How UX copywriting helps you create great designs
UX copywriting includes creating texts for buttons, slogans, notifications, error messages, navigation, user guides, and more. The important thing to remember here is that all of these texts are part of the design and user experience.
Our perception of information online is 25% slower than reading printed matter. In addition, users only read 20-28% of the words they see on a website page. It follows that UX text must meet the following criteria:
1. Clarity. Make sure the key message on the page is clear and understandable.
2. Brevity. Keep it short and to the point. Avoid long reads where they are inappropriate.
3. Unity. Maintain consistency between your writing style and the overall tone of voice of your brand.
Also, do not forget that your text should be of practical use and really help users to interact with the site more easily. It s best if you post your text content in accordance with the principles of how people crawl pages when surfing the Internet.
So users:
Truly professional UX writers know all these principles, so the best solution for a designer or web developer is to involve copywriters in the creative process, rather than ignore their comments about what text and where to place it.
Some people still underestimate the role of text content in UX, although creating short text for a button with a CTA can take significantly more time and effort than it might seem at first glance. In addition to informing and motivating users to take action, text is also a design element and its effectiveness also depends on visual presentation.
Hence the following techniques follow:
A typical step for many designers when they start working on an interface design is to copy Lorem Ipsum to the places where the text boxes are supposed to be. Do not do that. The final copy will still look different, even if the UX copywriter tries to “fit” it into the layout concept. As a result, the appearance of the prototype can differ significantly from how you originally intended it. Therefore, the sooner you start integrating real text into your user interface, the better.
First, it will make the prototype close to the (future) original, and you will be able to appreciate how all the elements of the layout work as a whole. Secondly, it will save time and nerves during editing.
UX copywriting is always about simplicity and clarity. Therefore, more often use sentences that are simple in their structure, avoid the passive voice, do not use complex terms and professional jargon [исключение: если ваша ЦА их понимает, — прим.пер.]… In short, do your best to present information simply and concisely, and to build a visual structure with the help of text that will make it easier for users to crawl the page.
It is also better to use more positive vocabulary forms for calls to action. For example, instead of “Ok” on the button on the page with an error, it is better to indicate “Try again”. A positive meta-language works much better than a negative one. For example, the message “wrong password” (where the word “wrong” carries a negative message) will sound more friendly if replaced with something like “This password is not quite correct”.
Numbers, numbers, numbers
The power of numbers is well known: people subconsciously associate them with the world of facts and statistics. Numbers work best to add value to content and build trust in the information on the page as a whole.
What s more, odd numbers are a powerful weapon for neuro-copywriters: headlines such as “11 Ways to Boost UX Copywriting for E-commerce in 15 Minutes a Day” encourage users to click on them more often and fall further into the article.
For UX writers, numbers are a great tool to make presentations more compact and concise. This technique significantly saves users time when viewing the page and helps to focus on the main thing.
Remember brand tone of voice
If you are a UX copywriter, do not forget to read the brand book of the company you will be writing the texts for, as all materials should sound in the same tone not only with each other, but with the brand as a whole.
Tone of voice is how a brand communicates with its audience, so always use keywords and speech patterns that are specific to a particular brand. The principle of unity and consistency in a communication strategy is incredibly important. Therefore, it will be cool and useful to create instructions for creating creatives not only for designers, but also for copywriters.
The tone of voice of a brand in UX copywriting is a special terminology, writing style, distinctive headings, punctuation features, and even humor. This all defines the brand s identity and serves to build and strengthen its reputation.
Be creative
It is already clear that UX texts are short and informative messages that reflect the character and brand image. But that doesn t mean they have to be boring. Feel free to bring creativity and emotion to your UI if your brand positioning allows it. For example, an error message is your chance to add a polite joke that will not scare away the user, but rather take him to other pages.
The whole point here is not to overdo it, and to make sure that users correctly perceive your humor. Ultimately, even one witty word can generate positive emotions from interacting with your brand and the desire to tell others about it.
And finally
Competent UX copywriting makes the user path on the site or in the application more convenient and, importantly, more meaningful [в понимании того, что мы хотим, чтобы пользователь сделал в результате взаимодействия с контентом — прим.пер.]… Therefore, you should not ignore the wishes and comments of the content authors about which block of text and where it is better to place. Clever mix of content and design is what makes your site stand out from the competition.
Therefore, improve your UX skills or invite a professional UX writer to your team. [например, меня — прим.пер.]to make the resulting interface as user-friendly as possible.
Source: vc.ru
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