10 Text Formatting Mistakes Developers Make (And How to Fix Them)

Text formatting seems simple. But these 10 mistakes cost developers hours every week.

1. Not Validating JSON Before Deployment

The Mistake: Deploying JSON config files without validation.

The Cost: Runtime errors, failed deployments, angry users.

The Fix: Always validate JSON before committing:

• Use CleanTextLab's JSON Formatter
• Set up pre-commit hooks
• Enable JSON linting in your editor

2. Inconsistent Text Case

The Mistake: Mixing camelCase, snake_case, PascalCase in the same codebase.

The Cost: Confusion, bugs, failed searches.

The Fix:

• Choose one convention per language
• Use Case Converter to standardize
• Document your style guide

3. Forgetting to Encode URLs

The Mistake: Using special characters in URLs without encoding.

The Cost: Broken links, 404 errors, security vulnerabilities.

The Fix:

• Always encode URLs with special characters
• Use Sanitize URL
• Test URLs before deployment

Example:

❌ Bad:  /search?q=hello world
✅ Good: /search?q=hello%20world

4. Not Removing Duplicates from Lists

The Mistake: Keeping duplicate entries in datasets.

The Cost: Wasted storage, slower queries, incorrect analytics.

The Fix:

• Use Remove Duplicates tool
• Add unique constraints in databases
• Validate data on import

5. Using Wrong Line Endings

The Mistake: Mixing \n (Unix) and \r\n (Windows) line endings.

The Cost: Git conflicts, failed builds, rendering issues.

The Fix:

• Configure .gitattributes for consistent line endings
• Use Line Break Remover
• Set editor to use LF (\n)

6. Not Minifying JSON for Production

The Mistake: Shipping formatted JSON with whitespace.

The Cost: Larger bundle sizes, slower load times.

The Fix:

• Minify JSON for production
• Use JSON Formatter's minify option
• Automate with build tools

Savings: 30-50% file size reduction

7. Ignoring Special Characters in User Input

The Mistake: Not sanitizing user input.

The Cost: XSS vulnerabilities, broken displays, database errors.

The Fix:

• Always sanitize user input
• Remove or escape special characters
• Use Accent Remover for text normalization

8. Hardcoding Phone Number Formats

The Mistake: Assuming one phone number format.

The Cost: Failed validations, lost customers, bad UX.

The Fix:

• Use international format: +1 (555) 123-4567
• Use Phone Number Formatter
• Support multiple formats

9. Not Testing Password Strength

The Mistake: Accepting weak passwords.

The Cost: Security breaches, compromised accounts.

The Fix:

• Enforce password requirements
• Use Password Strength Checker
• Educate users on security

10. Manual Text Processing

The Mistake: Manually cleaning text data instead of using tools.

The Cost: Wasted time, human errors, inconsistent results.

The Fix:

• Use automated tools like CleanTextLab
• Create workflows for repetitive tasks
• Save time for actual coding

Conclusion

Avoid these 10 mistakes to:

• ✅ Ship cleaner code
• ✅ Reduce bugs
• ✅ Save development time
• ✅ Improve security

Try CleanTextLab's free tools: cleantextlab.com

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Related Posts:

• How to Clean Messy Text Data
• JSON Formatting Best Practices