10 key questions for user testing microcopy

Noah Fulton Beale
Writing at Preply
Published in
2 min readNov 17, 2020
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Are you a UX writer who needs to understand whether your microcopy resonates with your audience? User testing gives you firsthand insights into how real customers use your copy to complete tasks using your product.

Here are 10 key questions you can use during a remote moderated user test, organized according to the interview structure we often use at Preply.

Break the ice

During this section, introduce yourself to the user participating in the test and explain the research. Build a connection and ask for permission to record the conversation.

Gather context

1. Could you please tell me about yourself?

2. What do you hope to achieve by using our product?

Show the copy

3. What do you think this page is for?

4. How do you think this works?

5. What does (specific word or phrase in the copy) mean/do?

Give the user a task

* Use a story to create an imaginary situation where a realistic need motivates the user to act

6. Can you find a way to do (X task)? (use wording that is synonymous with the copy in your product)

7. From what you know, what do you think comes next?

Discuss the experience

8. What is the purpose of this page/experience?

9. How would you describe this to a friend?

10. How disappointed would you be if this wasn’t built?

To find out more about how we get insights on our copy at Preply, read our 6 foolproof steps for user testing microcopy. And take a look at our research recruitment message template that you can adapt for your own user testing.

Have you run user testing to get insights on whether your microcopy is working? Leave a comment with your experience and favorite questions to ask!

--

--

Noah Fulton Beale
Writing at Preply

Shaping the future with positive stories and empowering words