{"id":11445,"date":"2022-09-09T08:57:53","date_gmt":"2022-09-09T08:57:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/143.244.150.201\/?p=11445"},"modified":"2022-09-09T14:31:29","modified_gmt":"2022-09-09T14:31:29","slug":"psychology-of-ux-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/govisually.com\/blog\/psychology-of-ux-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn the psychology of UX writing and use it to leave everyone spellbound\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

There has always been a connection between our use of language and psychology; the same applies to UX writing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Language has allowed us to create complex societies and discover new things. What we read and hear continues to shape our minds and behaviors unconditionally. Now pair that with visual cues, and you have the greatest trio in human history.<\/span><\/p>\n

UX writing is a powerful and essential aspect of designing the user experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Source: Imgflip<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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If you’re new to UX writing psychology or the world of UX itself, we got your back with another info-rich guide in our <\/span>UX design resources<\/span><\/a> series, and it’s all about the psychology of UX writing.<\/span><\/p>\n

So without further ado, l<\/span><\/i>et’s begin!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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Table of Contents<\/p>\n

  • What is UX writing?<\/a><\/li>
  • How to use UX writing?\u00a0<\/a><\/li>
  • The psychology of UX writing – how it works\u00a0<\/a>
    • 1. Make processes intuitive\u00a0<\/a><\/li>
    • 2. Stick to patterns\u00a0<\/a><\/li>
    • 3. Cater the laziness\u00a0<\/a><\/li>
    • 4. Construal principle<\/a><\/li>
    • 5. Resolve tension systems\u00a0<\/a><\/li>
    • 6. Hick-Hyman Law\u00a0<\/a><\/li>
    • 7. Fogg Behavior Model\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
    • 4 benefits of UX writing<\/a><\/li>
    • Create spot-on UX designs with GoVisually\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n

      <\/span>What is UX writing?<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

      User Experience Writing (UX Writing) is the practice of creating all of the customer-facing text or copy that appears inside digital products. UX writing helps users understand how to interact with software, including desktop and mobile applications, games, and other multimodal experiences.<\/p>\n

      The simplest answer to UX writing is interaction designing, but for words. The primary goal behind UX writing is to help users complete tasks in web products, including desktop and smartphone apps.<\/span><\/p>\n

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      \"What-is-UX-writing\"<\/p>\n

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      Yes, we know explaining what UX writing is won’t be enough. So let’s get deeper into how writing for UX is used in real-time.<\/span><\/p>\n

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      <\/span>How to use UX writing?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

      UX writers generally create a copy used throughout any digital product, whether a software, e-commerce, or media site. This included writing on menus, action buttons, or other design system components<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

      On a more technical side, UX writers do more than writing. They play advocates for the users and contribute significant detail to delivering the overall user experience with visual and written cues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      A UX writer will have to create specific types of content depending on the needs of the product and the end-user. The most common of these content types include:<\/span><\/p>\n

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      • UI text<\/span><\/li>\n
      • UX copy\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Interface copy<\/span><\/li>\n
      • UI content<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Microcopy<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Product or in-product copy<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        You will come across several use cases of UX writing while interacting with websites and apps all day. Content for onboarding text, instructions, error messages, contextual help, and tooltips is all part of these examples of how to use UX writing.<\/span><\/p>\n

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        <\/span>The psychology of UX writing – how it works\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

        Now that you know what UX writing is, you must wonder how it’s any different from other fields of content writing. We understand the confusion. Most people, even professionals, mistakenly consider UX writing as technical writing.<\/span><\/p>\n

        However, UX writing is not technical writing at all!<\/span><\/p>\n

        The whole idea of writing for user experience revolves around psychology. It’s about rendering to user biases and using the right nudges throughout your interface to deliver the experience your users want.<\/span><\/p>\n

        Well, yes. It’s not as easy as it sounds. <\/span><\/p>\n

        But to make it easier, here are some key principles and ideologies UX writers value, like the holy grail.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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        \"Key-principles-and-ideologies-of-UX-writers\"<\/p>\n

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        <\/span>1. Make processes intuitive\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

        As designers, we all strive to make our designs intuitive, but sometimes we do it without understanding what this means.<\/span><\/p>\n

        In general terms, intuition is the ability to label a condition true or false by looking at it. In design, intuition is about aligning the human mind’s power to follow a route instinct with your interface. Your user’s mental model should match your product’s conceptual makeup to make the process intuitive.<\/span><\/p>\n

        Take shopping as an example. In real-life experience, a person’s mind is adept at navigating aisles, picking the product of their choice, and proceeding to pay. E-commerce platforms make online shopping intuitive by following the same process their users are familiar with in real life. Hence, the ‘cart’ and ‘checkout’ options.<\/span><\/p>\n

        Understanding <\/span>how users think and act<\/span><\/a> is the core of creating intuitive UX designs.<\/span><\/p>\n

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        <\/span>2. Stick to patterns\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

        A crucial factor of UX writing psychology is reducing cognitive load. In simpler terms, it means making people think less and act more. The same rule applies to making intuitive UX and extends into <\/span>why you should stick to conventional designs<\/span><\/a>, aka the same cognitive patterns that are majority knows and follows.<\/span><\/p>\n

        For example, when we visit a website, we know how the pattern goes. Each website follows the same fundamental design components, e.g., the menu bar on top. The human mind finds it easier to follow the same patterns, and users like familiar designs.<\/span><\/p>\n

        When planning UX writing, it is better to use the same terminology and guidelines you find around and see people using in the real world. Instead of using new phrases to describe the same function, use words people come across commonly.<\/span><\/p>\n

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