Beware of the Error-Packed Website Template

Now is a good time of year to remind business owners to use caution when utilizing third-party content and design templates on their websites. Why now? Because accountants and accounting firms tend to use these templates, and careless errors at the height of tax season are a giant, billowing red flag to future clients.

These templates are basically industry-specific bundles that fill out the information-packed subpages of a business website, including newsletters and other relevant material. Some include infographics and design elements. There's nothing inherently wrong with this type of content, and it serves a useful purpose.

Many business owners have no choice but to build out their websites with third-party content that is specific to their particular industry. A self-employed accountant likely doesn't have the time to write monthly newsletters diving deep into the details of the latest income-tax codes. So a third-party provider generates that content for widespread professional use.

Variations of this misspelled infographic have appeared on many business websites (proofreading marks added for effect)

But sometimes that mass-produced content has errors — errors that will reflect poorly on the user, not the creator.

For instance: What if a design template includes the misspelled "Free Consulation" in its banners and infographics? We've seen many variations of that one before.

What if the content is flat-out bad? Like this:

"Of note, this year is that there are three extra days to file this year due to the calendar."

That sentence was generated for a newsletter and piped into hundreds of industry websites, unbeknownst to most, if not all, of the end users.

No matter where your website content comes from, every word of it represents you and your business. If the writing is subpar or filled with errors, prospective clients and customers will hold it against you, not a third-party provider.

How do you make sure this never becomes a problem for your business? Partner with a professional editor. PJC Editing & Proofreading specializes in working with self-published authors and business owners. Reach out today to inquire about our valuable editorial services.