UX writing: The voice of the interface

Published in

UX Collective

4 min readNov 21, 2019

“Easy reading is damn hard writing.”
Nathaniel Hawthorne

I am wasting too much time thinking about an introduction to this topic. Let’s just skip it and get right into what UX writing is and why it probably matters to you.

UX writing is the new copy

UX writing is the witchcraft of the words and text that we read, see or click-on while using digital products. It is the science of creating call-to-action buttons. It is also called as microcopy.

A UX writer’s job is to shape product experiences by creating useful, meaningful text that helps users complete the task at hand.

That motivational message that you receive on reaching your fitness target? The quirky message you get when you click a button or select the wrong option? Those text-buttons that compel you to signup because it’s free? The way a chatbot responds to you?

These are not some randomly-thought words. They are all thoughtfully positioned and selected to be simple and intuitive for the end-user.

Is it really that important to have one?

To understand this better, let’s go back to what user experience design is!

It is a way to design a fulfilling experience for the user who is using the product. To experience, the customer needs to interact with the interface. I’m pretty sure that visual design without any form of communication leads to a dead experience. There it is. The importance of communication and UX writing is exactly that. It is the direct conversation you have with your user.

Every relationship is shaped by words. Often, words are the tipping point between becoming friends, staying acquaintances, or walking away from one another forever; one wrong word and everything can change. It’s the same for your product.
-Kasey Fleisher Hickey

So!...maybe, it is important. :)

But how to write great microcopy?

Follow these basic principles to be a better UX writer.

1. Easy to understand

Aim for clarity and simplicity in everything you write. Abandon all jargon and technical terms you know. Write like you are explaining it to a young school student. This ability to simplify terms and making it easy for the reader to understand is what is needed for great UX writing.

2. Consistent Style

Consistency is important to avoid puzzling the user. In today’s time, when there are multiple channels for every product and service (like a mobile app, website, web app, social media channels, etc), it is important to have a consistent content (aka omnichannel) strategy. Using synonyms for similar meaning activities can create confusion for the user. Words like Remove and Delete used interchangeably can make the user hesitate a bit.

Good UX writing is the one that doesn’t make the user think.

3. Tell them the benefits, not features.

People do not give a flying shit about you and your product. It does not matter to them what you can do, however fast, better or cool. They only care about how it would benefit them.

It is not about what features your product has, but how those features benefit the user, that matters.Your online cloud service might provide 50 GB of online storage, but it doesn’t sound exciting. How about

‘You’ll never have to think about deleting your old college pictures again’

4. Avoid using passive voice

Always write in the active voice. It is direct and clear. Passive voice is indirect, long and confusing. When talking to your users, be upfront and precise. We don’t want to waste time reading unnecessary words.

Don’t: The add to cart button should be clicked when you are ready to buy the item.

Do: Click add to cart button to buy.

5. Use simple action verbs

Your button labels should inspire users to act. When users read an action verb, they know what the button will do. They can take action without reading any supporting text such as confirmation dialog. This keeps the message direct, clear and avoids all possible confusion that a user might think of.

6. Avoid long blocks of text

This is such a common mistake I see everywhere.

While I don’t mind reading longer lines in print media, the optimal line length on the web is considered between 50–60 characters. According to research, it was found that users only read 20%-28% of your text. Remember that users don’t read, they scan. They don’t want to know what all you.

Don’t show everything upfront. If you still want to, put a ‘Read more’ button/link. This way both you and the reader can get what they want.