UX Writing Guidelines

Writing for user interfaces is a bit like writing poetry: every word must have a purpose, every sentence must be essential, meaning matters, and timing is everything.

Below are some guidelines to be followed when writing UI copy for our products:

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.

Don’t:*** *You must log in before you can write a comment *

Do:*** *Log in to comment *

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.

Avoid double negatives

Double negatives increase cognitive load — they make users spend extra time decoding the message.

** Don’t:** I do not want to unsubscribe

** Do:** I want to subscribe.

Begin with the objective

When a sentence describes an objective and the action needed to achieve it, start the sentence with the objective.

** Don’t:** Tap on item to see it’s properties

** Do:** To see item’s properties, tap on it

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).

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.

** Don’t:** Change *your* preferences in *My Account *

** Do:** Change *your* preferences in *Your Account *

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.

** Don’t:** System error (code #2234): An authentication error has occurred

** Do:** Sign-in error: You entered an incorrect password

Write in present tense

Avoid using the future tense to describe the action.

** Don’t:** Video has been downloaded

** Do:** Video downloaded

Write in the active voice

The passive voice makes readers yawn. Compare this sentence in both voices:

** Don’t:** The Search button should be clicked when you are ready to search for an item.

** Do:** Click the Search button to search for an article.

Use numerals

Use numerals in place of words for numbers.

** Don’t:** You have *two* missed calls

** Do:** You have *2* missed calls

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.

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.

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.

Use ‘today,’ ‘yesterday’ or ‘tomorrow’ instead of a date

People don’t use the date when they refer to the day before the present day. They say ‘yesterday.’ The same principle can be applied to UIs. Instead of giving a date, say ‘today,’ ‘yesterday’ or ‘tomorrow.’ It prevents users from using calendar each time they want to know when the event happened.

Use graphics if they will help you communicate

Human beings are incredibly visual creatures. An ability to interpreting visual information is hard-wired into our brains. In some context, it might be nearly impossible to say something in words. That’s where imagery can support us and make text comprehensible.