UX Writing is more than replacing Lorem Ipsum. It is a Science.
Short version. Originally written for Dineout.tech
UX writing involves writing microcopies ( or UX copies ) to speak on behalf of the product and offer an enhanced user experience. This is done by arranging the least number of characters or words in the right order that when read, whether entirely or scanning keywords, conveys the right message. The message could be anything: select from one of these options, enter the right information, follow correct steps, that was a success, or perform an action.
Microcopies are short texts and are often used in an application’s UI. Look at the black empty screen here. Pretty sure you have seen a similar screen. This is the profile screen of my Google Pay account, minus all the microcopies. Without microcopies, the app will make no sense and without designs, microcopies have no purpose.
It is easier to use long sentences to convey a message without misleading. Try doing the same with 5–6 words or 44 characters, without shaming the language ( no ‘u’ for ‘you’, no ‘gr8’ for ‘great’, and for god’s sake, no ‘tq’ for Thank You! ). It is not that simple, or else Twitter wouldn’t have increased its character limit from 140–280, back in 2017.
Also, how does one make their products stand out from the rest? If you can offer order delivery tracking, so can your competitors. Besides having an intuitive and seamless user interface, focusing on how your app converses with your users through visual designing and written text is the key here. We will be talking about the latter in this blog.
Like your UX design, a UX copy is a digital ambassador of your brand but it does more than just that. It plays a significant role in keeping your customer engaged, compel them to perform an action, fix things when something goes wrong, and even does the selling for you. It is your voice in the literal sense, and since you are not a robot, why make your product sound like one?
Ok, but where is science in all this?
UX copies are meant to lead users through a product’s key interactions. Can one do that without understanding user behavior? That’s where science comes into play. Every user brings a lot to the table. It is imperative to understand human to computer behavioral patterns while writing effective copies for a larger audience, while also focusing on your product’s pre-defined end-user. Trust me, anyone can be exploring your application. I have an app that helps people put on weight ! ( Need to delete )
Now, I don’t expect you to do a course on psychology, although it wouldn’t be a bad idea. In fact, Psychologists and people in the UX field must often go on coffee dates. My date is pending, but I have read and researched a few things that will help you write better microcopies.
Stick within 40 characters for single line sentences
For a larger chunk of texts in paragraph format, do not exceed 3 lines. This is actually something Torrey Podmajersky mentioned in her book Strategic Writing for UX . Torrey is a UX writer at Google and has written inclusive and accessible consumer and professional experiences for Google Ads and Cloud, OfferUp, Xbox, Microsoft account, Windows apps, privacy, and Microsoft education.
Converge Motivation, Ability and Prompts
Use the concept of Fogg Behavior Model when planning UX content. As per the model, a behaviour occurs ( a user tends to use a feature ), when motivation ( show the benefits ), ability ( show how simple it is ), and prompts ( placement of the text at the right place ) converge.
Group your content and remember the magic #7 theory
Remember Miller’s theory of Magic Number 7 when working with your UX designers. Magic number 7 ( plus or minus two ) provides evidence for the capacity of short term memory. Most adults can store between 5 and 9 items in their short-term memory ( yes, you are not alone ). So when you group multiple contents, stay within 5–9 groups or chunks.
Do Heuristic Evaluation based on Nielsen’s 10 Usability Principles
Heuristic Evaluation is a methodical way to evaluate the user interface for usability problems. This method of evaluation involves the use of Jakob Nielsen’s 10 Usability Principles. These ten principles serve as a checklist in evaluating and explaining problems for the heuristic evaluator while auditing an interface or a product. Traditionally, these have been mostly used for UX designs, but some of them can be considered while drafting microcopies.
For example, one of the principles talks about error messages. It says:
“Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors.”
Nothing will annoy a user more than an error message popping up every time they perform an action. Don’t just throw a boring error message at them; tell them why it occurred and tell them what they need to do to avoid this error again.
Do not assume people are not reading your content
Over the years, you may have written multiple copies that are impactful and persuasive, but it all went unnoticed. Try making one mistake and see how the spotlight is turned your way.
Wrong grammar, especially wrong usage of punctuations can do more than just damage your brand’s image. It may lead a few customers to close and leave your app. It gives an impression that you didn’t bother to put an extra effort into getting your content proofread.
We are living in a world where being grammatically correct isn’t enough. Today the digital world’s ask is beyond that. Companies want writers who can write microcopies using gender-neutral words and build content strategies around actual data. So buck up!
Be mindful and nurture the empath in you
This probably should have been the first point. Nevertheless, here it goes.
Yes, we all work under tight deadlines but it always helps to take a moment and evaluate things. We are humans and to err is human. As a writer, always get the entire story before you work on the content. Ask how, where and why the content is being used. Be nosy, if that helps! Save yourself from embarrassments. Learn how empathy, curiosity and eye for detail helps in elevating a role of a product and tech writer- here.
Let me know in the comments what is wrong with the below image.
Also, being human means you were born with a heart. In this role, you have to put yourself in the users’ shoes. You have to be the user advocate and that should be your guiding light. You cannot possibly do that if you are not empathetic.
Now that we have established that UX writing has a lot to do with psychology, on both the emotional and the cognitive level, invest in a good UX writing team if you haven’t already. After all, it is much easier to fix words than your designs.
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