Creators of websites, mobile apps, and services often underestimate the role of words. They place more emphasis on appearance and design. However, these can only create a first impression, as the rest depends on the information.
Usability practices have proven that using short phrases and clear words on buttons can significantly improve your customers’ experience. Additional tooltips and error messages can also enhance usability and even increase sales.
Let’s take a closer look at the question: What is microcopy? After all, it’s an indispensable tool for experienced UX designers and UX writers.
What Is Microcopy
Microcopy refers to a phrase or a word visible in a website’s interface. These include button labels, tooltips, input field placeholders, and error or confirmation messages.
Good-quality microcopy writing directs the user to a specific action, resulting in a more user-friendly interface. The text takes up little space, but the benefits are sometimes enormous.
It’s important to distinguish microcopy from slogans and marketing copywriting content. In our case, your goal is not to stimulate and call to action. Instead, your goal is to provide a hint and gently lead the user to the right corner of the website.
Why Is Microcopy Important
UX microcopy can be a powerful tool, as many UX designers have proven its usefulness. Experts highlight the following benefits of working with short texts:
- Reduces cognitive load: Clear microcopy guides users smoothly through tasks, making the experience more engaging and faster.
- Gains trust and comfort in your brand: Sometimes, simple words like “no credit card required” reassure users without hesitation.
- Strengthen Brand Consistency: The customer feels the website speaks to them, sometimes even reading their thoughts.
- Increases product sales and conversions: Microcopy assists customers in navigating stages where they encounter difficulties.
- Improves accessibility: Short, intuitive texts are suitable for those using advanced technologies.
Now you know how powerful and beneficial even a few words can be. Next, let’s learn how to create a truly effective microcopy.
How To Write Good Microcopy
Quality microcopy examples are helpful interactions that follow a balance between length and usefulness. Below are a couple of proven recommendations.
Define Your Voice
Depending on your brand identity and established company policies, your tone may be friendly, authoritative, strict, or playful.
Keep It Clear and Simple
Your microcopy should be as clear as possible. Therefore, the text should be free of ambiguity or jargon that might be incomprehensible to a specific audience.
Clear, concise, and consistent are the three key principles that determine the quality of your microcopy.
Be helpful
Avoid unnecessary texts. Write microcopy where users need guidance, for example, where they encounter confusion or high drop-off rates.
Don’t just describe the error; provide more actionable and clear steps.
Test It Again and Again
Writing microcopy text once doesn’t mean the work is over. First, test user behavior on the website page. Second, study how well your prompt helped them.
Conduct A/B testing to compare different versions. Sometimes, even simply rearranging words can achieve excellent results and positive dynamics.
Examples of Good Microcopy
You can find many articles and examples of microcopy best practices online. We’ve compiled a couple of options for you to try today.
Humor + Value Are Good Combo
Slack has made its microcopies not just informative but also friendly. You can often even detect a hint of humor at the same time, and the web developers always deliver maximum value.
Error Hints
In the Google Docs example, the system details the situation when an error occurs with an invalid link. The message explains the cause of the error and how to resolve it. As a result, users can resolve issues more quickly and continue working efficiently in Google Docs.
Be Nice When Helping
The company Grammarly, which edits English texts and corrects common errors, also made an effort. If there is no text for editing on the screen, the client sees a hint on a white screen informing them that their text awaits them and where to insert it.
What Makes Microcopy Bad
Poorly written or placed microcopies can be harmful. Below are the most common mistakes designers and copywriters make.
Confusing Text
Ambiguous microcopy can make someone feel like they’re doing something wrong and can lead to incorrect actions and even irritation.
Confirming
Don’t make someone feel guilty. People don’t want to think they’re saving on a gift. For example, try something like “get more benefits” instead of “save on a gift.”
Ignoring People’s Needs
Typical situations are the following:
- Ignored errors
- No explanation or useless info
- Using a neutral tone
A mismatch of the texts with the tone of voice or design can also be confusing.
The Bottom Line
Microcopy showed excellent potential for all businesses to improve UX and conversions. It’s important to consider not only the words used, but also the font weight and size to ensure cues are visible.
The more straightforward and intuitive your website is, the more people will like it.
Microcopy best practices include:
- Follow a clear tone of voice
- Make text as straightforward as possible without ambiguity
- Help instead of confusion
- Constantly test versions using Google Analytics
Remember, sometimes a three-word phrase can serve you better than instructions on 10 pages. Therefore, feel free to introduce something new for your entire website.
FAQ
How often can you test a new microcopy?
The approximate time is once a week. The rules are roughly the same as if you were testing a new blog design. Generally, one day isn’t enough to conclude; you must collect user behavior statistics.
How can you tell if microcopy isn’t effective?
First, check for the typical copywriting mistakes we mentioned above. The ineffectiveness of a tooltip will be immediately apparent. After all, the user behavior will be the same as before you added it to the page.
Is it okay to copy texts from other brands?
Yes. You can follow the example of market leaders, but rely on your own statistics. Analyze data on how your audience reacts to new features.
