Writing

Microcopy Tools and Tips

Posted on by djbrensinger

As a developer, you may overlook the tiniest bits of text on your app or website. The copy on your buttons, labels, tooltips and error messages can have the biggest impact. It can help your users to understand how to use your app or website.

Microcopy Tools and Tips
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Picking out the right words can help people to keep using your website or choose another. Use these tools and tips to help improve your microcopy.

1. Keep it casual

You want to convey a tone that is friendly and relaxed. Keep it simple and conversational. Address your users by using “you” and “your”.

2. Use simple, everyday words

Pick out words that talk to your users. Use the same language that they do. Avoid using complex jargon and words. Keep it short and to the point.

3. Be helpful

You want your users to keep using your app or website. Microcopy should help guide them. Pick words that help them to understand what is going to happen. Words like download, buy now, learn more or get more information.

Depending on what you want your users to do, you’ll want to confirm that they completed an action. Or shows an error message if it fails. You want to provide feedback to the user that helps them complete their tasks.

4. Use a microcopy tool

You can use an AI writing assistant or a microcopy collection to help you write better.

5. Test your copy

Not all copy resonates with your users. You may need to try different words before you find what works with your users.

Challenge your writing skills

Take the Daily UX Writing Challenge to practice writing better microcopy.

Learn more tips on improving your user experience with UX Writing.

Why Write Technical Documentation

Posted on by djbrensinger

As a developer, you spend a lot of time writing. More than writing code. You reply to emails, update bug requests and write project documentation and more. Code allows us to communicate with computers. With people, we need to use words to communicate.

Why Write Technical Documentation
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Every day, we communicate with clients, users, team members and other developers. We write all kinds of different things to communicate with them. From a quick email to help them get started using our product to a full user’s guide.

"If you can’t automate it, document it. – Hila Fish

Why write?

You want to write technical documentation to help reduce your work load. Technical docs help you to remember why you are doing things a certain way. You or future developers will be glad you took the time to document the choices made.

Documentation keeps your project on track

When you work on your own projects, writing becomes more important. You write documentation to help explain what your product does. How it solves your customers’ problem and how they can use it. If you like to work on many projects, documentation helps you to keep going. Simon Willison explains how to use documentation to maintain multiple projects.

Document your project quirks

Every project has its own quirks. You make choices that affect how things turn out. To help your future self or the next developer, document the following:

  • Choices that you make while you are working on the project
  • Things that bugged you
  • Items that aren’t clear or straight forward
  • Any surprises that came along
  • Issues or things to consider when using this tool or language feature

Read more about writing better documentation

5 Tips For Improving Your UX Writing

Posted on by djbrensinger

How can you make your users’ experience better? By using UX Writing, also known as microcopy. It is the small bits of copy that goes unnoticed. When UX Writing is good, it helps guide your users through the user interface of your app or software. They can get things done quickly and easily without frustration or support calls.

5 Tips for Improving UX Writing
Photo by Shopify Partners from Burst

Where do you use it?

You’ll find microcopy everywhere in your interface. Typical uses are:

  • Buttons
  • Headings
  • Success and error messages
  • Form labels
  • Pop-ups
  • Instructions
  • Tooltips
  • Navigation menus

How do you improve your UX Writing?

1. Keep it short and concise

Good UX Writing is short and concise. It helps to guide the user through their task. People scan words when using an app or website. Make it easier for them to understand what is happening.

2. Use simple words

Avoid difficult, technical terms. Use short and simple words. Include action words like save, create or cancel. You want your copy to be clear and easy to understand.

3. Use structural element to make it easier to read

Depending on your copy, you may need to add structural elements to make it stand out. Use a combination of color, icons and bold or italic text for error messages. Headings, numbered or bulleted lists and sidebars for other important information.

4. Edit

No matter what you write, editing makes it better. Edit your copy using a tool like Hemingway Editor to help make it readable and easy to understand.

5. Test

You want to get feedback from people who match your users. Your coworkers may miss things that your users might have trouble with. If they have trouble understanding something, you should rewrite it. Sometimes a different word makes the interface work better.

Find out more about writing good microcopy

Write Better Documentation for Your Code

Posted on by admin

Do you write documentation? Most developers love to write code. They write code that solves problems. It helps people to get something done. If they write documentation, it is quickly written. A task to be completed so you can get back to writing code.

Write Better Documentation For Your Code
Image by Christine Sponchia from Pixabay

How do you choose a new framework? You look at the features to see if it does what you want. Then, you read the documentation. If it is hard to read or non-existent, you’ll get frustrated and choose a different solution.

If you want people to use your code, you need to write great content.

How do you write better documentation?

  • Decide who you are writing it for
  • Decide what you are going to include
  • Make it easy to use
  • Keep it up to date
  • Read great documentation

Decide who you are writing for

You need to know your audience. Are they developers, clients or customers? Developers want to know how to use your code. Or what can they do with it. Your clients may want step by step instructions on how to use it.

What are you going to include

Decide on what you want them to know. Create a list of questions or items that you need to cover. A technical audience may want to read tutorials, how-to-guides and/or references. Beginners learn better with simple step by step instructions. For everyone, you may want to include videos as well.

Make it easy to use

No matter what you are writing, decide how you are going to organize it. If you are writing a tutorial, you may want to start by explaining what you are planning to talk about. Use formatting styles like headings, bulleted or numbered lists and bold or italics. Formatting styles help guide the reader through your documents.

Keep it up to date

Developers make improvements and changes to their code. When they do, the documentation needs to change as well. Plan time to update it. Apps and other projects fail because the content isn’t kept up to date.

Read great documentation

You can learn how to write better by reading. These style guides show you how to write great developer content.

More Resources

What tools do you use for creating great content?

Posted on by djbrensinger

What tools do you use for creating great content? Writing is challenging. When you need to write for the web, the pressure to create and publish great content makes it even harder.

What tools do you use for creating great content?
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You can choose to start writing. Force yourself to start with an idea and a blank page. Which may result in not so great content. Or you can use a tool or framework to plan out what you want to talk about.

You can use simple tools like mindmapping or an outline like you used in school to write an essay. These are great tools for getting started planning. For some types of writing, you are going to need a different technique.

  • The Core Model
  • Content Framework
  • Pair Writing

The Core Model

What is the Core Model? It is a tool that helps you to map out your business goals, user tasks and context. The Core Model is useful in deciding how users find the content you are planning and sketching out the main content. It helps you to focus on your business goals and user needs before you start writing.

Content Framework

The Content Framework is a form that you can use to answer questions that are vital to the writing process. Questions like who is going to read this, what business goals does this page support, and what tasks do we want the user to do. It helps you do think about what you want to say and who is your audience before you start writing.

Pair Writing

What is Pair Writing? It is borrowed from an agile software development technique called “pair programming“. In Pair Programming, two programmers work together on writing code. One programmer writes the code while the other one reviews it. The second programmer offers suggestions for improvements. The two programmers frequently switch roles. This technique takes longer but generally produces better quality of code.

Pair Writing follows a similar pattern. One person writes while the second person observes, asks questions and provides suggestions. The two writers switch roles to take turns writing and offering suggestions for improvements. This technique can take longer but you get greater involvement from all members of your team.

Writing for the web is challenging. When you have a team of designers, developers, content writers and management, using a writing process like The Core Model makes thing easier. It helps you to plan out your goals, answer questions on what the content should be about and do and create content that focuses on your customers.