Copy Writing
Be concise
Concise doesn’t mean limited; it means something closer to efficient. Use as few words as possible without losing the meaning. When writing concisely, we make sure every word on the screen has a job.
Avoid double negatives
Double negatives increase cognitive load — they make users spend extra time decoding the message.
Begin with the objective
When a sentence describes an objective and the action needed to achieve it, start the sentence with the objective.
Use specific verbs whenever possible
Specific verbs (such as connect or save) are more meaningful to users than generic ones (such as configure or manage).
Choose preferences
Configure preferences
Make the copy consistent
Inconsistency creates confusion. One typical example of inconsistency is replacing a word with a synonym in a different part of the UI. For instance, if you decide to call the process of arranging something “Scheduling” in one part of UI do not call it a “Booking” in other parts of your UI.
Another common pitfall is combining forms of address. Don’t refer to the user in both the second person and the first person within the same phrase.
Avoid jargon
One of the significant characteristics of effective UX writing is clarity and simplicity. For clarity, you need to remove the technical terms and use familiar, understandable words and phrases instead. It’s especially important to avoid jargon in error messages.
Write in present tense
Avoid using the future tense to describe the action.
Write in the active voice
The passive voice makes readers yawn. Compare this sentence in both voices:
Use numerals
Use numerals in place of words for numbers.
Avoid long blocks of text
When using a product, users aren’t immersed in the user interface itself but in their work. Consequently, users don’t read UI text — they scan it. Help them scan the text by writing it in short, scannable blocks. Chunk text into shorter sentences and paragraphs. Keep the most important text up front and then ruthlessly edit what comes after it.
• Book a flight
• View pictures
• Plan trips
• Book a restaurant
• Visit tourist spots
Avoid showing all details up front
Sometimes it might be helpful to provide additional information or supplemental instruction for users. But all too often such details are presented upfront. Too much information can quickly overwhelm users. Thus, reveal detail as needed. Use a mechanism of progressive disclosure to show more details. In the most basic form, this mechanism can be implemented as ‘Read more’ link to the full content.
Progressive disclosure is especially good for mobile UI (where designers have a limited screen space to work with).
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Use language that’s consistent with the user’s platform
The terms we use when describing interaction with a desktop app do not necessarily apply to mobile platforms. For example, if you design an iPhone app, we can’t say ‘click’ when referring to the action. We need to say ‘tap’ instead.
Tap
iOS:
Touch ID
Click
iOS:
Fingerprint
Identify interactive elements appropriately
Users don’t like surprises. They hate situations when they’re expecting one thing, and end up with another. People should be able to tell at a glance what an element does.
When labeling buttons and other interactive elements, use action verbs, such as ‘Connect,’ ‘Send,’ ‘Subscribe’ instead of vague ‘Okay’ or ‘Submit.’
Send
Subscribe
Submit
Yes