Does your visitor's subconcious notice poor copy writing?

Do visitors subconciously notice small errors?

[Tigrou]

I have an unproven theory on which I would absolutely love to get some feedback.

It is probably safe to say that we all believe that errors in text distract people from imbibing the message. This is definitely true if someone consciously notices these errors.

I also believe though that many people subconsciously notice subtle "mistakes" and realize something is wrong with the page but can't put their finger on it. By this I mean, deviations from the style guide including random full stops on list items or a mix of "website", "web site", "web-site". In the end the visitors feel uncomfortable and this leads them to hesitate in making a decision.

When I say something like this, coders think I am even nuttier than usual. Does anyone have any comments, experiences etc. that they'd like to share to prove/disprove this theory?

Thanks!
Colin

[Jenstar]

I also write to the specific location of my target audience, using American spelling for nearly everything, but using the Canadian spelling on anything that is specifically for Canadians.

[Marketing Guy]

Interesting note - Google offer several alternative English language versions. Including many that are by no means "proper English".

Perhaps an intentional mis-spelling ridden copy could be gimmicky? :)

Scott

[peewhy]

I have to admit that poor copywriting, grammatically incorrect text and typos really prevent me from doing business, it's amost like admitting you don't care about your own business - why bother about your clients.

[Tigrou]

Thanks everyone -- great feedback. Much appreciated!

[krieves]

I agree with what most everyone stated, spelling correctly (in a version of English that's appropriate for your audience) is Very important. Another related problem found on many websites is consistency. If a term is used on a page, it should be used the same way throughout the site. For instance, if you are going to use the word "login", don't also say "log-in", "log in", or other variations. Pick one version and use it exclusively.

It seems you see this often with hyphenated words.

[peewhy]

Way back in 1996 when I started in this industry, web site, website, web-site ... and even webb site was quite common.

When keyword was king, just those differences swollowed up many a keyword quota :)

[Tigrou]

peewhy, they are all alive and well. I literally just finished proofing a 40 page document for a client that had "web site", "Web Site", "web-site" but no website (their official term for it).

They also got the name of their boss wrong.

[dragonlady7]

>Google offer several alternative English language versions

My boyfriend surfs in haxor. I prefer bork bork bork or pig latin, depending on my mood.

>They also got the name of their boss wrong.

LOL!

I'm currently proofreading a lot of copy that my boss wrote for our website, and the man cannot spell. It would be entertaining if it weren't so annoying.

[peewhy]

Tigrou >> has someone officially decided whether it is a website or web site ... or indeed web-site. If so, who actually decrees this, is it common usage or some panel of new words experts.

Bet that opens the flood gates:)

[Tigrou]

Tigrou >> has someone officially decided whether it is a website or web site ... or indeed web-site. If so, who actually decrees this, is it common usage or some panel of new words experts.
Bet that opens the flood gates:)

Uhhh, well Peewhy, here's my best shot.

According to www.dictionary.com: (hey, I spelled it right!) none of the options are "real words" yet. None of them are picked up by Oxford or the other majors. American Heritage has a definition for all of them and the "Dictionary of Computing" also has "web site".

Conclusion: There is no officially recognized term yet. (OK, maybe there is, but it is not online).

According to Google:
7,330,000 for "web site" & "web-site" (doesn't note a difference)
A whopping 10 times as much (71,000,000) for "website".

Conclusion:The people have spoken! Or at least webpage creators have and decreed that on the web "website" is definitely the phrase of choice.

According to God:
MS hath decreed that "website" shall be banned in a manner similar to coveting thy neighbors ass. "web site" it shall be, and it shall be "web site". "website" is wrong. "web-site" is definitely right out.

The false prophet arose and declared, "Lo, it shall be as the (spellchecker) book hath decreed. If any sinner shall contravene this sacred commandment, then they shall be accursed with a plague of squiggly red lines." And so it was, and the people, using the mana-tools provided by Bill, followed the path of Bill and crafted their papyrus using only "web site".

Conclusion: Uh, well, if everyone is dependent upon MS Word Spell checker, then I'd have to say the Billions of documents created each year would use "web site".

OVERALL CONCLUSION
On the web, "website" is standard
On paper/MS Word docs, "web site" is standard.

Looking for agreements / counter-arguments.

Tigrou

[engine]

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