Steer73

Introducing

A designer’s guide to writing effective copy (& why it matters more than you think)

Believe it or not, copywriting is one of the most important content-
creation skills a designer can possess. If you think about it, design
exists to support and deliver content—not the other way around.

As a designer, content should be the driving force behind many of
your decisions, whether you’re creating the content or someone
else is. So if you can understand how to write effective copy (and
understand the purpose that it serves), you’ll be able to better serve
your clients and ultimately create better designs.

In this article, we’ll cover some helpful copywriting tips for designers
to help you build better experiences.

Sales Copywriting vs. UX copywriting

First things first, understand the nature of the copy you’re writing for. There are some subtle differences between sales (or persuasive) copywriting and UX writing.
  • Why consistent writing makes you a better designer
  • 5 soft skills every product designer should master
  • The UX Writing Starter-Kit
Sales copywriting is all about getting users to make a purchase or sign up for a product or service. UX copywriting, on the other hand, is all about helping users reach a goal efficiently and effectively.
There are overlaps between the two, for sure. But while sales
copywriting is often about convincing a customer to do something,
UX copywriting is about helping them do something they’re already
trying to do. You don’t have to sell them on the goal, just help them
achieve it.
illustration by Camille Pagni
Make your copy easy for visitors to scan. That means keeping
paragraphs short (2-4 sentences is a good rule of thumb), using
plenty of headlines, adding bulleted lists where they make sense,
and even using bold and italic text (sparingly) to highlight the most
important parts of the content.