UX writing best practices

Review all best practices in our online guide (internal only)

Copy doesn’t exist in isolation

Copy exists to serve as a guide that helps users achieve a goal or complete a task.

 

Copy is…

→ Part of a flow of interactions, surrounded by design and other pieces of copy
→ Seen in context of the actions the user already took and that they’re about to take

 

Copy and design need to work together toward the same goal.

 

Clear

• Avoid jargon and technical terms
• Avoid metaphors or flowery language
• Avoid words that are unnecessarily complex
• Avoid ambiguity
• Write thinking of images, not abstract terms
• Be precise and transparent

Concise

• Avoid words that don’t add value
• Split texts into paragraphs, paragraphs into sentences, and long sentences into shorter sentences
• Leave only what the user needs to act right now
• Don’t confuse “concise” for “short”... But when in doubt, shorter is better.

Useful

• Give users options and ways out
• Take them exactly where you said you would
• Let them do what they need to do with as little effort as possible

Scannable

• Put the key information in titles
• Use bullets, bold, numbers, and other visual resources to break up texts.
• Write one idea per paragraph
• Front load sentences
• Ensure titles and CTAs work together

Examples