Overview

When creating user interface (UI) content for our customers, you should adhere to the following guidelines

  • A familiar voice and tone across our products
  • A consistent brand expression across products and experiences
  • Predictability and coherence for users as they navigate through our products

Research shows that users respond best to a writing style that is friendly, helpful and concise.

Primary Aim

The primary aim of UX writing is to have a seamless communication between users and our products, helping them achieve their goals with language. When a user arrives at a new page, we must answer three questions:

  • Where am I?
  • What can I do here?
  • How can I move forward?

Guiding Principles

  • Use a relaxed conversational tone to engage your learners.
  • Be supportive and provide alternative suggestions to the user.
  • Be clear and concise by keeping your language simple.

Voice and Tone

Voice is the company’s brand personality, which is usually described using adjectives whereas tone is the emotional quality of the voice. It’s how the content ‘speaks’ in slightly different ways depending on the audience, circumstance or subject matter.

For EcoOnline, our voice should be friendly, informative, professional and trustworthy.

While we can only have one unique voice, the tone will change depending on the situation. You can adjust the tone based on the stage the user is at in their journey. Are they:

 

  • A new customer beginning their experience?
  • An established customer looking for help with onboarding?
  • Looking for guidance within a product?

 

The characteristics of word choices and messaging set the tone—and that in turn influences how customers feel about what’s happening at that moment, as well as the brand and the product overall.

It is a good idea to determine the moments in the user journey, the touchpoints, which you are going to map. Touchpoints are the moments in the UI when we share messages with users. These would generally include happy points, like success messages and welcome screens, and serious points, like warnings or critical reminders. Instructions or setup steps can be neutral. Some examples are shown below:

  • Welcome message - Welcome to EcoOnline! Thank you for choosing us as your provider of health and safety software.
  • Tour Screens - This guided tour will help you get up and running fast. To begin your tour, click Next.
  • Error message - We’re sorry, but we’re experiencing a problem on our end.