MAKING IT EASY WITH CONTENT

The main aim of having great UI content is to make your product easier to use. This is done (in part) by using clear content patterns, applying them consistently, and organising content well. But a big part is played by the reduction of friction, and in being able to assess what is truly necessary and sometimes removing elements and words from the interface.

Easy is not always easy

Easy is not very fast to implement. Even changes to a button name can affects docs, other screens, training material, videos and other collateral that will need to be updated as well. You must factor in the time it takes to update and assess the risk to other collateral as part of deciding if a change gets done in a sprint.

Ways to make it easy quickly

Consistent case for everything: Removing this tiny bit of friction in each window can make a lot of difference to scan time.
Unpunctuate: You might be surprised to see punctuation, but it's there. E.g. do fields need a colon after the name?
Blank states: Take advantage of blank states to teach users about features and functions. Help them as much as you can.
Error strings: If you don't do content in code, your devs can usually provide a set of error strings in csv or other format. Edit the file all at once to make these micro-messages better.

Simplified labels

Screen blank state

Easy always makes a difference

Even small changes can make a difference to a user's experience. It can make things easier and faster by being more scannable, or more clear and obvious, so they can complete their task without hesitation. All these micro-moments add up.

“The best content knows it has purpose and fulfils that purpose. If it doesn't, that content is a waste of space.”

Sarah Winters