The problem with the second pair of eyes in web content publishing

OK, so you’ve realised it’s probably a bad idea to publish your web content without getting it checked first.

You need a second pair of eyes. But is that enough?

Many companies don’t have a clear editorial process

On the web, anyone can publish. That’s great, because it gives you a direct connection to the people you’re here to help. But it’s also dangerous – too easy to post content that has errors, confuses users or is badly structured.

I’ve worked on web content for lots of different people and companies – charities, entrepreneurs, councils, authors, publishers. Each one had a slightly different approach to writing, editing and publishing their content.

Most clients I’ve worked with have some kind of ‘second pair of eyes’ policy. They realise someone needs to check their content before it goes out.

But often their process is as simple as:

1. write
2. check
3. publish.

In big companies, there’s often a sign-off stage too. Someone senior needs to say they’re happy for the content to go out. Does that sign-off happen before or after an editor checks the text? They’re not always sure.

The three levels of quality content

The problem with all this is that several things need to be right for your content to really work. And each of these things should be checked by the right person at the right time.

I think of content as working on three levels:

1. What you say. Checking that your content solves the problem it needs to solve. It should also be factually accurate, complete and relevant to your users.
2. How you say it. Format, structure and language – finding the most effective way to express whatever you’re trying to say.
3. Quality control. Making your content professional, accessible and usable. Check for typos, remove ambiguity, make sure all the links point to the right places and check that it works on different devices.

What about accessibility?

Accessibility is about making sure everyone can use and understand your website regardless of any impairment or environmental factors. You should think about this at all three stages.

Consequences of a weak editorial process

Once we understand these three levels of creating quality content, we see what can go wrong if you rely on a single edit or sign-off at the end.

• Whoever’s signing off your text really needs to be involved at stage 1. If they only get involved at the end, they might have useful feedback that changes your whole approach. It’s better to get that type of feedback before you start writing.
• A conscientious editor might scrutinise your content at the structural level, sentence level and word level. But if they suggest lots of structural changes, they might introduce errors. Or their suggestions might lead to further tweaks from you. So you’ll need another quality check afterwards.
• You also need to make sure that whoever you’ve asked for help is suitably qualified to do that work. For example, a senior person might have the knowledge to give feedback on the big-picture stuff. But if they’re not a trained editor or proofreader, they might not spot all the errors.
• If you’re publishing your content in an hour, you might not welcome in-depth structural feedback, however valid it is.

What to do instead

Here’s my advice for avoiding these types of problem.

• Get a second person involved at each of the three main stages. Someone to sense check your approach. Someone to edit your words to make them as effective as possible. Someone to QA the finished product.
• Make sure whoever does the quality check is suitably qualified to do so.
• If sign-off is required, involve that person before you start writing. Show them in reasonable detail what you’re planning to do and get your plan signed off.
• Whatever else you do, be clear what you’re asking your collaborators to do. Most editors will tease that out before taking on a job. For example, I’ll check what level of intervention is required and what other types of editing or proofreading will take place. This is especially important because not everyone agrees about the difference between editing and proofreading. (Read more: What is the difference between editing and proofreading?)

Being your own second pair of eyes

In the real world, you might do some or all of these tasks yourself. In effect, you’ll be your own second pair of eyes, scrutinising your own work and asking all the right questions.

In these situations, it’s helpful to be clear with yourself what type of intervention is appropriate.

• Don’t worry too much about grammar until you’ve got the shape of the thing worked out.
• But equally, don’t sit down to do a final check and end up rewriting the whole thing. If you’ve followed a clear editorial process, you won’t have to.

In summary

Getting help with editing and proofreading is a brilliant way to improve the quality of your content. But it’s vital that you understand what type of input is helpful at what stage, and that you get the right person for the job at the right time.