Persuasive Design Tip: Proofread

Three crucial components, but there are four listed here.  Whenever I see mistakes like this, it decreases my trust in the company.

During a usability test last week, several of the users noticed a single mistake on the website that caused them to call into question the competency of the company.

The mistake was stating there were three components and then listing four (shown above).  Easy to do.  When the content was written initially, there were probably three components.  At some point later, someone decided to add another.  But no one reread the entire page to see if adding a fourth impacted any of the other content.

As a result, a careless mistake casts a doubt about the whole company in the minds of users.  And on the web, where the battle for the user's attention is highly competitve, a doubt is all it can take to lose your user to the next website.  

Therefore, proofreading is one important step towards creating a truly persuasive site that enhances your company's credibility.   

(I hope I don't have any typos in this blog entry.)