If you’re just starting to develop your product and are already considering what the UX design should look like, you’re right on time!
Designers often err by creating a copy of the interface only after they’ve prepared the entire product and site for users.
But it’s better to do this sooner rather than later, because what could be more important than a great initial user experience?
In today’s article, we’ll explore 12 recommendations for writing UX copy to show you how your UX text can achieve optimal results!
Let’s begin! What is UX content? Writing UX content involves selecting the most suitable words for a digital product. The main focus is on creating text, also known as copy, that helps users navigate software, websites, and apps.
It consists of many components, such as:
- Calls to action
- Error alerts
- Confirmation notifications
- Greeting messages
- Menu labels
- Button text.
The quality of UX writing greatly affects users’ perception of your product.
Therefore, every word is important, regardless of its brevity and simplicity. What key questions should you ask yourself when creating UX content? When you’re creating UX content, it’s important to ask yourself specific questions. These questions come naturally as you start, and they help you create content with clear objectives.
For example:
- What are our competitors doing with their UX copy, and is it effective?
- What goal do users want to achieve?
- At what stage of product/site navigation is the user currently?
- What mode might they be in?
- Is this user a newcomer or a returning customer?
Now that you know a bit about what UX writing is and where to start, let’s look at some recommendations for writing UX! 12 Recommendations for Writing UX to Improve User Interaction
- Be straightforward Errors in writing UX copy often occur when the content confuses users.
Every used word should be easily understood.
How to achieve this? Test it.
Get feedback from other writers, as well as those who don’t write, to assess the clarity of your text. Also, consider asking those for whom the language is not native to give their opinion, as their perspective can be particularly valuable. Note To check if your text is clear, you can ponder the following questions:
- Is there a simpler term or synonym to use?
- What does the user need to know at this stage?
Professional tip In addition to helping with various writing tasks, the feature can answer your questions! You can ask it any question and get an answer in seconds. You can ask it to suggest synonyms and expressions for usage.
- Keep it brief Nothing is worse than long text sections that repel readers. The main attention when writing should be on making the text easily digestible let’s look at a few questions that will help make it concise, yet still valuable:
- Are there any redundant words in this sentence?
- Can this sentence be split into two parts?
- Does the message remain clear when we remove all the excess?
Look at how Spotify increases user engagement and satisfaction with personalized recommendations in the form of short texts:
It says: “Your weekly mixtape of fresh music. Enjoy new music and deep cuts picked just for you. Updated every Monday.”
It’s short, informative, and memorable. Professional tip The paraphrasing function in TextCortex helps transform long sentences into short, but interesting fragments. Just insert the text into the text box, and TextCortex will rephrase it.
With more than 25 languages available, you can adapt your text for different audiences.
- Write in the present tense Since the user is currently browsing your product app, you want to describe actions, not future results. This means you should avoid using any tense other than the present.
For example:
Future tense: “By clicking here, you will proceed to checkout.“;
Present tense: “Click here to checkout”.
Moreover, people often use the present perfect tense instead of the present tense. Example:
Present perfect tense: “Your account has been successfully created”;
Present tense: “Your account is created successfully.”; 4. Use active voice This practice goes well with the previous one. Active voice makes the text easier to read, clear, and understandable.
It’s not just for writing UX texts, but for creating any written content
let’s consider some examples:
Passive voice:
“Your password has been changed successfully.“;
“An error occurred while processing your request.“;
Active voice:
“You have successfully changed your password.”
“We encountered an error while processing your request.”
Using active voice isn’t hard, but it makes a huge difference, make sure it becomes your daily practice. 5. Use appropriate wording Using appropriate wording means choosing phrases and expressions suitable for the product as well as the target audience.
You need to consider how well users are familiar with the product and how well they know the language.
Make sure users can easily understand prompts and instructions without any distortions.
Here’s a small table showing poor and good examples.:
You can use these guidelines for any type of UX writing as guidelines on what to avoid and what brings results. 6. Use consistent terminology Reading this article, you might wonder about the importance of using each word individually?
The answer is no. The more you study UX writing guidelines, the more you understand how important each word can be.
When terminology remains consistent, users can predict where to find certain features or actions, enhancing usability and efficacy.
Google is a good example of terminology consistency, as it uses the same terms across all its products. This ensures terms like “inbox”, “archive”, and “drafts” will have the same meaning in different applications.
You just know what that little colorful button with a cross means “Compose”, don’t you? 7. Stay positive Pop-up notifications or UX alerts should be framed in a positive tone and enhance your mood.
This, of course, applies to any UX writing practice, but especially when you want to remind users about your app or its features.
Duolingo is very well-known for its jestful notifications.
Professional tip If you’re worried about how you sound, or if your language is too complicated, use the tone change feature in TextCortex! Choose from more than 10 tones and adjust your intentions according to writing style and audience!
- Avoid jargon Under no circumstances should you use jargon. It only adds to the confusion and makes the product more complicated for users.
This is especially important when errors occur. Adding technical terms when a page isn’t working properly can further upset users.
Instead, simplify the explanation. Just get down to basics, what needs to be done, and then move on.
- Avoid double negatives Using double negatives leads to ambiguity for users. As we emphasize from the beginning, when it comes to UX writing recommendations, just make them simple and understandable.
For example:
Double negative: “Do not forget not to ignore this warning.“;
Simple sentence: “Please pay attention to this warning.”; 10. Craft compelling calls to action To effectively motivate users to take action, the call to action (CTA) must be tailored to specific actions and benefits associated with each app or platform. For instance, a CTA for a travel agency should differ from a CTA for a fitness app.
Remember, the key to creating a compelling call to action is to focus on your product or service’s unique niche.
- Anticipate questions upfront You need to anticipate your users’ potential questions and answer them in advance.
Having ready answers not only improves user operation but also saves your team’s time.
You can address them by creating FAQs, onboarding guides, or contextual help in the interface.
These informative sections should be easily accessible, and you can provide concise explanations of protocols during the registration process.
- Use conversational language Last but not least, we want to draw your attention to the fact that adding a bit of personality can go a long way. The era of “talking like a robot” is past, and you need to add a bit of flair to your UX writing.
What we need to remember is not to overdo it.
Just a few words change the tone, and it’s noticeable.
Let’s summarize Creating original, understandable, concise, and effective UX text is no easy task.
It might appear as a daunting task for both designers and writers, but becoming proficient in this field secures your place in the competitive world of amazing interfaces.
