Web Hosting Provider on Writing Copy - Avoid These Mistakes

While Miss Pringle was teaching you not to let your participles dangle, you were looking out the window or staring at the clock. We all did. Learning to parse a sentence or write copy never entered our thoughts. And despite Miss Pringle’s valiant efforts, most of us wouldn’t know a misplaced modifier if it bit us on the nose.

Some of the More Common Mistakes on Websites

So, for all you would-be, Dan Kennedy types, your web hosting company provides some of the most common mistakes you see – even on well-written web sites.

Its or It’s

Its (no apostrophe) is the possessive as in, “Don’t shake its foundation.” It’s (with the apostrophe) is a contraction of ‘it is’, as in “It’s hot today.” It is hot today. If you can remember this simple rule, at least 20% of all online mistakes will vanish and you’re a few steps closer to being a better copyrighter.

There, Their or They’re

This one trips up a lot of Miss Pringle’s students. There is “that place.” “I put it over there in that place.”

Their is “belongs to them.” “That’s their canoe. It belongs to them.”

And finally, they’re is another contraction, in this case, “they are.” “They’re the ones who robbed the bank.”

Your or You’re

Same deal. You’re (with apostrophe) is a contraction of you are, i.e., “You’re the best.” Your means belong to you. “That’s your house. It belongs to you.”

Except or Accept

You accept an award. You take it. Except when you don’t win. Except excludes certain “things” (animal, vegetable or mineral) from a set or another something. “I like all exercises except yoga.” Yoga is excluded from the set of exercises you do like.

Effect or Affect

This is one of the most common copywriting errors you see. Even Miss Pringle had to look this one up. An effect, with the ‘e’ is most often a noun – a thing. “The alcohol had an effect on me.” “The Fitzer Effect,” and so on. However, effect can also be a verb (an action word) as in “The Congress effects the will of the people.” In this case, effect means to cause something to happen – an action.

Most times affect, with the a, is a verb (a transitive verb in case you’re taking notes). “The alcohol affected my driving.” But here’s where it get’s confusing.

An affect can produce an effect. In this case, the definition of “affect” is “to influence.” “The campaign affected me to vote.” The effect of the campaign was to affect the speaker’s action – in this case, to vote.

It’s a tough one but if you remember that ‘effect’ is most commonly used as a noun (person, place or thing) and ‘affect’ is most often used as a verb (an action word), though it can also be a noun on occasion, you’ll do fine.

Look It Up in a Style Manual

Finally, consider the purchase of a style manual that gives you all of the same rules Miss Pringle did only now they have real meaning in your life. The Chicago Manual of Style is always a good choice. It’s detailed and fairly easy to use. Another recommendation is The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage. The NYT’s manual isn’t as comprehensive as the Chicago Manual, but it’ll provide the most up-to-date usages because it’s the grammar and spelling bible for the “world’s newspaper.”

Think these little details aren’t important? Well, some site visitors won’t notice one way or another because they don’t know the proper spelling of commonly misspelled words, nor do they care. But some visitors will notice and wonder – carelessness? Ignorance? Low standards? In other words, some visitors will accept mistakes, except when it comes to shipping.

And if you aren’t sure, look it up.

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