Why you need a UX writer

Do you have a product or service, a website or an app? Maybe there’s even a chatbot or a voice assistant? Either way, you need a UX writer. A UX what, you say? Why? Well, our work is a vital part of the user experience.

Everywhere you go in digital interfaces, you have interactions. The words in those interactions can make or break the user experience – and in the end, affect the way people see your brand. The right words make your product coherent, more human, and guide users to action.

It’s just like a conversation really; what you say is immensely important for how the person you’re talking to reacts. And that’s where UX writers come in. We ask ourselves what kind of experience the user should have when interacting with a product or flow, and then use research and our skills to craft a great experience.

By building a clear and coherent voice and tone for the brand, we ensure a cohesive experience across all touchpoints. This turns users into loyal fans who also help market your product or service by telling their friends about it, increasing the Customer Lifetime Value as well as reducing the Customer Acquisition Cost.

UX Writer + UX Designer = User Experience

You’re probably already familiar with UX designers and have at least one on your team. Well, they go with UX writers. Both solve user problems, but approach them from different angles.In short, UX writers focus on creating a conversation between a product and a user, while UX designers focus on designing a space for this conversation.

Does this all sound a bit abstract? Let’s break it down. Now that our days are filled with performing different tasks in apps or on websites, our lives would become quite difficult without UX writers. Imagine opening one of your favourite apps, in this case Apple Music, and be met by a blank interface without any copy whatsoever.

Screenshot of Apple Music’s home screen without interface text displayed at the WWDC22’s Writing for Interfaces

Although the visuals give some guidance to the meaning of each section, would you know what each icon meant if there was no guiding copy? And what if an error occurred – would you know how to solve it without any helping words?

All the small things – the power of microcopy

Did I just quote Blink 182? Well,the UX writer’s responsible for creating all copy in apps and on websites. Button copy, menus and instructions may seem tiny, but are all immensely important for you to complete these tasks seamlessly. You could even say that writing is such a huge responsibility that it shouldn’t fall on the shoulders of a non-writer.

Still unsure about the impact of copy? Let’s look at an example: Google’s Hotel Search. By replacing “Book a room” with “Check availability” in their hotel search feature, engagement increased by 17%.

Google example of how changing your microcopy can make all the difference 

As Maggie Stanpill, UX Director at Google, puts it:

"We found that it was far too committal at this stage in the decision-making process. So we switched it to Check availability, and what we found was that this was meeting the user where they were at in their mindset. They were still considering rooms, and they wanted to understand what dates were available and what prices were in that date range."

Now, take a moment and think about the amount of content it takes to get someone's attention, build a relationship with them, make them purchase something, and keep them happy even after the purchase in the hope of creating a loyal customer.

Then, consider the fact that 88% of online shoppers are less likely to return to a website if they had a bad experience. In other words, prioritizing UX copy is essential to improve customer retention for a better CLV.

Want to know more about UX writing? Let’s talk!