ux-writing

Use the words, concepts and order that your users already have, not the ones your database has.

HEUR·002Heuristic · Nielsen heuristics

The same fact produces different decisions depending on whether it is expressed as a gain or a loss.

BIAS·003Cognitive bias · Judgement

The small pieces of text that do most of the work: labels, hints, empty states, errors and confirmations.

WRT·001UX writing · UX writing

Say what happened, why if you know, and what to do next, in that order and in plain language.

WRT·002UX writing · UX writing

Voice is who you are and stays constant. Tone is how you speak in a moment and must change with the situation.

WRT·003UX writing · UX writing

Deciding what content a user needs and in what order, which is a design activity rather than a writing one.

WRT·004UX writing · UX writing

Writing that does not exclude, misgender or make assumptions about the person reading it.

WRT·005UX writing · UX writing

Label the outcome, not the mechanism, and make the label make sense read on its own.

WRT·008UX writing · UX writing

Say what the field wants, why it is needed, and what format is acceptable, before the reader gets it wrong.

WRT·009UX writing · UX writing

Say why it is empty, and give exactly one thing to do about it.

WRT·010UX writing · UX writing

Say what is happening, how long it will take if you know, and whether it is safe to leave.

WRT·011UX writing · UX writing

Name the object, the scope and the reversibility, then label the button with the action rather than with agreement.

WRT·012UX writing · UX writing

Front-load the specific thing that happened, because most notifications are read as a truncated line on a lock screen.

WRT·013UX writing · UX writing

Ask at the moment the permission is needed, say what it enables, and make declining survivable.

WRT·014UX writing · UX writing

Explain the thing that cannot be made obvious, and put the explanation where the decision happens.

WRT·015UX writing · UX writing

Teach one thing at the moment it is needed, in the reader's words, and get out of the way.

WRT·016UX writing · UX writing

Generating and reviewing interface copy, which works well for volume and badly for voice.

AI·006AI workflow · Content