Testing and Proofing Pages

As a Web author, you'll need to be able to write clearly, using good grammar and spelling. You should get someone else to proofread what you've written so that they can see if it makes sense. The typical tools like spelling checkers are just as valuable here as for other writing.

Classical wordsmithing isn't sufficient for the Web, though. You'll also need to "test" your pages much the same way as a programmer would. Try your HTML on at least two browsers, to make sure you haven't used any browser-specific features. (If possible, one of those browsers should be Netscape Navigator, which is used by about 70 percent of Internet users.) Click on every link to make sure it goes where you want.

Also remember that proofing HTML isn't a one-time thing. The links you created may break in the future as the sites that you've linked change or remove their pages. You should check the links on a regular basis to make sure they're still good. It's also a good idea to provide a mail link in the pages so that people can let you know when they see something wrong.

The Web Author Resources page lists some tools that may be able to help you test your pages.

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