Microcopy and UX writing – how short interface text supports usability and conversion

What microcopy is and how it connects to UX writing

Microcopy is short, concise text in a user interface: button labels, form field labels, error messages, and short instructions and hints in apps and on websites. These are some of the most ordinary interface elements, yet their role is far bigger. They make navigation easier for the user, help them find their way around a page, and communicate errors. They can also respond to the user’s emotions, reducing uncertainty, easing worry and lowering stress, reassuring them in their decision. They can also be an incentive that convinces the user to take the next step or make the final decision.

Microcopy is also part of UX writing, designing the content layer of an interface. UX writing is the broader process covering an entire digital product’s text layer, and microcopy is its smallest, but often most critical, pieces. The importance of these short pieces of text has been highlighted by, among others, Kinneret Yifrah in the book “Microcopy: The Complete Guide” – one of the most frequently cited works in the field.

Microcopy that reduces friction and supports the user experience

The biggest enemy of conversion is uncertainty, which effectively gets in the way of purchase decisions, which is why the most common use of microcopy is delivering the information the user needs to know, to move to the next step. This can be as simple as information about what happens after clicking a button (“Go to payment“, after which you’ll be taken to the payment page), but also about what the user can expect later (“Our experts will get back to you with an answer within 48 hours”).

This matters especially around payment, at the cart and checkout stage, and with subscription purchases. At moments like these, users may need extra information and reassurance, about the option to cancel a subscription, say, or about secure transactions.

Microcopy as encouragement

Another use of microcopy is encouraging the user to take the next step and supporting them in continuing their purchase path. Microcopy can give the context a user needs to decide, delivery time or a product’s availability during exploration, on the listing, say. On the other hand, microcopy can also point the user to an alternative path in places where they can’t continue their original action. In practice that might mean that if a given product is unavailable, we can suggest another, alternative one and prompt it with a message like “We think you’ll like this”. A similar mechanism can also be used in search, when a user can’t find the right product for them.

Emotional microcopy

An interface doesn’t have to be cold and mechanical. In today’s e-commerce world, building a relationship with the brand and humanizing systems is increasingly one of the priorities for businesses. Microcopy is one of the best ways to achieve that. It lets you keep standard e-commerce messaging (“Add to cart”, “Buy”, “Continue”) “) while mixing it in with emotional messaging and the brand’s tone of voice. A great place for this can be the cart, where instead of writing “No products in cart”, you could offer “Your cart is still empty, but we’d love to help you fill it with something special”. Another good example is highly emotional industries, like pet products or children’s products. In cases like these you can use language and appeal to the emotions characteristic of the brand’s audience, talking about wrapping little ones in care, say.

Examples of good microcopy in a user interface

Microcopy shows up throughout the user path, but importantly, usually at decision points:

• next to call-to-action (CTA) buttons
  It can explain the next step (“Click to go to checkout”, or answer a need the user has by delivering information they might be missing while making a purchase decision, about delivery, say.

• forms and onboarding
  Field labels and short instructions accompanying form fields are one of the most common places where microcopy has a real effect on usability, especially during new-user onboarding. They usually cover organizational and logistical matters, like “Expect a reply within 5 days”, but can also communicate direct benefits, like “Submit and get a free quote” or oaddress a recipient’s specific worries directly, easing them, like “Try it free for 14 days”.

• error pages
  When there are no search results, microcopy can simply deliver information, “We couldn’t find that product, but take a look at similar bestsellers“, say, or give the user a direct action point, like “Try searching for something else”.

• cart and checkout
  Information under the summary: “Free returns within 30 days, no questions asked”, or reassurance about further purchases and information about the next checkout steps.

• consent and cookie banners
  Short text in cookie consent windows has a real effect on whether the user consciously accepts the chosen option. Instead of a standard “Accept all”, it’s worth considering a more informative variant that explains exactly what the user is agreeing to.

How we write microcopy at Digispot

At Digispot, from the very start of the design process, we combine the design layer with the text layer. Which means we understand the value microcopy carries and how to use it in effective website design. We treat microcopy as an element designed alongside the whole user experience.

We split the need for microcopy into two categories. The first covers places we identify already during expert review: places that disrupt flow and directly affect the user. The second covers places that may be a potential problem but need further research and a deeper look.

To understand the first category, we rely on expert review, quantitative data analysis and Microsoft Clarity, and competitor analysis. That lets us understand each industry’s and client’s individual needs better, which we can then match to them and to the technology they currently use.

Example:
Migrating a Shoper store from RWD technology to Storefront changes the cart and checkout structure, and the user now chooses payment and delivery methods in later steps of the process. So after a migration it’s worth telling the user that delivery methods are available in the next step.

Qualitative research as the foundation of effective microcopy

The foundation for designing a site for your audience is research. That principle applies to writing and building microcopy too, which has to solve problems, give context and answer users’ real needs. To design it well, we first have to understand our user, their needs, worries and motivations. Our two main tools in this process are:

1. User interviews (IDI – In-Depth Interviews)

Interviews are direct conversations with current or prospective customers. Their goal isn’t asking whether they like our button, it’s understanding their broader needs, motivations and experience.

During interviews we listen carefully to the language respondents use, pay attention to their dilemmas and worries, how they shop, and check what drew them in and what pushed them away during the process.

If during these conversations users tell us about worries around unexpected fees, say, or trouble canceling a subscription, we have a specific insight that well-designed microcopy can answer. In this case, for instance, under the subscription plan selection button we write the exact answer to the worry the user voiced, like “Cancel anytime”.

2. User testing (usability testing)

These are studies where we ask a real user to complete a specific task on our site (going through the purchase process, say) and we observe their reactions.

User testing is the best way to catch uncertainty and points of friction. It lets us verify what information users are missing, what stops them from taking the next step, and what encourages and eases their decision-making and purchase.

If during a test we see a user hesitating on the listing, and in conversation they tell us delivery time is one of the more important factors for them when choosing a product, we already have the answer for which microcopy message our store is missing.

Qualitative research lets us identify where the user feels lost or uneasy. That’s how our microcopy becomes an answer to their real worries, defined through research.

The most common mistakes in designing microcopy

Although microcopy seems like a tiny piece of the interface, poorly designed it can add uncertainty, make a store harder to use, and ultimately hurt conversion.

Here are a few of the most common mistakes:

• too much microcopy
  Microcopy carries the prefix microfor a reason. Writing long messages defeats the purpose. Users usually scan content rather than read it, so the chance they’ll read a very long sentence is slim. On top of that, not everything needs microcopy. Adding it everywhere on a page can create chaos and cognitive overload.
• unclear messages
  Microcopy should be clear, direct, and leave the user with fewer questions, not more. It’s worth avoiding complex sentences that require too many actions at once (“Add three more products from the xyz collection and two from abc to get a discount”) and sentences that don’t directly communicate a solution to the problem (instead of “Locker delivery isn’t available” add “Locker delivery isn’t available, please check the recipient’s details”).
• microcopy placed too far from the element it refers to
  By the psychological principle of proximity, our brain subconsciously groups together elements that sit close to one another. A common mistake is placing error messages or hints far from the field they refer to (a summary message like “Please fill in the highlighted fields correctly” generated at the very top of a long form, say).
• ignoring the audience’s real needs and worries
  It’s a mistake to write microcopy purely from the business’s perspective, not the user’s, or to base it on assumed problems that haven’t been verified in reality. A button that says “Sign up for the newsletter” answers the company’s need but gives the customer nothing, it only tells them what to do without showing what they get in return. Instead, the text should address a real need or worry, like “Get a free shipping code by signing up for our newsletter” and underneath: “Zero spam. Unsubscribe anytime with one click”.

Best practices – how to think about microcopy in your project

Microcopy is more than just required text in a design. Sometimes extra context or explaining the next steps can be exactly what makes a user decide to buy from your store specifically.

Remember that with microcopy, more doesn’t mean better. Every message should have a clearly defined goal and answer a real user need. So before you add another piece of microcopy to your design, ask yourself what value it brings the user, what problem it helps them solve, and what message they might be missing without it.