Here at Word Worker, we’re constantly stressing the importance of using good spelling and grammar in all communications, because it makes you appear more professional and lends credibility to your business.
But now it also appears that poor spelling can cost you money in a more tangible way. An online entrepreneur claims that poor spelling is costing the UK millions of pounds in lost revenue for internet businesses.
Charles Duncombe - who runs travel, mobile phone and clothing websites - says that poor spelling is a serious problem for the online economy and claims an analysis of website figures shows a single spelling mistake can cut online sales in half.
He measured the revenue per visitor to the tightsplease.co.uk website and found that the revenue was twice as high after an error was corrected. “If you project this across the whole of internet retail, then millions of pounds worth of business is probably being lost each week due to simple spelling mistakes."
Mr Duncombe added that when recruiting staff he has been shocked at the “poor quality of written English", a concern echoed by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), whose head of education and skills warned that too many employers were having to invest in remedial literacy lessons for their staff.
“I know that industry bemoaning the education system is nothing new, but it is becoming more and more of a problem with more companies going online,” said Mr Duncombe. “This is because when you sell or communicate on the internet, 99% of the time it is done by the written word.”
At Word Worker we couldn’t agree more. Poor spelling, grammar and punctuation put people off; they give the impression of sloppiness and raise questions over a business’s professionalism and reliability. Moreover, in the context of internet shopping, consumers may also have concerns over fraud and confidentiality – after all, if you can’t get the spelling right, how can you be expected to pay close enough attention to these areas.
If you would like some advice or help with writing a website please
get in touch. We are also happy to proofread your website, checking for grammar and spelling gaffes.
So, on that note, have a wonderful Christmas, a Happy New Year, and here’s to a well-spelt 2012.