UX Writing And Microcopy

✍️ Golden Rules For UX Writing. With practical guidelines on how to avoid confusion and help people understand better ↓ ✅ Always write with respect, for people as smart as you. ✅ Write mobile-first: short, plain language, bite-sized chunks. ✅ Decide what to say, then find the shortest way to say it. 🚫 Avoid long buttons: use 2–4 words, max. 25 characters. 🚫 Avoid long links: at least 8 chars, max. 8 words (55 chars). ✅ Use sentence case by default, Title Case only for headings. ✅ Use progress anchors for long forms: “Next: Payment details”. 🚫 Don’t use placeholders as replacement for labels or hints. 🚫 Don’t hide critical details or guidelines behind a tooltip. 🚫 Don’t hide frequently used filters/nav behind a button. ✅ Front-load keywords in headings and text summary. ✅ Make people hunt for destructive buttons to avoid mistakes. ✅ Leave room for translation. Expect your text to grow by 40%. 🚫 Avoid more than 20 words/sentence, 50 words/paragraph. 🚫 Never mix 2+ type treatments (color, bold, indents, italic). Good writing is an incredible opportunity. Not only to help people get work done faster and with confidence, but also to build a strong and lasting relationships. To be charming when users get started. To help without a fuss when things go wrong. To show respect and sincerity, but also understanding and care when it’s needed. One little technique that has helped me is to imagine a real person speaking to the customer before I choose words to communicate something to them. I think about how they speak — from voice and tone to speed and intonation. How casual or formal they are dressed. What their personality is. And, most importantly, what traits, values, beliefs and principles they uphold. A product then needs to match that personality, and adapt tone based on user’s context. Once we have it, we write down all the questions users might have. We re-arrange them in order of importance and severity. We decide what to say, and find the shortest way to say it. And then we test, by reading out a piece of content loud. And if it doesn’t sound right, it doesn’t read right either. ✤ Content Design in Design Systems Atlassian: https://lnkd.in/eGpzQqm4 Amplitude: https://lnkd.in/eaB85T7n 👍 DHL: https://lnkd.in/eF494fkT 👍 Duolingo: https://lnkd.in/egCSX9At Girlguiding: https://lnkd.in/eZ8zMyC3 👍 Gov.uk: https://lnkd.in/ekRadXad Intuit: https://lnkd.in/eGyBUrZ2 👍 JSTOR: https://lnkd.in/eAnyrtcu 👍 MetLife: https://lnkd.in/evVE8sqf Progressive’s: https://lnkd.in/evx_8bzY 👍 Shopify: https://lnkd.in/eAKgEHNW Skrill: https://lnkd.in/e2HGTq4q 👍 Zendesk: https://lnkd.in/euxijT5m 👍 Wise: https://lnkd.in/eWk-Mvf9 ✤ Books – Strategic Writing for UX, by Torrey Podmajersky – Content Design, by Sarah Winters – Nicely Said, by Nicole Fenton, Kate Kiefer Lee – Everybody Writes, by Ann Handley – Conversational Design by Erika Hall – Writing Is Designing, by Michael Metts, Andy Welfle ✏️ [continues in the comments ↓ ] #ux #writing

Writing is at the heart of digital marketing, yet so many marketers overlook why certain content works. Effective writing isn’t about clever phrasing—it’s about shaping behavior, inspiring action, and guiding people through a logical journey. Audience-first approach: Don’t write for search engines—write for the human being. Understand their pain points, goals, and motivations. Structure matters: Organize content so it’s easy to scan, with headings, bullets, and clear takeaways. Storytelling: Facts inform, stories resonate. Show a scenario your audience can relate to—this is what makes content memorable. Clarity over cleverness: Being witty is great, but clarity wins every time. Make sure the reader can understand your message immediately. Iterate and test: Headlines, calls to action, and messaging should be tested. Small tweaks can have a huge impact on engagement and conversion. Writing skills aren’t limited to blog posts—they apply to social media, emails, ads, and even presentations. Strong writing is a strategic advantage. When you focus on the audience’s needs and use language that connects, you can turn ordinary content into a conversion machine. Always test your messaging, iterate, and refine—your best insights come from observing real responses.

💡 How to design information architecture (5-step checklist) Information architecture is the practice of organizing, structuring, and labeling content in an effective way. Effective IA is crucial if you want to design an intuitive website or app. Here is a checklist to guide you through the IA design: 1️⃣ Understand user needs & the context of interaction Understand who your target user, their mental model, and how they interact with the information you have.  ✔ Create user personas that represent your target audience ✔ Conduct user research to gather insights into user needs, behaviors, and goal to understand the mental model (https://lnkd.in/dhCPA5T9)  ✔ Map out user journeys to understand the paths users take to achieve their goals 2️⃣ Content inventory & audit Analyze the content you have at a moment  ✔ Perform a content inventory to list all the items (pages, files, videos, etc) on your site or app ✔ Conduct a content audit to evaluate the quality and relevance of your content ✔ Identify gaps in your content that need to be filled to meet user needs 3️⃣ Content categorization & structuring Categorize content into groups that make sense to your target audience  ✔ Define the main categories of your content based on user needs and content audit findings ✔ Decide on the navigation schemes (e.g., hierarchical, sequential, matrix) based on the user's tasks ✔ Develop a labeling system that works well for the user (aligned with user language) ✔ Conduct card sorting sessions with your target audience to evaluate the labeling system (https://lnkd.in/d96mcwFJ) 4️⃣ Design navigation that reflects the structure of your content Build a navigation system that helps the user navigate through the content  ✔ Structure navigation hierarchically (from general to specific) ✔ Design a global navigation system that allows users easy access the main sections ✔ Design local navigation for navigating within sections. ✔ For complex navigation structures, use breadcrumbs to help users understand their current location and navigate back through the hierarchy ✔ Ensure the navigation system is both consistent across the site/app and scalable so it can accommodate the needs of your product 5️⃣ Usability testing ✔ Conduct usability tests to see how easily users can navigate your site or app and find information (measure both findability and discoverability) ✔ Use realistic test scenarios that reflect typical tasks users would perform on your site/app ✔ Collect quantitative data (e.g., task completion rates, time on task) and qualitative feedback (e.g., user comments, suggestions) ✔ Analyze the data to identify patterns, common usability issues, and areas for improvement 📖 Guides ✔ Practical guide to information architecture (by Donna Spencer) https://lnkd.in/dm9CE-TU ✔ Information architecture guide for product designers (YouTube) https://lnkd.in/dzJKXe8s 🖼️ Designing IA by Chen Ye #UX #uxdesign #design #UI #IA #uidesign

Users don't suck, but the information provided to them can. If your IFU reads like a legal contract, people won’t read it. Why? Because they’re confusing. Too wordy. Too complex. Too scattered. A great IFU should feel like having a clear-headed expert guiding you step by step. The user needs to know what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. Here's 20 recommendations/writing rules to improve your IFU↴ 1. Write procedures in short, identifiable steps, and in the correct order. 2. Before listing steps, tell the reader how many steps are in the procedure. 3. Limit each step to no more than three logically connected actions. 4. Make instructions for each action clear and definite. 5. Tell the user what to expect from an action. 6. Discuss common use errors and provide information to prevent and correct them. 7. Each step should fit on one page. 8. Avoid referring the user to another place in the manual (no cross-referencing). 9. Use as few words as possible to present an idea or describe an action. 10. Use no more than one clause in a sentence. 11. Write in a natural, conversational way. Avoid overly formal language. 12. Express ideas of similar content in similar form. 13. Users should be able to read instructions aloud easily. Avoid unnecessary parentheses. 14. Use the same term consistently for devices and their parts. 15. Use specific terms instead of vague descriptions. 16. Use active verbs rather than passive voice. 17. Use action verbs instead of nouns formed from verbs. 18. Avoid abbreviations or acronyms unless necessary. Define them when first used and stay consistent. 19. Use lay language instead of technical jargon, especially for medical devices intended for laypersons. 20. Define technical terms the first time they appear and keep definitions simple. Prioritize the user while ensuring MDR/IVDR compliance.

I used to write research reports like they were term papers. - Background first - Methodology next - Pages of lovingly detailed findings - Finally…on page 17…the conclusion You know what happened? Stakeholders skimmed. Misinterpreted. Ignored. One actually said to me: “Can you just tell me the takeaway? I didn’t have time to read it all.” I wanted to flip my desk. Then I tried structuring reports with the Pyramid Principle: answer first, then arguments, then evidence. That tiny shift changed everything: - My insights stopped collecting dust - Decisions actually got made in the room - Stakeholders repeated my language in exec meetings So instead of “We ran usability tests to understand why users weren’t completing checkout. Our analysis revealed trust issues with the payment process.” I now write “Users abandon checkout because they don’t trust the payment process.” Boom. Insight upfront. Then I unpack the three reasons and the data. That’s how you get heard in a room where everyone’s multitasking. If you’re tired of writing reports no one reads, I break down the full system (with step-by-step examples you can steal) in my Substack article: https://lnkd.in/ePpqRwHU

𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤 (𝐋𝐚𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧) 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 📊✨ Want to make your dashboards feel intuitive, clean and easy to navigate? 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧 is one of the simplest, most effective design tricks to get there. It’s a core concept from the 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 and once you see it; you’ll never unsee it. 🚀 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧? When elements are placed within the same container, our brains naturally assume they’re related. It’s why buttons inside a box feel “grouped” and why dashboards with clear sections feel more organised. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐈𝐭 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐈 𝐃𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬: 1️⃣ 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬, 𝐁𝐨𝐱𝐞𝐬, 𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐬 — Place similar KPIs in a shared container to show they’re connected. For example, group Revenue, Profit and Margin in one box to signal they’re related. 2️⃣ 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐔𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐭𝐥𝐞 — Use light grey or neutral colours to define regions for filters, KPIs and trend analysis. These subtle differences in background create visual separation without clutter. 3️⃣ 𝐀𝐝𝐝 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 — Add a clear header to each region (like “Financial Summary” or “Trend Analysis”) so users instantly know what they’re looking at. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐈𝐭 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬: ✅ 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 — Users can spot related metrics at a glance. ✅ 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 — Users aren’t scanning the whole screen—they’re scanning logical groups. ✅ 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝 — The brain sees clear groupings, so it doesn’t have to “figure it out.” ⚡𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬: You don’t need thick, bold borders to create regions. Use 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 or 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 to group elements naturally. It looks cleaner and more professional. Want dashboards that feel intuitive from the first glance? 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 for more design tips, templates and Power BI hacks! 🎉 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴? 𝘋𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸! 👇 #powerbi #dataanalytics #designtips #matthewspuffard #uiux

Two invisible drivers shape whether people understand your SaaS. One builds the foundation. The other makes it visible. Most SaaS companies get them backward. Or ignore one completely. What these drivers are? 1️⃣ Software taxonomy ↪︎ the logical organization of your product’s capabilities It’s the invisible structure that dictates … ◾ Which features belong together ◾ How capabilities connect and relate ◾ What lives where in your product 2️⃣ Information architecture (IA) ↪︎ the translation of this taxonomy into navigable pathways It’s … ◾ How taxonomy becomes visible & accessible to people ◾ The implementation of navigation, menus, and interfaces ◾ How people discover & interact with capabilities SaaS companies mistake one for the other. Or they build one without considering the other. They focus on creating intuitive navigation (IA) but ... Ignore the underlying taxonomy. Or they develop detailed capability maps but ... Create confusing pathways. This generates a lot of friction because … Software taxonomy must come first. Information architecture follows. Think of it this way … → Software taxonomy is your product’s street map. → IA is how people explore the neighborhoods. When I run in-depth messaging audits for B2B SaaS … I start by looking into software taxonomy and how it translates into IA. I analyze aspects such as … ◾ Taxonomy mapping Does your product’s structure align with how people think? Does taxonomy mirror real workflows rather than internal logic? ◾ IA setup Does the navbar prioritize the most important capabilities? Does the homepage create a natural entry point for product discovery? ◾ Coherence indicators Are features grouped consistently across menus & pages? Does IA help people build a mental model of the product’s structure? ◾ Friction points Are critical features buried too deep or in unexpected places? Do pathways suddenly change or become inconsistent? I’m looking at these things when running the audit because … Weak taxonomy + weak IA ↪︎ people don’t get the product or how to navigate it Weak taxonomy + strong IA ↪︎the interface feels intuitive, but the logic is broken Strong taxonomy + weak IA ↪︎ the product is well-structured, but hard to navigate Strong taxonomy + strong IA ↪︎ no friction, no second-guessing, everything’s clear This isn’t about UX or design. It’s a messaging problem at its core. If your SaaS product is hard to navigate, people won’t see its value. If they don’t see its value, they won’t stick around. Fixing this starts with getting taxonomy & IA right. — Hi, I’m Victoria. 👋 I run in-depth messaging audits for B2B SaaS. Want an audit? DM me.

For a long time, I resisted boiling my guidance on interface writing down to a set of “principles”, because context matters so much, and design principles are often misunderstood and misapplied. But then I started teaching a UX writing course, and, well, I needed a set of principles. I found that many lists of UX writing principles focus on qualities of the writing itself, such as concision, friendliness, or formality. Those types of things tend to exist on a spectrum, and are informed by context, so I don’t find it valuable to provide overarching guidance about them. Instead, I've tried to create a list that's more about how to approach your work as an interface writer. As I'm fond of saying, best practices are a last resort. The meta principle not articulated in this list is that you should always apply your best judgment as a professional craftsperson. But anyway, here’s what I’ll be sharing in class later today: I. Prioritize Usability Your words should help users accomplish what they are there to accomplish. II. Work, and Write, Incrementally Follow the ‘Rule of One’. One task per screen. One idea per headline or paragraph. One action that a button performs. One setting that a checkbox controls. III. Prefer Consistent Terminology When you choose words for buttons, menus, and controls, you are, in a way, naming them. Names should stay the same throughout the experience. For instance, ‘Settings’ should always be ‘Settings’, and not also ‘Preferences’. (This is a good rule to break, however, if using the exact same term would be confusing in a specific instance.) IV. Be Specific Using specific words for paths and actions builds trust with your users. For instance: Clone, Copy, Duplicate, and Make a Copy are related, but not perfect synonyms. Using the most specific word possible for an action helps you avoid conflicts with other terms. V. Rely on Patterns Unlike most writing, it’s okay to repeat yourself in interface copy.  In the same way that a design system has visual and layout patterns for common components, your writing can and should use similar patterns for similar actions and activities. -- There’s more to it than that, of course, but those will get you pretty far.

Before you celebrate your design, fix this first: 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆 We designers spend so long selecting colours, perfecting shadows and strokes, creating tokens, but microcopy is the single most important thing we ignore. Well-written copy is key to guiding, reassuring, and engaging users. Here’s how to get it right: 🔹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗨𝗽𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁 Show users the value your product offers to build trust and boost conversions. 🔹 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 Instead of just stating the issue, offer an actionable solution. 🔹 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄 Guide users forward with simultaneous feedback, avoid repetition of tasks and interrupted flows. 🔹 𝗦𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀 After task completion, show gratitude, value the user's time, and keep them engaged with next steps 🔹 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗷𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗼𝗻 Speak your users’ language, not in code. 🔹 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 Use a friendly, professional tone that helps, not accuses. 🔹 𝗕𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 Keep it simple. Don't make users guess what to do. Noticed any other examples of poor copy? Comment below👇🏻 ♻️ Repost to help others

Libraries don't arrange books by color - yet that's exactly what your website navigation might be doing wrong. The ancient art of information architecture is still outperforming modern design trends 📚 Let me share a perspective that transformed how I approach website navigation: 1. The Library Method: Think about it... • Libraries handle millions of items • Visitors find what they need in minutes • The system works across all languages • It's intuitive for both browsers & searchers Yet your website with 20 pages feels harder to navigate? 🤔 2. Here's the Golden Secret: Libraries organize by: ✨ User Intent (What people want) ✨ Natural Grouping (How people think) ✨ Clear Hierarchy (Where people look) ✨ Universal Signs (How people navigate) Your website should do the same. 3. Real Numbers That Matter: • 94% of visitors leave if navigation is complex • 88% won't return after a poor experience • 61% move to competitors after failing to find info 4. The Blueprint You Need: 🎯 Primary Navigation: - Max 7 main categories - Action-oriented labels - Clear hierarchy 🎯 Secondary Navigation: - Logical groupings - Related content clusters - Intuitive pathways 5. Implementation Checklist: • Audit your current navigation • Map user journeys • Group by intent, not features • Test with real users • Iterate based on data 💡 Power Tip: Next time you're stuck with website navigation, visit your local library. Watch how people find what they need. The answers have been there for centuries. Question: When was the last time you got lost in a library vs. on a website? #WebDesign #UX #DigitalStrategy #WebsiteNavigation