New Web Site (Old thread from 2008)

[josip1978]

Hi,

I have a site about hot beverages \"www.hot-beverages.com\"
There is a section regarding coffee and coffee drinks.
I would appriciate some comments

Thanks!

 

[Sales Manager]

Simple, straightforward site but to look professional I would get rid of the ad bar by google.

 

[PinkRose]

Hello Josip1978:

Thank you for letting us see your web site. It's obvious that you put a lot of hard work into creating it.

At first glance, your web site looked very colorful and interesting, but then I started reading some of the text......

Based on the parts that I read, I quickly noticed that there are a lot of grammatical errors in your writing. I'm guessing that English is your second language.

The first three words in your first paragraph grabbed my attention right away, and as I read on, I realized that I should encourage you to think about finding someone to help you proofread your text and correct any errors in grammar, word choice, and clarity of meaning.

Here is some of what you wrote on your web page:

"No matter you have guests and you want to surprise them with something they'll ask where did you learn this (In this case I suggest you to search for alcoholic drink recipes), or you just want to have something tasteful for yourself. Please continue surfing thru hot beverages web site and I am guarantee you that I have many mixed drink recipes that you will enjoy."

I believe that as you re-read what you've written, you will find some of the errors on your own. I hope you will want to make the corrections so your web page will look as professional as possible.

Respectfully,

Rose

 

[caffe biscotto]

It seems to be an information only site. It's pretty well put together with good info.

There's no indication as to where the author of the website is located, but judging from what I read, I'm going to go out on a limb and say........ either Netherlands, Germany or Austria. Or maybe somewhere in Scandanavia even?

I hope I'm right, how can we find out?

 

[PinkRose]

Hi,

Hey - maybe we should ask josip1978

I'm not sure now, but I would have guessed that the author is from a country in Asia, possibly a country such as China, Korea, or even Japan or Vietnam.

It's seems like he or she has studied the English language for a number of years.

Rose

 

[caffe biscotto]

I dunno........... you might be missing something Rlose. Check out the recipes page and how they use commas instead of decimal points. Also the spelling of Vienna as Wienna is another clue.

Because European countries are so small and close together, they grow up learning several languages, especially in Holland, where they speak Dutch, French, English, some German, etc.

Then again, maybe I'm way off......... and it's possible that Josip1978 won't be back to enlighten us.

Hey! Why don't my smileys work in FireFox??
CCafe can laugh at me if he wants to, but I'm switching back to IE. Too much weird stuff in FireFox.

 

[PinkRose]

Ed,

Maybe you have to train your Firefox to behave.

I may have missed something....I was going by the writing on the first page. I didn't venture too far into the recipe pages. Many people have an ongoing problem with subject verb agreement when they're first trying to learn the English language. The author could be from any where on the globe.

I hope we'll hear from Josip1978 soon.

Is this considered hijacking another forum thread?

Rose

 

[caffe biscotto]

Rose,

I think that as long as we're still on the topic of the original post, it's okay and things shouldn't get out of control. This topic is still about josip1978's website, www.hot-beverages.com

One of my pet peeves is the use of the word then where than should be used.
An excerpt taken from the hot beverages website:
"The northern people drinks more coffee then anyone". In this case, than should be used, versus then.

Some common examples to remember:

Than - Greater than; less than; better than; worse than.
Then - Until then; before then; and then; and then again.

A pound of green coffee beans does not weigh more than a pound of roasted coffee beans.

 

[PinkRose]

Hello Mr. Biscotto!

Many people have a hard time with "than vs. then" and lots of people also have problems with "there, they're, and their." Those kinds of careless mistakes are pet peeves of mine too.

Whenever I see a lot of glaring spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors on a web site, I immediately question the credibility of the site's information (and it's authors).

More importantly, when I see such errors on an on-line store's web pages, I quickly move on to visit another site. I figure if they don't take the time and effort to proofread their writing, then they're very likely to be careless with my order too.

Also, when I go to click on a web site's links and they don't work ... I'll move on to visit (and order from) another site. One of the rules of web page authoring is to always test the page's links on a regular basis. It can mean the difference between getting a customer's business or losing it.

Rose

 

[nickmuso]

Hi,

I have a site about hot beverages "www.hot-beverages.com"
There is a section regarding coffee and coffee drinks.
I would appriciate some comments

Thanks!

Hi josip1978,
I liked your site a lot, it is very informative and is packed with information and some nice images which indicates a lot of hard work and research, and the site has minimal non-intrusive advertising. It is apparent that English is your second language, and that being the case I think you have done very well with it. The meaning is perfectly understandable despite a few small mistakes and awkwardness of phrasing, keep up the good work.
I wonder how many of the people commenting on your mistakes can speak a second language themselves? It certainly isn't easy to learn another language other than your mother tongue as I can attest from my own long tussle to learn French.

 

[caffe biscotto]

Nick, welcome to the discussion. You're absolutely right about learning new languages, it isn't easy.

If you see though, josip1978 did come to an English speaking forum to ask for critiques on their website.

Tambien, hay sitios en el internet que se puede utilizar facilmente para traducir al ingles de casi cualquier lengua.
That's Spanish for: There are websites that can easily be used to translate to English, from almost any language. If I were to create a website in another language, I'd surely use them.

 

[PinkRose]

Hello Nickmuso

Believe me, I know how difficult it is to learn to speak another language. I also know that it is often even more difficult to learn how to write in that language.

I applaud Jossip1978's hard work in creating the web site. It's very obvious that a lot of time and effort went into making it.

However, I believe that the web site would get a better reception if Jossip1978 could ask someone to proofread it and correct what you described as "a few small mistakes and awkwardness of phrasing." Almost every author needs an editor, no matter what language you're using.

Rose

 

[nickmuso]

Hi Pinkrose and Caffe biscotto,
Good points, I agree there are translation sites that would do the job, although they also sometimes make mistakes or are unable to render vernacular sayings. But surely using those is a bit of a cop out, shouldn't josip1978 be given some credit for writing it him or herself rather than taking the easy way of using a translation service?
I agree that the copy could then have been checked over by a native English speaker for mistakes, sensible suggestion.

 

[caffe biscotto]

Using a translation service is no more of a cop out than using a calculator or an encyclopedia or a spell checker.

There are tools out there to insure accuracy, efficiency and thoroughness. If it was someone's diary, then fine, let there be the mistakes. But it's a website, conveying information, so let it be more accurate. Come on Nick, you know this.

 

[nickmuso]

Hi caffe biscotto,
I'm not sure if I totally agree with you there. If it was a business website I'd be with you 100%, it has to be professional with no spelling mistakes and correct grammar.
But this is a hobby website as I see it, all be it with a few ads thrown in, and is offering free information on a topic that obviously interests josip1978. By writing the copy himself he is getting good practice at his written English, in much the same way that it is sometimes good to leave the calculator to one side, and do that calculation in your head or on paper.
I also feel that there is something of josip1978's personality that comes across in the slightly off English, a bit like someone speaking English with a foreign accent. Again, only acceptable in my view because it isn't a business site.