UX copywriting: Why do we need it?

There are many reasons why someone will leave your website without converting - making a purchase, filling a form, downloading a brochure… Poor copy is probably one of them.

User Experience (UX) denotes how people interact with your product or service at various points during the customer journey. It’s really important to showcase your competitive advantages.

When it comes to websites, the UX will absolutely determine whether users will stay or leave. This in turn has a huge impact on the perception of your expertise and credibility.

Therefore, making the experience outstanding is essential to make your business successful. So how do you do that? You need a thorough understanding of both your own products and services, and the people you’re targeting - your audience.

In the more traditional comms and ad world, roles tended to be more siloed, more individual. Nowadays skills tend to mix and cross pollinate.

The role of UX writer is a testament to this evolution.

A UX writer is someone who writes for the key audience. They require a strong understanding of who they are writing for, in order to improve the user experience. They are in charge of writing the copy for each interaction that users come across as they engage with your website.

Users have a very different relationship with your brand online than they do in real life. Their expectations are different. They want the experience to be simpler, more intuitive, more to the point when they browse your website. Within this context, copy plays a huge role.

We’re talking about a different type of copy than in blog posts or articles. UX copy’s purpose is not to delight or educate your users, its main goal is to give clear explanations of the services you offer, and also to give you specific indications, like the text on a call-to-action or in an error message.

In reality, all copywriters should be UX writers. It is a reflection of the landscape we’re now in: traditional ad copy, which is about selling, is less and less relevant. With the rise of digital, the purpose of the copy has shifted from simply convincing to actually assisting your audience to achieve goals and actions. That’s why a UX writer needs a deep knowledge of people’s behaviour, psychology, design, technology and marketing so that they can write impactful messages that enhance the user experience.

So, that is exactly what you should be looking for: a copywriter who actually wants to know as much as possible about the people they are writing for.

There’s only so much a website or app design can convey without any written copy.

Bear in mind that design alone can only convey a minimum amount of information without text - so when improving the UX, copy is actually the most important part.

So, make sure you listen to what your audience wants and needs.

Looking for a UX copywriter?

At Thirst, we can help you conduct user research and user testing so that we collectively gain an understanding of what your audience is after, what their blockers are and deliver the best outcome for you.

Contact the team at Thirst for help with your UX vision.