10 simple tips to improve your UX writing

Easy ways to instantly enhance interface copy

Psst … want to write better interface copy?

If you’re a product designer, researcher, or marketer, UX writing is a tool in your content design arsenal to sharpen.

So what makes good UX writing? Copy that is clear, concise, useful, and consistent. Here are 10 tips to help you get there.

1. Check for “by” phrases

Consider the sentence: “A website is being made.” Now tell me, who’s making the website?

Perhaps: “A website is being made by you.” Writers call this syntax passive voice. It’s generally a no-no, and you can look for “by” phrases to spot it.

With passive voice, the subject of a sentence receives an action instead of performs an action. In the example, the subject “a website” receives the verb to make.

Flip the sentence around: “You’re making a website” shows that the subject “you” performs the action to make. This is the active voice. While there are good reasons to use passive voice, active voice typically yields more useful UI copy.

So look for “by” phrases to spot passive writing. Be diligent — sometimes they’re implied:

They were forced to close by the storm → The stormed forced them to close
The right words should be used [by you] → Use the right words

Not a good use of passive voice
(Note the implied you: “It’s just done [by you]”)

2. Choose strong verbs

Strong verbs make your writing better. Wait — strong verbs supercharge your writing. Ah, that’s nice.

The most important part of your sentence? The verb. Choose the right verb and the rest falls into place.

Weak verbs include dreaded “be” words: be, am, are, is, been, being, was, and were.

Daymond is able to view your comment → Daymond can view your comment

But plenty of other weak verbs can sneak into writing:

Molly ran quickly down the street → Molly dashed down the street

And strong verbs make commanding calls-to-action:

Slash weak verbs
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3. Delete filler words

Ask yourself of every word: Does removing this word change the meaning of the sentence? If not, delete it.

Common filler words include that, just, very, and lots of adjectives and adverbs. Don’t believe me? Try this:

Doctors believe that vaccines work → Doctors believe vaccines work
He just didn’t understand → He didn’t understand
It’s very busy right now → It’s busy

Prepositions creep into verbs — often unnecessarily:

Meet with your advisor → Meet your advisor
10 items sold off → 10 items sold
This time around → This time

Do your best to make copy disappear. Try to use the fewest words to make your point or guide the user — and yes, a thoughtful icon or image means less words, too!

Edit: Some writers urge caution when deleting “that” from copy, especially for ESL users. Read more about it.

4. Replace “-ing” words

Oh, the gerund. That’s a word that ends in “-ing” — they’re often a symptom of weak verbs or filler words. Find them and crush ‘em.

We’re hoping → We hope
He’ll take care of sending it → He’ll send it
Her legs were shaking with anxiety → Her legs rattled with anxiety

5. Kill off “-tion” words

Grammar nerds call these nominalizations. Some call them zombie words. Why? Because they take lively verbs that energize sentences and turn them into dead, boring nouns. A -tion word is a common form of normalization, but they can take other appearances.

Expansion of voting hours benefits everyone → Expand voting hours to benefit everyone
Let’s run voting promotions → Let’s promote voting
It’s our intention to win → We intend to win

6. Look for “you can/your/you’ll”

The most persuasive word in the English language is you.

“You” words (you, your, you’ll, you’ve, yours) engage readers — after all, they’re the protagonist in your experience:

Set your working hours
You can cancel in 5 mins
You’ll be refunded in 2 days

But wait — it gets better. The most concise UX writing uses the second-person implied voice. That’s when the subject you isn’t written, but implied:

Set your working hours → Set working hours
You can cancel in 5 mins → Cancel in 5 mins

Sometimes, “you” words hide weak verbs:

You’ll be refunded in 2 days → Look for your refund in 2 days

It’s best to write using “you” forms and then streamline your sentence afterward. Ask yourself: Can you be implied? Does it create filler words or weak verbs? Or is your sentence best as written?

7. Reconsider “a” and “the”

Words like a, an, and the are called articles. English speakers love articles. Other languages? Not so much. Just ask your Finnish and Russian friends.

Our brains work fine without them, so you can often strike them to cut precious characters or add engaging “you” words, especially on buttons and links.

Select an item → Select item
Pick a prize → Pick your prize

However, you probably want to balance this with a conversational style. That’s why I tend to keep articles in longer strings but omit them when every character counts, like a button label.

8. Don’t point out UI

Design interfaces using established interaction types and trust your users to recognize them. In other words, don’t point out interface elements. If you need to explain where something is or how to use it, give your design another go instead.

Click here to start your application → Start application
Check the box to accept Terms & Conditions → Accept Terms & Conditions
Tap to continue → Continue

Also avoid referring to elements on a page or screen (“the button below” or “the photo above”). Layout can change, like in responsive website viewports or left-to-right languages such as Arabic. Instead, write succinctly and let your design do the work.

9. Exclamation points? No thanks!

I know y’all overuse them. It’s okay. I was once an over-exclaimer, too. But trust me, you don’t need them. Okay — sometimes I enjoy a timely exclamation point. Usually on, well, exclamations: Hey, buddy! Stop! That box is full of bees!

Oh, my file saved? My photo uploaded? That doesn’t need an exclamation point. Save it for something exciting.

10. Match modal headlines to its CTA

Modals take many forms. But they all have something in common: the user is forced to take an action or make a decision.

Because users don’t read, they scan, an effective modal should communicate everything somebody needs to know using only the headline and primary CTA. In my experience, the most clear and concise modals follow a basic format:

Take this action?
[Take action]
[Cancel]

If you’re feeling fancy, you can add another string:

Take this action?
Here’s why you need to take this action.
[Take action]
[Cancel]

And always avoid this:

Are you sure you want to take this action?
[Yes] [No]

Time to energize your writing

Before you go, remember this — these are just guidelines, not rules. Sometimes, the best sentence you can write violates these tips. The only “rules” to improve your writing are to (1) write more and (2) get feedback.

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So, go forth and write. And when you do, keep in mind these 10 UX writing tips to elevate your design skills.

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