Common Spelling and Grammar Mistakes that Hurt Your Website

These are some of the most common spelling and grammar mistakes that I’ve seen actually in the body of company websites. They are all easy mistakes to make but with a little bit of care they can also be easily avoided. English is an awkward language at the best of times, but simple errors like these can really detract from the credibility of a website.

 

•        Too – Two – To

“Too” means “in addition” or “also”. It can also mean “extremely”, “excessive” or “very”.

I see you like plums, I like them too but it’s better not to eat too many of them.

“Two ” is the number 2.

Two heads are better than one.

“To” is the most common, being essentially all of the other usages.

I want to go swimming.  I know how to do it. I have places to go and people to see

• You’re – Your

“You’re” is a contraction of “you are”.

You’re looking lively today.

“Your” refers to something that belongs to you.

Your shirt is ill-fitting.

• It’s – Its

Usually an apostrophe indicates ownership, as in “Moira’s cat”. But in this case, “it’s” is a contraction “it is” or “it has.”

It’s going to snow today.

“Its” with no apostrophe means belonging to “it”.

The dog chased its tail.

• There – Their – They’re

“There” refers to a place.

I’m going over there.

“They’re” is a contraction of  “they are.”

They’re coming to see us.

“Their” means belonging to them.

The birds are watching their eggs.

• Where – Wear – Were – We’re

“Where” is used to refer to a place or situation.

I’m going to where the sun keeps shining, through the pouring rain.

“Wear” means to carry or have on a person as clothing or to erode or fatigue a thing.

If you continue to wear the same socks you’ll wear them out.

“Were” is a complicated one, but for the most part, “Were” is the past tense of “be”, as in “used to be”.

We were following a slow tour group. They were really taking their time.

“We’re” is a contraction of “we are”.

We’re having such a good time.

• A lot – Allot – Alot

“A lot” refers to quantity.

There are a lot of dandelions this year.

“Allot” means to assign as a share or portion.

Some people allot too much of their spare time to playing video games.

“Alot” is not a word at all.

• Will – We’ll

“Will” is interchangeable with “shall” , meaning an action intended to occur in the future.

Fred will fix that leaky tap tomorrow.

“We’ll” is a contraction of “we will”.

We’ll  have to find someone to fix that leaky tap tomorrow.

• Loose – Lose

“Loose” means not tight, it rhymes with moose.

My shoelace has become loose.

“Lose” is the opposite of win, it rhymes with snooze.

If I lose one more round, I’m quitting.

• You and I – You and me

“You and I” is used in place of “we”.

You and I (We) were meant for each other.

“You and me” is used in place of “us”

The differences between you and me (us) are not important.

I don’t think anyone minds a gaff or two in the body of an informal text. But when mistakes like these occur on a company website, a published page or the text of an explainer video, it looks like carelessness and impacts the credibility of the company itself.