UX writing is the process of creating and managing all content within and around an app or website interface, both on a macro and micro-scale. It involves dictating the product’s overall ‘macro’ content strategy and micro-managing the subtler details like how specific calls-to-action or notifications are worded and phrased.
Users want to enjoy apps, websites, and digital products without going through the hassle of reading long user manuals in order to learn how to use them.
User experience writing makes this happen. It eliminates the dreadful process of reading long and complex pieces of text by creating user-centric content that facilitates pleasant and friction-free digital experiences. High-quality writing leads to positive experiences between users and the product whereas low-quality writing leads to the awful opposite.
To make sure your product’s content and your users’ experience do not fall prey to the latter, we have created this list of 12 world-class UX writing examples.
Whether you are overseeing an app with an integrated content strategy or running a small-scale website with very little content — you’ll find a lot of lessons and inspiration in these examples. Before we dive deep into our hand-picked examples, let us clear the basics.
A Glance at UX Writing
Content and UX design are the basis for modern companies to engage users through social media, websites, apps, and other digital avenues. UX or “user experience” is the sum of all the interactions (negative or positive) a user may have with the brand’s digital presence.
If users’ emotions are overwhelmingly positive during and after each digital interaction they have with the brand, then the brand has ‘good UX.’ If not, it has a ‘bad UX’ and is unlikely to be successful.
It is the UX designer’s job to help the brand and product avoid the latter fate. To do so, they work alongside many specialists, mainly — UX researchers, UI designers, product managers, developers, and UX writers.
UX writers are responsible for every word and sentence that is displayed to users during their experiences with the brand.
They ensure that all the microcopy, instructions, and content created for the product have a consistent voice, style, and tone that aligns with the brand’s personality, accessibility guidelines, and the target users’ reading needs.
Just like UX designers, UX writers also have to perform user research and work cross-functionally with developers, marketers, other writers, and other team members. This is what separates UX writers from content or copywriters.
Content writers will write SEO-friendly blogs, articles, and case studies for the product. Copywriters will write promotional pieces for the product. Microcopy writers will write the CTAs, error or success messages, and 404 pages.
UX writers, alongside content strategists, will oversee all of this and ensure that every piece of content produced by their team maintains a certain standard of quality and helps make the product more user-friendly.
Bear in mind — all of these vocations are relatively new and they do not have clear-cut distinctions. UX writers in large enterprises may get tasked with only writing microcopy and assisting the content strategist. In smaller firms, they may have to oversee all content creation policies, write blogs, and track the failure/success of their content.
Either way, UX writing is not just about writing microcopy for the interface or setting broader content goals for the brand. It is all of these. To be a good UX writer, you have to mix various skills — user research, technical writing, and creative writing, to create and maintain content that elevates the product’s design, enhances usability, and improves brand perception.
12 Good UX Writing Examples
We are here with this list of examples — to uncomplicate things and illuminate the most essential UX writing best practices. For each good UX writing example we share in the next section, we’ll also mention the ‘practice’ that you should replicate in your own writing. By the end, you have a clear idea of your responsibilities, what to do, and what not to do in UX writing.
1. Use Action-Oriented Language
A major part of UX writing is creating eye-catching headings, sub-headings, labels, CTAs, and other small but essential interface content. In addition to being eye-catching, these items also need to incentivize users to take specific actions.
Professional UX writers refer to these items as ‘nudges.’ Amazon.com uses many such ‘nudges,’ like showing how many people bought a product right underneath the listing. When search errors occur on Airbnb, users see a text that says:
“Oops, we can’t find the page… Here are some helpful links instead;” along with a few important page links.
The point is that all small pieces of text — be it headings, interface labels, error messages, or CTAs — should have some degree of enthusiasm and should nudge users toward certain actions.
Starting every piece of microcopy with a verb is an easy way to achieve these effects. Verbs make it clear what action/s the users will trigger by taking specific actions. For example, check out the CTA in this example Sea Shepherd:
This CTA “Take Action” and the message above it instantly position the reader as a key player in protecting Earth’s oceans. So, clicking the CTA does not just mean signing up for the website — it also means becoming a hero in the fight to save our oceans.
In UX writing, every piece of text is an opportunity to enforce your brand and impact the reader’s mind. You can, of course, make the most of this opportunity by writing long-format content that delivers real value to your users. But, you need to do it with microcopy as well.
Reiterate your brand mission and let users know why they are on your page and how important their presence is — with compelling microcopy. Use active language and nudge users into believing that they are involved in something more than just a digital experience.
2. Be POUR
There are four core guiding principles of Internet accessibility — POUR — perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. The latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are built upon these guiding principles and they need to be reflected in your UX writing.
When labeling buttons, products, pages, CTAs, etc., you need to give users some clue of what they mean. For example, let’s say one button or link on your webpage says ‘learn more.’ Is this piece of text operable and robust? Maybe.
But, is it perceivable and understandable? Absolutely not. A POUR-friendly version of this text would say “Learn More About Our Winter Collection” or “Explore Our Discount Deals.” UX writing should leave no one guessing and should make sense to as many readers as possible.
Writing with POUR principles in mind will also contribute to a feeling of trust and transparency. It will also add consistency to your writing. With every title, label, or message users read, they get a clear and consistent idea of what your brand sounds like.
More importantly, the more descriptive and POUR-centric you are with your labels, headings, and CTAs, the more opportunities you have to use action-oriented language and allude to your brand story. Here’s a good example of UX writing from Guide Dogs:
This webpage section does not rely on a vague label like ‘see our services.’ Instead, it features different CTAs for different user bases. Each of them speaks to different impulses. But, they are all POUR-centric, and their tone is similar and aligned with the brand.
3. Maintain Consistency Across Touchpoints
Today, your website or app is probably not the first thing users will see when they ‘check you out’ on the Internet. They probably see a social media post, a paid ad, or a listing on some review website long before they land on your landing page. All the text users see during this pre-landing journey should be consistent with your overall UX writing style. Here are 4 examples of such consistent UX writing:
- Airbnb’s friendly and conversational UI text has made travel more accessible to many users. But, this tone of writing is not something you only find inside the app. It is reflected across their website, email communications, and social media.
- Apple’s minimalist and elegant design aesthetic extends to all aspects of its UX writing, including its product descriptions. All labels, alt text, subheadings, etc., are always sleek, concise, and written in simple, action-oriented language.
- Slack’s humor, personality, and lightheartedness are not just reflected in the in-app microcopy, it is there to see on their onboarding copy and error messages as well.
- Duolingo’s playful and encouraging UX writing style is seen on ads, social media posts, all web pages, and in-app content.
By maintaining a consistent UX writing tone, these companies get to constantly reinforce their brands in users’ minds. Plus, when there is such clear consistency in language, users instantly become aware of who they are interacting with. That’s why users are happy to see some emails and notifications from certain brands. There is an instant brand recall that creates familiarity and trust, making users more likely to engage with the brand and its offerings in the future.
4. Time-Aware Copy
UX writing should feel alive. And the easiest way to add life to your writing is by making it relevant to whatever is going on in the outside world.
For example, during the World Cup, many non-sports apps shared match schedules and player stats with notifications or email ads. Many of these apps tied in these pieces of UX writing with the marketing content for discounts and deals. We spoke about Slack’s humorous UX writing in the previous section. During the COVID pandemic, they mixed this humor with some time-aware copy.
On their landing page, instead of seeing the usual tagline “Slack is where work happens,” users saw a new tagline that read, “Slack is where the future works.” This small time-aware text added life to the company’s overall UX and positioned Slack as the world’s #1 work-from-home solution.
5. Anticipate Users’ Thoughts
Good UX writing, especially microcopy writing, should anticipate users’ thoughts in advance. It should preemptively address whatever users might be feeling at different stages of their journeys. Here’s an example that breaks down this point:
- Let us say your eCommerce app notifies users about order delays with a short message: “Your order has been delayed by….”
- Now, let us say a competing eCommerce app notifies the users about order delays with a more comprehensive message that says, “Your driver is late by…… We are so sorry for the delay… feel free to call [helpline number] for live updates about your order status.”
Which one acknowledges the user’s emotion better? Which one is less likely to cause an uptick in negative reviews? It is obviously the second one because it both addresses user concerns and emotions. It also alleviates their frustration by guiding them toward clear solutions.
By anticipating the user’s emotions at each step of the journey, you can preemptively infuse the right amount of empathy and clarity into your UX writing and make their journeys smoother. Now, the real question — how do you anticipate users’ emotions?
Creating an empathy map with tools like Hotjar or Mixpanel is currently the most popular solution. These tools let you examine user session recordings. They provide detailed heat maps, click-maps, and other analytics to reveal various aspects of real user behavior.
All of this data can then be used to assess which parts of the UX copy cause rage clicks, long read times, etc. Building an empathy map also requires qualitative data from User interviews, surveys, Social media analyses, etc.
UX writers should not perform empathy mapping alone — they should do it as a team. UX designers, content strategists, UI designers, and other team members should collaborate closely to create a comprehensive empathy map that accurately reflects user emotions.
For example, Manscaped, the popular men’s grooming brand, used empathy mapping and qualitative data from user interviews to understand the things that matter the most to men who usually shop their products online.
Their research revealed that one of the main desires of their target user base was to look and feel confident during intimate moments. So, their UX writing team decided to pack their website, social media, in-app messages, and other content with these types of messages:
“Give the boys the love they deserve” — this type of messaging directly highlights their products’ benefits and matches the language/vocabulary young men use. Never underestimate the power of relatable, emotionally driven UX writing that anticipates readers’ thoughts and needs.
6. Give Clear Instructions
When writing microcopy, marketing messages, and other types of text meant to instruct users, explain the actions you want them to take as clearly as possible. Here’s an example of what not to do. Check out eCommerce brand RoseGal’s search bar:
It just says ‘search’ and offers no insight into what users can search for on the site (though you can see a few trending searches).
Now check out ShopStyle, another eCommerce website’s search bar:
Here users can clearly see that they can search for two things: brand names or products. This extra bit of clarity might seem insignificant but it can minimize a million misinterpretations. So, even if you use very few words in your microcopy, always use enough to clarify what you mean.
7. Data Visualization
An easy way to make UX copy more engaging is by sharing important data points. For example, every year Spotify gives users visual representations of their listening habits through graphs. Now imagine if the same data was presented in a complicated text format.
No one would read it. Here are some other good UX writing examples that echo this principle:
- On apps like MyFitnessPal or Fitbit, users do not receive lengthy explanations about their progress. They receive easy-to-read charts and visual graphs that detail data points like their weight loss or calorie intake.
- Tools like Trello or Asana use visual boards and progress bars, not lengthy descriptions, to show project status.
- Want to find out air travel price trends on Google Flights? You won’t find verbose explanations on fare fluctuations on the site. You will find visual graphs showing price trends over time.
Always transform complex pieces of information into easily digestible insights with data visualizations. Work alongside your graphic designers to streamline this process.
8. Titles
Crafting effective page or product titles is another crucial aspect of UX writing. They should be used as ‘hooks’ to grab user attention and set the stage for the content ahead. So, always place the most important information first, preferably within the first 3–5 words.
For example, on the hero section on Basecamp’s homepage, the heading tag representing the primary topic of the page is as clear, direct, and ‘hooking’:
One glance at this page and you’ll know exactly what Basecamp’s all about. Also, another thing you see in this header is that they are not in ALL-CAPS. This is an important detail you must remember when creating headings. Never make your headings ALL-CAPS.
According to Harvard University’s digital accessibility team, readability is reduced with all-caps. All-uppercase titles tend to have uniform rectangular shapes which makes it harder for readers with poor vision to identify words by their shape. Always go for the title case.
9. Humor
If humor is a major part of your brand, make sure it is reflected in your UX writing. Some apps and websites that are popular for using humor in UX writing to diffuse tension include BrewDog, Headspace, Mailchimp, and Waze. All these brands use humor in their UX writing to lighten the mood.
10. Be Persuasive
The scarcity principle in UX design underscores the fact that a product’s perceived scarcity enhances its actual appeal. To apply this principle, UX writers often provide information and then classify it as something ‘exclusive’ and only available to select users. They might also write a copy that says certain products are available in limited quantities.
The goal is to create urgency and make users feel like they might miss out if they do not take instant action. Similar tags like “Most popular near you,” or “Back in stock by popular demand,” under products can also have a similar effect.
Savvy UX writers always make general statements when creating a persuasive copy. They say non-specific things like “Limited Offer” or “Stock Running Low,” to avoid inaccuracies. The time-limited deals on Amazon are perfect examples of persuasive copy that triggers user action.
11. Don’t Clutter the Interface
Keeping the UI clutter-free is an indirect responsibility of UX writers. The more labels, tags, messages, and other text elements you add to the design, the harder it gets for users to make sense of it. Use a specific set of font sizes, weights, and spacing.
Then, create a clear hierarchy of information where only the headings and the important pieces of information stand out. Use clean and concise microcopy wherever possible. A good example of this is Adobe and its ‘tooltips.’
When users hover over icons or design elements in Adobe apps, small ‘tooltips’ pop up explaining the function of that icon/element in one or two words like ‘Paint with color’ or ‘Brush Tool.’ This short copy saves space and does not overwhelm users with too much text.
12. UX Writing for Dark Mode
If your app or website has a dark mode like X or Slack, follow dark mode best practices by using lighter colors that contrast well against the dark background for text. Use tools to check color contrast ratios and avoid overly bright colors that may cause eye strain.
Conclusion
If there is one common thread in all the good UX writing examples and best practices we discussed in this article, it’s that in each case, the UX writers were trying to impress their target users. They always used language that was clear, concise, and engaging, with a tone that resonated with their audience. The point is that your UX writing should always keep users first and foremost in mind. That’s what we do at Design Studio.
12 Great Examples of UX Writing to Inspire Your Designs was originally published in UX Planet on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.