Design is learning. Practice and self-education are not the only things that can improve a product. This must be done effectively, setting a goal and achieving incredible user experience in the market through the best UX/UI design ideas and design thinking. Add UX writing best practices there and you will get an incredible result.
What is UX writing?
To put it simply, UX copywriting is about writing user-facing copy. This includes everything that is related to content: headings, text on buttons and other interface elements. These include button names, input fields, descriptions for the forms and various navigation elements, CTAs, notifications, error messages, and so much more. While UX design helps users navigate the interface, UX writing guides user action by explaining:
- what to do;
- why do it;
- where to press to get what you want.
Thus, UX writing is a part of UX design that includes making up interface texts. Such small text is often called a microcopy and is a minor but not less important part of the designing process.
Top 5 UX writing tips
As trends in UX design continue to evolve, some things outline the best writing practices in UX design, no matter the changes. Some things a designer needs to keep in mind to create a great UX project will be as follows.
1. Apply meaningful texts everywhere
Meaning that you apply them even during the layout development. Insert meaningful user-oriented tests into the blocks from the start. Don’t use text stubs.
Therefore, the sooner you start using real text in the interface, the better because: this will make the prototype more natural, and you will be able to appreciate all the elements of the layout as a whole from the start.
This will also save you the time and hassle of making corrections that will be needed after you notice that the design looks less attractive because the original text has a different structure, etc.
2. Put it in plain language
Ux writing is synonymous with clarity and simplicity. To create a convenient format, plain words that are known to everyone are used. Avoid passive voice and complex sentences, jargon, terminology, and other complicated things, and do your best to create a content hierarchy. A pattern that allows users to scan the text easily.
3. Use the numbers
The power of numbers has long been known to everyone, people subconsciously associate them with the:
- proven facts;
- measurements;
- statistical data;
- anything that could possibly be of use to them.
Therefore, as a rule, most brands use numbers and stats on their landing pages. Numbers are best suited to add value and inspire trust.
4. Mind the tone of your voice
Text style is how your brand speaks to your audience, so use the same terms, titles, phrases, and sentence structures. Create a UX writing style guide for both copywriters and designers to hire to keep them on the same page and make your brand communication consistent. In the case your company has already created its brand book, make sure to share it with the UX writers. All texts should reflect the corporate identity and the brand style.
5. Stay creative
So, if the brand tone of voice allows, feel free to bring some creativity to arise positive emotions in your users out of the UI you create through the texts. For example, an error message may become a real chance to add an appropriate joke that will encourage users to stay on the website despite the outage. While UX texts should be short, informative, and reflect the style of the brand, that doesn’t mean they have to be boring. So, sky’s the limit with your creativity.
All samples provided by Fireart Studio
Bad UX writing examples
UX writing is about making the user experience more comfortable and purposeful, so designers and developers should not ignore copywriters’ comments about what words to use and where to place them to improve usability. Otherwise, they risk producing really poor UX design pieces.
Lack of data
Many sites do not display certain info on the product page in particular places because there was no microcopy developed for that. In doing so, they leave users wondering what to do next or what to expect, which is a deciding factor for some users to skip before moving on to the purchase checkout.
A way too complicated copy
Sometimes, the biggest part of the copy may be the worst part of the UX message because it is created and the elements are named in a too complicated way, which deters users from page usage.
Words are right, logic is wrong
In some applications, you may find flaws in the logic of certain user experience processes, for example, a payment stage, onboarding, etc. After onboarding, the user can try to pass over to the next stage but fails due to inconsistent sentences in UX copywriting.
Wrap up
User experience refers to the infinitive experience of the end user, on the basis of the experience of the company’s customers when interacting with their website. UX writing plays a great role in making that interaction consistent, smooth, and effective. The user interface, which is a portal or website design through which a user interacts in the digital world should be understandable to a human being. So, UX writing in website design is about providing the user with the best possible data for their user experience at the same time helping to successfully achieve the business goals of the company. Interested? – feel free to find out more about that with our ui/ux design services.
