Comments on: Writing Microcopy

By: Looking for examples of microcopy - Bokardo

Looking for examples of microcopy - Bokardo — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:23:04 +0000

[...] if you’ve never heard this term before, read Writing Microcopy. Looking for examples of microcopy | Grab the Site RSS Feed Check out my latest project: Make [...]

By: Rahul

Rahul — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:39:37 +0000

Came back to read this again and wanted to mention that it’s still so true. Thanks again!

Offtopic: dates for comments are missing the month. It says “Wed 12th, 2009″.

By: Communicating Value through Cause & Effect on Fanfeedr - Bokardo

Communicating Value through Cause & Effect on Fanfeedr - Bokardo — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:50:43 +0000

[...] also got an example of microcopy in the line “we won’t publish anything to Facebook without asking you first”. [...]

By: No Sign-up Necessary (the strikethrough method) - Bokardo

No Sign-up Necessary (the strikethrough method) - Bokardo — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:59:29 +0000

[...] strikethrough method is an example of microcopy done well. It serves to address a common concern and helps reduce the commitment we feel as we [...]

By: Phil

Phil — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:43:21 +0000

This is good stuff (I esp liked the tumblr example) but you have to be careful that you do not use microcopy as a crutch. Sometimes, when you see microcopy, it should really be zerocopy. For example, in the first example I would have just made a header/title on the billing address area called something like “Credit Card Billing Address:”

And in the 2nd example, I would just not show the Paypal logo at all–just “Pay with your credit/debit card now!” and be done with it. You don’t need a crutch when the leg (the user experience) is not broken.

By: David

David — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:24:02 +0000

Great post, thanks! Reading the comments I’d also call microcopy on forms an “affordance”, in usability terms. But microcopy applies to navigation and tooltips as well, I think.

By: Fluffy Links – Monday August 10th 2009 « Damien Mulley

Fluffy Links – Monday August 10th 2009 « Damien Mulley — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:01:19 +0000

[...] the small things. Via Ewan’s delicious, Microcopy is vital for web apps. # When signing up for a newsletter, say â€œthis low-volume newsletterâ€ # When people add their [...]

By: Rhonda

Rhonda — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 03:23:32 +0000

Technical writers and communicators use the term ‘user assistance’ for what you term ‘microcopy’. The end result is the same — making the experience better for the user. But it would be nice and less confusing for searchers and researchers if the technical and marketing writing communities could use a common term for these small pieces of text on user interfaces.

By: Alex Wu

Alex Wu — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:35:21 +0000

Joshua, you are absolutely right. Even the tiniest change in microcopy text can have a huge impact on business. For example, on my site signup screen, we used to have a line, separating what is required versus option fields. But most people just ignores that line, so we had additional text telling people what is required. The day we did that, our signup rate went from 1.3% of visitors to over 5%. Then we realized what we did wrong.

By: 5 of the best and 5 of the rest: Shame on you Habitat! « Qubemedia’s Weblog

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:31:37 +0000

[...] Writing Microcopy [...]

By: Brad’s Ramblings » Links for 6/8 – 6/12

Brad’s Ramblings » Links for 6/8 – 6/12 — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:10:09 +0000

[...] Writing microcopy – It doesn’t take a memoir in order to help your users get the job done. [...]

By: Marsh

Marsh — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:41:51 +0000

I heartily agree, but

â€œBe sure to enter the billing address associated with your credit cardâ€

could be tightened to “Must match the billing address for your card.” And since the name comes first, “address” might be “information” instead.

Another example is the

(not published)

microcopy note for the “Mail” field of this comment form.

By: One word is worth a thousand support calls â€” KnowIT

One word is worth a thousand support calls â€” KnowIT — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:11:26 +0000

[...] [Via : Writing Microcopy - Bokardo.] [...]

By: Jens Swelson

Jens Swelson — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:09:40 +0000

Nice article and very usefull. I think I might need to use this on my blog for the e-mailupdates function.

By: David Yeiser

David Yeiser — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:51:45 +0000

Like those above me said, great article and great points. Tumblr uses microcopy effectively on their signup form. When choosing a URL for your blog there's a helpful sentence that reads "(you can change this at any time)." Great for those of us who would sit there and agonize over the perfect blog name.