Henry Tapia

Under Technical

Ok, rant time. This one’s about a perennial pet peeve of mine. Careless spelling.

Whilst, it may be acceptable to let the spelling drop in instant communication such as IRC, online instant messaging, SMS (don’t get me started on SMS), or the odd quick informal email, poor spelling in official documents such as proposals, functional specifications, etc. that are sent to clients is seriously poor form. Completely unprofessional.

Speaking of clients, if you (the client) supply us with voluminous copy, and it is agreed (in writing) that the copy is your responsibility (ie. we’ve not been contracted to write copy for you), then you had better make sure that it’s 100%. Don’t get mad at us when it goes live and there are mistakes in there, if they’re your mistakes.

Lastly, designers. What is with the multitudes of web designers out there who seem to pride themselves in illiteracy? The real pros, of course, are great writers as well as designers. Our game is in communication, as well as all the pretty pictures. Nothing says amateur like a home page riddled with typos.

Use your spellchecker, but don’t stop there. Read your own writing.