Editing is not proofreading. Proofreading catches typos; editing decides whether the piece works. Doing them in the wrong order wastes time on sentences that should have been deleted.

We edit in four passes, in this order. Each pass has one job.

Pass 1: structure (the delete pass)

Read only the headings. Ask:

  • Does the article answer the question in the first 100 words?
  • Does each section earn its place, or is it there because articles usually have one?
  • Is anything missing that a sceptical reader would ask?
  • Could two sections be merged?

Delete before you polish. Cutting a weak section at this stage saves an hour of rewriting it later.

Pass 2: facts (the trust pass)

Every specific claim gets checked:

  • Numbers — can you produce the source? If not, remove or soften.
  • Dates — is "recent" still recent?
  • Names and titles — spelled correctly and current?
  • Product specifications — copied from the current spec sheet, not memory.
  • Legal and health statements — reviewed by someone qualified, with a disclaimer if needed.

This is the pass that prevents the expensive kind of mistake. A typo is embarrassing; a wrong statistic is a credibility problem.

Pass 3: sentences (the read-aloud pass)

Read the piece aloud, or have the machine read it to you. You will hear problems you cannot see:

  • Sentences that run out of breath
  • The same word three times in a paragraph
  • Transitions that do not connect
  • Paragraphs that start with "Additionally" or "Moreover"

Fix by cutting, not by adding. If a sentence needs a second clause to make sense, it usually needs to be two sentences or none.

The readability checker turns "this feels long" into a number: average sentence length, longest sentence and grade level, updated as you edit.

Pass 4: technical details

  • Title tag under 60 characters and readable out of context
  • Meta description under 155 characters, written as a reason to click
  • One H1; headings in a logical order
  • Alt text on every image — descriptive, not keyword stuffed
  • Links checked: internal links go to live pages, external links open correctly
  • Anchor text descriptive rather than "click here"
  • Tables and lists render on mobile
  • Forms and buttons still work after the page is built

The sentence-level habits worth enforcing

  • Cut the first sentence of most paragraphs. It is usually a warm-up.
  • Replace adverbs with specifics. "Significantly cheaper" becomes "about 40% cheaper".
  • Delete "very", "really", "quite", "just". They weaken the word they modify.
  • Prefer active voice unless the actor genuinely does not matter.
  • One idea per paragraph. If a paragraph has two, split it; if it has none, delete it.

A fifteen-minute version

If you only have fifteen minutes before publishing:

  1. Read the first paragraph — is the answer there? (3 minutes)
  2. Check every number and name. (5 minutes)
  3. Read the last paragraph — does it give a next step? (2 minutes)
  4. Check title, meta description, image alt text and links. (5 minutes)

That catches most of what readers notice.

Published content is a promise that someone checked. The checklist is how you keep it.

Editing is included in every deliverable we produce — two rounds, with the fact-check pass built in. Details on the services page.