One typical example of inconsistency is replacing a word with a synonym in a different part of the UI. Specific verbs (such as connect or save) are more meaningful to users than generic ones (such as configure or manage). When a sentence describes an objective and the action needed to achieve it, start the sentence with the objective.ĭon’t: Tap on item to see it’s propertiesĭo: To see item’s properties, tap on it 5. Avoid double negativesĭouble negatives increase cognitive load - they make users spend extra time decoding the message.ĭon’t: I do not want to unsubscribe 4. Keep the most important text up front and then ruthlessly edit what comes after it. Chunk text into shorter sentences and paragraphs. Help them scan the text by writing it in short, scannable blocks. Consequently, users don’t read UI text - they scan it. When using a product, users aren’t immersed in the user interface itself but in their work. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.”ĭon’t: You must log in before you can write a commentĭo: Log in to comment 2. When writing concisely, we make sure every word on the screen has a job. Use as few words as possible without losing the meaning.
Be conciseĬoncise doesn’t mean limited it means something closer to efficient. While it’s impossible to provide universal rules for writing UI text, it’s possible to provide some general rules that can help you create better UX. Writing the copy that are part of the UI design is both an art and science. If a team has trouble explaining a design, quite often it is the design, not the text copy, that needs improving. As a part of this activity, they often ask product team to explain design decisions. Professional UX writers should work together with software developers and designers on crafting UI text. Work on text early because text problems often reveal design problems. That’s why UI text should be written earlier in the process. Why crafting UI text should be an integral part of design processĪll too often product developers think of UI text as something that belongs to product documentation phase.”First we’ll design the product, and then we’ll hire someone to help us write a UI copy.” Such assumptions often cause a lot of harm because critical UI issue can go unnoticed until the later stages of product development process. In this article, I’ll provide some practical tips on effective UX writing. The primary aim of UX writing is to settle communication between users and a digital product. UI copy includes buttons and menu labels, error messages, security notes, terms and conditions, as well as any instructions on product usage. UX writing is the practice of crafting UI copy that guides users within a product and helps them interact with it.
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