Let’s face it, mistakes happen. Although not intentional and we try our utmost to avoid making them, when we’re writing the content for our WordPress site, whether it’s in the form of a blog, page copy, an article, a product description, or any form of written text, the chances are that it’s going to include some errors after the first draft has been written.
To correct these mistakes, you’re going to have to proofread your content. Today, we’ll explore eight ways you can make this process easy and not as time-consuming as it once was.
Read Your Content Aloud
One of the best ways to pick up and notice errors is by reading your content aloud. You can read it aloud to yourself, your friends, your colleagues or whoever; it really doesn’t matter. Just as long as you’re using your voice.
This is because when you read your content in your head, you usually read what you think is written there, not what you’ve actually written. Reading aloud can help you to pinpoint any mistakes.
Change Location
This may sound silly, but it really does help. If you’ve been writing your blog content in your office or at work, move to café, your living room or even your bedroom. Even a change of location can help to refresh your eyes and can help you proofread with a fresh mindset.
Maria McCoy, a resume content editor at Elite Assignment Help, suggests;
“When proofreading your content, especially if you’ve just finished the writing and editing stage, take a break. Whether it’s five minutes, five hours or even a day, proofreading your content with a fully refreshed mind.”
Change the Format of Your Content
While you’re in the proofreading stage of your content creation process, try selecting all your content and changing its font. Change the font size, or you could even change it to bold. Similar to the consideration above, you’ll be able to see your content with a fresh pair of eyes.
Use Online Tools
Thanks to modern day technology, you can now simplify your proofreading process, and enhance your overall content, using the tools that are available to you through the internet. Here are some you can start using right away.
Ie vs Eg – An online blog for improving your knowledge when it comes to using grammar.
UKWritings – An online writing agency that can help guide you through the writing and proofreading processes.
State of Writing – An online blog with a tonne of information about everything to do with content writing.
BoomEssays – An online writing service that can guide you through the steps for accurate proofreading, as featured by the Huffington Post in Write My Essay For Me.
Cite It In – An online tool for adding citations and references to your content in a professional format.
Essayroo – An online writing agency that can proofreading all of your WP content on your behalf.
Use Your Mind
It’s tempting to simply use your software’s spell checker tool or another proofreading tool, such as Grammarly. However, these tools can sometimes be wrong, and they can also miss certain, yet essential, elements that you’ll need to correct.
By all means, use these tools to pick up the majority and to draw your attention to where something might be wrong, but you must use your head and get into the practice of proofreading yourself.
Ignore the Content Itself
When you’re proofreading, it’s a good idea to ignore what the content itself is about completely. All your story or blog related edits should have already have been made during the editing stage of your content creation process so simply focus on the grammar, the spelling and the punctuation.
Get to Know Yourself
The chances are that you’ll make a lot of similar errors time and time again. If you’ve developed some bad habits in writing, it’s probable that you’ll make the same mistakes in every piece you write. Get to know yourself, so you know exactly what to look out for.
Proofread Multiple Times
You might have just finished proofreading your content, and you think that you’re finished but, if you really want to guarantee that your content is the best quality that it can be, you’re going to have to go through it again.
You might even want to go through it two or three times, but the most important thing to remember is not to rush yourself. You might be eager to get to the end and upload your stuff, but any mistakes can seriously damage the credibility and reputation of your WP site.
Author: Mary Walton is a blogger at SimpleGrad.com, edtech website for educators and students. Also, Mary is a writer, consultant and tutor at OXEssays, tutoring service. She helps with content management at Assignment Writer, Australian writing service.