The internet was a very messy place not too long ago, but a renewed attitude to the user's experience has largely changed this. The development of UX writing has become much more of a recognised phenomenon in the past ten years, but many people still don't have a good grasp on what UX writing is, what it involves, and why it's worth your time to learn. In this article, we take a look at all of these points to give you a much clearer understanding of why UX writing is so important in the digital space.
Introduction to user experience writing
UX writing is what any digital marketing agency will rely on to help guide a brand's audience through their website copy in the most intuitive and accessible way possible. This is necessary because apps and websites are growing increasingly more complex and expansive, and rather than creating copy to mirror this complexity, UX writing has become a focus to help ensure these complex interfaces are simple for anyone to read and understand at a glance. This means that a UX writer will typically manage all sorts of copy on a website or app - rather than just the basic paragraphs and headlines, they will also be responsible for handling things like buttons and menus, as things like these are often the most confusing aspect of website navigation for most users. The role of the UX writer necessitates that they therefore get inside the head of the user to really work out what they need and why and then implement this. So, unlike traditional copy, UX writers have to write to ensure people can easily use digital mediums in their daily lives instead of just straight up selling them the product.
UX writing in more detail
It's often important to note that the role of the UX writer will also be heavily intertwined with the roles and responsibilities of those around them. This means that it's not uncommon to find UX writers working closely with designers (and UX designers in particular), product owners and managers, developers and a variety of other stakeholders to achieve their UX needs. This means that a good UX writer will also have a few skills related to personability in order to nurture these relationships. We mentioned that the field of UX writing has developed considerably as of late, but that should not at all indicate that it has stopped its development - user experience is an ever-changing field, as there are always new ways to approach the same kind of content, and these changes should incentivise people interested in this form of copy to stay on top of new methodologies that will inevitably emerge.
UX writing matters
It's important to note that UX writers aren't just responsible for tight, easy to manage copy - their role will still have them writing in a way that makes products sing, but they need to also make sure they incorporate all of the things a user needs. If a UX writer has done their job well, you'll often find that their work is simple to the point where it often goes unnoticed - after all, at the end of the day, clean, neat and simple copywriting is the goal of every UX writer.
