You can't afford to make huge writing mistakes on the Internet. (Image courtesy of Hisks at RGBStock.com)
When you’re writing web content – whether it’s a blog post, a landing page or even a product description – there are five major mistakes that you can’t afford to make. Screw-ups can cost you valuable readers, possible subscribers and potential customers… so you need to make sure every document you put in the public eye is worthy.
Web Writing Mistake #1: Apostrophe Abuse
Don’t litter your document with apostrophes – know where they belong and how to use them properly. Here’s a quick guide.
- Apostrophes belong in contractions, like don’t, doesn’t, hadn’t and we’re.
- Only use an apostrophe with the word it if it’s a contraction. When you use the word it to signify possession, there is no apostrophe. For example, you can say, “It’s raining outside” because it is raining outside. On the same token, you can say, “The cloud released its moisture in the form of rain” because the moisture belonged to the cloud.
- Don’t use apostrophes when you’re pluralizing words or acronyms. No apostrophe is necessary when you’re talking about multiple objects, like computers, dogs or mistakes. Likewise, if you need to talk about more than one thing that’s referred to with an acronym, skip the apostrophe. Some examples include CDs, DVDs and TVs.
Web Writing Mistake #2: Use the Right Word
Lots of words in the English language sound identical – but in writing, they’re very, very different. The wrong use of the right word can make you look dumb and alienate your readers.
Your and you’re: If something belongs to you, it’s yours. If you are going to do something, you’re going to do it. It’s not okay to swap the two out; you’re going to take your item.
Their, there and they’re: If something belongs to them, it’s theirs. If they keep it in a certain location, they’re keeping it there. If they are keeping it hidden, it is hidden there. Get it? It’s theirs, and they’re hiding it there.
Web Writing Mistake #3: Capitalizing on Capital Letters
Capital letters are great – they tell us where a sentence starts, signify proper nouns and can even be used for emphasis. But you can’t beat them to death if you want to produce a quality document.
- DO NOT WRITE AN ENTIRE WEBPAGE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. It gets annoying and can prevent you from conveying the correct message.
- Do Not Capitalize Every Word, Even If You Think Each Word Deserves A Capital Letter. Again, annoying – and it doesn’t make you look any more professional because you know how to hit the “Shift” key.
- Capitalize the first word of every sentence and proper nouns (like names of places, people or brands).
Web Writing Mistake #4: What He Said
Never, ever copy what someone else wrote and claim it for your own. You can write a fresh piece with your own ideas and spin – but if it didn’t originate in your head, don’t put it on paper (or type it, to be more precise). Copying the work of others without proper attribution is plagiarism, and you can be sued for it… so don’t bother copying and pasting another person’s words; it’s just not worth it.
Web Writing Mistake #5: Things Better Left Unsaid
No matter what you’re writing, there are things you shouldn’t say. The wrong choice of words can drive away visitors in droves – so here are a few things to avoid in most situations:
- extremely personal details… unless, of course, you’re blogging about potty habits or surgical procedures and those personal details are necessary.
- offensive language. Sure, if you have a blog that’s based largely on shock value, cuss it up – but if you’re trying to sell strollers, an f-bomb is almost never appropriate.
- libel. You do have protection for freedom of speech – but that doesn’t extend to making statements you know are untrue with the intention of hurting someone else’s reputation. You can state the truth if you really, really know it’s true – but you can’t bend it to make somebody look bad.
Web Writing Mistakes Can Cost You
Generally, using a little common sense and a grammar checker will prevent you from making the five most common web writing mistakes listed here – and if you’re ever in doubt, have someone else look your piece over. A set of fresh eyes can go a long way, and an outside opinion can help shape your document for the better.
What do you consider writing mistakes that can be easily avoided? Have a web writing mistake horror story? Share it!
Twitter: techwork_dk
says:
Hi Angie
Interesting article. English is not my native born language and I often struggle with the words. I always try to put my posts through a word speller to remove the worst errors but they are not bulletproof. I hate when people writes all in CAPITAL letters, it is not like they are more right because they type with capital letters.
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Twitter: janesheeba
says:
Hi Angie,
Good one. I am mostly annoyed by the abuse of your and you’re. But that cannot be totally blamed of the writer, especially if he/she is not a native speaker. The blame is totally on the writer’s accountability though.
Giving out too much personal details is one thing that I will stay away from. Internet is not a safe place to expose; you never know.
Cheers,
Jane.
Jane | Find All Answers´s recent blog post ..How About a Professional Guide to your New Blog
Hey Angie! I agree with you that a little common sense and a grammar checker will prevent you from making the five most common web writing mistakes. The wrong choice of words can drive away visitors in droves. This is a VERY TRUE STATEMENT and I have seen people do this time and time again. Great information.
Golf Range Finders´s recent blog post ..Golf Range Finders The Exposed Truth
Hey Angie – While a lot of what you mention should be elementary, many people make these mistakes. An expert can lose a lot of credibility by not running a spell check before posting something that is riddled with these mistakes. Great post!
Ana | Traffic Generation´s recent blog post ..MarketMeSuite- My Best Hands Free Link Building Strategy Revealed
It is all common sense – what I hate to see is one of my articles that I submitted to Ezine, then someone takes and spins badly but leaves my links in! This makes my site look cheap and I so wish I could stop this practice.
juliettesara´s recent blog post ..Dog Training DVDs
Twitter: selfishyayun
says:
I also experienced like you, about 2 years ago
It really makes me annoyed but do not know what to dump anger on anyone
selfishyayun´s recent blog post ..I Wanna Create Dofollow Directory
Twitter: selfishyayun
says:
There are many things to consider in writing for the blog, I agree with the points presented Angie.
But there are strange things that I see in my country, there are people writing to their blogs with everyday language and not a good language. They also write things that seemed very nice read, but why do people like that like that?
I just wonder when I try to write in a blog with good content but my blog can not compete with their blog that clearly there was only a joke junk.
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Twitter: gsaieva
says:
It takes a short time to check your blog or article to proof read for such elementary mistakes. All too often people cut corners and don’t think about the quality of their writing. It is a pleasure when a piece is written in perfect English.
Giuseppe´s recent blog post ..Google Remarketing REVIEW – Internet Marketing – Understand It Properly
I don’t know if i’ve seen an article before treating these aspects. It seems that these days everyone writes content without even knowing the basic skills. So thank you for mentioning.
Twitter: CoachNotesBlog
says:
Hi Angie,
You’ve put front and center some of the worse offenders. They’re all generally inexcusable except when English is not the native tongue.
One thing to note also is that sometimes the spell checker is speaking another language. For example, the one on this blog just told me I spelled “center” incorrectly. (I think it prefers “centre.”)
Vernessa Taylor´s recent blog post ..Obscure- Antiquated- and Unfair Do Directories Really Work
Wow Angie you write some awesome posts! The topic is a simple yet interesting one. Some of the points that you have discussed over here are really common mistakes which I have come across many blog posts. Copying from others’ blogs and claiming them as one’s own is a common practice seen among many bloggers.
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Twitter: wordpresswb
says:
We definitely need to be a little lenient on the language area as things have changed! I am in Australia and I often read webmasters blogs that do not display good English. I understand that not everyone can be an English expert and it is really the information they are sharing that I value.
I think that if you write about what you love then people will always be able to understand your writing and even feel your passion.
Mitz Pantic´s recent blog post ..5 Tips to Reduce your Bounce Rate on Google Analytics
I wonder if we’re fighting a losing battle on this front… certainly, I despair when I see “professional journalists” abusing the poor apostrophe not only on their own blogs but on major news media websites!
Twitter: srpatterson
says:
I am always double checking my use of certain words to make sure that I am using the right word. I installed this plugin from the jet pack that checks for grammar but it didn’t correct things the way I thought that it would. If I can find a better grammar check, I might use it on a regular basis.
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Twitter: ashusukhija
says:
Some interesting tips definitely…
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