UX Writing: The Power of tiny words
“Writing is easy, all you have to do is cross out the wrong words”
~ Mark Twain
Few weeks ago, I registered for an online session. I received the invitation link over email for joining the session. The next day while I was trying to access the shared link, which clearly read ‘Event Link’ & ‘Link to join event’, upon selecting that option, I was redirected to a whatsapp group, asking me to join the group. I didn’t want to join a random group to join a free “workout” session :P so I ended up skipping it. Later, I reached out to the event organiser, only to find out that the session link which I was looking for was shared in that whatsapp group.
This made me think if the organiser’s intent was to create a group for easy communication, why did they inform directly? only if the button in the email would have said “Join group” to receive a session link, with probably some more instructions, it would have made me very clear what I should be expecting.
As a UX designer, this incident made me curious to find more such scenarios where users are helpless either using products or completing their tasks because of bad instructions or misinterpretation. After digging online, not only I found some examples of inappropriate writing, but also this led me to know more about UX writing & its importance in the design process.
“The way UX designers produce smooth & best experiences, UX writers compliment it by using better copy. Both go hand in hand.”
So, what is UX Writing at all?
“UX-Writing is the practice of crafting UI copy that guides users throughout while using a product.”
It is the tiny words which make a huge UX impact. Infact, UX writing is more than just words. It’s understanding your users, their emotions & guiding them stepwise in the most simplistic way in their own language while using any product or service. It’s all over the place — on buttons, form fields, success/error messages, labels in contact forms, 404 pages, emailers, notifications, etc.
These small pieces of text are mostly taken for granted & sometimes even go unnoticed. Though they might seem unnecessary, but when they are not used correctly, it can cost a heavy loss to a company. Its like you only realise its importance when its not there.
Initially I was briefly aware of what UX writing is, but my recent project helped me understand even more about the overall UX writing working process. I worked with the UX writing team on several occasions for their new features & reading more about it made me realise its importance & the impact it makes.
Writing a tiny piece of copy is not a piece of cake. It requires numerous drafts & discussions with designers, stakeholders & Product Owners throughout the product design lifecycle- from wireframing to high-fidelity iterations. I got to know how crucial a single piece of information can be & how UX writers have this skill to think within all the constraints yet out of the box.
If any company is trying to build their own brand, UX writers would be responsible for content strategy which requires a lot of research, defining product’s IA, setting voice & tone guidelines & producing localisation-ready, SEO-optimised, user focused content.
The myth of UX writing is same as Copywriting & Microcopy
Some call UX-writing to be the same as Microcopy, but arguments are that they are not the same. If you are interested to know WHY? I would recommend you to read- article by Kinneret Yifrah.
Some also think that UX writing is the same as copywriting, which is not true either. There are different titles for writers in tech & here is the most popular ones-
When people confuse between UX writing and copywriting, they confuse with disciplines & when they confuse with disciplines, they confuse with the rules.
“If its Copywriting, then its NOT UX”
Here is how these 2 terms are different from each other-
Long text on landing pages of websites is copywriting. Though such scrollable lengthy copy doesn’t give a good experience, it works in favour of the product, as the title looks catchy & companies are actually trying to sell their product from a very first glance itself. In the examples below, both titles are catchy. You tend to read the description, eventually scanning the entire page.
Why does UX-writing matter?
UX-writing wasn’t a thing 5–6yrs ago, however biggies like airbnb, facebook, google have been showing us how using correct words can help users to experience their products smoothly, ultimately increasing their engagement rate.
- Google:
During one of Google’s conferences, Sr. UX writer at Google, explained the possible business value of having UX writers on the team. After they changed Book a room to Check availability, the engagement rate increased by 17%.
2. Slack:
When users try to leave the channel (ex: #general — channel name), they can’t leave it directly. To let them know about this, Slack doesn’t say “you can’t leave #general” directly, instead shows empathy towards their users. The tricky part about the channel #general is that it can be renamed, so members of this workspace may think this is another channel where membership is not required. So this is how Slack uses copy to help users understand the exact message.
3. Veeam:
Veeam shows how revisiting things, analysing them & making those small tweaks can make a huge difference. Here, they analysed that their customers were selecting ‘request a quote’ a lot on their product page hence, they decided to rename this action to ‘Request pricing’. They got a 161.66% increase in clicks to their lead gen form. Such is the power of UX writing.
What is a good UX writing?
“Good UX writing should solve a problem that cannot be solved by design or that can be solved better by text than by design.”
1. Good UX writing is Clear & Concise
Avoids misunderstanding, allows accessibility & inclusion, enhances conversion, makes journey smooth.
i) Quora: For a new feature release, Quora helps users by giving them a feature tour to let them know what/ how they can use it.
ii) Evernote: The copy on ‘select plan’ section spells everything out. They let customers know what to expect & what will happen next.
2. Good UX-writing is Conversational
Interacts with users as human & not robots, feel confident & builds trust.
i) Siri prompts gives a personal touch like we are interacting with a real human.
3. Good UX-writing builds a character by its voice & tone
Allows product to serve as brand-ambassador, builds identity & trust.
i) Frontify’s login page has a different title every page refresh, & each one has warm & funny welcome message. Welcoming users could start the use of the product with a smile and positive emotions.
ii) Facebook vs Twitter: facebook allows their users to express what they want to say. Thats why in the hint they use “What’s on your mind?” Vs Twitter helps users to know what’s going around. So, they use their copy as “What’s happening?”
4. Good UX-writing is informative
Provides necessary information & status
Google suite: “Last update” copy keeps users updated about their document status. You don’t worry that your work hasn’t been saved or updated yet. It helps to know when was your work last saved.
5. Good UX-writing is contextual
Gives context & helps take steps ahead by building momentum.
i) Tumblr: You know that feeling when you sign up for a new service and your username is taken? Tumblr solves this by giving few options to get you started. And they reassure you that you can change it later (which is another large point of anxiety when signing up to a new service).
ii) Siri: In the case of Siri, new users might not know how to interact or what to ask. Apple approaches this by providing specific examples of what you can ask. They even go deeper by providing app-specific questions to demonstrate the scope of what you can ask. This helps users understand how they can interact with this “interface-less” interface.
6. Good UX-writing guides user
What they should do in a situation, helps them take next step
Passwords saved on browsers: If you have the same password for two separate services, one password shows a contextual warning which recommends you generate a unique password.
7. Good UX-writing Sets expectations
Lets user know what’s going to happen next
i) Slack message: To notify everyone in the group, Slack uses“@here”. The below warning pop-up comes up when you hit ‘send’. This clearly mentions what user should expect to happen once tehy select ‘Send’.
ii) Netflix: Whenever you want any help, live chat is always efficient & quick, but people hate being on hold. Netflix makes a clear point how long the wait time will be by adding a copy “Wait time: x min” at the bottom. This sets the expectation for users and takes the stress out of waiting.
8. Good UX-writing Gives timely feedback
Lets users know when something goes right or wrong, provides clear & concise feedback.
i) Tumblr provides similar small messages when user copies the content.
ii) Video conferencing apps: These apps flashes below message immediately if someone is speaking on mute.
iii) Registration forms: inline error state helps user know what he is doing wrong.
9. Good UX-writing motivates users that they should do it NOW
Encourages users to take action then & there itself.
i) Basecamp Sign Up: when potential customers see how large the customer base is, they are more willing to complete a sign up procedure.
ii) Medium encourages their readers to write & share their thoughts with the audience. This piece appears randomly in the scroll.
10. Good UX-writing handles error states uniquely
Makes error states more interactive, fun & also helps users what they can do.
i) Dropbox: The copy helps user to easily navigate through an error page with cute illustrations.
ii) Harrys: If you find yourself on their 404 page, you’ve probably ‘missed a spot’ and they want to help you to fix that.
11. Good UX-writing shows empathy towards users
It shows attachment towards users.
Airbnb shows its users what they expect from them to write.
12. Good UX-writing builds trust & security
Allows users to trust the product & maintains transparency
i) facebook: shows the exact reason why they are asking for the user's date of birth, Vs on other websites, they don’t usually clearly mentions why they want DOB.
ii) Netflix payment setup: Copy builds trust & assures security with that little ‘Secure Server’ badge.
Above examples might have made it clear by now what is considered to be a good UX-writing. You can now see how same page turns completely different when used appropriate supporting words in order to enhance its experience altogether.
What makes writing — a Bad UX-writing?
When a user is completely confused and frustrated while using a product, not because of a bad UX, but due to inappropriate usage of words. They either can get offended due to language used or they get stuck at some point, in between completing their work.
Here is the list of things which makes it a bad UX-writing-
1. Bad UX-writing lacks accessibility
In the below example, copy “blue button” is really difficult for a color blind person to understand which button they need to select.
2. Bad UX-writing uses offensive/ shaming language
This is self explanatory. Below example shows why it is such a bad copy.
3. Bad UX-writing shows microaggression
It is zero empathy towards users. Its offensive when copy tries to play with user’s emotions. (Though its an old ex., but the intent is to use soft language)
4. Bad UX-writing makes humour go wrong
The Seattle Times reached many readers with the below notification after it went viral on social media in March 2020. Nobody knew then its going to be the pandemic which no one has seen before. The CTA “Yes, I want coronavirus” has to be the worst CTA in the history :D
5. Bad UX-writing confuses users when they get any error
Error state on Classic Windows 98 (popups): not specific, not helpful, no context, not polite.
Some of the government websites still shows error like this which are out of context, very cluttered, irrelevant-
Writing for Diverse audience
There are various aspects which make users diverse.
- Age
- Tech-savviness & capabilities (accessibility)
- Gender & Ethnicity
- Belief & Religion
- Language Proficiency
While UX-writing, you need to keep in mind this diverse set of audiences & should be really careful while using words. Even for A/B testing of your product, in order to find whether its usable for all or not, you should select a diverse user base. This will help in analysing if the copy is discriminating, offensive, insulting or not easy to use for a tech-savvy person.
Then how can we write for a diverse audience?
- Avoid over-using technical terms or non-informative CTAs
- Don’t use insulting, shaming language
- Avoid inappropriate humour
- Don’t create fake scarcity. ex. “Hurry up”, “only 2 seats available”, this might make person anxious leading to FOMO (Fear of Missing out)
- Its not necessary that your entire user base should be proficient in English. Using simple language would help them understand better.
Accessibility in UX writing
15–20% (approx 1 billion) of the world’s population experiences some sort of disability. As the number is pretty huge, you just can’t ignore these users. If your product is poorly designed or written, then you are missing out on this huge user base of potential customers who could have used your product.
On the other hand, in this digital era where companies are looking forward to providing as much self service as possible, bad UX writing may cause your existing customers to use customer care services which are more expensive.
Looking from a different perspective, this can be considered as a great challenge as thinking differently can lead to a lot of innovative solutions.
So, how can we make UX-writing more accessible?
- Keep copy crisp, short, structured, clear & easily understandable.
- Headings & labels should be short & brief. This helps in quick scan-read the page.
- Avoid abbreviations & synonyms unless its globally accepted.
- Screen readers might need some supporting copy for their visuals. Working together with designers can sort things at early stages. Likewise, supporting diagrams might help interpret copy better.
- Avoid mentioning location/ color-specific copy. Ex. Select the “Red” button- users with color blindness may not be able to relate it.
- For people with ADHD, brief, bulleted text helps.
- For dyslexia, too many words can be confusing & heavy to understand. Use clear & concise copy.
Voice & Tone
“By choosing the right voice and tone, we can express our attitude and our gratitude.”
Voice makes writing more consistent while tone makes it more empathetic. They together make products easy to use.
Setting Voice & Tone to a product gives personality to it. It doesn’t sound like a bot, but instead feels more personal & connected. Your tone and voice are everywhere — every message exchanged with your customers, every text on your website, every slogan on your ads.
Why tone and voice is important
- It’s an expression of your core brand values
- It makes your company more human
- It builds trust and makes people more attached to the brand
- It makes your company stand out from the competition
Some UX-writing style guides you can check out- Mailchimp & Slack
Mailchimp is one of the best examples of how it uses Voice & Tone in their products. It has funny, humorous, goofy characteristics in it.
Final thoughts
While writing for your product, keep the main user’s context in mind. No fancy or witty words can help you increase your engagement and conversion rates unless you show empathy towards the end users. Users don’t realise how those tiny pieces of copy actually help them reach their goal. Its the UX writers who think through and get them out of stuck situations. Its their task is to guide users and be invisible at the same time.
So while writing, ask yourself: Am I getting it? Is it clear? If the answer is yes, your copy is great to go.
Other material that you may find interesting…
Microcopy Canvas: If you’re a writer, you can try this tool with your team, to show them the thought processes that go into the crafting of the words. Source | Printable version
Recommended Portfolio: https://www.cortexcopywriter.com/
You can find some more examples here.
Case studies: PayPal | facebook
Sources:
- https://uxdesign.cc/15-failed-attempts-at-describing-ux-writing-at-parties-ed6f16f0fa6
- https://www.hsbc.com/
- https://medium.com/swlh/best-microcopy-examples-and-some-great-insights-e4c6c0412ff8
- https://medium.com/deliveroo-design/how-to-use-voice-and-tone-in-ux-writing-a66981c78d20
- https://uxdesign.cc/creating-your-products-tone-and-voice-758fdcd1f0b2
- https://mailchi.mp/smashingmagazine/319-microcopy-and-ux-writing?e=58cd789a83
- https://uxplanet.org/16-rules-of-effective-ux-writing-2a20cf85fdbf
- https://medium.com/sainsburys-digital-experience/how-to-build-better-digital-experiences-with-ux-writing-principles-3c65fcdbcef8
- https://uxplanet.org/microcopy-tiny-words-with-a-huge-ux-impact-90140acc6e42
