sloppiness. When I visit a website that has clear words, correct spelling and grammar, and communicates well, I'm much more apt to look at what they have to offer - information or product. The same goes for blogs and Facebook pages. When I visit a site that is riddled with amateurish mistakes, such as substituting "there" for "they're" or "it's" for "its" or "lose" for "loose" I immediately assume this person or company has little business advertising anything. Again, I make mistakes, too. We all do. But to have pages riddled with these mistakes is quite a turnoff. (This also includes lack of capitalization, which bugs me even more because that really is pure laziness.)

I'm sure that I'm a bit more sensitive to this kind of thing since I'm a writer, and I'm in the habit of constantly proofing. But I know I'm not the only one with this perspective. I'm not the only one who notices poor communication via bad (or lazy) spelling/grammar. When I go to a blog, I expect to find articles that, even if poorly built, contain good spelling and grammar. When I visit a website to read information or search for a product, I expect an even higher level of professionalism - after all, I may be there to spend my money and I want to make sure it's worth it. When I visit a Facebook page (not a personal timeline - I'm talking about pages that advertise or display information on a specific activity, product or interest), I expect, again, to see something that at least shows me the creator is educated enough to be sharing their information. 

The bottom line is that when I see poor spelling and grammar multiple times in the same online location, I will, at least, roll my eyes or, at most, deem the creator as lazy or uneducated. 

If you're someone who struggles with spelling and grammar, yet you regularly write online, I urge you to find someone to proof your work before posting it. There's no shame in asking for a little bit of help! The result will please your audience much more and gain you higher respect. Not to mention, it will probably help you improve your own skills. 

If you're someone who knows good and well how to write professionally and you've spotted mistakes within this article, by all means, tell me! I'm also trying to improve and I know that I'm nowhere near perfect. But I do strive for perfection, which probably doesn't help when I'm reading other people's works. 

Here's hoping for fewer sites and pages with spelling and grammar that make us cringe.