Business websites serve 3 purposes: discovery, validation and conversion.
Discovery entails the process where a prospective customer searches for a product and finds you. When they click on that link and your digital front door is opened, the process is completed.
The second your webiste loads, that validation clock starts ticking.
Your prospect’s brain kicks in automatically and begins to judge you as a potential vendor. In moments, a decision has been made whether or not to do business with you. I’ve seen research showing decision times as low as 6 seconds or maybe as generous as 27 seconds. Wow, talk about the need to make a great first impression!
So, what happens when your digital front door displays basic spelling and grammar mistakes?
William Dutton, director of the Oxford Internet Institute at Oxford University, says that in some informal parts of the internet, such as Facebook, there is greater tolerance towards spelling and grammar. He then added, "However, there are other aspects, such as a home page or commercial offering that are not among friends and which raise concerns over trust and credibility," said Professor Dutton. "In these instances, when a consumer might be wary of spam or phishing efforts, a misspelled word could be a killer issue."
That’s it.
They leave.
All that work and money you expended to bring them to your site, was just thrown away. That hurts your pride and ultimately your bottom line.
Another study in the UK found that online sales increased 50% when spelling and grammar mistakes were fixed on an e-commerce website. And that’s just selling a specific product item!
What if you sell yourself?
What if your product is your skills, your integrity, or your ability to do it right the first time? How much more valuable and important is it for the business that doesn’t sell just a widget, but rather needs to establish trust and relationships to sell their business services?
What’s the moral of the story? The happy ending is in your hands or the hands of the business website provider you trust. No matter how high tech and cutting edge your business website needs to be, don’t forget the basic importance of wowing your visitors with well written and properly spelled copy! Their gratitude will be registered in your profits, the end result of a website that converts visitors into customers.
Reader Comments
Zanne Koller
Nothing turns me off more than a spelling error on a website. Cheapens the brand automatically. If you can't spell a simple word on your site....or better yet proof, what kind of service do you provide your customers?
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