Want to sell? Learn to spell.

The average greengrocer’s passion for misplaced apostrophes might drive me bananas but it’s not enough to drive me to buy elsewhere. Not so with the web.

As the BBC reported recently Spelling mistakes 'cost millions' in lost online sales. So there it is, proof that I’m not the only one who can’t help but doubt the professionalism and attention to detail of a business that doesn’t know its its from its it’s.

Tests showed that revenue per visitor doubled after a spelling mistake on a retail website was corrected. We might be used to seeing wrongly spelt words and poor grammar in print these days, but clearly getting it right still matters.

Of course, spellcheckers do some of the work for people whose spelling isn’t so hot. But rely on them at your peril. Your spellchecker doesn’t know if you mean stationery or stationary. Both are correct. It’s how you use the word that makes one right and one wrong.

Do you really want design that's standing still?

Now, I’m not saying every one of us needs to be a brilliant speller. Only that we need to be aware of how important it is to use language well. Writing is a skill. Not everyone is an expert. Yes, most of us can write, but that doesn’t mean most of us are copywriters. That’s like saying if you can paint a wall, you can paint a picture.

The point is words work harder than many people realise. They work in obvious ways. They work in subtle ways. It’s not only spelling and bad grammar that can cost you dearly. A professional copywriter thinks about things non-writers don't even notice. Nuances. Shades of meaning. Rhythm. Balance. Avoiding ambiguity. Fact versus opinion.

Never mind research into the impact of a spelling mistake. There’s plenty of evidence to show that changing a headline can turn sales around. Even taking out or adding a single word can make a dramatic difference.

But to get back to the point, I’m amazed at how many web designers and website builders fail to recognise the value of having a pro writer on board. Most designers I worked with in my ad agency days openly admitted to being useless at spelling. (They weren’t great writers, either.) Yet the basic need for literacy when presenting your business or organisation to the world seems to go by the wayside on the web.

In my view, it’s simple. If your website contains more than a couple of small literals - missed words or misspellings - and you paid for it, you didn’t get value for money. It might even end up costing you.