The 9 Step Guide to Understanding UX Writing

On Thursday 31st March 2022, I was invited to a webinar about UX writing. It was chaired by Shivani Uppalwar, Head of Marketing at Coditas. Here, in the words of speakers Sharmilee Sarkar (UX Writer at Coditas) and Devakinandini Narayan (Strategic Experience Designer at DesignBoat), are my nine main takeaways.

1. UX writing should be as straightforward as a slide show

Sharmilee Sarkar: “What is UX writing? If you were to boil it down, it explains the user experience writing. So, basically any form of content. The art of crafting content that is there to aid the user’s experience, to enhance the experience of using a product or an application on a platform. That is UX writing. A simple example would be that right now you’re watching this webinar maybe on LinkedIn, or YouTube, or Facebook. So right now you’re the user and you’re interacting with the product which is the YouTube video or Facebook etc. So all of the content you see on top of your screen right now is the work of a UX writer.”

2. UX writing is communication

Sharmilee Sarkar: “You can't have a good user experience with great design and trashy copy or you can’t have a good user experience with great copy and trashy design. Both these things need to go hand in hand to give the user the best experience. That is UX writing. Just like a designer designs, picks the right font, the right layout, spacing, line height, and everything to enhance the user’s experience, similarly a UX writer designs with words, designs with content. UX writing is the practice of researching, crafting, and then testing the UI copy that guides the user within a product and helps them interact with the product. So basically you can think of UX writing as a bridge that lessens the gap between the product and the user. Without any copy, there won't be any communication between the product and the user.”

3. UX writing is architecture

Sharmilee Sarkar: “The words are the building blocks of communication. If you were to ask me what the tasks of a UX writer are, it can go just beyond crafting copy. It has a few areas before it can reach the researching part. That is before we start designing the content, there is a bit of research that goes into it. We try to find ways to create guidelines. We research a bit and try to understand the product. There is this crafting phase where we craft the content. For any application, it can be success messages, toast messages, warning messages, notifications, headers, basically any piece of content that is there on the top of the screen that comes under the task of a UX writer.”

4. UX writing is human

Devakinandini Narayan: “Empathetic copy is human-like experience. There is no correlation between Slack and doing exercise. It says: “Remember to get up and stretch once in a while.” Why should Slack do that? Why do they have this microcopy? It is to make the experience of the user on their platform more human. Slack is used as a messaging tool for working in your workplace. It's presumed that people work long hours and forget to take care of their health. So by telling them to get up and stretch once in a while, Slack makes a connection with the user on an emotional level. It’s very subtle.”

5. UX writing is good for business

Devakinandini Narayan: “Good copy equals more users. Maggie, who's a senior UX writer, took this example in Google I/0 Dev Conference to show the importance of UX writing, or copy on a product. Why do you think the second screenshot with “Check Availability” got 17% more engagement compared to “Book a Room” on the first screenshot? Essentially, they both mean the same thing, they result in the same action. Once we click enter, they display the same information but the words make such a huge difference here. I’ll tell you why. The user engagement in the ‘Check availability’ example is more because a huge number of users felt, if they entered their dates and clicked on ‘Book a Room’ in the first example, they would end up directly booking a room. They felt there was no way to check availability and hence they refrained from performing the intended action on that screen. Whereas, when you click on ‘Check Availability’, it’s very direct and it explains the result of the action. You get to see availability of rooms and not directly book a room. That’s how the engagement increased because of a good choice of words.”

6. UX writing is universal

Devakinandini Narayan: “The same word can mean different things in different languages. Sometimes it can be offensive as well. So if you’re designing for a global app, say, with more than one language, it’s important that you do research and see if your copy and translation bith means the same and that there’s no scope for any sort of misinterpretation.”

7. UX writing is a piece of cake

Sharmilee Sarkar: “You just have to make sure that you remember these basic Cs of UX writing. 1. In order to come up with good copy, you have to make sure that your copy is clear. Clarity banishes confusion. Great writing, like great design, is invisible. You have to make sure that your copy is very clear and very to the point so that your user understands in order to go in and take the next action. 2. Concise. We are all running out of time. That’s why they say that scanning is the new reading. Whatever you are writing, just make sure you keep things short. Keep it short and sweet. Help users achieve goals without thinking too hard. If a user has to read through every bit of text and the text is 500-600 words, they’re probably going to leave the site. 3. Our copy needs to be constructive. Make use of every bit of copy. The screen effectively informs the user of the next step. You get all the details and are not lagging behind as a user. 4. Conversational. We are not living in a world where we would like to talk to a robot. You can see the example: “You have violated the primary key.” Every time you are writing a piece of copy for a product, make sure it sounds human. The pro tip would be of course every time you write a piece of copy, read it out loud. If it sounds like a robot, it's probably time to edit. 5. Be consistent. Take the straight route. Try not to use synonymous screens on every other screen. It confuses users.”

8. UX writing is framing

Devakinandini Narayan: “This is my beautiful drawing that I did. Let’s talk about it. Right out of the bat, from the information that’s given to you on the screen, which cereal box would you buy. Cereal B, right? Simply because it says “80 per cent sugar free” and all of us are super health conscious, I’m assuming. And even if you are not, you would still have gone for it. If you really think about it, “20 per cent sugar content” and “80 per cent sugar free” essentially mean the second thing. 80 per cent sugar free sounds like a more healthy option. This is called a framing effect. What is a framing effect? It is a cognitive bias that we have where we perceive the same outcome in different ways. As a UX writer, you can literally manipulate the perception of something just the way you phrase or frame it.”

9. UX writing is proactive and reactive

Sharmilee Sarkar: “Write, validate, edit, repeat. It's a whole loop. As a UX writer, you will be going back and forth. You will be interacting a lot with designers, a lot with developers, you will be getting on calls. Every time we craft copy, it's not the Bible. It's always going to go back. There’s always room for improvement. We have to go back to Square One.”