Q: I entered a web search to spellcheck, and the only result I got back was the one I entered. Why didn't I get more?

A: This generally happens in one of two cases: all of the words in your search were spelled correctly and no other word with such a misspelling could be found, or any misspellings in your query could not be resolved by searchspell.

Q: Can searchspell be localized for the correct spelling in my country?

A: Due to the complex nature of active spellchecking, and the fact that the majority of Internet resources are still located in the United States, searchspell is currently focused on finding the correct spelling in relation to the standards of United States English. If demand is sufficient we will consider developing an international version of searchspell sometime in the future.

Q: I typed in a search that was an obvious misspelling of a simple word, and I still couldn't get the right word! What kind of sloppy spellchecking are you doing?

A: Most spellcheckers use a series of formula to manipulate letters of a word to find possible misspellings. This often brings up tens or even hundreds of possible variations, most of which have nothing to do with the word you really want to use. They also ignore the possibility that a correctly spelled word can actually be a misspelling for a different word that was the actual intended word (such as "wear" for "where", "here" for "hear", etc.)

searchspell is different in that it is a database of word misspellings, compiled by human beings to reflect actual human misspellings. Your words are compared with the database, and all of the possible combinations of matches are returned. Using this technique, searchspell is able to give results of a much higher quality.

However, the downside of this approach is that it is difficult to determine all of the possible typos and misspellings that humans can make. So some of possible misspelling combinations are still not considered by searchspell.

But searchspell is designed to learn from its mistakes. For example, suppose you typed in the word "enviroment", and your intended word "environment" was not found. The failed check is examined by our staff to determine whether this should be added as a new word or a misspelling of another word. During our daily database refresh the corrections are added, and from that point on a search for "enviroment" finds its proper word. Furthermore, searchspell learns that words with "ron" in them can be misspelled as "ro", and updates it's entire database of words to accomodate this change.

So we really mean it when we say that every use of searchspell helps to make our system better for everyone.

Q: Why is this site labelled BETA?

searchspell was only recently launched, and we are still waiting for more "real" user data to use in improving our misspelling database.

Q: When will this site cease to be BETA?

A: When we are confident that over 99% of "reasonable" user searches are correctly and optimally checked (you can mash your hand on the keyboard and claim you were typing "butterscotch", but of course that wouldn't be reasonable...) But searchspell will always be in a constant state of renewal, striving for its ultimate goal of 100%.

Q: I want more search engines/less search engines to choose from. How can I make this happen?

A: We are working on a system of using cookies to customize the search engine options you are presented with. If you would like to see your favorite search engine added to our site, please write and let us know at comments@searchspell.com.

If you have any other questions you would like answered, please let us know at comments@searchspell.com.