by Adobe

TL;DR

When writing microcopy, really think about the elements you want to include in your UX poem and the user who will be reading it.

• Brevity: They don’t have a lot of time, so be concise.
• Context: They want to know exactly what they’re/you’re doing and why, so be transparent
• Action: They are there for a reason, whether it’s to learn more or buy something, so help them do it .
• Authenticity: They want to engage with brands that they trust and that they feel understand them, so show them how you do this.

With these four corners of the puzzle in place, you’ll be well on your way to writing UX microcopy as beautiful as poetry.

“You really have to communicate something that is often really important to a person. [At Shopify, that’s to help them] grow and manage their business, but you have the constraints of the interface. You have to be really creative within the set of constraints. I think that’s the thing that I continually find the most fun and inspiring. It’s almost like a puzzle.”

If writing microcopy is a puzzle, the four corner pieces are:

• Brevity
• Context
• Action
• Authenticity