How to write good, inclusive copy for your digital products
Writing good copy means a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, it means making sure what you are saying is clearly communicated and doesn’t leave your users feeling uncomfortable or excluded.
You have probably seen many products doing a fine job with the first part of that definition — adopting a simple and concise writing style. Unfortunately, not enough focus on having an inclusive and compassionate voice too.
In a conversation about inclusive design, someone I look up to in this space once told me that the argument against inclusion has nothing to do with actively wanting to exclude.
That’s it. Double, triple-check with your friends in tech. None of us are actively trying to create exclusive, pernicious experiences. We’re just doing our best with what we know and that’s the whole problem.We don’t know enough! If we’re writing hurtful copy or designing exclusive experiences it’s because we’re ignorant.
I’ve spent some time with this thought and a lot more trying to stay better informed about how I can design less ignorant — more compassionate — products. In this article, I’m collating some of my findings on doing this specifically through the copy of our digital products i.e. how our interfaces speak to our users.
Keep it conversational 💬
Let’s start with some of the basics of good UX writing.
Write clearly
Use simple, clear sentences to ensure all your users understand them.
Not everyone will be fluent in the language your product is using. Not everyone will be technical enough to get your jargon. Not everyone will be up to date on the latest, hottest slang. Keep it simple.
Go one step beyond and replace your formal words with normal ones to make them feel more welcoming.
Most importantly, read what you’re writing. Read it out loud twice over and listen. Does it sound like the kind of thing you would actually say?
Would you say, “I have carefully curated some examples for your assistance” or “I have curated some examples to help you”?
Replace your nouns with verbs
Sounds like a lot but it’s actually just how we normally talk. We use more verbs than nouns. Why not do the same when we’re writing?
Instead of writing, “We’ve conducted an analysis of your complaint and made a decision to take action”, write “We’ve analyzed your complaint and decided to take action.”
Notice how it makes our writing clearer and shorter, too?
Use active, not passive, sentences…by Monkeys
Spot your passive sentences with the help of Monkeys. This is by far my favorite trick in the book outlined in Monzo’s Tone of Voice Guidelines. Give this one a shot if you’re ever confused -
Add “by monkeys” at the end of your sentences. If it still makes sense, it’s passive. That’s it!
Let’s take an example.
“If you have any feedback, it will be shared with the instructor…by monkeys.” Makes sense, passive.
“If you have any feedback, we’ll share it with the instructor…by monkeys.” Active.
Keeping it inclusive 🤝
We’ve covered the basics, now let’s talk inclusion.
First, and this one goes without saying but oh-well, make sure your product is not saying anything racist, sexist, or derogatory.
Write for dyslexia
You know that really long sentence you once read that made you feel lost while reading it? That’s a problem many users with dyslexia face.
The real magic here is that writing for dyslexia is simply about writing clearly. It can actually increase the readability of your product regardless of who the user is.
Tips -
Break down large paragraphs. Break down long sentences. Use bulleted lists where possible.
Make it bold. If you want to emphasize something, select that sentence and make the font bold. This is a much better way to emphasize your copy. I know some of you feel the dire urge to use that italics typeface for your error or warning states but to users who have dyslexia, italicized words can look like they run together.
Skip the abbreviations — they’re exhausting. Abbreviations force you to reference and remember the original meaning of a word. Users with dyslexia, and often even those without, have trouble keeping track of these. (What even is NGMI?!)
Use abbreviations, mindfully. No, I am not contradicting myself. I’m asking you to write conversationally. Only use abbreviations where the long form of the word is actually less popular than the abbreviation itself. For example, it’s okay to say NASA instead of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (Case in point: I had to look that up)
Don't use ableist language
Ableist language is language that is offensive to people with a disability. For all of you UX writers out here, this would mean avoiding words like crazy, deaf, insane, lame, or retarded in your products.
If you’re unsure about your copy being offensive, just do a quick google search on ableist words to be certain it isn’t.
If you’re referring to a person with a disability in your product, here’s the deal: Put people first, not their disability. So instead of saying ‘disabled person’ say ‘person with a disability’ or ‘person who has a disability.’ This way you don’t associate a person’s entire identity with the disability they have.
Use inclusive or collective pronouns
If you have a good reason to ask for your users’ pronouns in your app’s onboarding process, good for you (as long as you’ve kept it optional). Go ahead and use their preferred pronouns.
If not, always refer to people in your copy with inclusive or collective pronouns. Let me explain.
Say you are writing copy for a confirmation modal, it should read - “Are you sure you want to delete X Æ A-13’s account? They won’t be able to log back in.”
Instead of assuming which pronouns X Æ A-13 identifies with, use the collective pronoun ‘they’. Yes, even for a single person.
Use ‘they’ instead of the ‘he or she’ construct as well. Writing ‘he or she’ or ‘s/he’ to refer to someone excludes the gender-neutral and shows a bias towards the male and female social genders.
✨ Pro tip: If you absolutely must use a singular pronoun, use your awesome writing skills to uplift minority groups into positions of power. Put socially dominant groups second. For example, refer to your product’s administrative user as ‘she’ instead of ‘he’.
Keeping it compassionate ❤️
Check your tone
When deciding what your product should sound like in a particular scenario, opt for a neutral tone. Shifting the tone of your copy can help make difficult scenarios less disconcerting for your users.
Let me illustrate this with the example of a photos app.
A user logs into your app and you show them a montage of their photos from the past year — some from a birthday, some from summer vacation. At the bottom, it reads, “Woohoo, look at that! What a year it’s been.”
That copy feels appropriate and harmless, right? ‘What a year it’s been’ is generic. It could mean anything. But now consider the celebratory tone of that sentence and imagine another scenario -
A user logs into your app and sees a photo montage. Except for this time, the montage includes the pictures they uploaded of the pet they lost that year, the house they had to sell, or any other painful memory.
Does the copy still work? No. It is jarring to see painful memories and have an app celebrate them. Don’t be that app.
Always adjust the tone of your copy to be accommodating of various stress cases.
Here are some other common topics to use simple and neutral tones for -
Identity-related information like sex, gender, weight, or height.
Any private family or relationship-related information like current relationship status, name of spouse or partner.
Financial information like current account balance, and largest expenditure.
Reveal your reason
Lastly, when you’re asking your users for information, use your copywriting skills to communicate the intent and be informative.
If you want your product to be compassionate and inclusive, it’s important to remember that any information could be sensitive for any user. So if you really need someone’s last name or marital status, and cannot keep it optional, let them know why.
Do what you do best. Write passionately, share riveting ideas, and ship beautiful products. Just do it all with clarity and compassion in your words and inclusion in your mind. That’s it. That’s the secret sauce.
Find this article on Medium.