Proof-reading may seem minimal at the first glance, but its importance is overriding nowadays. A blunder in a corporate leaflet may sink a company's reputation forever. On the other hand, visitors' first impression of a company's website is the one that will last in their minds long after departing it.

If the basics are flawed, the chances of gaining or retaining a customer are drastically reduced.

"Accdrnig to a rscearch of an Egnlish Uinervtisy, its not iprmoetnt in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny tihng taht mattears is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. Tihs is becuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey ltter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig no?"

The above paragraph illustrates the main challenge of proofreading. Since we read words as a whole, we tend to take things for granted. And when time and stress are an issue, we may well forget that our beloved spellchecker ever existed. Even if we don't, we know it won't be able to tell the difference between "two" and "too," or between "they're", "there" and "their"...

However, proofreading can't be summed up to spotting spelling mistakes here and there. Even if one is able to produce an article on the most exciting topics around, it won't really help if the text is hard or difficult to read.

Self-proofreading is usually considered as a first step. However, many authors and experts tend to employ third-parties in the process: it's easier to spot other people's mistakes than our own.

A professional proofreader will be looking for syntax, grammar and style issues but also to the formatting and layout of the document. On top of this, a multilingual proofreader will have to ensure that an existing translation is accurate and compliant with the local conventions and usage.

A mere typo, misspelling, or improperly phrased sentence may change the entire meaning or even convey a message contrary to what is intended. Such explosive blunders have lead to large scale disasters like the Hiroshima atomic bombing. On the other hand, a properly proofread document not only helps readers understand the message, but also makes them involved in the writing.