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Dec 04 in Small e-Business
Written by: Harris
To get some perspectives on what’s important to Business Websites, I often try and draw parallels to bricks & mortar businesses.
It’s true that an Internet business is very different to a traditional business in terms of location and structure, but in the end they are both serving the needs of their customers. Both have to convince the customer they they can be trusted to deliver on their promises.
So how would I feel about a traditional retailer that had signs around the shop with unintentional spelling errors and poor grammar? Well, it depends. If I was in a delicatessen buying cold meats, it probably doesn’t matter, maybe it even adds some charm to the place. But if I was in an accountant office, I would have cause for concern.
The problem is not so much the spelling & grammar (Email & SMS has ruined it for many of us – see if you can find the intentional errors in this post ;) The problem is that it raises questions of trust with the customer. “If this accountant is bad at spelling, are they also bad at tax law?”
All Online Business is Information
Regardless of the product or service on offer, Online businesses must use written language to attract customer. This is not the case with many traditional businesses. The accountant deals with numbers, but Online thats not enough.
Put simply; make sure your business website is checked for spelling and grammar. Make sure all content reads like it was written by a professional wordsmith.
Easier said than done. We are good at our job, but our job is not copywriting. We can’t be a jack of all trades. Nevertheless if language is not our strength, we really do need to consult a professional writer if we want the best results from our website.
Tags:
business website, business websites, internet business success, poor grammar, professional writer, Small e-Business, spelling errors, wordsmith
About the author
I have been in the Internet industry since 1994, when I was one of the directors and owners of Cyberloom Pty Ltd - an early ISP based in Sydney, NSW. Cyberloom was sold in 2001. That's when I started X Pty Ltd as a website development company. xEcommerce.com.au is now my primary focus. xEcommerce.com.au builds small business sites on two platforms - Magento & Wordpress. One day I would like to operate the business from the Greek Island of Meganisi - and why not? The Internet is everywhere! ;)
