Is design the first thing that springs to mind when you think about user experience (UX)? That’s common. Yet, it overlooks that great copy is essential for great UX. Better UX copy means more shares, bigger reach, and more conversions. It makes it easier for people to convert. Great UX copy also decreases the cost of customer support. Why? Because people will have fewer questions about how to use your site. On top of that, great UX copy builds confidence in your brand.
So, how do you produce that great UX copy? UX specialist Melissa Eggleston once wrote, “The common principle in the UX field is empathy for the users — really understanding what they want and need.” If you want great UX, you need to apply this to your copy, too.
To understand what your customers want and need, you need to look at your user data. User data can tell you which parts of your website are the most successful, i.e. get the most visits. It can also tell you which are the least successful, e.g. trigger the most customer service requests. You can also ask for feedback from your visitors to find out what they want and need from your website.
Buyer personas are another great tool for getting to know your customers. Buyer personas help you better understand the people who visit your website. To make your own, use sales team feedback or conduct customer interviews over the phone or in person. Then, keep your buyer personas handy when you’re producing UX copy.
UX copy takes many forms, including conversion copy and microcopy. Conversion copy includes headlines, calls to action, and product copy. Microcopy includes labels on form fields, commands, instructional text, error messaging, and confirmations. To be effective, it needs to follow these four guidelines:
- Clear: The best UX copy clearly tells your visitors what to do next and why.
- Concise: Say it with as few words as possible.
- Relevant: To be relevant, you need to know your customers inside and out. This guideline requires listening to what your customers want and need.
- Well Structured: Great UX content emphasizes important information. It makes copy easier to read by structuring it with headlines and subheads.
On top of these four guidelines, the style of your UX copy should match your brand. If you want to convey a playful and helpful vibe, your UX copy needs to be playful and helpful. In other words, UX copy is another opportunity for branding. At the same time, be sure you maintain the four guidelines above. For example, don’t sacrifice clarity just to be clever.
The goal is to make your website more usable to up your conversions, expand your reach, and cut down on costs. Great copy is key in making that happen.
As you can see, writing great UX copy involves juggling a lot of metaphorical balls in the air at once. Filament offers copywriting services to help you create great UX content. Get in touch with Filament today to get started writing great UX content for your customers.
