You stare with satisfaction at your written copy, and you confidently upload it on your website. The next day, you visit your uploaded article and to your chagrin, a couple of typos eluded your scrutiny.

It happens even to the best of writers. No matter how well you write, at some point, an error in your writing could find its way into your article or copy. This is why it’s important to get a second set of eyes to look through what you have written. Misspelled words, subject-verb agreement issues, punctuation errors, and other mistakes can appear. In most cases, it’s not the writer’s fault. Blame it on your brain’s expectation of knowing what you have written, that’s why it overlooks those errors. Writing good content can be difficult; editing and proofreading can be even more.

Whether you’re meticulous about detail or not, you cannot ignore copy mistakes. Copy errors can destroy a website’s credibility. Would you subscribe to a Business English website where articles are filled with misspellings or even misplaced commas? The online audience who visits your site is there to find information that could help them. Always take into account that the majority of online visitors are literate and most have a fundamental knowledge of sentence construction and spelling.

Getting a good proofreader is a good investment. If you’re putting up a site on a limited budget, it’s not a problem. Many professionals in work-for-hire platforms offer their services at affordable rates. You can even post your need for a proofreader and quote your offered rate, and they will bid for it. Just be sure to thoroughly check their portfolio and previous work. If you don’t have the money to pay for a proofreader, you can always solicit the help of a friend who has a keen eye for detail. If a friend is unavailable, you can join grammar groups on social media. Most of them offer to edit or proofread manuscripts to members for free and are more than willing to help in exchange for peer to peer editing and proofreading practice.

Spell checkers offer invaluable help, but they’re not 100% reliable. They recognize a limited number of words and they cannot catch homophonic errors. They cannot spot typos that are actual words. For example, “Let’ have stake for dinner.” Moreover, it flags down all fragmented sentences. If we take style into account, especially in dialogue, people don’t always complete their sentences. Depending too much on spell checkers won’t help polish your own handle on spelling and grammar. If you use the wrong word, then it’s wrong. Use spell checkers as a back-up, but continue to hone your grammar and spelling skills.

Typos can prove fatal in your manuscript as well. A screenplay with typos would make studio executives groan. Your essay will get the boot from any publication if it isn’t properly edited and proofread. The struggle with typos will always be a part of the writing life. This is why any submission guidelines specify that manuscripts submitted should be properly edited and free from errors. Having a reliable proofreader helps to eliminate this problem.