Tips to Care About Your Microcopy
Whether you are a visual designer, producer, developer, product owner or tester, you must focus on the user experience. You must use the effective use of words that can compel the users to navigate, learn about and experience the product and hence the interface writing must be as effective as possible. A good micro-copy is half the product. Here are a few tips to perfect your micro-copy.
Usefulness
Every segment of the microcopy must educate, explain and simplify the process and let the user complete a task. The thumb rule for this is to see that you never give something that is not useful and you never forget to include something that is crucially needed to create a user-friendly experience.
Brevity
Most times your first copy will have too many words. Make thorough editing and Make use of apps like Hemingway to make your copy as concise and clear as possible. Use active voice only and know that brevity is the key to let the users feel they can complete the tasks quickly.
Transparency
It is natural for humans to be curious and want to know things. Interacting with your user on the UX must look like a conversation that engages them and clarifies most of their possible doubts. If your customers can feel you are more open and transparent, they will like to engage with you more in a productive way.
Address the design
Consider how the copy relates to the visual and technical elements. The words must go along with the processes and never before or after them. For instance, a help copy for a form field must sit within the field to reduce the scrolling. Put words at the sketch phase. Never use lengthy lines in place of words.
Test it with people
The real validation of your micro-copy comes when you test it with users and get to know how they find it. Address the concerns they raise during the post-production phase and perfect it for surpassing user experience.