The Importance of Editing Web Content

September 03, 2003 | 0 Comments

While at Boeing I had the great pleasure of working with many talented folks, among them professional writers and editors. We were very lucky, and for the most part uncommon, in the fact that all the content on every page we produced was edited several times.

Our editing process caught many mistakes, from large factual mistakes to simple typos. The editors checked links, verified information and made sure our tone and style was up to snuff with our style guides. They were a vital part of our quality assurance.

The words you place on your sites reflect upon you. I can’t stress how important good editing is to any professional Web site. And while less important on a personal site, poor, or no, editing can promote a lack of confidence in your readership as well as make you feel just plain silly.

I know, I’ve not been doing a very good job myself lately. I apologize for that, I’m trying to get better and trust me, if I could, I’d hire an editor myself. Maybe someday I’ll look into that.

With that said, you might be wondering how to go about having your sites properly edited yourself. Here are a few quick tips that can get you started.

For professional sites

Hire a professional Web editor — There are many editors you can hire on a full time or contract basis. A good Web editor is a must if you want to ensure the quality of your content. An editor that understands the Web and can speak to your Web staff would be best.
Don’t count on your designers and developers to edit your content for you — This is a big, and common, mistake. For the most part your development staff aren’t trained as writers or editors and will not catch even some common mistakes.
If possible, don’t let your writers edit themselves — Chances are they will miss something even if they are accomplished self-editors.
Develop (or have one developed for you) a style guide — This will give editors and non-editors alike something to check all your content against.

For personal or small business sites

Develop your writing skills — Try to eliminate your errors before they happen.
Doublecheck all of your facts.
Don’t rely on a simple spellcheck, make sure you re-read and check everything yourself — It won’t catch everything. I’ve published huge errors because of this.
Have a peer or coworker read anything important you publish — Often they will catch simple mistakes that can end up causing big problems.
Keep it short and simple — The less you write, the less chance of error or miscommunication.
Listen to your readers — They will not hesitate to let you know if you have a mistake, be prompt with your corrections and let them know of any major errors.
If you self-edit try a different medium — If you print out your work, or change the font for editing you are more likely to catch typos and the like. Preview for blogs works well, as well as reading posts out loud.
Be willing to accept and deal with criticism — Without a quality editor you’ll have a hard time avoiding it.
Take your time — Good content isn’t easy the more you put into it, the more you (and your readers) get out of it

On a personal or smaller site you’ll usually be fine with self-editing. Chances are they will forgive you any mistakes, especially if you do a good job of communicating with them. Good content can be hard and most readers understand what is involved with maintaining a quality site.

If your content has anything to do with your bottom line, or you have a high visibility, professional Web site, do yourself a favor and hire an editor. A simple typo or improperly phrased sentence can change the whole meaning of a paragraph and perhaps even convey a message contrary to what you were striving for.

I can tell you from experience that without a good editor, no matter how hard you try, you’ll most likely publish some content that will, at the very least, make you look bad and could end up losing you readers.

If you want your readers to value your content, you need to do so yourself.

Filed under: Web General