Designing Beyond Visuals: The Influence of UX Writing in Product Success

Designing a digital product is undoubtedly a long journey that requires skills in visual and interaction design. However, equally important for a successful product is UX writing. So, what exactly UX writing is? It is the creation of well-thought-out written content that considers specific contexts, needs, and behaviours of product users. Content design and copywriting are often rushed or misunderstood in product development, but are important for conveying clear messages, building trust, and motivating users towards their goals.

Let’s start with UI copy

As part of UX writing, it refers to command labels in buttons, menus, and other action elements of the user interface. Since applications require many features and commands, labels must be brief and convey meaning in a concise way due to limited screen space. Here are a few tips on how to get it right and not confuse users.

Commands should be concise and clear. Short, one-word commands are easiest to scan, but less familiar or infrequent commands may need additional context. Use no more than 2–3 words to accurately describe the command.

Verbs and nouns. Use clear verbs or verb phrases to indicate what happens after the command is chosen. When the action or impacted element is unclear, use a noun after the verb to provide context, like “Create document” or “Delete file”, instead of just “Create” or “Delete”.

Notice commands describing the actions they provide, but also nouns gives you a hint of what type of document are you working with.

Describe the resulting state, not the current state when possible. For instance, a toggle switch in UI design often represents an on/off state. The label reflects the state it will transition into when toggled. Toggles like this convey subsequent states while saving space in the UI. The interface would become cluttered and confusing if all commands were constantly displayed.

For instance, the filters in delivery app are showing resulting state when both turned On and Off.

Command names should be specific. Accurate, descriptive, and straightforward commands are more useful, than trendy or vague ones. The choice of action verbs carries distinct meanings. When your wording lacks precision, users may misunderstand the intended function of a button.

Using words like “delete” and “remove” can have different implications. “Delete” implies erasing an item from the system, while “remove” suggests separating it from a group. Misusing these terms can confuse users and create concerns when they interact with the corresponding button.

Avoid using the generic label. For instance “OK” confirmation dialog buttons may be selected without reading the surrounding text, assuming it’s the correct option. Instead, use descriptive labels that clearly state what the button will do. Always use clear UI copy to help users recognize available options.

Short Copy

This group includes texts like Headlines, subheads, microcopy, hypertext links, bulleted lists etc.

Headlines are crucial as they often determine whether people will read the associated content or not. On the web, headlines are usually read out of context in search results, social media streams, and news feeds. This means that headlines must be strong and descriptive even when viewed without supporting content. To increase traffic to your website, use keywords at the beginning of your headlines as readers tend to pay more attention to the first few words in lists.

Microcopy is the small, instructional text found on forms, messages, buttons, and search prompts that help users as they interact with a product. They can provide guidance, build trust, and create a stronger bond with the brand. UX designers should craft microcopy with empathy, by understanding users’ unmet needs, motivations, and behaviors.

Messages should be clear enough so that the user won’t be confused. The second message lacks additional information about why the login was unsuccessful, which can be quite annoying.

Using microcopy to provide users with a little extra context can alleviate stress and give them a sense of control. Effective UX microcopy is clear, concise, and fits visually with the design, while also taking on the voice and tone of the brand. It should fill a need, answer a question, or build empathy.

Microcopy describing clearly how to change your account email. It also informs you that the confirmation email could land in your spam folder.

Enhancing Readability and User Experience

How people read — scan

When people browse the web, they tend to scan pages instead of reading every word. This behavior is rooted in their desire to be efficient and minimize the amount of effort required to accomplish their goals. By scanning, they can quickly gather the information they need without spending too much time on a page. Research shows that users typically spend less than a minute on a website before deciding whether to stay or leave.

To accommodate user’s scanning behavior, web designers and content creators use various techniques to make content easier to scan. These methods help users quickly identify the most important information on a page and determine whether it’s relevant to their needs.

For example, breaking up long paragraphs, using headings and subheadings, and highlighting keywords or chunking text content helps users avoid walls of text. Short paragraphs, short lines of text, visual hierarchies, and distinct groupings make text content easy to scan.

People typically follow two distinct scanning patterns, which can be leveraged in your own designs: the “F” pattern commonly used for text-heavy blog pages and articles, and the “Z” pattern applied to websites or advertisements that present information in non-paragraph format.

Contact information is typically a small but very important piece of text. Addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers should be provided in a specific format that is commonly used worldwide. This makes it easier to scan and more functional.

How to write to your audience?

Plain language

Using plain language in your content means that it can be comprehended by your audience on the first try. It is important to ensure that your content is easy to read and understand for all users, not just those in your internal team. Just because something is clear to you and your colleagues, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s clear to your users.

Tone of voice / Personas

The way we communicate with users is as important as the content we convey. However, it’s difficult to determine how our tone of voice impacts users. Choosing a tone involves finding a balance between the brand’s personality and priorities. These are the four dimensions of tone of voice you can consider:

For example, choosing the values above would be ideal for design studio like us.

The tone of voice has a measurable impact on users. The way in which a message is spoken has a measurable influence on individuals, and specific attributes like friendliness and formality can have an impact on how users perceive the personality of a brand. These impressions can significantly influence the user’s willingness to recommend the brand.

Conclusion

As evident, UX writing is a vast and intricate field, and what we have touched upon here is merely the tip of the iceberg. It requires user research and knowledge of standards in modern digital products. There are numerous do’s and don’ts that may appear obvious at first, but every single detail should be carefully considered to create truly seamless and enjoyable product. It is crucial to remember that words hold equal importance to design and they are inseparable part of UX design.