What is UX writing?
You’ve probably seen the term UX writing popping up more and more over the past few years. But what does it actually mean?
When you work as a UX writer, you work on the words that guide people through a digital experience. From buttons and error messages to onboarding screens and checkout flows, UX writing helps users understand where they are, what to expect and what to do next.
A good UX writer:
crafts clear, actionable copy
considers the design, as well as the words
collaborates closely with designers, developers and researchers
writes with the user’s goals in mind, while also balancing the business needs
Unlike marketing copy, which often aims to persuade, UX writing focuses on helping. It’s about removing friction and making sure users don’t have to stop and think. When the words work, the experience feels seamless.
Whether you’re building a mobile app, a SaaS product or a streaming service, the words inside your product shape how people experience it.
And when the words work, the product works.
UX writing is designing
It’s not just about writing UX copy. As a UX writer, you think through the logic of a user’s journey. Your job isn’t just to add copy to buttons that someone else has designed. Like a UX designer, your job is to consider the design and how the information is presented. Should the button even be there?
As a UX writer, you need to empathise with your users and solve their problems. You need to understand how the human brain works and what we can do to minimise cognitive load for users.
Some UX writers sketch out their own wireframes in Figma (or why not on a whiteboard?) as a starting point for what the UX flow might look like. Others don’t, but they work closely with their UX design colleague.
However the work is divided, looking into user insights, coming up with UX concepts, getting into the nitty-gritty details of the interface – it’s all a collaboration. As a UX writer, you work in product development.
Copy and design are not two different things. There is no design without the copy. When we consider content as an integrated part of the design, we create products that are easier to use, easier to love and easier to scale across languages and markets.
Is UX writing different from content design?
Great question! And there are different takes on this. My take on it is: no. The terms UX writing and content design are interchangeable.
The title ‘content designer’ has emerged because of the need to highlight it as a design role. As a UX writer, or content designer, you’re designing the experience with a focus on content.
In some cases, there’s a distinction between the roles. In my opinion, the exact tasks you focus on has more to do with the organisation you’re in and how senior you are.
To make it even more confusing, there’s also a social media role called content designer and they do something else! I think this is why you might see the role ‘UX content designer’ nowadays.
My observation is that the use of titles also depends quite a bit on where you’re based. For example, in Sweden, ‘UX writer’ is still more common than ‘content designer’. The UK is all about content design and the US seems a bit heavier on the content design side.
Let’s just say, the entire industry is confused.
In the end, it’s less about the title and more about the impact. Good UX writing doesn’t just support the design – it is the design.
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