UX Writing Challenge — Write Hover State CTA Language

Reassuring users with the clever use of “words.”

Scenario: A user is about to click a “complete purchase” button to buy an expensive couch on a website they’ve never used before. The site is legitimate and has excellent reviews, but the user still needs some assurance that they’re making the right decision.

Challenge: Write some reassuring tooltip language that hovers just above the button.

30 characters maximum

Tip: Come up with some discouraging thoughts that a person would have here, then write for the one you think is the most powerful. If you want extra practice, write up a few test variants solving for other bad thoughts. And, as always, don’t be afraid to post to the Facebook group if you want feedback.

What else is new?

Amy Leak (UX Writer for the BBC) made a handy accessibility checklist. DM her on Twitter, and she’ll send you a link to download.

Jane Ruffino wrote an excellent (and downloadable) “Microcopy Canvas” PDF designed to help you work smarter, not harder.

Speaking of test variants: Patrick Stafford from the UX Writer’s Collective just published a great piece on the right way to test copy.

Someone named “u/astrotoucan” hit the front-page of the UX subreddit with an article on their experience taking the challenge. Solid work, Astrotoucan. Step forward, and I’ll be sure to give you proper credit.

And my son just started eating solid foods! Literally, two seconds ago I fed him his first taste of rice cereal, so…

Yeah, that’s cool, for me. You probably don’t care. And you know what? You are correct in your apathy!

Caring about a stranger’s infant is weird, gang.

Ok, that’s all for now. ‘Til next week, maybe.

This content originally appeared in the Daily UX Writing Challenge Newsletter as a “Bonus Challenge” on May 5th, 2019. Subscribe to the newsletter if you want to get similar stuff. Or don’t. No skin off my nose.

TL;DR is a blog about how to write short, effective copy for user interfaces and digital products. Brought to you by Ryan Farrell, maker of Daily UX Writing. Follow on Twitter.